The Octopus Entrepreneur Wangari Kimani-Maina
Acknowledgements This being the first e-book in the Esteemed™ series, I stand in awe of the Lord Jesus Christ and our very able Father and God in Heaven. I acknowledge that without you sending the Holy Spirit to open my eyes, this would not be. My husband Patrick, for agreeing to be God’s vessel and opening our lives to the words of God in the Bible, Jeremiah 33:2-3: “call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” I love you sweetheart and thank you for believing in me. Our precious Mishael, for bringing me to the place where God spoke to me and for causing me to halt long enough to write. To my parents, I love you Copyright © This e-book is the original production and publication of Esteemed Royale. It may not be reproduced in part or in whole without the written approval of the author.
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Contents Introduction Two arms, six appendages 3-Hearted Entrepreneur The brain @ the top of the body Camouflage – blend and grow Cut off time Sticking to it Malleability
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Introduction Background The other day I went into a search mode about the octopus. A slimy 8-legged creature is what I visualized it to be based on my primary school teaching. I actually realized they are arms and legs hence the generalized term of appendages. The octopus struck me for its great features
Eight arms
Three hearts
Developed brain
Camouflage ability
Cutting of its appendages
Sticky appendages
Only one bone in its body
The inspiration behind this e-book does not seek to increase your scientific knowledge of the octopus. God inspired the writing of this e-book so that we may relate the features of this magnificent creature to our entrepreneurial selves, our businesses and subsequently, ourselves to the nature of our maker, God in Heaven. Isn’t it amazing that God did not create anything that has two heads? 4
Merging the Octopus and the Entrepreneur A lot of people have the idea of being free from a job and so they capitalize on the self employment and business ownership channels. For some this continues to be a distant dream that cannot be because of a million and one reasons. For those who dare go for the dream, much is required of them. I remember when one of my mentors started his business. I was young in age but I distinctly remember him working out of a small room that was the size of a hostel cubicle. Yet from that small room, he developed designs and decorations that took him to trade shows and fairs across the country. On the road of setting up his business, he put on many hats – designer, driver, technician, managing director, business partner and so much more. He had to bear insults, praises, demotivating speeches, undercuts from competitors, losses to unscrupulous partners and even attempts on his life. Today, he stands tall with his multimillion shilling business in Kenya, and within East Africa. He found his calling and he grew in it, learning the ropes and teaching them to his wife, children and family members that would have the interest. He reaps from the simple element of being an Octopus Entrepreneur.
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Two arms, six appendages Artist, biologist, astronomer, geographer, farmer, manager, creator, beginner, finisher, landscaper ‌ name it, He is the best at it and He has got it all together (The Bible, Genesis Chapter 1 & 2)
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ntrepreneurship is a strange world to be in. what however is lovely about it is that the epitome of entrepreneurship is best
captured in the creation story. God put an order into His creation. Before bringing animals into the world, God made sure there was vegetation. Before He created man to have dominion over the earth and its components, He made sure there was a separation between the heavens and the earth. With this entire grand plan and so many tasks, God had to wear many hats. He knew the chemical balance in the animal bodies, the need for water to grow vegetation and even the value of the different gases in the atmosphere. He also knew about rest. Entrepreneurs need to put on God’s shows – see the end picture, then come back to the beginning to start putting it all together. For instance, one who is thinking of investing in buses for long distance travel, (s) he does not think of only one bus at the time of conceptualizing the business; (s) he first sees a fleet of buses then begins to think of how one can turn into ten. 6
Whilst engaging in entrepreneurship, the God way, individuals must realize that there is a lot to be done, and some may be done through other people. The bottom line will be to engage in a psychological transformation into the octopus with the eight appendages. When God created the Octopus, He must have known that the creature needed a well developed brain to manage the eight appendages otherwise it would tie itself in knots (quite literally). In my research, I did seek for any one instance of an octopus tying itself up. Anyhow, the eight work in perfect coordination. You are an octopus entrepreneur once you develop your God-given 8 appendages create a business from nothing Family and Friends
keep good competition close
manage people
You keep nasty competition at bay
Manage your brand/ product/ service
manage customers
