Motivation & Self-Help

Motivational reading and self-help materials

Soccer Passion in Men

By Solomon Johnson

I have observed with keen interest in recent years the level of passion exhibited by men of all ages , status, color et al for soccer. Though I admit being a soccer fan, but cant find my place amongst the myriad of men who seems to live for soccer viz-a-viz their respective club sides. It is a common trend to observe loyalists of a particular club using items and symbols associated with there clubs to identify themselves in public especially following a winning encounter with an opposing side. Sometimes, patriots goes as far as betting with cash or kind to support there club’s victory ahead of a match. No wonder, sports especially soccer has been identified as a ‘tool’ for national and international integration.

Why cant similar or more passion be shown to those you live for, to those you work for, to those you love so much than for soccer,  that which just satisfies your craving for entertainment and adds little or no value to your welfare and those of your family? by Solomon Johnson

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The Big Picture

By Isaac Oluyi

Mr. Isaac Oluyi, Author and motivational speaker

No one can achieve any worthwhile achievement without seeing the picture ahead. What this implies is that the future you cannot picture you cannot capture it. Everything that we see without is a product of the picture within. What kind of future do you picture in your mind? Are you so limited by your current circumstances that you cannot see beyond your reality now? No matter what you are going through at the moment, the good news is that if you can dream it you can actually achieve it.

As a university undergraduate I had only a pair of trousers and two shirts. The pair of trousers was brown in colour and this afforded me the opportunity to wear it for a long period of time without washing! Anytime I washed it I had to tie a wrapper, with supplication to God that it would not rain. Otherwise, it would be a disaster. Besides this, I also could not afford to buy lecture materials. So I resorted to borrowing reading materials from colleagues. I would read these materials with voracious appetite as I had to return them on time. It was really a life of struggle, toiling and anguish. In all of these however, I never for once saw myself as a failure. I forged ahead like a Trojan as I could see clearly the big picture – The big picture of a better tomorrow, when I will become a solution provider, when what I was going through would be used to encourage others in similar situations. It was such a bright and beautiful tomorrow! Read more »

Master the Side Talk

By Kwabena A-Manager

You’ve prepared really well for the interview and feel that this job is either get-it or go-home affair. Or you’re carrying a well-prepared business plan in your briefcase and hoping to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase your ideas to your potential business partner or investor. In either case, building personal rapport before you delve into the business side of the conversation will only serve you good.

There’s nothing that divides our society today more than religion, sorry to say. While you have every right to show off your ‘firehood’ and ‘spiritualness’ wherever you want, the interview or business discussion may not be one of the places to fly your own kite, unless you’re interviewing for the position of the associate deaconess of the local church.

In the past I discussed several nuances that come into play in establishing successful business connections. One of the best ways to build this personal rapport is to set off a conversation in an unrelated subject area prior to being ushered into the business of the day. Read more »

Little Stuff That Closes Deals

By Kwabena A-Manager

Business Etiquette is More than Eating with the Right Fork

In the previous article, I discussed some little things that are often overlooked but are essential in making deals and are fundamental in career development and progression in the business world. I mentioned that even small and insignificant actions can remarkably influence the overall perception of an individual, and perception is, in most cases, a reality, unfortunately. I emphasized that attention to little stuff and nuances play essential roles in maintaining any business relationships in the long term. Today’s post is a continuation of last week’s discussion. Read more »

Little Things Matter, a Whole Lot

By Kwabena A-Manager

Actions, even small and insignificant ones, can remarkably influence the overall perception of an individual. When we talk about nuances, we’re talking about the clues that shed light on the greater self. They show how a person takes time; makes time; makes the effort to execute countless details.

Consider two self-employed businessmen, Adbul and Sonko, who were both vying for a grant from an angel investor from the U.S., Mr. Martin Smith. Each of them scheduled a lunch date with Martin Smith to discuss his business plan.

On the appointment day, Sonko dressed for the lunch in bleached style jeans with a polo T-shirt. After ‘brainstorming’ in the presence of Mr. Smith, they decided on which restaurant they wanted to go to. After they sat down, Sonko, right away launched and kept the conversation focused on the purpose for which they had met. He spent the entire lunch time talking about his business mission, vision and strategy with laser focus. There wasn’t any deviation to talk about anything personal.

Abdul on the other hand dressed a little above his potential client. He put on a jacket. He wanted to establish trust. He didn’t want to assume anything. Before the meeting, Abdul had called Mr. Smith’s personal secretary to inquire about Read more »

Moving forward!!

