Let us stop deceiving ourselves

There is only one thing that makes me angry. Like really really angry and it’s when people know the truth but pretend that because it’s ‘terrible’ it’s not the truth. I’ll explain.

Let me start with my country, Nigeria. This theory has made people think I’m pro- Jonathan and pro-government when in actual fact I am pro-nothing. Infact this simple line has brought me more insult than any other thing I’ve said. What is the line?

“I don’t think Jonathan is worse than any other president we have had and I don’t think his government is worse than previous governments,”

This doesn’t mean he is better but he is certainly not the worst or even close to the worst. In my books, President Goodluck just has a little bit of bad luck with the timing in which he became president. What’s the badluck? Well, the media is much more powerful now and even worse, it is much more accessible. If this was the case in any of the previous governments, they would have pretty much have had the same if not worse troubles than President Jonathan has. That I am sure of.

I don’t know if Nigerians know this and its fine if they don’t but what pisses me off is when they start screaming he is the worst president ever. In 2012, someone even told me that he was named the worst president in the world. Don’t get it wrong, I am no means his fan but I think that statement is very false. Infact, I’m secretly  convinced we all know he is not the problem but it’s easier for us to deceive ourselves and attack every president in power than face or look for the real problem.

If we are being very honest with ourselves, which Nigerian president has actually done something? Certainly none that have been in power since I was born. We all know the problem is not whichever president we have. I’m sure we do. The real problem are the godfathers, the real people who are in power and change the presidents every election year. Well, I’ll like to believe we know that but even if the average Nigerian doesn’t know that, they know that things have been the same for a pretty long time despite the different presidents we’ve had so they must have realised that something is wrong and it’s not from the president in power.

Dara, where are you going with this? Simple. Our problem is leadership not Goodluck Jonathan and the real solution to this problem is not to get rid of Jonathan and worry about who the next president will be.

The real solution to this problem are the youth. Now, I’m not even talking about people my age or slightly younger (The future corrupt ones have already set) Maybe youth is not the right word. The real solution to this problem are the children. Yes. I’m talking about the baby in your house or your neighbourhood. That child that turns 10 next week or the child that was born last year. They are the solution to Nigeria. If we can get them young and teach them everything that we want Jonathan to be, we will have a greater chance at saving this country than attacking every president that enters government.

So, let us stop deceiving ourselves that President Goodluck Jonathan is the problem and instead use the energy we want to expend fighting him to raise the future president and or government officials in our care today.

With all my love,

Dara Rhodes.

Drop some people

Today I decided something. I decided that some people are simply just bad for us. We can try to sugar coat them and try to see their good sides but the truth is that, in this world, some people will always have more of a negative impact on us than positive. They may have a positive influence on you but the negative outweighs it. 

If you are anything like me, you’ll probably still be holding out for them, searching for that one reason why you shouldn’t drop them just yet or why you should hold on to them for a little bit longer. Unfortunately, I’m not going to encourage you to hold on to them or find that good in them today.

As a Nigerian rapper (Modenine) once said, “let it go bruv” or rather, let them go. There are some people that make me feel so terrible after a single conversation. Some people make you feel like the worst person alive after a few moments with them. Why do you continue to stay around them? Why do we keep talking to them even after we promised ourselves never to speak to them again after the last conversation?

Its simple. You haven’t told your mind to drop them. Your heart tells you this person is not good for you but your head tells you, you still need something from them. Now let me tell you another truth. Nobody on this earth is indispensable. Absolutely no one.

I had a friend like that in London. I hated conversations with her but always yearned for the same conversations whenever I wasn’t talking to her. She was so negative and rarely saw the good in anything, the opposite of me but she was my friend so I kept her. When I came to Lagos last year, I physically couldn’t keep up with our conversations and I was so busy socialising with all my cousins that were home for summer, I barely spoke to her.

To cut a long story short, she came to Lagos for Christmas and despite my anticipation to see my beloved friend again, it wasn’t quite the same. Of course it wasn’t the same! My head finally got the message my heart had known for so long. I literally had to leave London for my head to catch the message but the moment my head got it, it was surprisingly very easy.

No matter how good you are or positive you are, there are some people you need to drop. You know it but the head refuses to get the message. You need to make your head get that message and quickly too! You must. For your sanity and for your stability.

