There is no single person who hasn't heard of how Davido a.k.a. OBO; raised over N100m from friends and family on his birthday yesterday in less than 24 hours (It's actually still on as at the writing of this post, over 150m has been raised and the goal is now N200m)
If you say you haven't heard, then you live under a rock. Period.
Anyway, I'll just do a quick storytime before I share my 3 learnings from the challenge which I hope people will take to heart and really think about.
There I was on my laptop, trying to publish the first episode of my podcast (shameless plug. Check it out here) and I realised that my work whatsapp group was buzzing with something around Davido. After a couple of minutes, I decided to go on IG to check it out for myself and I started following through myself.
While everyone was looking at the amount raised and wondering 'GOD when?', I was thinking about what life lessons can be taken away from the whole activity. I came up with 3
- Be good to people. This is in essence the basic tenet of this challenge. Davido is known to be a generous celebrity and giver to those around him i.e. friends, family, employees and even fans online. This attitude made it easy for him to ask and receive in like manner from people - some of whom are even strangers to him. Lesson: be good and you will receive good in return.
- Ask. A lot of people are bypassed all the time because they are either too shy, or too proud or too timid to ask. If a celebrity like Davido can call people out and ask for a gift of N1,000,000, then pray tell, who are you not to be able to ask for assistance or better still, something that you have either worked for or deserve? Lesson: ask and you will receive.
JESUS CHRIST was on to something when HE said in Matt. 7:7 - Ask and you will receive.
- Show gratitude. People like to be appreciated. That is common knowledge. Davido didn't just receive the money and say thank you in private, he showed public gratitude which makes a person smile and feel just a little larger than life in that short moment. He gave each and every person their own '5 seconds of fame' which they all appreciate - whether they are humble enough to admit it or not. Lesson: no matter how big or small, always show gratitude to people who have reached out with good thoughts and/or deeds towards you.
