The Bread-seller Who Became A Sensational Model Overnight, and Other Stories

Do you believe in becoming successful ‘overnight’? I mean, you literally go to bed the same way every night but wake up one day and achieve an unprecedented success and then go to sleep every night afterwards a ‘completely different’ person!

Do people still 'Get rich real quick'?

 You are right! It is the stuff of fairytales, cock-and-bull...it does not happen? But it became a reality in Nigeria some weeks back. A bread seller called Olajumoke Orisaguna photo-bombed a street photo shoot by T.Y Bello’s FEW modelling agency involving an international artiste Tinie Tempah,

Credit: T Y Bello

and allowed her picture to be taken with Tempah. After TY posted the pictures on social media, some people spotted the 'model in her' and the search for her began. She was later found, and the rest, as they say, is history.

So do people really get-rich-quick?

Of course, people get rich quick EVERY DAY!

But do you want to put your hopes of becoming successful on winning the lottery or on luck, when you can take your destiny in your hands. Even the breadseller was about her routine duty when her story took a detour for good.

You have a higher chance to make it being lucky while diligently working at a 'routine' (boring) job than without one.

The Music conductor with Down Syndrome

So, we were counselling the parent of a child with Down syndrome and the consultant mentioned that having Down's was not the end of the world as some people with Down's syndrome have gone on to become successful especially in music as a music conductor. So I googled and found Yizhou Hu (Zhouzhou) the music conductor with Down's syndrome, who found ableness in 'disability'. The links also contain some other people who have not used Down syndrome as an excuse to not making a difference in the world including Luke Zimmerman, Chris Burke, Sujeet Desai, and Laureen E. Potter.

[Children with Down syndrome typically have an IQ of between 50-70 (equivalent to the mental age of an 8-9year old), while the average IQ for the population is 70-130. Research shows that music does not involve the traditional intelligence measured by IQ tests.]

Multiple Intelligences
In recent years, the concept of intelligence as multi-dimensional has been promoted by Harvard professor of neurophysiology, Howard Gardner. His landmark book "Frames of Mind" presents a theory of multiple intelligences (MI Theory) formulated from a review of many years of research.

Linguistic intelligence
Logical-mathematical intelligence
Spatial intelligence
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence
Interpersonal intelligence
Intrapersonal intelligence, and

Music intelligence: Gardner suggests music intelligence-like the other intelligences-is a separate intelligence, equally deserving of development. This is of primary importance to us as music educators. That it is considered a separate intelligence supports the idea that music education is deserving of instructional time-not because of music's benefits to the other intelligences but rather because of its development as a unique intelligence. Those who excel in music intelligence may or may not seek or receive formal music instruction. Rather, individuals with high music intelligence "think music" with greater clarity and are affected more deeply by music, in an aesthetic sense, than those with less music intelligence.

Success is rarely easy, or an overnight thing

Though some people have the uncanny ability to make success look very easy and 'It can happen to you too overnight', don't be deceived, they have been at it for far longer than you know.

We must stop seeking 'overnight success', even though it always seem like it all happened suddenly when we eventually arrive. And though successful people constantly deny that they have arrived. They keep pressing on to taking new territories and visualising new horizons.

May you your road be rough, and success pounce on you suddenly! May your mouth be filled with laughter.