YES YOU CAN!

Do the
“IMPOSSIBLE”
The Obama Story
Lessons therein;
the winner’s persona.

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“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that
America is a place where things are possible,
who still wonders if the dream of our founders is
alive in our time, who still questions the power
of our democracy, tonight is your answer”
-Barack Hussein Obama.

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 Chapter One
HAVE A DREAM
&
NEVER BE AFRAID TO DREAM BIG.

“Nothing will work unless you do”

-Maya Angelou.

I t has always been said that he who cannot dream

dreams cannot see visions. Barack Obama occupies
the oval office primarily because he had a dream,
which he pursued, and more importantly he was never
afraid to dream big. The journey of a thousand miles
begins with one step says an ancient Chinese proverb.
That first one step is to dream what you want, from
the moment you conceive this dream, you begin to get
a clear picture of what exactly it is you want, it
becomes an almost reality as you see it, feel it and
live it.

No sooner had Obama published his book; The

Audacity of hope that he was invited to the Oprah
Winfery show. The aura over and about him had
“president of the United States” written all over him.

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It was so pronounced that the host told him she
wanted to be the first to know if Obama ever decided
to run for president. During his campaign, Obama
left the shores of the United States to meet with
prominent world leaders. Everyone in every country
he visited was ready to give him audience, as they
knew he would soon be sworn in as ‘president of the
world’; he was soon to be their boss. The aura was so
bright it was blinding! The opposition and media
accused him of already acting like he was already
president; little did they know that the man was only
living out the dream conceived long ago. He had no
choice as his dream had already begun to manifest
even before the polls.

“The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the

life of your dreams”
-Oprah Winfery.

Another very important part of having a dream is

never being afraid to dream big. A lot of people are
afraid to dream big; they dream of having a job in an
oil and gas company, bank and other financial
institutions, telecommunication outfits and never
owning their own company, they dream of renting a
good apartment in a choice location and not owning
theirs, they dream of approaching men of God to pray
and deliver them of their problems and not them

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offering prayers on behalf of others. These examples
are evident in our society today.
The very few ones, who are not afraid to dream, stunt
the growth of their dream because of numerous
reasons, the environment and the mind of the
individual being such reasons.

I once heard a young lad whose football skills could

put him at par with the world’s greatest players,
making him a contender for football’s highest
honours, say “I don’t even want to play top flight, any
club will do so long they pay in pounds” He failed to
realize that he had started to deprive his dream the
necessary impetus to become a reality.
The environments in which we find ourselves cause
us to be afraid to dream big. In an environment where
the trend is for one to get to a certain level and then
remain there, one might certainly not be inclined
toward dreaming big. But as an aspirant of success
with a winner’s attitude and mentality, we ought not
to allow our environment put a ceiling to how high we
should place our dreams.

Barack Obama found himself in an environment

where there was a limit to how far a black man could
go in his political aspirations. The country had never
before produced a black president, to make matters
worse, a black man had never even won the

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nomination of his party ever before. This was enough
reason to deter Obama from aspiring to become
president but as he could see beyond his nose such
was not even anywhere near what could stop him
from vying for the exalted office.

The mindset of an individual could also be a

hindrance to him dreaming big just like the example
of the football lad. The mindset of a winner is always
on the prize; never wavering, never faltering. Obama
has such a mindset for he never believed it could not
be done. Little wonder he adopted the campaign
slogan “YES WE CAN” you and I know very well
today that “YES HE DID”

“Fortune favours the daring”

-Publins Terence.

 Have a dream.
 Never be afraid to dream big.
 Let not your dream be cut short by you let
alone your environment.
 Fortune favours the daring.
 Every man is the fashioner of his own fortune.

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 Chapter two

PURSUE YOUR DREAMS.

“An idea not coupled with action will never get any
bigger than the brain cell it occupied”
-Arnold Glasgow.

T o have a dream is not enough, neither is just

dreaming big enough. Pursuing such dreams with the
conviction that such dream is close to becoming a
reality is equally important as well. As it has been
said before, dreams can and have been cut short or
stunted by such factors as the environment and
mindset of the individual. However, the most
common factor that kills the dreams of many is none
other but failure of the individual to pursue his dream.

A lot of us must have at one time or the other

conceived a super duper dream to better our lot, our
immediate and extended family, the environment and
all humanity, carefully laid out the plan in our minds
but murdered this dream by not pursuing this dream
well enough, procrastinating about it or not pursuing
it at all.