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All these while ensuring you still have what has come to be famously known as work-life balance! – It simply calls for God’s grace. Supernatural grace is what keeps the 8 appendages working to your advantage While swimming in the underwater world, the octopus trails its eight behind it. Never is it the other way around. As a successful octopus entrepreneur, you need to learn to swim with your eight behind you; i.e. you are leading with your head because that is where your sight is at. Imagine if you jumped into a pool to swim with your legs and hands in front of you; or what would happen if you got stuck in a hole and the only loose end is your head. What would provide the physical means of disentangling you? As an entrepreneur your assignment is not one. You need to be an octopus entrepreneur who, when one arm is trying to develop a competitive product, the other arm is busy recruiting loyal team members, another arm is building a profitable customer base, another is effectively managing competition, and another is creating a balance between your business and the community in which you operate; yet another is balancing between the business, you and your family/ friends. Esteemed Nugget Philippians 4:8 – I can do everything through Him (Christ) who gives me strength 8
3-Hearted Entrepreneur Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also – Jesus Christ (The Bible, Matthew 6:21)
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Couldn’t put it any better than Christ did. Research on the octopus indicates that it has 3 hearts which pump blood to
specific parts of the body. The three hearts ensure its survival and without one, it is as good as dead. For the entrepreneur, anything less than three “hearts” guarantees failure, non-achievement of set goals, stagnation and mediocrity. The entrepreneurs 3 “hearts” are visualized below:
Mind Heart Soul
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Allow me to take you back to the creation story. After He had created everything, God looked and saw that it was good (Genesis chapter 1). When creating, God was wholly involved in His and His heart. When it came to creating man in His own image, He not only did it the way He had done the rest of the creation, this one, He called Himself, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit, (Trinity), all of whom make up God. He wanted His image and when He was done, another look at the complex creation and He saw it was very good. Every business venture requires the entrepreneur’s heart, soul and
mind. The heart embodies a passion that cannot be denied. A passion that allows you to: work tirelessly even when the revenues/ cash flows are nil or going towards negative, as you await a turnaround moment weather all the negative comments over why you will not succeed in business weather the storm when everything seems to be going wrong encourage and support your staff, partners and associates with no reservations, seeking the best for each of them. The soul is what gives life to the business. It is the essence of being alive as a business entity. 10
Without a soul, your business is an empty shell. An empty shell is an opportunity for every negative, life sucking thing to inhabit your business. It is a business that has a soul, which has a strong mission and purpose. It is the eternal nature of the soul that allows one to live beyond the physical world. So it is in business. The soul that an entrepreneur gives to his business allows that enterprise to: coin and live a mission beyond the first ten years of existence/ operations exist for more than monetary gains. While the essence of business is to make money, the soul enables it to make that money from and give back to its source – the people who and the environment which consists its existence. be one that creates generational wealth. Have you ever seen those businesses which are called something like Jack & Brothers Co Ltd or Richard & Sons or Berkeley & Berkeley Investments? A dig through such may reveal generations that at one time or another ran the enterprise for years and years. That’s what a business with a soul tends to look like. The mind is the house for the vision.
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A man without a vision is living one day at a time, taking in whatever life has to offer. So it is with a business enterprise without a mind. It has no vision, no possibility of greatness, no chance of living beyond survival. Chances of its operations going beyond the first five years are very slim. The business mind: embraces the passion of the heart and spirit in the soul, to drive the business ahead. provides fertile ground for healthy business risks provides a safety net and cushion to break a would be nasty fall when things go awry provides a balance for the heart and soul to avoid extremist activities and actions bordering on the fanatical Esteemed Nugget Matthew 22:34-45 and Mark 12:28-31 – Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. Love your neighbour as yourself
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The brain @ the top of the body So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof; for the people had a mind to work (The Bible, Nehemiah 4:6)
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was not a really smart student of biology despite my deep
desire and efforts to pass the subject so as to improve my overall grade (not a very good reason). However the subject of
the brain really interested me. This was especially after watching drama movies whose characters were at times considered brain dead. The brain is a critical element of the human body or any living creature such as the octopus. Again, you can’t help but marvel at God’s ingenious nature and knowledge to create a brain. Did you know that an octopus is intelligent enough to hold a closed can with one of its arms while trying to pry it open with another arm? Scientific studies of some of the octopus species have shown that the octopus has a high level of intelligence. And why not? The animal has to single handedly (no pun intended) manipulate all eight appendages, it has to determine in a dangerous situation, whether to camouflage or cut of its arm (see later chapters).