As Will Smith nicely put it,

"Stop letting people who do so little for you control so much of your mind, feelings and emotions,"

With all my love,

Dara Rhodes. 

Don't lock the door.

I get home, say a quick hello to everyone, run into my room and lock my door. That was my routine every single evening. Then, at work yesterday, I was googling how to get rid of boredom. How ironic. 

Everyday different people in the house would come to my door and knock on it several times either to ask me to come down to eat or to talk to me but I never opened the door. I'd hear them banging on the door and calling out to me but I always pretended like I was asleep. "People have too much drama, I've had a long day at work, I'm tired and I just want to be alone" I used to tell myself. 

On Wednesday, I was too ill to go to work so my door was open throughout the day for everyone to come in and check up on me. My room saw more visitors than it had ever seen on that day, that I am sure of. However, the moment I felt slightly better and the clock hit 7 PM, my doors shut for the day and the knockings began.

I love princess Elsa in Frozen because she kinda reminded me of me only she's a fictional character and I am real. Yesterday evening, I decided to try an experiment. I came home, did the routine and then unlocked my door to see if anyone will knock or try to come in. Surprise surprise, absolutely no one did. I felt bad that no one came to check on me till I heard the cook asking the housekeeper to call me outside my room. Her reply hit me like a slap across my face.

"Ah, Dara is sleeping or her room will be locked. Don't worry about her, you can close. Dara is not coming out again today"

I wanted to go out and scream, that's a lie but I knew it was the truth. Sometimes, we really are our own worst enemies. I complained of being bored but wasn't really ready to let anyone in. Even now I still secretly wonder if I am. I know many of us are like that if we'll be honest with ourselves. Last night taught me a painful truth. You can't lock yourself in and expect to be a star the moment you unlock the door. The truth about this world is, it's never that deep (as my friends my age said once upon a time) when you lock yourself in, you secretly hope that everyone is waiting for you to unlock the door. At first, everyone may be waiting but after a while even the most faithful will stop knocking. 

My housekeeper, Miss Iyabo was the one I could vouch will come knocking. She knocks several times every evening but her reply to the cook showed that even she was tired of knocking. The worst part? my door is now going to have to be unlocked for twice as long as it was locked. It has been locked for so long, I am going to need to get used to it being unlocked first before I can even begin to entertain visitors.

Beloved beautiful people, don't make the same mistake as I have. Unlock that door as quickly as possible!

With all my love,

Dara Rhodes

The media industry

I was talking to my aunt this evening and somehow we ended up discussing the media industry.

To cut a long story short, she doesn't believe I should continue in the media industry as it is one full of deception, lies and zero integrity. For the first time in a long time, I honestly didn't know what to think. I knew it wasn't going to deter me but I didn't know what the conversation was trying to teach me. I mean I know she is right about the industry but I also know that there is absolutely nothing that is pure evil (Well, apart from the devil and even he was once an amazing angel). The media is extremely powerful, I am aware of that (I am a media student for crying out loud). Are people taking advantage of that? Definitely. People have and will always take advantage of power but that certainly doesn't mean that everyone will. So what was the message?

Then it hit me. I love this industry. With all its up and downs I absolutely love it. It feels good acknowledging it but it took a negative discussion to make me realise just how much I love it. Why did that conversation happen? It happened to teach me that, sometimes, in this life, we need the bad to see the good.

I always tell my sisters that even the most interesting job in this world can loose its spark if its something you do day in, day out. I really love what I do but just like every other 19 year old I know, sometimes I just get bored. Nonetheless, all it took was a discussion about all the negative sides about my industry to get me fired up again.

So you see, negative isn't always bad. Many times, negative is just what we need to see clearly.

Have a wonderful evening,

Dara Rhodes. 

Missing???!!! Bring back our girls!

Well, I guess the post I wrote and titled 'Missing' on the 25th of April is not valid now, right? People do care. I mean look at the 'Bring back the girls' protests, photos and media coverage over the last few days, right?

Wrong. Well, for me. 

Somewhere deep in my soul, I am still not satisfied. We should demand for the girls to be brought back but you and I know that we waking up nearly three weeks later and shouting 'Bring back our girls!' is NOT going to bring them back or make them appear. Yes the media attention to this story and the global response is amazing but I cant help but feel its all just a little too late. Even if all the protests are successful and result in the girls being found, I can't imagine the trauma and horror all those girls would have experienced. Many if not all those girls are scarred for life. 

