AREA OF CONCENTRATION (AOC)

I graduated from Lagos State Polytechnic (aka LASPOTECH) in October of 2004. I still remember my undergraduate days like yesterday. What is ironic is that the course I studied in school is not what I practice today as profession. I am as far from what I read in school as the east is from the west and I must say without any regret.

Anyone who has passed through the walls of any citadel of learning, especially higher institutions would remember vividly well the slogan “AOC” that students chanted whenever exams were drawing near. The reason students did this (i.e ask lecturers for “AOC”) was so that they would be able to focus their energy and judiciously use their time to study areas where exam questions would be drawn from, as sometimes (if not all the time) it is impossible to finish the syllabus. Some lecturers out of magnanimity would go ahead and give “AOC” to assist the students to prepare well.

I have thought over this for a while and discovered that life practically works the same way. The way we ask for “AOC” so we could focus our energy and time, is the way we should use the concept to live our lives. God is our Lecturer. We are students of life and are constantly writing exams and if our energies are not well managed, focused and directed, the tendency for us to fail in life is very high. God not being a wicked Lecturer always leaves us with clues for “AOC” – AREA OF CONCENTRATION.

“How will you as an individual recognize your own AREA OF CONCENTRATION?” would be the question at this point. And I must say that that question has a very simple answer.

Your own “AOC” is connected to what I call your AOCC. “Now what is that again?” you would ask. AOCC simply means AREA OF CORE COMPETENCE! This is the beautiful thing about God; He never leaves anyone clueless and wondering what to do. What is wrong with most of us is that we are not disciplined enough to find our different AREAS OF CORE COMPETENCES – AOCC. And then when some of us do, we are not willing to pay the price to develop this potential competence in order for us to be able to effectively deploy same.

Let me help you bring this to the point of phosphorescence. What are you gifted/talented/skilled at doing? Something you do well and enjoy doing without stress. It is like Lionel Messi playing football or Tuface singing. In my own case, it is doing motivational speaking/writing, acting/MCing. Bottom line, it is being who you are originally meant to be and not what circumstances try to make you be.

For example, if I had followed Insurance as a profession, that would have been trying to be someone else, because it is not part of my wiring; it is not in my DNA.

Remember the parable of talents in Matt. 25:14-30? The morale here is that no one is ‘giftedless,’ including you (and you could have more than one area of competence). And then Prov. 18:16 says, “The gift of a man makes room for him and brings him before great men.” Paraphrased, it would read, “When a man makes his AREA OF CORE COMPETENCE (AOCC) his AREA OF CONCENTRATION (AOC), giving it all the diligence that it requires, then he shall soon become great.” – Abiodun Mabadeje

On a final thought, what are you wired for? Have you discovered your AOCC, which you can make your AOC? If not, the earlier you seek to do this the better for you. 

If you need more information or help in this regard, do not hesitate to contact me by mail on abiodun.mabadeje@gmail.com or through inbox on Facebook or just give me a call 234  8023771690.

I am your friend and life coach Abiodun Mabadeje (MSA), motivational speaker, trainer and author.