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Since the past 6yrs I have grown into a health
freak, partly because I’m in a lot of ways vain and
secondly I have become very finicky and
sensitive with my physical wellbeing. In other
words, I have been paying great attention to the
newly designed me, ripped and carved to
specification. U wan try? There are so many
reasons why most of us would want to stay
young forever if we can, for me in particular, I
don’t want to lose my essence, that quality that
jumps out of me on seeing little children. For
over 30yrs now, in my life as Charly boy, I have
always queried my bounding with children, why
they take to me like metal to a magnet. It wasn’t
till about 15yrs ago that a good friend of mine,
Mrs Tiwo Ajayilycent broke it down for me when
she said, “they see the boy in you, that childlike
quality, the freedom and the innocence, that’s
why they quickly bound with you even if they
have never seen you before”. Till this day, I still
have that effect on children, and I know it is
divine. A lot of people who have seen me
recently and who know me, would swear that I’m
younger today than I was 10yrs ago, some would
say that I have had series of face jobs or there
are some magic potion I take that keeps me
young at 63, with nine children and 14
grandchildren. The blunt truth is that I have
never had any plastic surgery yet, I do a little
hair dying from time to time, and I don’t have
any special cream, except the original Vaseline
which I have been using for the past 40yrs.

However, I don’t drink alcohol, never really drank
in my whole life, thank God it was one habit I
didn’t pick up, although I smoked for almost
40yrs of my life but 3yrs ago, I just walked away
from the smelly habit cold turkey. I don’t do
girlfriends, maybe because I had so much in my
teenage and adult life to last me 3life time. It
was the too much humpping around that led to
me having my first son at the age of 17. Then it
was taboo, now it’s a blessing. No girlfriends, no
mistresses, this is not to say that I Charles
Emeka Oputa has been a saint for the past 36yrs
I have remained married to Lady Diane, I made a
few mistakes in the long past, but because of
wisdom, my priorities are different now.
My life right now, tells me where I have bravely
come from and what I am beautifully becoming,
mind, heart, body and soul in this life time. I now
think of my body much like a well-designed car,
which is helping me to get from point A to point
B. Point A being birth and point B being death. I
know I need to take care of this body more now,
so that it can sustain me happily till I reach point
B. Healthy habits and life style is what is needed.
When I see my peers and age mates, I know that
I’m not only blessed but confident in the
knowledge that I am walking and working on the
right path. So staying and looking young is not
just about not drinking, smoking or fornicating
all over the place, it’s also a question of mind set.

If you look around, you will see many young
people trying to be older, with many older people
trying to be dinosaurs with the way they throw
about their age, “don’t you know I’m older than
you” as if they are using it to intimidate younger
people. On the other hand, when you see a few
older people trying to be younger (like me),
society and our culture frowns at it. They will tell
you to respect your old age. To me it ends up
looking like they are all trying too hard being
something that they are not. Be yourself, accept
yourself as you are, reach for your potentials, but
never try to be anything that you’re not. That is
why I am severely Charlyboy in my creative life,
and I will NEVER let that Child, that boy in me
die. I have long come to the realization that life is
too short and too hard, so it is up to us to make it
interesting too. Each day of our lives presents us
with amazing opportunities to enjoy life and feel
young at heart. Slow down every now and again
to catch your breath, something I learnt not too
long ago. Life has a lot of simple things we can
all enjoy, but when we move too fast we end up
overlooking most of them. So why should we be
in a hurry? Oh! I forgot, it’s a rat race, but we are
no Rats, abi? We should from time to time slow
down a bit to pay attention to the world around
us, let’s be grateful. I can’t emphasize enough
how important being grateful is. No matter how
many pleasant things we do, if we don’t learn to
be grateful we will always see things negatively.
Caring and making time for my
parents has thought me so much
in my small life about loving, living, caring and
understanding old people. Like I will always say,
“family is my rock, it is my fortitude”, it gives me
the spunk, the courage and it is why I feel
blessed today. I thank God and I’m grateful.

Whether it is family, motor bikes, keepsakes,
hobbies, your home should be your refuge. I
always run back to my home because that’s the
only place I find peace, being surrounded by my
loved ones. When there is love around you and in
you, how then can you not have a life full of
vitality and love? What you love gives you the
freedom to be you forever, no matter how long
you live. I always tell most of my billionaire
friends that I can’t match them when it comes to
bank balance, but I can beat them hands down

when it comes to good health. Health is wealth
our people will say. When I crossed the 50yrs
mark some aches and pains crept in, I knew then
that I have been taking undue advantage of my
good health. I decided to make a few positive
changes in my life style and believe me, I feel
super now. I intend on keeping it that way. There
will be new aches and pains that will creep up as
you age; the best thing to do at a time like that
is to make subtle changes in your life style that
best suits your body. This care in turn helps you
to feel more in control and live more fully. This
life is not about eating a whole cow for lunch, or
chasing after very fine babes in skirts, worse still,
it’s not about how much money you have, it is
about how much you care.

Today by God’s grace,
I’m richer than my father but he taught me the
art of contentment and I am grateful for that.
Most importantly, we must all live for something
greater than ourselves; select an ideal purpose,
or a mission greater than yourself to live for. Set
your sights high, dream the so called impossible
dream, challenge yourself all the time but know
it’s ok if you never get there because no one is
keeping score. Remember? The only thing you
are truly seeking on your path is joy. Like my
ministry with the youths, trying to get them to
understand that the salvation of this country lies
in the hand of its exceptional youth, because our
elders and leaders have failed us.
When I talk about the Boy in the Man, I define it
as remaining young at heart, embodying those
feelings of joy and freedom most of us had as
children, but for some reason have lost or
outgrown them. The good news is, how we look
at the world should not be dependent on your
chronological age. At my age I’m surrounded by
all things youthful, I deal with young people on a
daily basis and as such, I must know their lingo,
mannerism and their mindset to be able to
communicate with them effectively. I work out in
my gym as if I was going for the Olympics,
because my joints needs oiling and servicing and
gyming takes care of that. Doctors say we need
at least 7hrs of sleep daily, I do about 14hrs
daily, I thank God that I can fall asleep at will,
this again took years of training. Every other
week I put aside 24 hrs when I do my marathon
sleeping aside my 14hrs a day. It’s a damn good
reason why they call it beauty sleep, sleeping
rejuvenates your body and slows down the
ageing process. These are a few of my beauty
tips, but most of all, it is what you feed your
mind that grows. So feed it with all the right
positive stuff. I have long decided to plant good
thoughts and deeds in mine and to hold on to
the Boy inside.

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