I hate to be such a pessimist but maybe this is what working in the media does to one. Even the people protesting now, do they really care or is it just a hype to them? Something to discuss, a dinner table topic? For crying out loud, these are lives! Teenagers with their whole lives ahead of them!! I know that people are making genuine efforts but do we all really care or are we just going through the hashtag?

I'm disappointed with the government- there's nothing new about this one- but even more so, I am disappointed with everyone riding on this hashtag. Why didn't we start our protests the day the girls went missing? Did we just realise that they are human beings too? Did we just realise that they are people's daughters?

The video Boko Haram released claiming responsibility for the abduction proves my point. The terrorists know that they have already done enough damage to destroy the girls forever even if they are found today. Thus, our extensive media coverage of this now, is actually benefiting them. Yes, I said it. I mean look at how confident Abubakar Shekau was in that video! It is obviously helping propagate their mission to let the world know how 'very terrible' Nigeria is.

Maybe I'm wrong but maybe, just maybe there's truth in this post. My point? We need to act faster when things like this happen. Lets not wait till it becomes a media phenomenon. 

With all my love,

Dara Rhodes. 

Chief Yinka Rhodes

I was only eight years old when he died but I still remember the sound of his laughter and the smell of his agbadas.


A Celebrant of Life -  (written by OVATION Magazine)
Chief Anthony Olayinka Rhodes; Bamofin of Lagos, Baagbimo of Ile-Ife (1935-2002)


We celebrate the life of one of these men whose family name stands out in its reflection of the intrinsic greatness of the Fifth Wonder of the Ancient World - Yinka Rhodes – indeed a Colossus. Chief Olayinka Rhodes lived life to the hilt. His favourite phrase was “I am Celebrating life”. He did celebrate it, and was indeed celebrated by his friends and the society in which he lived.

Fresh out of a fratricidal Civil War in 1970, Nigeria was in the dawn of a reconstruction and reunification era fuelled by an Oil boom exploding in Lagos. Industries and edifices sprang up here and there. Anti colonialist feelings and socia-cultural movements ran strong. These events were reflected in the vibrant and dynamic music of the time. This period witnessed the reformation of Afrobeat and Juju-Highlife out of the ashes of the battle with American Soul music a la James Brown. 

Men like Yinka Rhodes who had studied abroad spearheaded ideologies on self-reliance and good government. They had rejected the alien passport and returned home to build up the new Nation. Money was being made quickly and Nigerians were taking charge of their own Nation. The baton was handed over from the Herbert Macaulays and the Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwes to a new set of nationalistic runners. It was a heady period. 

The leading lights of the new intelligentsia mostly young lawyers, relaxed with drinks and brainstormed at a small “watering hole” in Yaba, Lagos. Their decision to chose a special table and inaugurate a “Board of Directors” heralded a social movement that would become a roll call of many of today’s Billionaires and political Juggernauts. 

The BoardMembers as they named themselves once numbered 40 but about 25 members are currently active. Pioneer BoardMembers and close friends of this Celebrant of Life include Chief Alex Duduyemi, his in-Law by marriage and Chairman Board of Trustees; Otunba H.O. Afolabi Alu, a Trustee, Chief Babatunde Shitta, a Trustee and his oldest friend (from 1953); Chief Babs Akerele, Chief Razaq Okoya, Chief Molade Okoya Thomas, Chief G.K. Animashaun (late), Chief Sanyaolu (Late). Chief J.I. Akinyele (late) Chief Yemo Adeyera, Chief Sikiru Shitta-Bey, Chief Odu Layinde, Prince Ademola Ademiluyi, Chief Adeyele, and Chief Demola Adebule. Evangelist Ebenezer Obey’s celebration of these men is a modern day Griot's evocation of the Warriors, Conquerors and Heroes of his time.

The Traditional Title holder of Baamofin of Lagos and Baagbimo of Ile-Ife, “Chief” as contemporaries knew him, was a handsome man who lived well. He was so hearty, jovial, warm, impetuous, charming and vibrant, he resonated bonhomie. He was so full of life in fact that no member of his family or his contemporaries can bear to speak of him in the past tense. 

