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The Greatest Thief Ever
By Felix | March 13, 2008
Today for me, was one of those days you wake up and don’t just feel like getting up from the bed. I came to the office late and I didn’t just feel like doing anything tasking. Was chatting with a friend and thinking about what part of my story to feed the blog with and I wasn’t just up to it.
Anyway I decided to do a little research on the Greatest Thief Ever. And the answers I got were overwhelming, and I assure you when you get to know who this thief is you will be marveled, because I got to find out he had even stolen from me.
Before I go into unveiling the thief, I’d like to compare the activities of some past thieves with him and would like you to participate with me in this exercise of discovering who, in your opinion, is the greatest amongst the thieves that will be listed here.
26 November, 1983 when six robbers broke into the Brinks Mat Warehouse at Heathrow Airport, England. They found ten tonnes of gold bullion (worth ÂŁ26 million). Although they were later caught and brought to book.
In March 2003, the day before the United States began bombing Baghdad, nearly US$1 billion was stolen from the Central Bank of Iraq. This is considered the largest bank heist in history, later some of this money was found in the walls of Saddam Hussein’s palace by US troops.
In my research, I found another interesting thief that someone mentioned and I would like you to
 stop right now - and take a couple of seconds and actually start laughing. Start slow….you don’t want to overburden your system. You have to warm up. Just start to giggle and then kick it up to guffaw and continue doing it OUT LOUD for about 10 to 15 seconds.
Go ahead. DO IT!
OK…..I know that you didn’t do it - because the greatest thief of all has invaded your life. The greatest thief of all is our EGO. It worries about what other people think… NuttersNotes
At this point, I was still not satisfied, I still felt there were other thieves out there that could do better, so I probed. Have you ever wondered why people throw all caution to wind in pursuit of money and power, when actually the more power and money you have, the more you craved for until a time when all men are made equal and it doesn’t matter the amount of money or power you had or controlled because you are returned back to mother earth 6feet deep. This nearly drew me to a conclusion that Death was the greatest thief of all, and would take everything you owned in the end… deep tokyo
This was also another opinion and it didn’t work for me, I still felt there was something out there that might be able to do more and this brought me to a poem about Life.
I sit in morning air
As crisp as a saltine cracker,
My legs dangling
Over the abyss of my misery.
I realize that life is
The greatest thief of all:
Maturity robs youth,
Experience steals innocence,
And the stress of responsibility
Pilfers a carefree existence.
I reflect on debts that swipe
My paycheck,
Bosses who ransack the dignity
That honest work is meant to give,
And those whose wants –
Real and perceived –
Drive them to grab for themselves
What others truly need,
While those who need
Take from any source at all.
As I sit upon the cliff’s edge,
The wind swirls at my feet,
As if to entice me to
Explore depths from which
No one ever returns.
I have not chosen this fate,
But understand more why others do … Robert Blackwell
Now again, this has opposed my last thief and makes thing a bit more complicated for me, so I still probe to see if there is a thief at large who has stolen from everyone including you and I. For if there exists such, then in my humble opinion he should be the acclaimed greatest thief of all, but remember, this has nothing to with me, as we are going to sample opinions here as to who the greatest thief ever really is.
This next thief has stolen from the Rich and Poor, Young and the old, from business men and entrepreneurs, from executives and legislators, from presidents and C.E.O’s, it has even stolen from Cities and Nations. It has been smarter than the CIA, FBI, EFCC and all other security outfits put together because it is still very much at Large! It has stolen from you several times even without you knowing!
Yes from YOU!. From firsthand experience I know our dreams are stolen minutes at a time if we do not act on them quickly with enthusiasm.
Procrastination, the habit of putting tasks off to the last possible minute, can be a major problem in both your career and your personal life. Missed opportunities, frenzied work hours, stress, overwhelm, resentment, and guilt are just some of the symptoms.
By now some of you know who I am talking about Procrastination in my own opinion is the greatest thief of all time, and it is still at large!
