Don't Die Sitting

By Saji Ijiyemi

Don’t Die Sitting tells the story of four outcasts who confront death and risk their lives to save their city from a deadly assault. Having been banished from the city because of their disability, they become homeless people living outside the city gate. But when food becomes scarce in the region, they have to decide if they should go back to the city that expelled them, stay homeless until they die, or explore their future in spite of its unforeseen dangers. They are are rejected, they are hungry, they are sick, but they are determined not to die—sitting. Their faith will challenge you, their courage will fire you up, and their story will show you how you too can:
- Handle life’s challenges and keep moving despite the obstacles
- Take calculated risks and seize your defining moment
- Make great choices amidst conflicting opportunities
- Start living your best life now—tomorrow might be too late.

For anyone aspiring to live a legacy and leave a legacy, this book is a must-read.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Saji Ijiyemi
• Release date: Mar 13, 2012
• ISBN: 9780983954118

Saji Ijiyemi

Author | Speaker | Life and Leadership Coach

Book preview

DON’T DIE SITTING

Nothing is worse than doing nothing

By

Saji Ijiyemi

Published by

Mastars Media at Smashwords

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Copyright 2012 by Saji Ijiyemi

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords dot com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Information, enquiries, and comments about this book should be addressed to Mastars Media.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, NLT, Copyright 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. Other Scripture versions cited in this book are identified in the Appendix, which hereby becomes part of this copyright page.

Inspirational/Motivational/Self-management/Personal Development

This book is available in print at most online retailers.

ISBN-13: 978-0-9839541-1-8

ISBN-10: 0983954119

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CONTENTS

Title Page

Dedication

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Part One — Challenges

Chapter 1: Difficult Times

Chapter 2: Positive Attitude

Chapter 3: Faith

Chapter 4: Ability in Disability

Chapter 5: Heroes and Sheroes

Chapter 6: Count It All Joy

Part Two — Chances

Chapter 7: Questions

Chapter 8: Defining Moments

Part Three — Choices

Chapter 9: Go!

Chapter 10: Godly Choices

Part Four — Changes

Chapter 11: Miracles along the Way

Chapter 12: Give Back

Chapter 13: Believe

Chapter 14: Add Work

Notes

Acknowledgements

Appendix

Making a Difference

Connect With Saji

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DEDICATION

To all who are physically limited but mentally limitless. Thank you for constantly reminding us that what we have is more than what we lack.

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WARNING

This book might inspire you.

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FOREWORD

Don’t Die Sitting is a book of inspiration. It speaks to an area in life that most authors are reluctant to talk about, either because of their own limitations or because of their lack of exposure to the opportunities that exist for people who are physically or emotionally challenged. This book brings to light the fact that people we consider limited are candidates for the discovery of their untapped potential. The sheer makeup of man is highly complex, and it is amazing how one area of handicap can serve as an area of opportunity and impact if such a person is both inspired and self-motivated.

The biblical illustration that Saji highlights in this book is a classic Bible story that has been dealt with by many authors over the years. However, Saji brings it to light in a contemporary context, highlighting individuals of our time who have shown that it is possible to excel despite physical or emotional limitations.

Not only will this book prove powerful to those who deal with issues of low self-esteem and rejection, but it will also prove a useful reference for leaders, pastors, educators, and counselors as they work to inspire others to be the best they can be. This book will also serve as an inspiration and motivation to those who do not appear limited in any way but are making no significant impact in their world. It will challenge them to throw off the comfort of the status quo and reach deep inside to release their untapped potential. I highly recommend this book to anyone who aspires to be all he or she can be in the hands of our mighty God!

—Pastor Ghandi Olaoye

Senior Pastor, Jesus House DC

Maryland, USA.

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INTRODUCTION

Qui s’excuse, s’accuse.

(He who excuses himself accuses himself.)

I’ve always felt a great deal of pity for those who are physically challenged, thinking they had been cheated out of life. I’ve wondered how circumstances might have prevented them from achieving their dreams. I’ve imagined how life would turn out if I were without hands or feet or could not see, hear, or speak. Have you ever imagined what life like that would be like? You might protest that this is a bad thought, but life is full of people living with conditions they never thought could happen to them.

I grew up calling disabled people handicapped. To me, these poor unfortunate souls were less privileged and more deprived than others. However, my perspective began to change as I saw physically challenged people achieving great things in life. Take, for example, Stevie Wonder, an American songwriter and record producer who was born blind; Nick Vujicic, an Australian motivational speaker who was born with no arms and no legs; Yinka Ayefele, a famous Nigerian gospel singer and recording artist who lost both of his legs in an automobile accident; or Natalie du Toit, a South African athlete and gold medalist who was the first amputee ever to qualify for the Olympics. At the time of this writing, David Alexander Paterson, governor of New York, is the first legally blind governor of any state in the United States.

The list could go on and on. I’m sure you probably know other great achievers who lost some things along the way. These men and women of great courage have demonstrated that what we have is more important than what we lack. They have proven again and again that the limit is where we put it and that we all have the innate ability to take the limits off.

Don’t Die Sitting was inspired by the story of four disadvantaged, no-name men who, despite all the odds against them, ignored their inadequacies and risked their feeble lives in order to save their homeland. They were rejected and ejected from society, they were angry and hungry, they were homeless and helpless, but they were determined not to die sitting.

Like each one of us today, the heroes and sheroes in this book all had their challenges. Despite the odds stacked against them, however, they called their minds into action even as their bodies were ailing and failing. After considering both the benefits and the drawbacks of the options before them, they found the courage to make difficult choices. In the end, they won. They made it, and they became heroes and sheroes whose stories inspire others.

Don’t Die Sitting is divided into four parts.

Part One—Challenges

If you feel your background, past experiences, or socioeconomic status is working against you, you are not alone. The heroes of this book were plagued with infectious disease, ostracized by their communities, excommunicated from their families, and banished from their privileges. Unfit to dwell with friends and family, they were homeless people, living on the streets. Despite their physical disability and low socioeconomic status, however, they made the choice not to die whining about their condition. Rather, they became heroes in the same city for the same people who had expelled them. It is true that you will win if you don’t quit!

Part Two—Chances

Maybe you have analyzed your opportunities in life and concluded that everything is working against you. This book will inspire you to know that you have a great future irrespective of what has happened in your past and what is going on in your present.

Though their physical abilities were declining, the poor leprous men of our story tapped into their mental abilities. They debated going back to where they had come from or staying where they were, but they decided instead to take a chance on the future. They did not know whether death or life was waiting for them in their future, but they decided to go there