I have the responsibility to speak this evening at the 23rd convention of a great church in Nigeria. The theme is “Rule in the Midst of Your Enemies.” I will be speaking in their business seminar on having dominion in the business place and excelling in the marketplace.
The first thing you need to understand is that life is competitive, comparative, and contentious. There is no neutral ground. You must develop the consciousness of your ambassadorial responsibility.
The Bible says, “Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” You are here to represent God’s kingdom on earth. A kingdom has components: reign, dominion, domain, and control. Therefore, you must have the consciousness that you are here to dominate, to have a territory, and to establish rule.
I will take my bearing from Genesis 26:1. Abraham had a son called Isaac, and there was famine in the land. God told Isaac not to go to Egypt like his father did during their own economic meltdown. Instead, God instructed him to remain.
As we go along in that passage, we see specific things that made Isaac reign in the midst of his enemies. It got to a point where the leaders of the land told Isaac to move away from them because he had become too rich and powerful for them. Here was a stranger dominating the economic space.
So how did Isaac achieve this? Let us look at a few principles.
First is consciousness.
Take Israel for example. Israel is about 75 times smaller than Iran, yet Israel deals powerful blows against Iran. About 20% of all Nobel Prizes have been won by descendants of Abraham, yet they constitute only 0.2% of the world’s population, while controlling a significant percentage of the world’s wealth.
The average Jew has the consciousness that he is in this world to dominate, to rule, and to control. Since after the Second World War, their mindset has been “Never again.” They believe that either you dominate or someone dominates you.
The background I come from does not allow us to be dominated. When we were younger, if someone beat you and you came home crying, my mother would flog you and tell you, “Go and beat the person’s child and I will go and apologise.” Don’t come home crying.
My granddaughter in our school has been coming first in all the arms for many years. She will tell you, “Either first or nothing.” That consciousness drives her to work hard.
You must therefore develop the consciousness of dominion.
The schools I attended—Government College, Ibadan; Federal Government College, Warri; and the University of Ibadan—instilled in us a mindset that we are leaders of tomorrow. You constantly hear testimonies of old students who have excelled across the world, and it builds a spirit in you.
People may call it pride or ego, but it is simply a cultivated mindset of excellence.
The Bible says, “Arise and shine, for the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.” The glory can come upon you and you still fail to rise and shine.
There are two components here. The glory of the Lord has risen upon you—you have been endowed, trained, and anointed. But it is your responsibility to arise and come to your full dimension.
The Bible says Jesus is coming for a church without spot or wrinkle. We have always concentrated on the spot, which is sin. But a wrinkle is a reduction in dimension.
You can be sinless and still unproductive. Not maximising your potential is a form of unrighteousness. Jesus was angry with a tree that had leaves but produced no fruit.
So it is not enough to be gentle and righteous. Productivity matters.
The average black child is often raised with an inferiority mindset. The average Nigerian is made to believe he comes from a bad country and cannot excel. But you must arise.
You do not need permission to shine. I cannot dim my light so that yours can shine.
The Bible says, “Study to show yourself approved.”
You must also know your area of comparative advantage. There are things I am not good at. I cannot sing well. I cannot cook well. My handwriting is not very good. I am not strong in mathematics or accounting. The highest mark I scored in accounting was 11%.
But there are areas where I am strong, and I focus on those areas. You must identify your strengths and concentrate on them.
The Bible says, “Seest thou a man diligent in his work? He shall stand before kings and not mean men.”
Another key factor is courage.
I needed courage to import cars and drive from Lagos to Aba at night. Courage to open my hospital. Courage to diversify. Courage to start a school. Courage to leave medical practice for ministry.
You must also have confidence.
I once spoke at a gathering of Anglican priests from about seven states—Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, and Rivers State. There were professors and PhD holders. My logistics manager was intimidated by the crowd, but I spoke with confidence.
You must have confidence in what you know.
Then comes commitment.
When our school started, we had only five learners, including my last child. I was always there. I cleaned toilets. I drove the bus. I carried children. One parent told me he enrolled his children because he always saw me present.
You cannot be uncommitted and expect excellence.
This brings me to what I call the Apoki Formula for Productivity:
G × E × S⁴ ÷ C = Productivity and Dominance
G stands for Grace of God.
The Bible says, “Arise and shine, for the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.”
E stands for Effort.
Effort to acquire knowledge, effort to practise skills, punctuality, diligence, record-keeping, continuous improvement, setting KPIs, and doing your SWOT analysis—your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Then comes S⁴:
- Strategy
- Systems
- Structure
- Sustainability
For example, in our school we decided not to conduct mass entrance examinations. We assess each child individually and place the child where he or she truly belongs. Because of that system, our results are extraordinary.
Finally, C stands for Constraints.
The more constraints you have, the more effort and strategic thinking you must apply.
When you combine Grace, Effort, Strategy, Systems, Structure, and Sustainability, you will produce outstanding results.
This is the Apoki Formula for excelling in the marketplace, and it has worked in my life.
Learn it. Apply it.
Dr. Charles Apoki is my name.
God bless you.
