I got an email from a job agency I am registered with titled, ‘Your CV has expired!’ My first thought on seeing this was, ‘how could my CV expire as my past experiences are still valid?’ As I read on, the email ended with this line, “Make sure your CV is up-to-date with your current skills and experience so you can put your best foot forward”.

On deeper reflection, I could see that a lot of what people have done in the past can become irrelevant for the opportunities that exist today. For instance, someone who has skills of hand drawing designs would possibly miss out on a lot of design jobs if they have not learnt the skill of computer design.
This made me ask, are my skills up to date or still valid?
Am I still learning, improving and growing as a professional?

A CV is a record of your past and possibly the present, but your desire to keep improving and seizing opportunities is probably your greatest asset to capturing the future. So, if your CV has expired, please up date you, only then will you be putting your best foot forward.

40+FAB Blog

My Story will be told

By Olaolu Faj Opebiyi on

July 24, 2020

- 40+FAB Blog

I love to read or hear the stories of successful people, especially of their early years, the struggles they went through, and the decisions they made before they became successful. They were living their everyday normal lives, learning, growing and contributing to life en route to a place of prominence.

Whatever was their normal then now seems to be worth so much more because, once anyone becomes successful, even their past that seemed worthless goes up in value.

This encouraged me greatly because some of the things I have learnt and the way I express my ideas are opening up opportunities and I can see potential for great success. From what I have seen, you don’t write your story when you become successful. Your story is written everyday in the normal things that you do repeatedly which breed the attributes of success.

So I know that it only a matter of time before my story will be told, as my horizons are broadened by the success I step into.

40+FAB Blog

Showing up when unseen

By Olaolu Faj Opebiyi on

July 23, 2020

- 40+FAB Blog

We usually strive to put our best foot forward and show up in a big way when we are to stand before a sizeable audience. Sometimes it goes really well, and at other times, not so great.

The real secret to showing up and outperforming every single time is to form a habit of showing up even when no one is watching.

Nature teaches us that the sun always comes out consistently every single day, whether it feels like or not. Sometimes, it is blocked out from its audience on the earth by great storm clouds which could hide it for days, yet it shows up with the same passion and strength even when it is unseen, because it knows that when the clouds clear, it will be laid bare before every watching eye.

You have to practice showing up when you feel like and when you don’t. Show up for yourself when you are by yourself, show up for your family when you are at home, show up for your colleagues when you are at work, show up for your community when you are out and about town.

Whatever you do, show up when you are unseen because you will have many days where no one is looking to you. There is no better use of your time then than in preparing yourself, learning, honing skills, building character, fostering a positive self image and polishing the best version of you to reveal to the world.

40+FAB Blog

A fresh pair of eyes

By Olaolu Faj Opebiyi on

July 22, 2020

- 40+FAB Blog

I have found that quite a few highly successful people, by their own admission, never make important decisions after a certain time in the morning. Some even stick to making 2 or 3 decisions before noon and will not consider making another until the next day.

A mind that is not fresh seems to make more errors in judgement than the one which is. This is pretty much the same with a fresh pair of eyes which helps you to see better.

The other day, my daughter took my wireless earphones and misplaced them somewhere in my bedroom. I had searched for days to find it but it seemed to have disappeared. Just yesterday morning, I looked under a cabinet – which was the very first place I searched the day and went missing – and voila, there it was. On the first day I searched for it, I did so in the afternoon after several work meetings. On the day that I found it, it was quite early in the morning and I had not had any meetings.

If the perception of our eyes loose effectiveness as the day wears on, it is no wonder that our mind and decision making ability follow suit.

There is nothing like a good nights rest to reset our focus and outlook both with our eyes and our minds.
Try making important decisions early in your day and see if it makes a bigger difference to your results.

40+FAB Blog

Power to the people’s problems

By Olaolu Faj Opebiyi on

July 21, 2020

- 40+FAB Blog

If you have ever been part of a movement fighting against the oppression of a few in authority over the rest of the population, you may have heard the phrase, “Power to the people”.

Sometimes, it seems that the population is powerless in so many situations, but the reality is that any collection of people are so powerful, yet they don’t even know it. The few who understand this always tap into the peoples power, some quite ethically, but of course others with very questionable motives.

Someone said, the quickest way to get rich is to solve a problem. I agree, problem solvers are smart and enterprising. But, the really outstanding ones don’t just solve problems, they solve the people’s problems. This is where the power to wealth seems to lie.

During the lockdown that the whole world experienced, the companies that saw a boom in business were not necessarily the ones that had the smartest solutions, but the ones that solved the people’s problems like hunger, or the need to meet without physical contact.

The next time you are looking for where you can get economic empowerment, make sure you do not look past the people’s problems.

40+FAB Blog

Decide once, execute continuously

By Olaolu Faj Opebiyi on

July 20, 2020

- 40+FAB Blog

I find that one of the great time and energy wasters is having to decide to do the same type of thing over and over again. An example for instance would be when you get an email, do you open it, mark it as important, file it away to read later, or delete it? Do you attend to mail at a particular time or whenever they come into your inbox?