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“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live
the life you’ve imagined. As you simplify your life,
the laws of the universe will be simpler”
-Henry David Thoreau.

Remember that those things we regard as great

inventions today are as a result of some persons
pursuing their dreams. In 1895 when Wilhelm
Conrad Roentgen discovered the roentgen rays or X-
rays, a lot of people made fun of him, asking of what
use would a machine that could look into human
bones do? He never had time for such small talk, he
continued to pursue his dream and thank God for his
tenacity, the use of X-rays in medicine today cannot
be over emphasized.

In like manner, the great men and women leaders we

celebrate today could not have been if these ones did
not pursue to the end their dreams. Abraham Lincoln
pursued his dream of becoming the president of the
United States even with streaks of losing previous
elections.
Monhandas Karamchand Ghandi pursued his dream
of freedom for India despite resistance from Britain to
grant same.
African American clergyman Martin Luther King
pursued his dream of racial equality till he was felled
by an assassin’s bullet.

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Fela Anikulapo Kuti the Afro beat legend pursued his
dream of a society devoid of autocracy, corruption,
election fraud and other social vices risking his life
and most times jail terms. Even in death he is
celebrated as one of the world’s most influential
persons.
Bimbo Odukoya is today celebrated even in death
because she pursued her dream of setting married and
single people alike on the path of light so as to enjoy
marital bliss. Everyone agrees today that her price is
far above rubies.
The list of several such people who risked everything
in pursuing their dream is endless. It will always be
so long as we pursue our dreams to the end defying
all odds.
Obama, after conceiving his dream of being president
number forty-four of the United States did not rest on
his oars, he courageously pursued his dream
rigorously using all available means to pursue and
surmount the “impossible task”

“Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and

trying when you know you can lose”
-Tom Krause.

Follow your dream and be ready to die for it.

Examples have already been made of people who
vigorously pursued their dreams. Worthy of note are

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Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Mohandas Karamchand Ghandi
and Martin Luther King as they suffered one
persecution or the other in the course of pursuing their
dreams, some even died in the course of pursuing
their dreams.
Obama suffered persecution and threats were
allegedly made on his life, his family and his
supporters in his bid to occupy the Oval office. A
man was reportedly shot for wearing a t-shirt with
Obama’s face on it. Other areas worthy of mention
where Obama’s dream of becoming president was
threatened is the Ku Klux Klan; a secret masked
organization that, after the American Civil War,
became the chief instrument of the white underground
resistance movement in the south against northerners
and African Americans, Obama was described as a
“house Negro” by the deputy leader of the Al Qaeda,
media houses were always digging to find something
to smear his reputation; some say he was born in
Mombassa, Kenya as against Honolulu, Hawaii as
boldly written in his birth certificate and as such he is
not an American, thereby making him not eligible to
contest. Some claim that his mother at the time of his
birth was not up to nineteen years of age, which
would debar him from being an American citizen.
Several were these threats that his acceptance speech
was made behind a bulletproof glass. The real people

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of America were not going to allow a disgruntled few
distort the course of history.

Obama was ready to die for his dream, as this was

evident in the way he pursued his dream, deploying
just about everything and everyone to see to making
his dream a reality. In the words of Reverend Charles
Blair “Any man who doesn’t have anything to die for
is not fit to live”

 Pursue your dream.

 Do not be distracted.
 Be ready to suffer persecution.
 Be ready to die for your dream.

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 Chapter three.

CHARISMA.

“Personality can open doors, but only character can

keep them open”
-Elmer G. Letterman.

T he Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary

defines charisma as spiritual power given by God:
personal quality or gift that enables an individual to
impress and influence many of his followers.
Charisma plays a quintessential role in achieving our
dreams. It is more or less selling your dream, making
people see just why it is of utmost important to see to
it that your dream becomes a reality. Charisma is
appeal. Any person aspiring to lead must possess
charisma in its pure form not the kind bought with
money.

Many great leaders have with charisma printed their

names on the sands of time forever for the great deeds
they did whilst others for the nefarious acts
committed. It only shows the importance of
charisma. A leader needs to possess charisma; it is
either charisma or nothing else. Charisma drives

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people; people in turn drive your dreams and
aspirations to reality.

