OVERCOMING CONFUSIONAL INERTIA
Today, I want to talk about the dilemma faced by multi-talented individuals and how to overcome what I call “confusional inertia.”
There are many extremely intelligent and multi-talented people who have not been able to maximize their potential. Often, they have so many ideas flooding their minds that they struggle to decide on a single path. I’m not sure if I’m multi-talented, but I certainly faced confusion at one point in my life—a state of confusional inertia.
While practicing medicine, I found myself unsure of what to do next. Should I go overseas? Should I stay in Nigeria? Should I go into business? So many ideas were swirling around in my mind, and I was doing many things simultaneously. I was selling cars, practicing medicine, managing a fashion home, and even selling fish meal imported from Pakistan. I was highly active, yet making only modest progress.
During this time, I was also involved in ministry. I served as the men’s fellowship leader, took care of children in motherless babies’ homes, and supported those in remand homes and leper colonies in Eoro, Ifon Local Government Area. I was all over the place, conducting school and medical outreaches in various areas, including Aba Main. I was busy, but the confusion persisted—I didn’t know what to focus on.
I was importing cars when, one day, I went on a trip for a burial with Elder AK El Ona, who is now in the United States, possibly Maryland. While traveling, I noticed the kind of sand that we have in the Niger Delta in our area. Suddenly, all the dreams and visions I had during childhood flooded my mind. I told Elder AK that I was going back home. Upon my return, I informed my wife that we would restart our lives in our hometown. That’s how we began anew, starting with the school and other ventures I’ve shared and will continue to share with you.
Today, I am fulfilled and satisfied, yet eager to do more. I am more productive in my older age. Recently, I received a call from the UK regarding a post I made on the regional form of government and the constitutional changes needed in Nigeria. People are willing to sponsor that idea as a bill.
How did I get here? How did I break free from confusional inertia? The key is to take time to meditate, calm down, and seek direction from God. When you pray over time, you’ll find that there’s something within you—something bigger than who you are—agitating to come out. Spend time in prayer. For me, inspiration came in several forms.
First, it came as an inspiration. How do you know an inspiration should be acted upon? It comes forcefully, peacefully, and with a sense of sweetness and compulsion. If you don’t act on it, you’ll never be at peace. If you have a partner like your wife, it often comes with conviction and confirmation to act. Inspiration can also come as an instruction. Someone once told me to put my messages into CDs; my wife encouraged me to write books, and I have been writing ever since.
Sometimes, inspiration comes as an instinct, like the video production you are now watching. Other times, it comes as intuition—something you didn’t know before. There are three types of intuition:
- Attic Intuition: This comes as a flash, like when I had the concept of “Financial Orgasm.” It’s sudden but emerges from a meditative mind.
- Emergent Intuition: You’re thinking deeply about something, and then suddenly, the answer appears, and you act on it.
- Ideal Intuition: You are deliberating on what to do, and the idea that comes with the most sweetness, conviction, and confirmation is the one you should act upon.
These are the key principles of breaking out of confusional inertia. Even if you are multi-talented and still doing many things, you’ll need to prioritize. Decide which task to focus on first. God often takes multi-talented individuals through various experiences to equip them with information, instruction, and ideas to help others in a state of confusional inertia.
Today, people book consultations with me from all over the world—from the remotest islands to major cities. Our last conference had participants from 33 countries across all continents, with 333 people registered from places like Jamaica and Grenada. The struggles I endured during my period of confusional inertia have shaped me into a multi-resource person, helping people in different nations.
Don’t give up. An idea, an inspiration, or an instinct is coming—act on it. I heard that the owner of the factory where I bought land was selling more, and I acted on it. That’s how I became one of the biggest landowners in this town. Learn to act. You can’t act on all ideas at once, so pick one, act on it, be consistent, develop capacity and character, and you will succeed. You can then build on other ideas.
I’m Dr. Charles Apoki.
