Wednesday, 16 December 2015

ASK A DIFFERENT QUESTION

Ask A Different Question. 

Stop asking yourself questions that do not have answers such as, “WHY did this happen to me?” Or, “WHY do they treat me this way?” Ask yourself creative questions such as, “WHAT can I do immediately to create changes?” Or,“HOW can I improve the situation?” Your Mind will struggle to produce answers to every question you ask it. So, do not exhaust it. Ask the right questions.

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you,” (Matthew 7:7).
Source: Dr Mike Murdock

SO YOU THINK YOU ARE SMART?

Sometimes children grow up and get so busy that they kind of.... Well read this joke, it will lighten your day for the season ahead!

A man in Malawi calls his son in South Africa last week & says, "I hate to ruin your day but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing, forty-five years of misery is enough".
"Dad, what are you talking about?'" the son screams.
"We can't stand the sight of each other any longer", the father says. "We're sick of each other and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in USA and tell her".
Frantically, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone, "Like hell they're getting divorced", she shouts, "I'll take care of this".
She calls home immediately and screams at her father, "You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?"and hangs up.
The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife.
"I told you, it's done! They are coming home for Christmas"

Friday, 11 December 2015

FROM FAILURE TO SUCCESS STORY

The Chief  Executive, The Thy Consulting Limited, Ismail Abdulazeez, is one  farmer whose life has greatly improved thanks to discovering  the hidden fortunes  in grasscutter and snail farming.

As a child, he had passion for agriculture, having been involved in subsistence farming with his parents. He developed so much interest in farming that he had vowed that no matter how much academic certificates he obtains, he would still be a big farmer.

After suffering misfortunes that led to his loss of job, he  retired  to his own house at Ewupe Ijaniye Village, Sango Otta, Ogun State. Incidentally, it was at that point that the journey into his dream job of being a big time farmer started to materialise.

Being a new site, he  and  his wife  started seeing snails here and there and picked them. He decided to check the articles on snail farming he   has been keeping and in one of the articles, he  came across the name of one man called Mr. Bright. He traced him and attended some of his seminars. After the trainings, he did his own research and started his own farms. As God would have it, everything started flourishing.

For him, market for his snails has never been a problem as there were ready-made markets.

According to him, snail farming has been adjudged to be one of the most lucrative farming ventures presently with far less capital investment and bountiful returns. It has lower risk compared to other livestock farming, while virtually every part of snail is of vital use in food, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and fishing industries. He noted that snail is an export commodity that has value next to gold in overseas.

Having conquered the snail business as it were, Abudlazeez also plunged into grasscutters raring business. Like he did when he started the snail business, Abdulazeez said he went as far as Ghana, Republic of Benin and Ivory Coast to see how they set up standard grasscutters farms.

Today, his farm hostels at least 200 grasscutters  which  are  slaughtered for sale to grocery stores, restaurants and hotels.

The business also provides money to feed his family and pay school fees for his children that attend private schools. A few years ago, he was able to buy some plots of land , bought a car and at least 10 acre property to establish  and   promote  his export business.

His success story has proved the huge and largely untapped potential of  young  agro entrepreneurs.

Source:  http://thenationonlineng.net/here-come-new-generation-of-farming-entrepreneurs/

GOING FROM N1000 TO OVER N100Million

The story of Stephen Akintayo shatters the myth that one needs millions of naira to start a business. Once upon a time he sold pure water and pop corn to make ends meet while studying in the university. Today he is an entrepreneur, a motivational speaker, a life coach and mentor and an ICT professional earning as much as N50, 000 per hour for speaking engagements!
In a chat with TS Weekend, Akintayo opened up on how he started his business while studying in the university with just a N1000 as a 300 Level student many years ago.
“People who want to go into business say money is the problem and that is not true. Money has wings and it could fly. They can give you those millions you have been telling yourself would transform your business but beware, you could eventually get those millions and before you say Jackie Robinson, you could end up blowing it all and everything could go down the drain! I am talking from experience.”
Recounting his journey into entrepreneurship, Akintayo says: “I started my business with N1000. It was during ASUU strike when I was studying at the university; I was in my 300 Level year. I realised that people needed to do bulk SMS so I started doing my research online and that was when I got my first job.”
He reveals that the deal was so bad his client could not even afford to pay the bill of N1000 he charged; he could only afford N700. But because he believed in his dream and the awesome potentials waiting to be unlocked on social media, he burrowed a further N300 from a friend and took the plunge. And guess what; he didn’t even have a laptop or a desk top; he had to buy air time at a cyber cafe! Today, that move has transformed him into one of the major players in the digital media marketing space in Nigeria.
[Read full interview by clicking the link: http://wp.me/p5Wtnp-Uk ]

Source: By Tony Ogaga Erhariefe, as published on Sun Newspaper

Wednesday, 2 December 2015

CROSSING YOUR BRIDGE TO GREATNESS

Every Battle Is A Bridge. David, with a simple slingshot, killed Goliath and eventually became king (1 Samuel 17). Joseph overcame the hatred of his brothers, false accusation and became second in power to Pharaoh (Genesis 37-41). Ponder and meditate on the Battles of such  champions... it will unleash energy, enthusiasm and faith.