Martin Luther King is one of such persons; he ate,

talked and slept charisma. His influence on his
followers and non-followers alike was overwhelming,
people in their millions across the United States were
there to listen to his “I have a dream” speech; a
speech which still inspires people four decades on. It
only goes to show the extent of the role played by
charisma in the life of a leader.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s charisma obvious
in his oratory prowess saved Britain in the Second
World War. He is today regarded as one of Britain’s
finest Prime Minister.
Obafemi Awolowo often referred to as the best
president Nigeria never had inspires many Nigerians
to this day. He was a colossus. He exuded such
charisma even in death that a monarch referred to him
as “the greatest Yoruba man ever, after Oduduwa; the
progenitor of the race”

To say Barack Obama inspires many and possesses so

much charisma would be an understatement; even
those who do not support him are not oblivious of this
fact, they say, “in U.S elections, form rules over
substance and Obama thrives on it. His charisma
obliterates the emptiness of his message.”

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Obama is charisma. He is the world’s number one
role model as at the last time I checked. Everyone
now say they can aspire to be anything anywhere in
the world. His name is on the lips of everyone. The
obviousness of his charismatic nature is as seen in his
passion filled speeches that inspire all people,
irrespective of race, gender, party affiliation, status
etc.

“Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to

great things”
-Denis Diderot.

Reuters reported that a compilation of Obama’s

speeches even before the at spes non fracta inaugural
address sold a staggering 400,000 copies in just two
months, making it a big hit in a country where few hit
novels sell more than a million copies in a year. A
member of the Asahi Press in Japan; Yuzo Yamamoto
was quoted to have said, “In Japan, we don’t have
politicians who have such a positive influence. That’s
why we have to turn to a foreign president for
someone in whom to place our hopes…readers have
sent in postcards saying that when they heard the
speeches, they were so moved and cried even though
they don’t understand English very well.” He also
said lawmakers from Japan’s main opposition

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Democratic Party had bought the book to study
Obama’s speeches.

Nigerians in their thousands who could not make the

trip to the Capitol hill got front row seats in their
houses, offices, restaurants, etc to be a part of history
and to show solidarity for the president elect.

These are but just a trickle to the millions of people

who Obama’s charisma leaves in awe because from
Kenya to Indonesia where Obama has family ties, he
represents a volcanic explosion of hope for better
days ahead.

“A strong positive mental attitude will create more

miracles than any wonder drug”
-Patricia Neal.

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 Chapter four

HAVE A ROLE MODEL.

“We learn to be moral by modelling the behaviour of

moral people”
-Aristotle

Every young footballer wants to be like three time

winners of FIFA footballer of year Zinedine Zidane,
Ronaldo De Lima, every television show host has
Oprah Winfery or Larry King as their idol, every
painter, Michaelangelo or Pablo Picasso, every writer,
Hemmingway, every athlete, Usain Bolt and the list
goes on and on of different people, who they regard
as models in their respective profession.

A model is that person with such exemplary persona

that is completely suitable for imitation. The impact
played by role of models is such that it cannot be
down- played. Many people who consider David
Beckham as their model have been so influenced by
him that they adopt whatever haircut or style they see
him wear, protégés of Adolph Hitler in his time
fashioned their hair and moustache like that of
Hitler’s, film directors with Steven Spielberg as their
idol leave their beards to grow, political office holders

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in Nigeria adopt the use of round glass lenses, the
small round cap and Obafemi Awolowo’s policies to
show solidarity with their ‘father’.

In 1954 when the young United States senator John F.

Kennedy was going to be operated upon, to correct an
injury sustained, knowing he would spend at least six
months lying on his back, he decided to use those six
months to research the most outstanding and
courageous individuals in American history. The idea
for a book was born. Profiles in courage went on to
win the Pulitzer Prize and became a best seller.
J.F.K’s study of courageous people inspired the
young senator to model his own life after them.

“It’s impossible not to draw parallels between Obama

and John F. Kennedy. Like J.F.K., Obama
exemplifies a positive attitude, inclusiveness, energy,
charisma and good looks…”
-Susan Porter.

Understanding the importance of role models, Obama

fashioned his life after the first president from the
State of Illinois, him being the third. The influence
this great man of then on this great man of now was
so immense Obama launched his presidential bid
from the steps of the Capitol in Springfield upon

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which Lincoln launched his in 1860; a staggering 148
years in-between.

