A few years ago, I began to question a few of my friends who attend the Christ Embassy Church.

I noticed that Pastor Chris Oyakhilome who heads the church had his hair permed and that most of the pastors in the ministry followed the same route – perming their hairs.

In retrospect I wonder why I became fixated on the trend. Call it curiosity of the mind.

Sadly, the ones I asked all had one response for me – “Emeka, mind your business!”

I browsed the net to see if I could find answers and one basic reason stuck out – mentoring. They desired to model their leader. While I was wowed by such desire, I began to question why mentees to a mentor had to perm their hairs?

To me it came off like a loss of one’s individuality and taking up of another. I wondered if there was a special anointing that fell on them when they permed their hairs like Pastor Chris’s.

I thought of mimicry and its effects.

It made me remember the time I was in primary school. I was a real copycat. Oh dear, I could copy for Africa. Know what I was good at copying? Handwritings!

The moment I saw someone’s writing, I was ready to dump the one I had copied earlier in preference for the new. As a consequence my notebooks looked like one owned by 10 or more students who took one notebook to school.

You know what that came off like?

Confusion!

The thing is that many people are like my primary school books back in the days. They’re so confused about the path to follow that they’re like notebooks with many writings, flowery and colourful and variegated, but lacking the laser focus to make any dent on the papers of destiny.

You know how I know some of them?

I visit Facebook and take a look at the timelines of people. Their posts are a jumble of all sorts while their timelines look like dumpsites. Today it’s fashion, tomorrow it’s medical education, next tomorrow it’s politics, next week it’s humour and jokes, next month they’re writing about romance.

When you see such a person, tell me, what truly comes to your mind?

If you’re going to make any meaning, a definition of the path you should be following to put a dent on this universe with your exploits is paramount.

So for starters, let me ask a few questions that can help you journey to the depth of your core to unravel your sweet juices.

What is that gift within you that can be used to help others? I’m a skilled creative writer and I can write reviews for products and create content for the digital media platforms of personal and organisational brands, amongst other things.

What can you do with that knowledge that you’ve acquired that can improve someone else’s life in a peculiar way? Perhaps, you find yourself advocating for justice and rights of the underdogs or less privileged. That’s a pointer.

Have you gone through an experience in your life that can help others or prevent them from going through such torment or make it easy for them? Perhaps, you’ve faced rejections in your bid to sign on people to your network marketing business and now you can share those experiences to help new entrants.

You’ve got to specify what you’re about and how you’re going to be helping humanity.

Finding that path is your responsibility and you MUST discover it, else all you may be doing is making the motions.

And making motions leads to unfulfillment.

Speaking about fulfillment, I began finding it when I decided to quit my job of 10 years to work from home on a laptop, reaching thousands of people with the touch of a button.

To me, it’s not waking in the morning with the cocks or sleeping with an alarm clock, dashing off to work before my kids woke up.

It’s being invited to speak on the stage and touching lives of people I may never have met if I had stayed in that cubicle in SAIPEM Contracting Nigeria Limited.

It’s working with whom I like and firing those who bring the pain to my butt.

So, you don’t have to prance around, unsure of your power and usefulness.

That cubicle has to lose its power on you so you can shine forth, knowing that unique thing you should be focusing on doing.

You’ve got to birth that greatness within you!

Let those questions guide you, darling

The earth needs you. We need you.

Will you show forth?