A simple thing like what to do with email consumes a lot of time and energy especially when we take a different approach to handle them on a daily basis. The same cuts across other areas like what to eat for breakfast, what to wear to work or to that outing?

We must become good at deciding in advance on a number of things, and then executing on a daily basis, this will save loads of time and energy, eventfully freeing you for what is really important.

Decide on what time to wake up, what time to have breakfast, what your meal plan for the week is, how you will dress daily, what to read and at what time, when to exercise and for how long, what are the tasks that are important and those that will always be mundane, and the list goes on.

Deciding early, deciding once and following through continuously will reveal amazing productivity on most repetitive tasks. If you don’t do this already, try it for a week and see what difference it makes.

40+FAB Blog

Not my cup of tea

By Olaolu Faj Opebiyi on

July 19, 2020

- 40+FAB Blog

So you say that thing or person is not your cup of tea, but I find that it could have been if the situation was managed differently

You see, to get the perfect cup of tea with just the right flavour, the teabag has to be in the hot water for just the right amount of time. Pull it out too quickly and you have a weak brew tasting like hot water, or leave it in too long and the brew becomes too bitter, stains the cup and your teeth, and in most cases is unfit to drink.

When I came out of University, my first interview for a job at a consultancy firm didn’t go so well. The interviewer was excessively unkind, and I left there feeling like I didn’t qualify for a reasonable career. For years after that, I never took my career seriously. I had a reset in my thinking though when I met another gentleman who was quite encouraging.

A couple of years after meeting him and working more confidently in my career, I got a call from one of the top consulting organisations in the world. I was quite surprised that the hiring manager had seen my CV on a job board and wanted to interview me. In a few weeks time, I got offered the role and started working for BCG.

Before you make a decision about whether something is for you or not, be sure to do your homework properly and be willing to hang around for long enough to get the right information to make that decision. Don’t be too hasty in deciding, and at the same time, don’t over analyse all the facts.
Ensure that you actually leave the teabag in the hot water for long enough and only then can you accurately say, “It’s not my cup of tea”.

40+FAB Blog

Stepping out

By Olaolu Faj Opebiyi on

July 18, 2020

- 40+FAB Blog

We all love the stories of the magic moments we see on reality TV talent shows, where we discover extremely talented people who come to the limelight and they go from being an unknown to becoming an international star.

Most people will experience a moment like this in one area of their life, but maybe on a much smaller scale like in the work place, where their skills come to light and they get a promotion. Or, it could be a new business which hits a tipping point in the market driving up demand for their products.

Whatever venture it may be or wherever the arena, no one gets there without making a bold move and just stepping out. Sometimes, whatever we stepped out for is never the thing that made us successful, but because we stepped out, we became visible to opportunities that were looking for a resting place.

I have heard too many stories of those that stepped out, even when the conditions did not seem favourable, and they were rewarded big time for for being the one that showed up.

Have you sat on that idea for too long? have you procrastinated making that phone call? have you had cold feet to initiate that relationship?
Don’t let another day go by without you stepping out. Something awesome is out there and it has your name written all over it.

40+FAB Blog

When opinions go underground

By Olaolu Faj Opebiyi on

July 17, 2020

- 40+FAB Blog

I saw a funny meme today, “Get fired in 5 to 10 years time, say what you like on twitter and wait for 5-10 years”

If people are vilified for having an opinion, no matter how ugly it looks, they will soon take their thoughts underground and we will be left with the shadows to fight.

No matter how hard speech is policed, that approach never changes the way people think. The problem is not necessarily in what people say, but more in what they truly think and do.

There is a reason why the freedom of speech has been fought for in many parts of the world for centuries. If I don’t know what you are thinking by what you say, then I am never able to engage you in dialogue and debate and put up strong reasons for you to change your mind.

As much as each person has the responsibility to watch what they say and how they say it, censorship will affect all of the good, the bad and the downright ugly.

Where opinion crosses over to incitement to harm others, or to deny the truth of the rights of others, there we must draw a line. It is a delicate balance that needs to be found, but it is essential to creating a society that is fairer and free from all forms of oppression.

40+FAB Blog

Accepting another’s experience

By Olaolu Faj Opebiyi on

July 16, 2020

- 40+FAB Blog

However you get wisdom, it is always better for you that you got it.
The philosopher Confucius said, “By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is the noblest; Second, by imitation, which is the easiest; And third by experience, which is the bitterest.”

Some say experience is the best teacher, yet others say learning from another’s experience is the wisest way to learn.

We attest to these age old truths, but for some reason when we get into our own unique challenges, rather than draw from the depth of experience around us, we tend to go into survival mode and do what we think best even if unproven. We almost have this secret code that says, “unless it is my experience, it is not good enough to help me”.

If we were to go by the stories of thousands of people spanning several generations, we would most likely find that personal experiences always turned out to be the priciest. And, those who learned from another’s experience always avoided the price that they did not need to pay as someone had done that already.

Make up your mind before you need to, that you will accept the proven experience of another to get the wisdom you need for your next imminent challenge.

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