By Temi Onajin

TGIFriday!!

Thank God for today the 9th of December 2011 – let’s rejoice and be glad in this new day that the Lord has made.

As we start this new day – let’s be expectant of some last minute miracles as we declare: We are not going back. We are moving ahead. We are declaring: our past is over in God. And we declare that all things are made new as we surrender all to Christ.

Be blessed as you listen to: “Moving Forward” by Jessica Reedy  - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nPfV3gGzgM –

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As you go into this new day and weekend continue to declare: I am moving forward…Moving, moving forward, forward!!

Let’s be expectant of some “last minute moves” – as we “move forward” and sow to please the Spirit this harvest season.

Have a blessed and highly favored day/weekend.

Loving Regards,

Temiday0

Talent is not Enough

By Kwabena A-Manager

There’s one thing you may believe or ,at least, give some credence to as you read this post, and it’s that some people are born with unusual aptitude, supernatural skill, God-given dexterity, superb giftedness, rare talent and many more ways we describe it. Tiger Woods has a talent for golf, Beyonce has IT for music and dance, Lebron James was born to play basket ball, Angelina Jolie is a talented actress, the Argentine Lionel Messi has a God-given propensity for scoring goals, Chris Rock has a unique flair to usher the crowd into a state of awe, TD Jades has to gift to make to audience cry, and the list goes on.

I don’t want to be an absolutist on this talent argument, but when any of the folks above is comprehensively examined, the talent argument does not pass the beyond reasonable doubt court room scenario. Ascribing it all to talent is not only an intellectually fraud exercise, it subjects a particular field to circus status reserved for individuals lucky enough to be born with this God-given potential.

Talent is not Enough

Whether talent really exists or not, which is a subject beyond this post, it cannot explain why some people are genius, awesome, amazing, and some are just okay. When you look at any of the ‘amazing’ artists, athletes, managers, and so forth, the talent explanation may make sense while they are on stage, but try to dig deeper into their life, Read more »

What the Successful Have in Common: Risk Taking

By Kwabena A-Manager

Let me begin with the story of this guy, Farouk, who immigrated to the US with a master’s degree from a prestigious university in Ghana. Farouk spend the first two to three years in the US scouting for a job in line with his degree but nothing turned out as he anticipated. He found himself doing the type of job that did not require a degree and watched his paycheck with displeasure. Even though he had a master’s degree, he says “I was not doing any better than my colleagues at work who had never been to college”

Still hoping to find something more in line with his educational background or anything that would possibly pay more, Farouk attended a job fair and listened to a presentation focusing on currents growth trends in the US job market. The take home message in the presentation was that, with the aging US population, careers in healthcare and related areas would continue to be in high demand in the comings years.

To cut the story short, Farouk enrolled in a college nursing program, and started attending classes with, as he put it “college students and studying together with folks who could be my students”. He put his master’s degree under the table and took the hard, risky decision that he thought would provide the type of job security and fulfillment he dreamed of. As I write this, Read more »

He is an on time God…Yes He is! (WATCH)

By Temi Onajin

TGIFriday!!

Thank God for today the 18th day of November 2011 – let’s rejoice and be glad in this new month & day that the Lord has made. May we experience some “last minute moves” in our life this new  month in Jesus Name. Amen!

As we start this new day – be expectant of some 11th hour miracle – Because the He is an on time God – He may not come when we want Him – But He’ll be there right on time.

Be blessed as you listen to : He is an on time God by Dottie Peoples  - http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=mRgvYgOJK6g – He is an on time God – yes He is!

As you go into this new day and weekend  - expect the “on-time” move of God in that situation.

Enjoy a miracle-filled day weekend.

Loving Regards,

Temiday0

What Do the Most Successful People Have in Common?

By Kwabena A-Manager

Are The Smartest The Most Successful?

Of course YES! That is what the conventional wisdom says. As kids in primary school, our teachers instilled this belief in us. Spend more time with your books, learn, learn and learn if you want to be successful in life. 

That was what I was taught and I held onto that from Primary school through University. Fortunately, today I don’t have any formal examination to write, even though I learn every day, so that gives me reasonable space and time to pause and ask:

 

“It is true that the smartest are the most successful in life?”