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An octopus entrepreneur ensures that he has a brain to keep the enterprise rise alive as well as create, sustain and regenerate the life substance (brain)) of the business. It is what some governments refer to as the kitchen cabinet; conglomerates use the word think tank. For SMEs, it is simply the brain of the business. As depicted depict in Robert Kiyosaki’s book, Before you Quit Your Job, 100 things every entrepreneur should know, a business enterprise consists of eight key elements (not necessarily in order of importance)
Product Legal Systems Communication Cashflow Concept Depicted from the BI triangle in the Robert Kiyosaki series eries of books
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The other three are Mission at the base of the triangle, leadership at the right hand side of the triangle and Team, on the left hand side of what Robert Kiyosaki calls the BI Triangle. An octopus entrepreneur ensures that the eight appendages are healthy, effective, continuously maturing with the business. He can only do this courtesy of the brain. An X-ray of an octopus entrepreneur’s brain/ think tank
Expansion Unity in diversity
Strategy
Generational Wealth Mission
Market forces
Social Responsibility
Competitive advantage
Team Performance Camouflage – blend and growProfitability Simplicity
Growth
What are my areas of improvement? Do we need to enter foreign markets? 15
What are our cash flows like? Are we on our mission or have we deviated? Where is this business going to be in my absence? What is the future of this industry? What re the new ways of delivering quality to our customers Who are the new industry players? What can I offer better that the competition and still remain profitable If God put a brain in an octopus, how about us, who were created in His own image? This is my thought process – if we are in the image of God, then He must have a brain. His brain must have been very handy in the creation of the earth and the heavens. Now, if my Maker has such a beautiful, creative, intelligent brain, what about me, who He created in His own likeness? All I have to do is stay connected to my Maker and my octopus entrepreneur mind will do great exploits and can co-ordinate a think tank for my enterprise. Esteemed Nugget Romans 12:2: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will John 15:1-8: I am the vine, you are the branches, if a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, apart from Me, you can do nothing 16
Camouflage – Blend and grow Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews… (The Bible, John 11: 54) t was amazing to discover that when the octopus is in danger and unable to take flight, it will release some liquid from its body (like ink) or it will make itself look like its surroundings – such as the coral, star fish, algae or jelly fish. The prey is then confused over where the octopus has gone to. All this to protect itself and ensure its life goes on. When his life was almost at its pinnacle here on earth, Christ faced the threat of death at the hands of the Jews who saw Him as a liar and the enemy because He proclaimed the Kingdom of God and not what the religious doctrines had stuck to. Knowing full well on the timings of His death, the gospel of John chapter 11 in the Bible indicates that Jesus grew very careful about mingling with people. And he was very successful. During one of the feasts in which the Pharisees saw as a perfect opportunity to seize Him, He turned up looking like one of the people in the crowd. He stayed unseen until He got to the fore front where He started speaking much to the amazement of the people. I imagine some had waited at the main entrance of the venue from the beginning of the festival hoping to catch Jesus. As such, 17
seeing Him up there was not only annoying but a shame for their lack of vigilance. An octopus entrepreneur needs to camouflage in the business world. “Blend and grow” would be the logic behind the camouflage When Bill Gates presented his Microsoft idea to IBM back in the days, he was dismissed; but he continued and went on to implement. Am sure the management of IBM have always regretted. Camouflage means working your magic under wraps. Your competition is always looking at your next move or idea so that he can implement before you. The foolish entrepreneur does it all out there not knowing that someone can pick the idea and implement it better than they can. An octopus entrepreneur is different. By the time the competition knows what you are up to, the idea is usually well under implementation and they can only but try to copy it for themselves. Camouflage means blending with fellow entrepreneurs. Not necessarily in the same field; but ensuring they are people you can learn from. Learning through mentorship and coaching, networking sessions, seminars and conferences. It cannot be stressed ever more deeply, how important blending is. You learn What you are going through as tough has a solution What others do to get affordable financing
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What others do for team building The latest customer relationship management tips The latest useful technologies in the market Which markets to venture into and a host of other lessons
Camouflage is all about calmness. It is the wisest man to walk on the face of the earth that said “calmness can lay great errors to rest” (The Bible, Ecclesiastes 10:4). I couldn’t agree more. When the octopus entrepreneur is camouflaging, he is careful which feathers to ruffle, so as not wake sleeping giants. It is in calmness that one thinks clearly and strategically about the business in its current state and the future. The business world can be pretty nasty. Not much provocation of giants is required for them to quash an octopus entrepreneur. They will seek to slander you, buy you off, run you out of business or even copy your originality and promote it as theirs because of their muscle. That is why your 8 appendages and brain as an octopus entrepreneur (previous chapters) needs to be well developed. Esteemed Nugget The Bible, 1st Kings 19:11-34 Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an
