They say every cigarette shaves off 11 minutes of your life (Shaw et al., 2000). But on the flip side, a smile? That might just add minutes back, boosting your overall health (Lupieri, 2024). I even heard someone joke that flashing a smile can give you an extra five minutes.

That's not the story I'm here to tell, though. Imagine a guy chilling on his couch when Death himself arrives to collect his soul. The guy just smiles, earning himself an extra five minutes. Death, impatient but bound by the rules, waits. Amused, the guy smiles again, adding another five minutes to his life. Death sighs and takes a seat. The man, now seeing Death's visible annoyance, feels a surge of pride and celebrates his ‘victory’ by lighting a cigarette. Death calculates: two smiles, ten minutes gained; one cigarette, eleven minutes lost. And just like that, the soul is claimed.

A made-up story? Sure. But it highlights a truth: losing control of your emotions can negate any advantage you might have. Just recently, in my country, a highly influential woman lost everything simply because she couldn't manage her emotions—specifically, her negative ones. On the flip side, think about Virat Kohli, the Indian cricketer. He transformed himself through emotional intelligence, becoming a legend in Indian cricket history.

Thank you, Mr. Olubenga Akintola, for your incredible insights, ideas, and stories on leadership, personality, and emotional intelligence. Your teaching style brought so much joy to our class, and I will not forget those Friday afternoons. God bless you, Sir.

This picture we took our last class day.