The circumstances surrounding the emergence of

Lincoln as the nominee of the Republican Party are
no doubt similar to those that surrounded Obama’s.
Lincoln was a mere circuit lawyer from Springfield
Illinois. He spent years on a horse, travelling the back
blocks and the small towns defending petty cases. He
came from nowhere too, a log cabin in Kentucky, his
mother dying when he was a boy.
He educated himself seriously, but he did not flaunt it.
He told jokes and regaled his colleagues with yarns
from rural America, stories about dogs and horses and
country folks and ploughs.

What chances did he have now for the nomination

against some of the finest, most elegant political
thinkers and speakers of the day, the east coast types
like New York Governor William Seward and
Edward Bates and Salmon Chase and Edward
Stanton, the greatest trial lawyer of the age?
Each of these brilliant, thinking men presumed he
would win, yet each of them made mistakes and
enemies in the lead up to the convention. The
convention deadlocked and chose Lincoln, who
waited for news back in Springfield, yarning at the

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hardware store. He won the election and went to
Washington, a complete outsider and beginner.

The similarities in the personality of these icons is so

great, little wonder Obama was sworn in using the
same Bible which belonged to Abraham Lincoln, last
used in 1861. One can say that in the no too distant
future, Barack Obama would also take his place in
history as one of United States greatest leaders.

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 Chapter five

HAVE A PLAN
&
BE READY.

“Preparing for a battle, I have always found that plans

are useless, but planning is indispensable”
-Dwight D. Eisenhower.

A man who from childhood had always went on and

on about how he really wanted to be a multi
millionaire was confronted with the question of what
he was going to do with a cheque of a million dollars
if given him, he smiled, rubbed his palms together,
exhaled, paused for a minute, a minute turned into
two, two to three, three to four, four to five and on
and on like that till ten minutes elapsed. Ten whole
minutes elapsed before this man who had always
craved to be a millionaire all his life could muster
anything. Obviously this man only dreamed it, he
never had a plan, neither was he ready.

“The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready

for his time when it comes”
-Benjamin Disraeli.

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Failure to plan is planning to fail. A plan sets out in
detail the various methods or techniques available and
needed to achieve set targets, it prepares our psyche
for the task ahead. It is not enough to be prepared, in
the task of realizing set out goals, one must stay
prepared and be ready.

Obama in his bid to become president of the United

States had prepared himself for the task ahead, little
wonder he always had answers for every question
thrown at him as to how and what he would do to the
different issues of concern to the people of America.
This showed his level of preparedness.
Knowing he was coming in a time resentment for
America was on a high and in a time of global
economic recession; he had prepared a plan to bring
America to its pride of place in the committee of
nations and to bring her out of the global financial
meltdown.

Our level of preparedness goes to show how well we

are going to function in whatever capacity we find
ourselves. To be prepared is telling those around us
that we are suitable to handle responsibility.

To achieve our goals, preparation is of essence,

preparation in every facet of our life; preparation of

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the minds, soul and spirit so as to meet up to the
challenges ahead.

It has been said, that preparation is not merely an

event, it is a perspective. Abraham Lincoln said, “if I
had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six
sharpening my axe.” As a young man Lincoln had to
split rails with an axe, so he knew the value of staying
sharp. Wisdom always prompted him to prepare;
whether he was getting ready to cut wood, study law
on his own to pass the bar or lead the nation.

“Be prepared.”
- Boy Scouts motto.

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 Chapter Six

Ignore the negatives.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the

beauty of their dreams”
-Eleanor Roosevelt.

In the quest to attain greatness, many are the

negatives that besiege an individual. Negatives take
on many faces, they come as friends, family,
colleagues etc, they keep telling us that we are only
but dreamers, it cannot be done, they sometimes hide
under the guise of ‘helping’ us when in fact, they
have come only but to do the opposite. Atimes, these
ones pretend to be constructive critics, one only need
pay attention for a short while before the realization
that these ones are only mediocre. You are told you
cannot do this or that, or that you should do this or
that, you do a retreat on your target, a retreat suddenly
becomes surrender.
Many were the African Americans who were told by
the white folks to quit school to work on the farm
because according to them, going to school was no
good because they will end up on the farm anyway
and besides, school was only for white folks.

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Another place where these negative takes form is in
the mind of the individual; you, on your own keep
hearing that voice that says it cannot be done.

“An Optimist sees a doughnut, a pessimist sees the

ring”
-Anonymous.