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earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper‌ ‌ There in, the Lord spoke
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Cut off time What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? - Chris (The Bible Luke 9:25) id you know that the octopus can cut off one of its appendages and it will grow right back? It will usually do this to escape danger. Like when it is running from an attacker and one of its appendages gets stuck, it cuts off that one. The predator is then left with the arm or goes on chasing after the arm instead of the octopus. For an octopus entrepreneur there are two scenarios for cutting off an appendage or two. These however should not be mistaken for giving up. 1st – when a deal or direction you are taking shows signs of regret, corruption, negative publicity and anything else that would bring shame to you as a person, and your enterprise; or something that would not stand upright in the presence of God. 2nd – when all other options of going forward are exhausted and there is no more opportunity. Giving up is simply refusing to fight anymore
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despite the fact that you still have the ability to press on some more and there are opportunities for success. Giving up is downright sinful for the octopus entrepreneur Let us examine the two scenarios
Cut off for a comeback The story of the prodigal son is not new. A young man requested his rich father for his share of inheritance then he left for the great city. There he squandered it all and eventually became a lowly employee taking care of pigs. At the very worst of moments, he reached the point of saying “enough is enough, am going home.” That was his cutoff point. His father’s servants were having a better life than him. In his thinking, he arrived at the conclusion that even if he would not be regarded as a son, at least he could settle for servant hood. Every business faces a cut-off point more than once in its existence, and so does the entrepreneur. It is the octopus entrepreneur, however, who exercises his ability to cut-off one appendage so as not to lose the whole body. It may be a franchise deal you have pursued for a long time. After so many negotiations, you extend your hand and tell the franchisor, “it’s been nice knowing you ladies and gentlemen” and you walk out the door knowing the papers will never be signed. That’s your cut-off point. The octopus entrepreneur will brood for one 22
hour and after that your think tank comes alive to generate a concept that may lead you to another franchisor in the same industry but with a better product/ franchise deal. That’s your come back!
Cut off for a rebirth What would happen to an octopus entrepreneur’s business interests if they fell through for one reason or the other? (S) he would find a way to rebuild from dust. In the old testament of the Bible (Numbers 10:11-14:45), the Israelites were to enter the promised land of Canaan. God instructed Moses to send out spies who did not give a very good report except for two men (Caleb and Joshua). This negative report caused the Israelites to start murmuring against Moses and God. God was not amused and He got to His cut-off point. He condemned them to wander in the desert for 40 years. In essence, He shed off a generation that simply angered and treated Him with contempt. In those 40 years, a new generation formed and it is this one that entered Canaan under the leadership of Joshua. Even Moses (though for a different reason, disobedience) did not enter the Promised Land. He was a faithful servant of God, who had face to face conversations with the Almighty, yet he saw it from afar, sitting on a mountain top.
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Rebirth is a process which calls for the complete death of the old. Just like a newborn is a whole entity on its own with no roots in another body, so is rebirth. A new entity that does not have the blemishes of the past. In business, rebirth and cut-off points can be painful and devastating. Watching everything you have built come to a grinding halt or tumbling down is not easy. Worst of all is knowing that you have to start all over again from scratch
Cut-off
Progress
Time
Fig 1: An octopus entrepreneur’s business curve
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Progress
Cut-off
Fig 2: Worst business curve
Time
Handling cut-off like an octopus entrepreneur Cut-off for a comeback or for a rebirth must not be a single event. It should be a process characterized by firm changes over time. It is while your curve is on the upward trend that a cut-off should be considered and a new curve started, Fig. 1 If the cut-off point is put off, two things are bound to happen. One, the growth will reach its peak and flatten out. Two, once flat, it is only a matter of time before it starts taking a dip, Fig. 2. Cut-off at
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either of these two points is the worst because it seems like starting all over again. Cut-off point in the mind of the entrepreneur exists even before the curve starts growing. So how does one handle cut-off points? a) Build it into the strategic plan Dreaming big about your enterprise will help you achieve this. If you are running a grocery shop, consider issues such as – what if your customer base was so wide and so loyal to you that you have a self service store with a wider range of products? Cut-off point: atop having a shop keeper mentality! If you are carving curios for sales in the retail market to tourists, what happened to you when the industry goes into a slump? Cut-off point: stop retail business and seek wholesales business abroad courtesy of technological advances such as Facebook, Twitter, e-bay, Amazon etc b) Have a strong mission Football is all about scoring goals. It doesn’t matter whether you use the left leg, head, chest or kick with your ankle, as long as you do it in the designated areas. The bottom line is you follow the rules and score the goals. So it is for your business. If your goal is to make money, as long as you are playing by the rules, you can do anything. A holding