 

 I’m not going to explore the philosophy of what is success and what is failure because there can be as many definitions of success and failure as there are stars in the sky. Nevertheless, regardless of how I define success, I come to the same conclusion; the smartest academically are not necessarily the most successful. That kind of hurts, but that was the only honest conclusion I could arrive at. I try to look at every group of students that I was part of home and abroad and then sample a section of people I can call to mind and follow, not on twitter but in real life. These are the folks you would call successful, and of course you have the liberty to define success anyway you want.

 

 After completing this exercise, the picture that emerges is a scarily a mixed bag: few of the people who made my list were very smart by the conventional definition of the word, some were average, and some were passing throughs, that is those who felt too school was not their thing but were just passing though to make mom and dad happy, anyway.


 

While classroom performance was not the common denominator that puts these folks in one class, there are certain factors that I identified common to all of them. In the coming weeks, I would be discussing each of these qualities in detail. This is not going to be ’14 Steps to be a Millionaire in 14 Days’ kind of stuff. In fact if I knew any secret like that, I would be in Jamaica on vacation at this hour. What I hope to accomplish is to share with you powerful qualities I have learned by observing a number of people in diverse fields and perhaps to attempt to convince you that the race is not to the smartest.

 

 As a summary for today, in my assessment, the men and women I could describe as successful shared some traits which are also shared by some of the most successful people everywhere. Prominent among these traits are:

 

  1. The propensity to break rules: It’s unfortunate that this quality comes out first, but I can identify it in almost all the people that made the cut
  2. Passion: They just do something for the love of it
  3. Making connections: they just want to be noticed and known for reasons no one knows and sometimes makes no sense
  4. Curiosity: They desire to explore and ask stupid questions
  5. Risk taking: they do the things mom dreads of
  6. Persistence: they never take no for an answer
  7. Focus: they get fixed on their strengths and passions. Nothing else matters.

 

In the coming days and weeks, I will be discussing each of these success factors in detail with specific examples.  Please check back and join to share your views and experiences.

 

 Next on this series

Part 1: They Love to Break Rules

Please check back


The Power of an Open Mind

By Isaac Oluyi

An open mind is a theatre of opportunities. A man with an open mind listens with rapt attention, observes with an eagle eye and asks the right questions at the right time. He is not afraid of change. Rather, he responds to change and exploits it to his advantage. A man with a closed mind, on the other hand, tends to see difficulties, not opportunities. He becomes transmogrified to a “Pharisee” or a “Sadducee”, who only becomes enamoured by what is beyond his reach or only sees sad situations around him.

In 2005, shortly after the birth of my second child, we had some financial challenges as a family. We were living in Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria. The situation was so challenging that we had to move out of a three bedroom flat to a room and a parlour. It was as if the end had come as everything we touched was not working out. At this point we sought the face of God through prayer. We had a strong conviction after the prayer to relocate outside Lagos. To where? We were not sure. To prove to us that God is not a man that would lie, an offer came my way from a far, but a remote town called Ede in Osun State, Nigeria. When I told my siblings and in-laws about it, they were like “never!” How could you leave Lagos for Ede? Impossible! They tried to talk my wife and I out of our relocation plans. But when we stood our ground that location is not limitation, they concluded that we were embarking on a journey to nowhere. They saw us as crazy people! Although the pressure from friends, kith and kin almost got to us at a point, we ended up leaving Lagos for Ede with a mattress, few clothes and some kitchen utensils. Most importantly, we left Lagos with hope of a better tomorrow.

We were in Ede as secondary school teachers only for seven months. But with an open mind we were able to learn some tips about farming from our neighbour. Above all, with a salary of less than $100 a month we were able to procure a plot of land before we left the town. From Ede we moved to Ile-Ife also as teachers. After a while in Ile-Ife, I joined a Federal Government establishment. At the moment we are on a mission of turning a jungle into a beehive of business activities. We believe strongly in God that this environment deserted as a result of internecine war shall be turned to a paradise sooner than expected. We have consistently maintained an open mind to everything since we left Lagos. No doubt, the result has been phenomenally rewarding.

The remarkable thing about our relocation from Lagos to Osun State, an agrarian region in Nigeria is that we are no longer strugglers, but achievers. We left Lagos with just a single mattress, but today we live in our own house and also an employer of labour. Those who thought we were mad then now see sanity in our activities. Trials, challenges and difficulties are part and parcel of life. It is thus not how many times we fall that matters but how many times we are able to rise above challenges. To turn challenges to chances one needs to be open-minded. To see opportunities in difficulties, one needs an open mind that is not afraid of taking calculated risks.

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