Born to the famous wealthy Lagos families of Orobiyi-Rhodes and Branco in 1935, young Yinka had a heritage of Brazilian Aristocratic mercantilism through his mother and English Colonial Capitalism through his father. He lacked for nothing, and was contented with whatever he had throughout his life. He was called to the English Bar, a pioneer in the Holborn Law School, and was a pioneer graduate of the Nigerian Law School both in 1963. The sky was the limit, and the women swarmed all over him. He was never confused as to whom he would marry though. 


He met beautiful young Elizabeth Abimbola da Silva in England in 1959, and said to her as soon as he set eyes on her, ”Just name the date”, “For what?” she retorted. “Because I’m going to marry you.” On 1st August the same year they were married! Parental consent was easy, as both mothers were well known to each other! He was 23 and she 20 years old. They returned to Nigeria in 1963 and shortly after, set up a Law practice. After some years, the couple built a magnificent home in Ikeja Government Reservation Area in which he lived until his demise. Their good taste is visible in the gilded Adam Ceiling, broad archways, marble floors, columns and pilasters. The huge, Baroque period furniture pieces with carved curlicues and scrolls sit comfortably in the huge living rooms, punctuated at one end by a sweeping curved staircase. From the comfort and luxury of this home he set forth to conquer with the active support of his wife, whom his friends describe as a “Go-getter”. He practiced Law until he set up the first indigenous Marble factory jointly with his wife in 1973. That pioneer effort has galvanized into the giant Rosabol (Nigeria) Ltd, the leading indigenous Marble and Granite Company in Nigeria.

In 1968 Yinka Rhodes stood for and won election to the Lagos City Council. That same year he was also made a Director of the Lagos City Transport Service. He was Chairman of Star Communications Nigeria Limited, Chairman of Prime Publications Limited, Publishers of Prime People Magazine, Past Chairman Nigerian Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and many other companies. He also served his nation through various appointments at the State and National levels. In 1980 under the Shagari Government, he was appointed to the Land use Allocation Committee for Abuja, representing Lagos State. Under President Babangida, he was appointed Chairman of the Ogun-Osun River Basin Authority in 1986. In 1995 he was appointed a member of the Presidential joint Committee of Traditional Rulers and Leaders of Thought, otherwise known as the “50 Wise Men.” In 1996 he was further appointed a member of the Presidential Committee on the future of Education in Nigeria. In 1998, as the Sole Administrator of the Eko Hotel Le Meridien, he reorganized and refocused the Hotel, returning it to its premier position in Lagos. He served as a member of Eko International Bank from 1998 till 2001. In his social life he served on the Executive of Ikoyi Club and was also Chairman of the BoardMembers for Five Years. 

One thing stands out from the character testimonies of chief Rhodes family and friends. He was the epitome of all positive values. He eschewed corruption and never enriched himself from all his appointments. He was also a very accommodating person. Mrs. Simisola Salman, his favorite child said, “ My father never held a grudge against anyone. He was always willing to forgive and forget.” 

Chief Alex Duduyemi, the Aro of Ile-Ife, friend of 40 odd years and childhood friend Chief Babatunde Shitta, Bameso of Ile-Ife both described him with the same sentence. “Yinka Rhodes was a contented man”. Among their pet names for him was “Ko matter man”, his favorite phrase to brush off a perceived offence. They also fondly called him ‘Layinka or “Omo Oro”. His son, Akitoye capped it all by recounting one lesson on principle he learnt from his father. “My father left us an undying legacy of a good name and goodwill. He always stood up for what he believed in. He resigned from the Lagos State Transport service on principle. He handed over his Law practice to his brother, Babasola Rhodes S.A.N., and regretfully dropped his ambition to become a Judge because of a perceived travesty of Justice in a case he prosecuted.” Of him, his wife whom he called Bola said. “ My husband is God’s special gift to Nigeria, very selfless. He did not believe in crawling. He often told me, the only thing I have is my pride. That is the only thing I cannot give freely.” 

