Exclusive Interview with Olufisayo Odebode

Today we’d like to introduce you to Olufisayo Odebode .

It’s an honor to speak with you today. Why don’t you give us some details about you and your story. How did you get to where you are today?

Thank you. It’s an honour to speak with you as well. As a child, I did not have the best life but it was pretty difficult to pass by without noticing how happy, bubbly and attractive I was. I had a loving childhood that mostly turned out to be false as I grew older because I was molested and abused by people who should have known better to protect me. Then I found the Lord and music became my most expressive way of communing with Him. I have spent the last two decades providing spiritual leadership in the area of musical worship, and also contributing to community development through empowerment programs tailored towards local communities in Nigeria. I am passionate about rebuilding broken communities and restoring connections through music, writing, trainings, and lifestyle, in a way that will bring about global impact.

I’m sure your success has not come easily. What challenges have you had to overcome along the way?

I have had to overcome three major challenges on my journey so far. One of them is recovering from two health crisis that lasted 17months altogether. It was tough. It slowed me down because even after recovery, it took me some time to get back into normal life rhythm. I now understand that you don’t choose what life throws at you, but you decide how you respond and leverage on them. So, even though I was hit hard, I have learned to pick myself back up and forge ahead with my goals in the littlest ways that I can start with. Truth is, there will no longer be a reason to live if there’s nothing to look forward to achieving or completing. The second challenge is the mindset that I am responsible for how I was molested as a child because I didn’t speak up. It is already terrible that I was molested but I blamed myself for so much that I was not responsible for. I have had to realize over the years, through counselling, that I was an impressionable child and should have been protected from such atrocities. And for the purpose of this interview, the third challenge I overcame was academic setback. It took me up to 10years to get my Bachelor’s degree that should naturally last 4years in Nigeria, due to health issues, systemic failures, communication gaps and poor judgements by all parties involved. Some of these stories are detailed in my book, Own Your Stuff.

Let’s talk about the work you do. What do you specialize in and why should someone work with you over the competition?

I am a teacher by training, and I have a calling to build communities through musical worship, coaching and music business. I am a worship leader/coach, an author, and a social entrepreneur. All these I have done for about two decades in diverse ways. I currently manage operations for a music rights management company in Nigeria, and I lead worship at Daystar Christian Centre, Lagos Nigeria. The only competition that I see here is myself. And in my line of work, I am thinking of completion through synergy, excellence and authenticity, rather than competing to just be better than someone else. My values are what define me and how I prioritize processes more than I do results. On the job with me, what you see is what you get, and this is why people choose to work and partner with me. I have no hidden agenda than to be true to myself, to impact lives and see dreams come alive into fruition.

What’s your best piece of advice for readers who desire to find success in their life?

My best piece of advice at this time will be to have a good realistic attitude towards life. Everyone wants to win but not everyone wants to go through the process of winning. Your priority should be the process and not just the end result. Who are you becoming on your success journey? Your character, principles, values, disposition and knowledge acquired are more “transactionable” than anything else in the world. So, stay dedicated to your growth. Stay dedicated to your values. Build something special with your life that you will be proud of. And while doing these, remain authentically you, set yourself free from the societal shackles, and be happy! You don’t need anyone’s permission to be you, to be free, or to be happy, it’s your own personal responsibility.

Speaking of success, what does the word mean to you?

Success is who I am. Success is famous for being achievement of goals. It isn’t about how much money or how much fame you get but about how much of your goals you achieve. One of my role models, Nike Adeyemi once said, “No one is an overnight success.” Success happens by design and not by mistake. If you’re setting daily, monthly, or yearly goals that you regularly achieve, no matter how big or small, you are a successful person. With success, it’s always about the goals. So for me, I am delighted to say that, in-spite of the failures, and the setbacks, I have regularly set goals and targets for myself that I have achieved and that makes me feel more like a success. The most interesting part of success to me is failure. When you fail at a thing, it hurts. But, much more than hurting is the blessing of experience, the blessing of knowledge acquired, the opportunity to save someone else from error, and the blessing of mastery that happens along the way. Failure is natural and healthy for anyone on their way to success. I’m grateful for the times that I failed, the times that I had to unlearn and relearn, those times brought growth upon me that can never be taken back.

What’s next for you?

First, I am super excited to see where being an author takes me. My new book, Own Your Stuff has just been launched. It’s a practical guide to self-leadership; taking ownership of your life. I decided to be vulnerable in sharing some of my stories in this book and I am expectant to see what kind of liberation and guidance that this can bring to readers. I shared a story about my health crisis in this book and I’d like to add that after I recovered from Koch disease in 2014, I have had a vision to support people in medical distress with their hospital bills. While this has only been in ideation stage for years, I am starting with a portion of the proceeds from my first book sales to support Nigerians who are in need of medical bills. We have 43% of Nigerians living in poverty and only 1% of Nigerians have health insurance. The bigger vision is to support medical researches, and build partnerships to subsidize health insurances for the poor in the nearest future. Next, I have delved into music business and so asides writing new songs and new books, I will be exploring the world of music royalty and rights management, and will see what kind of solutions I can provide to independent creatives, especially in religious organizations like the one I am part of in Africa…

Finally, how can people connect with you if they want to learn more?

You can connect with me on social media platforms @fisayocheck or visit https://fisayocheck.com/ to learn more about me. And for more personal enquiries, email me via hi@fisayocheck.com

Thank you!