Inferiority complex sets in, you feel lower in any

respect, you ‘trim your ambitions to conform to your
fears. Many individuals have as a result of inferiority
complex, suffered setbacks in the course of achieving
their ambition.
They are always unsure of themselves, always
insecure, they adopt new names, new accents, new
skin colour, just so they will be ‘acceptable’ to their
friends, colleagues and society.

Obama waived aside all these negatives and forged on

ahead to live it up! He was able to breakaway from
the stereotype, as he became the first African
American President of the Harvard Law Review. He
never allowed the colour of his skin to deter him. To
‘complicate’ issues, he had a funny first name;
Obama and a middle name; Hussein, a name not too
popular in a country that has reservations against what
seems Muslim. He certainly could have dropped the

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name so as to garner mass appeal, but all these he
considered non-issues.

“Settle in your mind who you are”

-Chris Oyakhilome.

Another crucial negative Obama had to deal with was

his pastor. Obama’s pastor had in a lot of his sermons
and speeches made some not too good statements
about America. These statements of course were
unbecoming of a pastor let alone that of a presidential
candidate; it posed a threat to the presidential
aspirations of Obama. Seeing this, and considering it
a negative in the realization of his ambition, he had to
dissociate himself from his pastor.

To really live up your dreams, leave behind all that

will not help you achieve them.

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 Chapter Seven

NEVER COMPROMISE YOUR DREAM.

“Never settle for second best, winner takes it all”

-Anonymous.

In the course of the democratic primaries, when it had

become obvious to the Clinton political machinery
and staunch supports that the man of colour was no
doubt going to edge Mrs Clinton out of the race of
becoming the presidential nominee of the democratic
party, these ones started looking for ways to rewrite
history. Arrangements were being made in some
quarters for the two contestants to run on a unified
democratic ticket, with Mrs Clinton as president and
Obama as vice president. Obama never compromised
his dream, even in the face of some super delegates
saying they were not going to vote him.
As time went by and Obama won the democratic
primaries, pressure was now being put on him to
declare Mrs Clinton his running mate. Obama
refused to bow to pressure from who or where and
much to the surprise of these ones, he announced Joe
Biden as his running mate. Her eventual appointment
as Secretary of state was based on several conditions.

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In the pursuit of our goals, let us not compromise by
leaving the driver’s seat to our fellow nominees,
contestants, and colleagues only to be put behind in
the scheme of things all in the promise of making us
this or that which is only but a blur when compared to
the picture conceived in our minds of what we really
want to become.

“Winning. Winning. Winning. Winning. That’s my

measurement of success”
-Hillary Rodham Clinton.

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 Chapter Eight

GOD FACTOR.

“Whatever happens to man, either good or bad,

happens under God’s divine eye. Whatever also has
been proclaimed by man or destined to be his cross,
either good or bad will surely come to manifest and
until it has come to pass, it cannot become part of
history. No amount of suppression or and anxiety
about same can change things.”
-Olusoji Olugbekan.

It is often said that whatever will be will be. This is

quite true but unfortunately many people hang their
shortcomings and inadequacies on this truism.
God through His laws that govern all creation asserts
influence on man’s life journey. These laws are a set
of rules fashioned out to guide man in his journey on
Earth. Irrespective of how little or how huge we set
our targets, plan and pursue them, its manifestation or
otherwise is decided by the God factor. This is not to
say that man does not have an input into what
happens to him in life. Little wonder the saying that
in our hands lies our destiny.

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To put our ambitions before God in prayers is quite
important as well. This is to commune with our
Creator, to bring to his feet all our aspirations, and to
let him lead us on the path realization of our goals.
The importance of prayers cannot be overemphasized.
It is an entreaty.

Many individuals, groups, nations etc have come to

attest to the potency of prayers. Religions of the
world acknowledge prayer; both the Koran and the
Bible teach same. The Koran says of prayer as a
means of acquiring good fortune, prayer is also
considered one of the pillars on which Islam lies.
The Bible urges to pray without ceasing and assures
us that our prayer is powerful and effective.

Obama on his many journeys throughout the

democratic primaries to the election proper started
with prayers with members of his team and at another
time, Pastors of several churches had come to offer
prayers to God on his behalf. Here was a man who
understood the power of prayers.

“The road may be rocky, but God is the steadfast

Rock you can hold onto. Trust Him to teach you”
Enoch A. Adeboye.

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