He was also a fighter. He resisted when death knocked at his door several times in the last six years of his life. “Chief-Mrs.” as all others called her, had to nurse him through injuries sustained in a near-fatal accident, three brain surgeries after a fall in the bathroom and a twice-operated Prostate Gland problem. When he emerged from this ordeal, he always said “ I’m Celebrating Life”. He celebrated life to the very end. As the arrangements to ferry him abroad by Air Ambulance were under way, he regained consciousness after a first heart seizure and said to his dear wife, “I am dying but I am fighting it.” Upon being brought back to life from a second heart attack, he looked at his wife’s distress and cracked a joke through a Yoruba Proverb, “ Eni t’ara e o ya k’o l’on sick eni t’on toju e ni. “ It is not the person that is sick that is troubled. It is the person that is looking after him”.

 A Catholic to the end, his last words to his wife were, “Thank God for what he has done for us.” Chief Yinka Rhodes answered the final call to eternal glory in mid-flight over Luxembourg a few days after his 67th birthday. His wife and family insisted that there should be no mourning at his funeral. Instead he was celebrated in keeping with his philosophy, “I’m Celebrating Life’. The torch has gone out, but the flame remains in our hearts forever. We celebrate your life Chief, Requiescat in Pace.

“...Yinka Rhodes, nle Barrister Lawyer, BoardMembers, BoardMembers, omo Akerele BoardMembers t’awa ni….. Omo Iya oye o, omo Iya oye, Yinka Rhodes nle Omo olola, kuku pa mi ko gbe mi pon l’ekan, omo iya oye” - Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey.

This Award winning Evergreen song entitled BoardMembers by Juju Maestro, now Evangelist Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey exploded unto the Nigerian scene in 1971 when Lagos was Nigeria and Nigeria was Lagos. This captivating song has remained an evergreen tapestry of the socio-cultural revolution of the early 1970s. His adaptation of the Western guitar as a talking instrument, in dialogue with the African Talking Drum evokes the confluence of cultures in the dawn of a modern Nigeria. Against the backdrop of Criss-cross rhythms, the haunting tones of the Hawaiian guitar echo his mellifluous voice as the Bard etches in stone an immortal record of the men who determined the thought, fashion, style, music and politics of their era. He witnessed for all time, of outstanding men who bestrode the societal landscape like Colossi. 

'Missing'

I'm sure you have heard about the 200 abducted girls from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State in Nigeria by now and I'm also sure that you have thought or are probably thinking,

"Why doesn't anyone care?"

In addition to that question, I am also asking, "How the hell did we get to this point?"

When I was in England, I always wondered how Nigerians could be so unconcerned by the Boko Haram terrorists. Now, I'm in Nigeria, its different. It is so easy for someone not in the country to sit and judge us all as inhumane but we are not.

After nine months in the country, I can quite confidently say that, one of the reasons why we don't run about fighting for justice every time Boko Haram attack is because, we are just used to it. As simple and as stupid as that may seem, it is the plain truth.

The first time I saw a newspaper with the headline "78 killed by Boko Haram in Borno" I was horrified. No, I was mortified. The next day, there was another headline about another Boko Haram attack, I was still horrified but just not as much as the previous day.

After about a month of constant headlines like that, I would pick up the newspaper, read the headline, shake my head and turn the page.

After about two months of shaking my head and fresh attack headlines everyday, I decided to start talking. Every time I saw the headlines, I would exclaim in my office and turn to show my colleagues. Most of them, would shake their heads, some would comment, others were too busy.

The day the bomb blast that killed about 80 people happened in Abuja, my office was thrown into chaos.We had to cover the story and follow it very closely. All the normal programming was cancelled. Me? Well, apart from all the Abuja research I had to do, I was confused. Why was everyone so concerned all of a sudden? Why were the same people who just shook their heads at headlines so fired up about one of the many Boko Haram attacks?

Why? Well, because, Abuja is closer to us (Southerners) than Borno, it is the capital of the state and most importantly? The World Economic Forum on Africa will be hosted there this year.

Hence, I was not surprised when apart from any updates on the bombing, and announcing that they had abducted 200 school girls from Borno immediately after the blast, it was business as usual the next day.

In local media? After about a week of looking at the abduction from different angles, it slowly died down as usual. The government even told us they girls had been found only for the principal of the school to deny that.

This morning, I turned to my colleague that sits closest to me and asked her the question I asked at the start of this post; Why doesn't anyone care about those girls that were abducted?

Her reply: "You know, I was thinking about it last night. If that happened in the South, there would have been an uproar. You see the problem is that we Southerners don't care or like the Northerners"

But,

If she (a Southerner) was thinking about it last night, that must mean she cares to some extent right?

