Becoming an exceptional person needs some tools, find them in this mini ebook

1. OCAN
YOU
NLY
BE THE
EXCEPTION
Written by David Lanre Messan

2. The word Exception means:
An action that is part of an ordinary operation; when
you surpass the routine or standards; not conforming to
the general rule.

3. Why You Must be Different?
Your Life HABITS can steer you forward
if they are positive enough.
I became an exception through the following adoptable:

4. 1. KNOWING GOD – He was my first consult and I had
to talk to Him to direct my life affairs because I
know He knows everything and only him can help
me succeed as well as comfort me in the times of
trouble – I mean challenges.
2. I LIVED PRODUCTIVELY – ensuring that no day
passes without me learning something new and I
did this mostly by reading, researching and creating
ideas to every problem I sense around me. Ability
is what you're capable of doing. Motivation
determines what you do. Attitude determines how
well you do it.

5. 3. I MAINTAINED A STRONG FOCUS AND ENERGY: I
was so clear on the kind of life I want to live – A
positive one –so, I designed it by creating a mission
statement and as I grew, it gradually changed to fit
my true personality, dreams and ambitions. The key
was a high octane spirit filled with focus and energy.
4. ATTENTION TO SELF – I paid very close attention to
myself in order to find out my strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats. By doing
this, I made maximum use of what I know about
myself to grow, live and control my habits towards
life.

6. 5. RESPECT AND HUMILITY – I ensured every man – my
elders, my parents, my friends etc earns good dose of
respect from me and I approached life with a great
deal of humility and this brought to me countless
opportunities.
6. I ADOPTED THE FREE STRATEGY – By adding value to
fellow men for free; my talents, my skills, my time, my
ideas, my knowledge, every single good virtue of
mine, I gave out for free and most of the time I get
unrequested returns for it.

7. 7. TIME USE – I apportion time appropriately to my
goals and I prioritize my tasks and this helps me to
record measurable success in my activities.
8. GOAL SETTING – I never stopped setting goals
every day, every week, every month and every year.
I tell myself my future by first writing it down in
goals and afterwards act on them. I always attain
my goals through strive and God's favour.

8. 9. I KEEP TRYING – Even when I fail, I keep my head
real high up. That is to say even as determined,
talented, skilled I am, I still record a few failures and
it has helped me learn more – especially realizing
more reasons why I should not make such mistakes
again.
10. LIFE WAS MY MOTTO – I used the LIFE strategy as
my destiny rudder. It is my wheel of hope, my
steering of action, my beam of service to humanity.
LIFE; Love; Innovation; Fun; Enterprise. This is the
only reason why I live and would be fulfilled.

9. 11. THE MENTORSHIP STRATEGY – I started by having an
email mentor, John C. Maxwell who taught me
leadership and life direction and afterwards I got other
mentors whom I have learnt so much from.
12. Be ON YOUR OWN (Be OYO) - A little privacy to think
back and forth can help you put your life in order,
especially when you have to think of your actions in the
past towards the present in order to further make your
future better. After all, it is your life and if your destiny
is truly in your hands, you have to stop and ponder at
some point…this can only put your future right in your
face.

10. 13. VISION IS A NECESSITY: A living picture of your
future is just ok to keep you going. If you don't
have one, better do now (It is what you see
yourself become) and if you got one, put it on
paper and hang it on the wall near your face. This
is because; you will need to always see it to get
the right kind of motivation to activate it.
14. PLANNING IS KEY TOO – Always make this a major
part of your routine before the action.

11. 15. WALK THE TALK – Always act on whatever you say you
are going to do. Keep your word! Act on the plan! Say
what you mean and mean what you say! Integrity has
no family…You can't make it up…so always walk the
talk.
16. HAVE PASSION – It is the kerosene of every burning
fire; the gas of every cooker. If you don't have it, you
can't love it and you can't claim it – I mean if you don't
have passion, you can't have a real ambition, a real
dream, real fulfillment. A little dose of passion will
keep growing until it sizes your dream and destiny.

12. 17. INNOVATION RULES! – It is the antidote to making
the world a better place. Learn to improve on
yesterday, make today better and create tomorrow
even better, value and change driven. It is a simple
way to “bring ideas to life” and it begins by
creating the ideas from everything around us.
18. BE ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING – Desperation does not
pay and it always put one in a compromising state.
Rather than be anxious, just keep keeping on. God
is the rewarder of all things including hardwork.

13. 19. HAVE FUN – Hardwork all through stresses the mind and
weakens the body. So take time to have fun, relax and
play with some real friends. It usually puts one back on
track and the end result is always productive.
20. BE NICE – How about if you decide to help the needy –
you just don't know how much that can save someone's
life. You are better off simply because God wants you to
better somebody's life. By smiling, you put a smile on
someone's face too. Mahatma Ghandi said, “Be the
change you want to see in the world”. So, just do it!

14. 21. LEARN, RELEARN AND UNLEARN – Finally, never stop
learning, it is the fountain of knowledge. No one is too
big or small to learn. By a gentle walk, we see more of
the tiny dots and stones hidden in the sands of the
ground; by humility, we learn to reach the top by a
continuous growth process; By a constant quest to
know more, we create knowledge for the other
generation that stare at us in anticipation of what we
got to offer. And we create the future through the tiny
dots of knowledge and all these put together make us
better people, making the world a better place.

15. To conclude this piece, I believe this would make
some sense to you and serve as a lesson for you to
move a bit forward. Remember, a little here, a little
there, we get closer to our mega dreams. Only you
can be the exception if you choose to be different in
your thoughts, actions and attitudes. Only you can
choose to either build your life or destroy it – and
your habits either positive or negative will be
responsible for it. So, I advise, you adopt only the
habits that will take you a little bit further until you
attain your dream and find fulfillment. With you by
my side, we will together change the world. I am
DLM – the Innovation Strat-Artist. Innovation Rules!

16. I am DLM D avid Lanre Messan is a pioneering Innovation Strat-Artist in Africa,
leading corporate, organizational and societal change through his
many innovative concepts and strategies.
A multiple award winner which include The Laspotech Masscomm
Academy Award; The 100 Best Author Award in the 2006 World Bank
International Essay Competition; LEAP Africa Youth Leadership Award;
Brand Nigeria Top 100 Youth Award and a onetime 101 Young
African Leader adoptee by the Business in Africa magazine and LEAP
Africa, he has created and spearheaded massive revitalization and
empowerment programmes cutting across many industries some of
which include governments, telecommunications, banking, consulting,
entertainment, sports and the youth market amongst a host of others.
As a trainer, he has conducted seminars and workshops in a number of African nations, Nigeria
inclusive and has worked as a communications consultant to the Lagos State Public Service Staff
Development Center.DLM has created several ideas among which is the award winning idea, Green
Yaggy, a youth empowerment concept for young Nigerians abroad.
He is a graduate of Mass Communication from the Lagos State Polytechnic, a presenter course
graduate of the JCI University and the LEAP Africa facilitators training respectively and currently
studying his master's degree in Innovation and Change Leadership offered by York St. John University
in partnership with Robert Kennedy College based in Zurich.