“...the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits,” (Daniel 11:32).

Source: Dr Mike Murdock

SUPERCHARGE YOUR LIFE NOW!

You cannot CHANGE Yesterday, but you can do something TODAY that can change tomorrow! It doesn't matter How you were BORN, that was yesterday. It doesn't matter what happened last 5years, the last 10 years. You may not be able to change that. But you can reposition yourself today.

You can make new decisions today, that will change what tomorrow will bring. INVEST in your FUTURE.
Refuse to be a Mental hobo!
Refuse to end your Life on the side walk! I believe in your FUTURE!
There's a reason I believe in your future. I believe that if you hear these words, you will act on them and they change your future. None of you was Born to be POOR! You may have been poor BUT you were not Born
to be poor! You may have been brought up poor, BUT you were not brought up to be POOR!

Understand this The definition of ADULTHOOD is RESPONSIBILITY.
When you become an adult, you take
responsibility for your future. Become Responsible! What do you have in yourself? There are many who cry for help and because there are no answers to their call for help, they feel the pangs and pains of neglect. NO! Refuse to GIVE UP!
Believe in what God made, GOD MADE YOU and HE NEVER MADE a FAILURE. Believe that GOD has a PURPOSE for your LIFE. You may have been born as a parental accident but you are not a DIVINE ACCIDENT. God knew you were coming and he made sufficient provisions for you!

There is a place for you in the world. There are certain things You must do. There are things that are not in abundant supply, they are limited one is TIME.
Save TIME!
Save IT!
Keep TRACK of your TIME.
The Bible says for us to redeem the time for the days are evil. YOU don't have extra time. Life is not a GAME, therefore make everyday count! Improve yourself everyday!
Introduce something into your Life that counts. CHOOSE to be a SUCCESS! Become inspiring!
Distinguish yourself with character with excellence! If you are a Musician be a musician with a difference!
Become inspiring! Whatever you do, do it with excellence.

Put your best into what you do and change your World! Remember there is no Extra time. Whatever you do now, do it the Best way the FIRST TIME. Success is waiting for the man who says YES to SUCCESS! SUCCESS is waiting for the man who plans for IT, who reaches out for IT! Who says I will wake up and he wakes up, who says I will read this book and He does. Who says I will go to school and he goes. SUCCESS is waiting for the Man who makes a
DECISION.

Time is Important!
Time is Important!
Change the Position, SAY to yourself I will be WATCHED. There are those who only think of designer perfume, designer clothes, designer shoes where are your own designs? CHALLENGE yourself for the future!

There's room for you!
There's a place for you at the top!
TRAIN your MIND and USE IT!
Give yourself to a teacher.
Give yourself to a TUTOR.
Train yourself, train your MIND!
If you train your Mind, IT will be ready to deliver to you the right thoughts and ideas that will earn you COMMERCIAL VALUE. There is No poverty for the man, who has made
an INVESTMENT in his MIND and his willing to ACT! There's no hunger for the man who has trained his mind to think through every problem, to solve
every problem. Train yourself, think through a problem, render solution and let men come to you for advice!

Decide to Be SMART! Decide to Be a problem solver. If you make that decision, that is what you will
be. Problem solvers are in short supply in the world. There's a place for a man who decides to be
excellent!

Distinguish yourself!
Engage yourself in national issues.
It is time to PUT your Best into what you do! GET BETTER and BIGGER!
Be excellent!!!!

Source: Dr Chris Oyakhilome, PhD
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Tuesday, 1 December 2015

DIGITAL MARKETING SUMMIT

DIGITAL MARKETING SUMMIT
Digital Marketing Summit 2015 holds in Lagos on Sunday 13th- Monday 14th December at LCCI,Lagos. Hosted by Digital Marketing School, a brain child of Stephen Akintayo, one of Africa's leading digital business guru, it promises to be as informative and inspiring as ever.
Hear them out your
Marketing is changing rapidly… Social Media is the new digital, and the skills sets of marketing managers need to change and evolve rapidly to keep up with competitors.