The real problem is not about whether we care or not, the real problem is that, our government doesn't care enough. Our government isn't a Southern government, its a Nigerian government.

I am not a Southerner, I am a Nigerian.

Boko Haram want us to believe that we are Southerners and they are Northerners and sadly, I think they are winning. Their terrorism attacks are terrible and evil but even more importantly, their terrorism attacks are revealing just how un-united Nigeria really is.

Anyways, my final answer to the question I asked at the very start of this post;

Its not that Nigerians 'don't care' because they are inhumane or selfish, Nigerians don't care because we don't see ourselves as Nigerians. To me, that is worse than being inhumane and selfish.

With all my love,
Dara Rhodes. 

Everyone has that city they feel most at home

The roads are bad,
The streets you must not roam.
Why are you so mad?
Everyone has that city they feel most at home.

The people are poor,
Its a third world dome.
Please don't be sour,
Everyone has that city they feel most at home.

London, Paris or New York,
Lagos is my only home,
Please don't mock it and say I'm dumb,
Everyone has that city they feel most at home.

Find yours please, no, you must,
Its the place you'll never rust
You won't be there on lease,
I promise you'll be at ease,
Everyone has that city they feel most at home.


Dara Rhodes

Single story.

Hello beautiful people,

The danger of a single story- Chimamanda Adichie.

I forgot to tell you, I got promoted! yay! Well, kind of. I no longer just write for CNBC, I am now also on the production team.

The amazing part, I LOVE IT!

Don't get me wrong, writing is still my number one passion and it will always be, but for a job I never ever even considered, being on the production team is pretty amazing.

While I am a strong believer in hard work and discipline I think one of the most important things this year has taught me thus far is that, yes, those are important values but faith is still the most important. Faith pushes you like nothing else especially when you think you can't go on. It is powerful like that.

The CFO at my office literally forced me to have faith. She didn't know I was going to like production as much as I do and even when I told her I couldn't do it, she kept her faith in me alive.

As I stood on the roof of my 12 floor office building today, looking at the Lagos skyline, I realized something incredibly powerful.

I can be anything I want be. We all know this but I think more of us need to realise it. You can be anything you want to be. As cliche as that sounds (And God knows I hate cliche sayings) its the simple truth. I can be a writer and a producer.

Standing on that roof, I became filled with so much excitement as I wondered what piece of V.I my Rhodes Tower will occupy. lol

The truth about the matter is, nobody is a single story. We have so many parts to us. Each one has the ability to do so many things. Don't limit yourself to just one story and for goodness sake, don't ever stop dreaming!!

With all my love,

Dara Rhodes

Survive

Hello Beautiful people,
I know its been a while and I apologize.Nonetheless, I haven't stopped thinking, dreaming or writing (In fact, I'm writing more than ever now but that's for another day)

I heard one of the office drivers talking about the Lagos traffic today and after a sigh, he ended the discussion with this sentence "We will survive" If I didn't know him so well, I guess i'd have dismissed the statement but if I had to sum him up in one sentence, I will probably say, "He is the "I will survive" man,"

Thus, those three words dragged me here. In fact, those words forced me here. Are we really here to survive or to thrive?

When he uttered those words, I know I should have said something but I didn't. I couldn't think of anything to say. Maybe, I'm a completely different person this year because I know that last year, without thinking, I would have said something like "Yes, we will survive."

Today? I just didn't feel like that was the right thing to say. I think this world has made surviving such an achievement, that it has almost made people aim to JUST survive. Maybe I'm not that different from last year, maybe I have just learn't the truth.

Dare I say, DON'T SURVIVE. Okay, that sounded a bit bad. Survive AT FIRST, but ONLY, if your ultimate aim is to thrive. I believe every single person has had to survive but the real difference is, some survived and are still surviving and others survived and then thrived the moment they got the opportunity -and believe me, opportunity is something every single person on this earth gets.

However, I understand that in this life, we will have to just survive some situations but like I have said on this blog before, seasons change. Once the season of surviving is over, PLEASE promise me you will thrive.

Thomas Edison "opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work,"
I think, opportunity is missed because too many people are busy surviving when they should be thriving.

When you see the man dressed in overalls, be sure to thrive.

With all my love,
Dara Rhodes