Thank you Abimbola Tooki, for coming and for that kind perspective. Ditto Bayo, Chima, Deola(Bunmi), Biyi, Yemi, Shina, and other commentators with whom I co-travelled the fine, memorable development journey. I take liberty to share this with my further network of friends and readership on this blogpage.
“A visit to Engineer Titi Omo-Ettu 8 Years after..
by
Abimbola Tooki
Some people don’t just live; they lead a life. They don’t sit around waiting for a lucky break. They create opportunities. They go after their dreams and bring them to life. They develop a vision of the good life, devise a plan for how to attain it, go for it, and check their progress along the way. As with any great effort, their work is never done but ever-evolving and, often, inspiring to those around them.
These are my immediate impressions of Engineer Titi Omo-Ettu when I set my eyes on him yesterday during my three-hour visit to his country home in Ijebu Ode, where he retired into about one and half years ago. He may have retired but definitely not tired.
It didnt take me 30 minutes before I observed some characteristics that stand him out among his 70 year old peers.
He is fearless. The one thing that most commonly stands between a successful retired entrepreneur and a person who will get kicked around all his life into becoming what others want him to be, is the fear of failure. Engineer Titi Omo-Ettu (though I love to call him Egbon) knows that this is not an impregnable hurdle. He faces it, embraces it and celebrates it.
He is perceptive. It takes a lot of savvy, heightened awareness and good judgement to identify a viable business opportunity and figure out how it can be transformed into a high growth business model at age 70.
He is perceptive. This my egbon is still an extremely perceptive individual who can foresee the potential in solving a problem reported by someone around him. These same insights also serve to fuel his passion for doing business even at retirement. He is using his perceptive powers to dream and craft a vision that will guide him through the rest of his journey. I actually jokingly told him that he has prepared himself to live another 50 years!
He hydrates well. Once he had his meal, he starts pushing the water. He is fully aware that staying hydrated keeps memory sharp, mood stable, and motivation intact. Of course, highly effective and successful entrepreneurs like Engineer TitI Omo-Ettu also give themselves permission to indulge in ending their day with an adult beverage to take the edge off, but he is mindful to do this with a balance. He would never choose to start their next day hung over. He starts the next day hydrated from the previous one.
He is organised and always ready for the day. No matter how busy the day may be, he believes that to be totally on-point, one must be prepared and organized. The more prepared you are, the more confident, relaxed and efficiently you operate. He still carefully organises his goals, calls, meetings, calendars, travel itineraries, family and friends. He ensures he starts each day ahead of the game, rather than consistently behind the ball.
My interaction with him over a sumptuous lunch clearly shows that the main ingredient in all successes is the ability to make wise choices. That’s because the quality of our lives is determined by the quality of the choices we make on a daily basis. This course has taught me that successful people stay on course to their destinations by wisely choosing their beliefs and behaviors.
Engineer Titi Omo-Ettu believes that life is a journey, not a destination. He believes that we build character by making mistakes, learning from them, and using them as a learning process for growth. No one is perfect, we all make mistakes. It’s how we deal with them and move on, that matters. It is not about what we did in the past, for that is over. It’s not about the future because that has yet to happen. It is about TODAY, the here and now that truly matters, because we can change what we do today.
He gave me a parting gift….any journey towards success will have chaos as a fundamental part of the process. Mistakes will be made, one will get screwed over, lose money and have to recover; hence, there will be frustration and failure. To be effective, one cannot shy away from the chaos or cower under its power. Rather, you must see chaos as something to study, face and conquer. Every run-in with chaos, successfully handled, is one step further along the path to living one’s dream.
Lest I forget, I had the privilege of eating my favourite meal with him. So sweet, I almost ate one of my fingers.
Biyi Fashoyin and Yemi Adepetun are already itching to visit Ijebu Ode; dont worry, I have the keys to unlock this opportunity for you very soon.”
*Reproduced unedited from Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/100000994594596/posts/10157606027909656/?substory_index=3&sfnsn=mo
Bimbola, yes that is my uncle
Very wonderfully written. Indeed, he leads a life worthy of emulation.
So much left unwritten. This shows how hard it is to adequately capture the personality of a man who means so many good things to so many people and spends his time summing up other personalities. How much may one pay to glimpse the contents of Engineer Titi Omoettu’s personal diary?))
Uncle T. Is amazing!
Some people are just a light to some people ‘s life’s, daddy you are generous, kind, and caring, keep the good attitude towards people and God will always surprise you sir,🤗🤗
Ever so hospitable, a man worthy of emulation