I dare say procrastination, because it steals more than money and other valuable items, it steals the most precious thing we all have in equal amount every day, … Time. It doesn’t stop at stealing, it kills time, it lets you live believing that you can always come back and handle or treat issues right, when in the real sense of it the most limited resource we have which is Time, procrastination helps you murder it or steals it away from you.
Procrastination comes in different forms, and we have different reasons for it, 2 of the major reason I know are 1. Fear, we actively seek diversions, not because we are lazy, but because we actually fear the task at hand or we are afraid to fail. 2. Perfectionism, we keep seeking perfect circumstances before embarking on projects or assignments that are really important, when we actually know there is no such thing as a perfect time, when what we need to do is act and act Now!
Good news is procrastination is not a fatal flaw or a curse, it’s only a habit that robs us off one of the most priced or precious possession we have to achieve anything in Life and that is Time.
Peace N a Fist!
 Â
Topics: motivation |
March 13th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
I am guilty of this you know. However, I struggle to overcome it by keeping all sorts of reminders all over the place, my phones, my MP3 player, you name it.
I’m gradually overcoming it,but i know i’ve lost so much to it.
Mo
March 13th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
this is another good one.i think the story is incomplete….u did not mention me as part of yopur day’s experience…oops.kudos
March 13th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
Thieves are at large everywhere. Even those within us that prevent us from taking life by it’s coat tails and enjoying it without fear. Did I say Fear, another nasty thief. May I share some quotes on fear?
Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive — the risk to be alive and express what we really are - Don Miguel Ruiz
Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live. - Dorothy Thompson
I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today - William Allen White
March 14th, 2008 at 4:49 am
Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is tragic. Life has meaning only if one barters it day by day for something other than itself. Every tomorrow one has two choices, We can take hold of it with the choice of anxiety, fear, “PROCRASTINATION” or we can take hold of the choice of faith and move forward. Great job here Felix, makes one really do some major soul searching.
March 14th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
@mo… we are all victims of it, and the deliberate steps you take in overcoming it, is a good remedy
@lanre … when u left my office, was when the inspiration came to write it.
@shola … lovely poem by william allen… i like that one in particular, thanks for sharing.
@debra … soul searching? … hmmm… means i am getting deep, and really tomorrow is always pregnant and what we do with it lies in our hands.
March 14th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Hummmmmm, LIFE, TIME, PROCRASTINATION, DEATH, u left me thinking with dis words.
NEVER ! NEVER !! NEVER !!! Leave till tomorrow what you can do today.” Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there. Time waits for no 1 !!!
March 14th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Three things can cause you to lose sight of ur GOD-given goals. (1)WEARINESS (2)FEAR (3) COMFORT
Conflict and hard times keep us on our toes-and on our knees.But too much comfort can seduce us into settling short of our goal. SO KEEP CLIMBING COS TYM IS OF ESSENCE!!!
March 14th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
I took time to digest the content of your write up and discovered that PROCRASTINATION is really a thief and time killer.it kills and destroys destiny.and this has become a major problem faced by young people.I think a cue from your point of view as regards FEAR and PERFECTIONISM which really reflect the true position of young nigerians today,waiting for things to be done for them or sort of fixed for them or running away from things they will eventually do.some even blame the environment for their predicament, and most times cast ‘unreal’spells on government,circumstances.I just feel your next seminar should touch on this topic.I really laud your deep inspiration in putting this piece on the platform.keep it up
March 14th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
I took time to digest the content of your write up and discovered that PROCRASTINATION is really a thief and time killer.it kills and destroys destiny.and this has become a major problem faced by young people.I take a cue from your point of view as regards FEAR and PERFECTIONISM which really reflect the true position of young nigerians today,waiting for things to be done for them or sort of fixed for them or running away from things they will eventually do.some even blame the environment for their predicament, and most times cast ‘unreal’spells on government,circumstances.I just feel your next seminar should touch on this topic.I really laud your deep inspiration in putting this piece on the platform.keep it up
March 18th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
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