Failure

I have failed. Many times too many. Recently I heard someone ask Michael Jordan how he became a success, and he said, "I failed 26 times." That was how he succeeded. Many times in life, we are daunted by the task of how we handle failure. Personally, I have had my own share. Going through these challenges were not easy. But I have learned that resistance builds strength. Dating to my childhood, my mother told me she was shot in the chest a few days after my birth, yet she never gave up. I was lucky enough to survive after undergoing severe illnesses as an infant. As time progressed, I suffered from different ailments and life events. Growing up, my father worked around the clock to provide food, clothing and shelter for a family of seven. In spite of this, we were barely fed with a silver spoon. My doting mother, a woman whom I love so much, worked hard as a school teacher to provide additional income to our family but the Nigerian government never ceased to delay her monthly salary for several months at a time. In spite of the hardship, my parents were pricipled in their ways. Their generation did not solve all the problems but they were hopeful.


I strongly believe that there is a generation of greatness that used to walk this earth, and they left their mark; in the ways they thought, in their approach to problem solving, in the values they taught and in the lives they lived. Many of them are dead today, they were not all famous, and the truth is we will never know those that never became famous. However, these men brought up their children with fire and passion, with the zeal for nothing but to be the best that they could be. These people lived not for themselves but for others; their descendants, the ones who would come after, for us who are here now, and for the unborn. They taught their kids that a person should perform their life's work so well that the living, the dead and unborn could do it no better.

But the truth of the matter remains that actualizing these dreams would not come easy. Ask any noble person of bonafide greatness and respect, and he/she will tell you that greatness did not come easy. You see, some people are strengthened by failure and some are defeated by it. Who survives and who does not has little to do with money or advantage. It depends on inner strength of character; a primitive toughness that protects the self; that would not let mere external events affect it. This canal of survival is a precious possession, and discovering it is one of the real rewards of failure. It is a profound and powerful kind of self knowledge.

It is important to understand that failure itself, is not a die or live situation. It is an event that is defined by the 'self.' Failure can be caused by something external, over which we have limited control. It can also be caused by something internal (within us), over which we have more control. Finally there is moral failure, which may be disguised as success. So one of the most effective actions to take when dealing with failure is to understand which kind one is dealing with.

I don't know why I decided to write today, but I write from the heart. I have failed several times in different aspects of my life, but I never gave up. I have faced rejections, and 'NOs' many times but I never gave up. We have been told the word 'impossible' many times, but we never gave up. We have lost several dear people dear to our hearts, but we never gave up. I have been knocked down by many winds, but I never gave up. Like I mentioned earlier, resistance always builds strength. Never ever ever give up!

P.S. Stay humbled, focus and stay in prayer!      

Sincerely,  

LazioM.A.N

Lazio Tutoring Foundation

I'm very glad to say our work was published by RethinkNigeria. On behalf of Lazio Tutoring and its associates, we are honored to be featured on their website. Remember the cause is all for a greater purpose. To make Nigeria a better nation. The link is below:

Lazio Tutoring Foundation

Yours truly,

LazioM.A.N

My Experience with Injustice

On December 16, 2012, I bought a car wash groupon ticket from Fast N Clean car wash through groupon.com. Fast N Clean car wash is located at 4881 Sinclair road, Columbus, OH 43229. When I purchased my ticket, I called Fast N Clean car wash to schedule a car detailing that included  blue Coral polish and wax, clear coat protectant, wheel bright and black magic tire shine, rain-X and fragrance, underbody rinse, hand towel dry, dash and interior surface wipe down, interior and exterior window cleaning, and floor-mat vacuum. The deal on the groupon stated “Three full car washes.” It was a $75 value that I purchased for $29. A few hours later, I called Fast N Clean to schedule my appointment for the 28th of December at 8:00am. 

When I arrived at Fast N Clean on the 28th, I waited 30 minutes before the manager finally came to attend to me. He told me my appointment had been canceled due to the weather. FYI, NO ONE in this company called me to tell me about the cancellation prior to my arrival. I was told by the Mike, the manager to call and reschedule for another day. 

A few days later, I called Fast N Clean to reschedule my appointment. I was rescheduled for January 9, 2013 at 9am. Upon arriving for my appointment, I was again attended to by Mike who informed me that my name was not on the schedule. I was furious. He told me I had not called or probably called the wrong location. I pulled out my phone and showed him proof of my phone call, including the date and time of the call, and the number of minutes I spent during that phone call. A couple of minutes passed by, and the manager found my name listed in the back of the book he had written the names of the scheduled appointees for that day. Afterwards, the manager said, “I still cannot wash your car today sir, we are short staffed.” I informed him this was my second attempt to have my car wash, but he continually argued with me until he eventually agreed to wash my car first thing the following day. When I returned the following day, my car was detailed, and I was given a voucher that proved I was eligible for 3 details. The voucher is a small card given to customers that buy their tickets through groupon. The phrase ‘3 details’ was handwritten by Mike.

At this point, I became very dissatisfied with their service, but I wanted to use my money’s worth, so I told myself I would endure till I utilized the other two car services. I called Fast N Clean towards the end of February 2013, and I was told by Mike that the next available date was March 7 at 830am.

I arrived at Fast N Clean at 7:54am and was told to wait till 8am when the car wash officially opened. 

Upon my arrival, the same manager told me he could not wash my car because I had 'defrauded' him into detailing my car the last time, so I had used up my money. I was told my last detailing was meant to be $69 but I utilized the $200 service.  FACT: I paid FOR AN INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR DETAILING SERVICE THROUGH GROUPON. When I made this point clear to Mike, he changed the story and stated that my coupon had expired. So I logged on to the groupon app on my phone and showed him proof that my voucher was still valid. It showed that it expires on March 20. When he saw this, he said I was only allowed to use it once. His statement was FALSE; the ticket itself states ‘Three full car washes.’ 

When he saw this, he said, “I don’t care what you say, I’m still not washing your car today.”  Afterwards he asked me to leave and threatened to call the cops if I did not leave immediately. All this while, I had been in my car while he was yelling on my face. I welcomed his threat and told him I would wait to talk to the cops upon their arrival. The manager (Mike) called one of his workers and I saw them dial a number- I am unsure the number they dialed. I waited for 10-20 minutes but no cop showed up. 

The manager comes again and tells me to leave, that he doesn’t care what I say because he is not washing my car. So, I asked him to put it in writing, stating he was refusing to offer me service, when in fact he was supposed to offer the service. But he denied and began to curse at me. The manager of Fast N Clean car wash said, “I ain’t writing sh$%.” I did not respond with a single curse word.  Before I left, I told him he would meet me in court. I drove off afterwards. 

MLK said, “In justice anywhere, is injustice everywhere.” I absolutely think it is unjust to deny me service when I have all the rights to that service. I understand that we live in a progressive America where all individuals are supposed to be treated equal, but the fact remains I was treated like an animal by Fast N clean. Although I received my refund from Groupon the next day, this is more about injustice than getting my refund. I believe if Mike was able to get away with this condescending act with me, he would not hesitate to use the same irrational behavior on other customers.

I write this to speak out against injustice. I don’t know if the mere fact that I'm black or have a non-American accent plays a role in the manager’s decision to treat me like an animal, but I do not think this is right. It is absolutely unjust! I encourage everyone who reads this to speak out against injustice by sharing this article and telling your friends and family about the bad customer service at Fast N Clean. BTW, they have a ‘F’ rating by Better Business Bureau.

Author: LazioM.A.N 

Injustice