Author: Osmond Agbo
While society extols “hustle culture” and valorizes perseverance, it too often overlooks the vital scaffolding that supports real success, namely, mentorship, access, and social capital. Even the most revered figures had help. Steve Jobs had Mike Markkula. Oprah Winfrey had Maya Angelou. Barack Obama had David Axelrod. Jeff Bezos began his venture with not just a grand vision but also a network of former Wall Street colleagues who believed in him and funded his dream. Success, in truth, is seldom a solo act. There is something inherently captivating about the underdog narrative; the solitary visionary who, by sheer tenacity and…
So if you desire to be remembered, to be trusted, to be embraced, don’t just parade your strengths. Tell your awkward stories. Laugh at your own missteps. Offer your flaws, not as disclaimers, but as gifts. Because when you lend your imperfection, you empower others to reclaim their own. And that, more than brilliance or polish, is what makes you unforgettable. I love comedy clubs. Always have. My wife calls them my happy place and she’s not wrong. Although I haven’t had the opportunity to attend one recently, I often find myself immersed in stand-up clips from the likes of…
Perhaps, then, the deepest truth is that there are many truths, each shaped by the vantage point of the observer, each colored by the language, history, and emotional fabric of the person who holds it. Truth, in this sense, is not a singular mountain we all climb toward from different paths, but a vast landscape of perspectives, each revealing a different contour of reality. Last week, as yet another tragic chapter unfolded in the intractable and ever-escalating Iran-Israel conflict, I found myself in the midst of conversations, intense, impassioned, and sometimes uncomfortably raw. The participants weren’t diplomats or scholars. They…
In the end, we must make peace with the truth that we won’t always understand the purpose of every event as it’s happening. The dots only connect when we look back. That missed flight, that lost opportunity, that broken relationship, they might be the very things that shaped our resilience, rerouted us to safer paths, or brought us to deeper joy. This past weekend, my wife and I made our way to Winnipeg, a sleepy town nestled in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The occasion? A family celebration. My niece and her husband had just welcomed a beautiful baby girl,…
Fame, in its most seductive form, offers a counterfeit version of love and belonging. The applause of strangers becomes a substitute for intimacy. The attention of millions masks the ache of loneliness. The performance never ends, and behind the scenes, many stars find themselves increasingly alienated from their own identities. The very spotlight that promises visibility often casts a long shadow of isolation. I remember those days pretty well. Long before the era of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, another Hollywood “power couple” captivated the world: Jennifer Lopez and Sean “Diddy” Combs. J.Lo brought the glamour and Latin flair, while Diddy embodied…
The implications of this are profound. If perception is shaped by culture, emotion, memory, and context, then wisdom lies not in clinging to our version of truth but in recognizing that it is a version. It takes courage to admit this, especially in a world that rewards certainty and punishes doubt. But this is exactly why wise men dare to be wrong. They understand that embracing the possibility of error is not a weakness; it is a strength. To dare to be wrong is to remain teachable. Growing up, I was raised with an inquisitive mind, one that gave preeminence…
Ultimately, the question is not whether religion is good or bad, it is both. The more useful question is: how can we retain its gifts while confronting its failures? For many of us, that means occupying a space between belief and doubt, a space where questions are not sins, and thinking is not rebellion. This past Sunday, as my family and I sat quietly in St. Mary Margdalene, our neighborhood church, listening to the homily, sunlight filtered through the stained-glass windows, casting ethereal hues across the pews where familiar faces gathered, some bowed in solemn prayer, others murmuring along with…
And may we never cease lifting our hands in gratitude, for what was, what is, and what is still gloriously yet to come. With a heart overflowing with joy! Standing at 5’11”, she moves with the grace of a swan, tall and poised, exuding the quiet confidence of someone with nothing to prove. Her nose? A little prominent but beautifully sculpted, like it was made to give just the right touch of boldness to an otherwise soft and radiant face. And that smile—ah, that incandescent smile that blooms without effort, disarming and magnetic, stealing the attention of any room she…
In the end, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is not just a children’s fantasy. It is a blueprint for what happens when imagination refuses to be caged. It is a parable of possibility. And for Africa’s youth, it is a mirror, a whimsical, musical reminder that no matter the odds, dreams still have wings. Not long ago, while doomscrolling through Facebook, I stumbled upon the inspiring story of Tosin Eniolorunda, a young Nigerian tech entrepreneur. In 2015, alongside his friend Felix Ike, Tosin co-founded Moniepoint, a Lagos-based fintech company that offers digital banking and lending services via a mobile app. It…
What followed was a metamorphosis no one saw coming. The paragon of virtue became almost unrecognizable. He disappeared for days, chasing every distraction with a pulse and a skirt. His once-admiring family watched in disbelief as the man they idolized unravelled before their very eyes. That story stayed with me. Recently, I came across a quote that instantly brought it all flooding back: “Until you have the money to finance your temptations, don’t brag about morals. Too much is hidden in poverty.” It struck a nerve. As I settled on this piece, my thoughts turned to the enduring lesson of…