TAKING ADVANTAGE OF A DISADVANTAGE... Cobhams Asuquo

The first time I saw his face was on a blog; it was the entertainment stories as usual so I just played through the blog and read nothing about him. The second time was that same blog...this time it was his wedding pictures. Yet again, I did not bother to read anything about him so I just satisfied my sense of sight and enjoyed the beautiful wedding pictures. The third time I saw him was also on the internet; this time it was the arrival of his baby. I just muttered "congrats to them" in my mind and went onto the next post. I knew he was well recognized, I knew the name and I also knew he was passionate about what he was doing but one thing I never knew until yesterday was that Cobhams Asuquo was.....BLIND. 

My very close friends know I usually don't go to bed early (like today again); I search the web for more knowledge and to keep abreast with what's going on in the world. Yesterday was not an exception. While browsing through the internet, I noticed a TEDx video and scrolled past it without even blinking. It was like a disease that had gone viral because almost every site I visit regularly had the same video uploaded; what was this video? The Gift of Blindness by Cobhams Asuquo. I was wondering what he will be saying about blindness so finally I decided to watch the video (1st time I opened a post about him after ignoring him so many times). How glad I was that I watched that video because it stirred up something in me, I just couldn't stop saying "WOW". It was one of such videos that you have a re-think about yourself, such times when you ask yourself "so what is limiting me"? What is the challenge? Why can't I achieve this goal? Infact so many where, what, how, when and why questions just sprang up in my head. And next thing I thought about YOU, yes you reading this article now. I thought someone would benefit from this video as I did. For Cobhams, he saw an ability in a disability; he took advantage of a disadvantage; he turned an excuse into a determination to succeed. He chose to break the limitations of blindness, He chose to Maximise His Potentials, He chose to succeed. See the video below.

From the topic to the composure, to the sense of humour, to the vocal eloquency with which Cobhams spoke; everything was just superb. I was so impressed by the title he chose "The Gift of Blindness", he saw it as a gift. AH!!! Some people have their five senses functioning well with both hands and legs very strong and yet have chosen to tag themselves as beggars on the streets. But here is someone who had every reason to give an excuse for failure but chose not to. Life throws so many challenges at us at different stages in our life; but I can imagine being born blind and how he started facing his own challenge right from birth. If you ever find a path in life without challenges, it probably means that the path leads nowhere; only paths leading somewhere has challenges. Cobhams found that path and conquered every limitation that stood in his way; he is a proof that it is not about what happens to you but what matters is how you see it and what you do after that. These challenges appear to be limitations (notice I used the word appear, which means they're there to shake you up/to put fear in you/to discourage you; but in reality they're stepping stones to your success) in your path; your determination to break these limitations is what propels you closer to achieving your goal. Every time you rise above a limitation, you're taking giant strides, climbing up, riding on eagles wings and soaring higher. In our society, the blind, lame, deaf, are usually objects of sympathy; people have pity on them because it looks like they cannot function to maximum potentiality because of the impairment of one of the five senses. There is an "eh ya" or "sorry" when you hear he/she is blind; literally meaning he cannot function normal but with Cobhams, the story is different (in his words "pesin wey we dey feel sorry for no dey feel sorry for himself"). He never for once felt he was disadvantaged, he saw it as an advantage and today he is s an award-winning musician, producer, and songwriter. So today, be encouraged; be inspired, be motivated, let something stir up in you, be challenged, break every limitation in your way, NEVER make excuses (read my article on Excuses Are Life's Predators HERE) cos they rob you of your vision and focus. DON'T loose focus, set your eyes on the goal, be blind to every distraction, be determined to keep pressing on irrespective of anything that stands in your way. Choose to be a LIMIT BREAKER, Conquer your world and Succeed aaaaaaalllllllll the way :)

XX
Lynn