I recently read how a PR company purchased two consecutive blank pages of the New York Times to promote an upcoming movie.
The underlying message of the advertising campaign, “Imagine a World Without Words” , just one word can make the difference between life and death. A story was recently told of a 21 years old young Nigerian that who committed suicide because his girlfriend uttered the words:”I am done with you”. That same dude will still be holding on to life his dear life if he had encountered somebody else who encouraged him with the power of words telling him not to give up on life.
Words hugged you when you almost threw in the towel. Words lifted you out of gloom when you felt worthless. Words inspired you to dream big in spite of the infinitesimal beginnings. On the flipside if you look back into your life, you can recall the anguish and torture you felt when the sting of words nibble you .
When your boss called you “Incompetent”
When that dude dumped you without reasons
When you parents told you to get a real job
When your dad called you a “Fool”
Words are like bullets; if they escape, you can’t catch them again.” – Wolof proverb from Senegal.
So what revolution have you been creating with your words. The truth is that if you are not building with your words then you are creating chaos with your words.
It is also imperative to know that silence is not always golden. Nigeria remains at the threshold of real transformation because often times we keep quite when injustice is being meted out rather than speaking up. Silence has often ushered evil into the world. Dr Martin Luther Kings Jr ‘s “I have a dream” speech still echoes in eternity because he dared to speak up against racial discrimination.
Start a revolution with your words. You can use the words of your mouth to script the way your life turns out. Resolve today to consciously profess the future you desire through the power of your words. I love the way Maya Angelou puts it: “Words are things. You must be careful, careful about calling people out of their names, using racial pejoratives and sexual pejoratives and all that ignorance. Don’t do that. Someday we’ll be able to measure the power of words. I think they are things. They get on the walls. They get in your wallpaper. They get in your rugs, in your upholstery, and your clothes, and finally in to you.”
You are a book, and the words you utter from time to time are filling the pages of your life writing a story for the word to see .Go craft a revolution beginning with your words.
Kehinde Ajose is a talent development strategist and publicist by day, a writer by night, a rock star bassist on Sundays. He helps individuals to discover and develop their talents I order to create wealth and become iconic brands. Follow him on Twitter-@splendidkenny www.KehindeAjose.com .Email-Ajosekehinde@gmail.com