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company can be in the vehicle industry, food, pharmaceuticals or telecommunication industries all at the same time. Cut-off points can bring about a diversified portfolio which can only be sustained by a strong mission c) Stay informed Knowing your industry, products and customers will help you identify when to cut off. The bottom line is that knowing when to let go and why, gives the octopus entrepreneur an edge to reestablish/ reaffirm his/ her presence in the business Esteemed Nugget Proverbs 12:28 – Solomon In the way of righteousness there is life, along that path is immortality
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Sticking to it Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, may the Name of the Lord be praised … shall we accept good from God and not trouble? The Bible (Job 1:20, 2:10) hen researching on the octopus, I laughed at one description of the inner side of the appendages. They are lined with some sticky substance that allows the octopus to hold many things under the arms. The write was likening it to a woman who is trying to balance shopping bags under her arms. What made me laugh was the image of an octopus in high heels leaving the shopping mall with bags under six arms. Thinking about it, I realized that this is a great feature for the octopus entrepreneur. Every day you get exposed to so much information, ideas and people. It is the ability to attach the relevant to yourself that allows you to accumulate much resource to run your enterprise effectively. In addition to amassing the resources, this feature of allows you to hold on and keep up a fight worth having. A read through the book of Job in the Bible reveals that Job was a man faithful to God. He lost everything yet he maintained his faithfulness to God. Even at the very worst of times when he couldn’t understand 28
how even though he had remained blameless, upright, shunning evil and fearing God, he was suffering great loss, he still confessed God’s awesomeness The Octopus entrepreneur needs to be like these men of old, who knew their purpose and believed God with no wavering. Joseph, still in the Bible, with all his trouble of being sold into slavery by his brothers and being jailed wrongfully, refused to sin by complaining or murmuring. At the end of it all he was raised to the level of Prime Minister in Egypt. He stuck to his purpose. Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego refused to worship any other God. They were even thrown into a fire to burn. They suffered through their dedication to worship the One True God but they refused to change. Eventually God came through for them. So it is in business There is always a price to pay for refusing to let go and sticking to your guns. There is also a great reward for the ability to stick. You need to stick to the worthy fight. For instance a dream client you have always wanted to have, you need to do everything possible (legal/ moral of course) to get them. Even if they say no fifty nine times, it is on the sixtieth that they will say yes. And even if they don’t stick to them and pray until they come on board. Key elements for sticking to it include:
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Prayer: nothing works quite like this Ability to bounce back from failure or rejection Ability to reinvent yourself and the business Believing in the goal to be achieved Working single-mindedly towards your mission
Esteemed Nugget 1 Corinthians 9:26 Therefore do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body, and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified from the prize
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Malleability He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored The Bible - Proverbs 13:18 iven that it only has one bone, an octopus is certainly very flexible and malleable. For that reason, it can go through the narrowest spaces as it swims in the water along the sea or ocean bed Malleability is not a feature you can remove from business. Sometimes you make mistakes and you have to change the direction you were taking. Sometimes you may hit a hurdle that you can only go around it. Sometimes the business environment simply forces you to change. Rigidity in business is lethal, especially in the 21st century where technology is changing daily. Look at newspapers and magazines. For years sales of printed copies have been a major source of revenue for the printing and publishing houses. Today with the Apple iPad and Amazon Kindle as well as the World Wide Web, the revenue base is changing. If your newspaper, magazine, newsletter or book is not online, there is a great market you have not captures
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There is a way that seems right to a man but it leads to death. A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps - Proverbs 14:12, 15 An artist who insists on displaying and selling his artworks in a physical gallery, out to consider an online art exhibition using flash technology on a website, online auction for pieces of art, facebook and/ or other social and business networking sites. A farmer who relies on the old farming technologies needs to get online to see the latest advancements in farming technology. A student in mass communication who one day hopes to own and manage a production house can revolutionize their dream by shooting local videos and sharing them on YouTube as often as possible to simply create a name and command a following. Malleability creates grounds for self improvement, business development, innovation and thinking out of the proverbial box. Not to be confused with being swayed by every blowing wind, malleability allows you to remain focused on your ultimate goal but open to diversity and different ways of doing things. Esteemed Nugget Proverbs 13:14 – the teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death
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References 1.
The Bible On the various words of men chosen by God to accomplish His will on earth 2. The Internet On researching for the octopus features
The End
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