Tope Popoola is a Human Capital Development Consultant and Pastor of The Business Church in Ibadan. Please feel free to send questions, feedback comments on this column to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit  http://turbochargedforsuccess.blogspot.com

The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces. Proverbs 30:24-28

A farmer decided to put his old donkey out of service on grounds of old age. Because of his emotional attachment to the animal, he could not bear to watch it die. So, he decided to throw the donkey into a waterless well and bury it alive.

Shovelful after shovelful of sand fell on the back of the poor donkey who all the time was wondering what on earth it did to deserve this treatment from a man it had served all its working life.

Then it occurred to the poor animal that it could actually shake off the sand from its back. As it did that with every shovelful thrown in, it soon found out that the sand was growing into a heap underneath its feet. As the heap grew, the donkey rose up with it. This happened until the heap was high enough for the donkey to jump up and leisurely walk away from certain death.

So, everytime mud is thrown at you, you have a choice between allowing yourself to be buried in it, and shaking it off so you can mount on the mound!

Develop and employ your sixth sense
The spider has EIGHT eyes, yet many species of spiders can barely see! However, spiders are very sensitive to their environment. Have you ever tried to kill a spider perched on the wall as if it doesn’t know you are there? What happened when you moved towards it? Remember how deftly it evaded your well-aimed stroke? The secret? Hair follicles on the spider’s legs are the medium by which it discerns everything around it, including the slightest movements.

Operating only by your five senses – touch, smell, taste, sight, and hearing – can never make you hugely successful. As a matter of fact, it puts you at the mercy of those who have learnt to develop the sixth sense and can perceive things differently. It is also known as the gut feeling or discernment.

Can you still remember that time you had a hunch that, contrary to what everyone else saw or believed, something was just not right even though you could not put your finger on it? As it turned out, you were proved right!

Watch your mouth!
Some spiders have so much venom in their mouth that their bite can be lethal even to humans. The Bible says that the power of life and death is in the tongue and those who love will eat the fruits of it. Words are powerful for the very reason that creation came to be by words. God spoke everything into being and sustains same by the word of His power. Words can heal or kill, build up or tear down.

Be careful the words you speak, especially when faced with a crisis. They could become self-fulfilling prophecies. Afterall, the Almighty God Himself undertakes that He will create the fruit of your lips. Learn to make your words sweet, just in case you have to eat them! Scriptures tell us that pleasant words are like honey in the honeycomb.

In the heat of Job’s trials, his three friends spoke words that seemed to compound his pain. At a point, Job had to exclaim; “Who are these that break my bones with words?”

Many destinies have been ruined by wrong words. Conversely, many seemingly hopeless cases have experienced a turnaround because someone spoke the right words to them.

In a recent experiment, it was proved that even plants grow better when the gardener speaks nice words over them! Never speak negative words over your finances, job, home, spouse or children. Let your words always express your desire not your frustrations.

Your size does not determine your potential.
With God on your side, there is no limit to your possibilities. Never underestimate your ‘can-do capacity’.

Refuse intimidation. The spider is a small creature but it is found in king’s palaces. The splendor of a building is not a deterrent to the spider. No security guard can keep it out. If strength or capacity was determined by physical size, David would have stood no chance whatsoever against Goliath.

I stopped playing football many years ago when, as a teacher in a secondary school, we had a novelty match between teachers and Form One students (now JSS or SSS then).

Few minutes into the game, a very tiny boy in the students’ team and who was playing barefooted, missed the ball and kicked me in the leg. I went down but he just kept running after the ball as if nothing had happened. I could barely walk for many days after that. It put paid to any interest I could have had in football. I have not stepped into any football field since then except as a spectator!

Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!