DMS developed this 1day Summit with exactly this need for new digital online marketing, social media marketing and mobile marketing understanding and skills in mind.

By investing in the 1Day Summit and 2nd Day for the Dinner,Networking and Award in learning the basics of Internet, Social Media and Mobile marketing you will learn the essentials of digital marketing from selected industry experts and how to implement it strategically in your marketing mix for high return on investment (ROI).

Attend The Biggest Digital Marketing Event of the Year With Most Successful Digital Marketing sharing with strategies they have used for themselves and their clients grow their business.This summit is Practical and will help you get 100% ROI and your Digital Campaigns. Below are few topics to be treated;

1. Email Marketing/Newsletter
2. Online Display Advertising - using the vehicle of Google, Yahoo, Adynamo
3. Search Engine Advertising
4. Social Media Engagement and Marketing (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc)
5. Search Engine Optimization and Marketing
6. Mobile Marketing Strategy (SMS, BB Channel and Whatsapp Broadcast)
7. Content Marketing (Design, Implementation and Monitoring)
8. Online Video Advertising (Design & Implementation)
9.Website Marketing.

Bonus Offers

*FREE Ticket to Digital Marketing Dinner,Networking and Award Night by Digital Marketing School Nigeria. A platform to network with the best in the business.
*On Going Support/Mentorship (up to 90 Days)
*Over Training Video on Digital Marketing.
*FREE Menbership to Digital Marketing Club.

Date: Sunday 13th December 2015
Time: 2pm-8pm
Dinner,Panel Discussion,Networking And Award Night
Monday 14th December,2015
Time:4pm-9pm
Venue:Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry,Alausa,Ikeja,Lagos.
Fee: 100,000naira( Get 50% Discount if you pay latest Friday 4th December 2015.)

For Enquiries, Call: Jeoma on 09098894041, YINKA on 08188220066.

Who should Attend;
Marketing Managers or Directors,
Brand Managers,
Sales Managers or Directors,
Public Relations (PR) Professionals,
Business Development Managers and Directors,
Senior Operations Managers and Directors,
Senior Executives,
Business Owners.
Visit www.dms.com.ng/2015summit.

Powered by Digital Marketing School Nigeria.
....

FUNNY QUESTIONS OR STUPID QUESTIONS?

Well if you live in Naija (That's Nigeria for short), these questions are usually routine and part of the normal talk (if you understand what i mean!) However, if you think deeply, you will realize that the questions really do not make sense! Especially when you are in an angry mode and you are asked these questions or conversely, you meet someone who is angry and you ask him or her the questions. Asking these questions could result in a brawl of words!
On the contrary, for those of you who do not live in Naija, these questions will let you see the funny side of our style of interaction.

Now Here are they :

1. You see identical twins, you
still dey ask 'na twins be dis'?
No bros, na picmix...lol
.
2. Nepa brings light and
everyone in the neighborhood
shouts 'up Nepaaa'! My guy ask
me, O boy na light be that?
No oh, Na Holy Ghost fire! Lol!
.
3. You see person dey vomit, you
still dey ask am 'you no well'?
Em well, e juz dey practice how
to vomit.
.
4. You just wake up from sleep
person come ask you "you don
wake?"
No oh, I come buy bread wey I go
chop for dream.
.
5. You see woman wey born new
pikin u ask her "madam u don
born? " No ohhhh, she buy am
for OLX...
.
6. You greet person "good
morning ma" ! She ask, my pikin
you don wake????
no ohhhh, I dey sleep walk...
.
7. My guy ask me "O boy where u
dey?" I tell am say i dey bank, nd
him ask me "Wat is happening
there?"
Nah new yam festival.. *LMAO*
.
8. My neighbour sees me
opening the gates to drive out
and asks me, U dey comot?
Not at all... I be the new
gateman...
.
9. I dey watch film… my guy enta
come ask me "Guy na film u dey
watch?
No naa... I dey discuss with
Osuofia...
.
10.U see me dey chop indomie
come dey ask me, O boy, na
indomie u dey chop so?
No ohhhh... Na fried rubber band
mixed with thread.
.
As it stands now, abeg i need to
ask u one question, no vex abeg.
Shey na Blog be dis???

Source: Unknown
---
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Saturday, 28 November 2015

HOW TO RECHARGE YOUR PHONE VIA YOUR BANK ACCOUNT

Nothing could be more frustrating than to have an important call to make and you discover you don't have enough credit on your phone. Perhaps you had even borrowed from your network and so you can't even borrow, as you have passed your limit. Then to make matters worse, you are in an area where the closest recharge card selling point is like 5km away!
Well, thank God for this age of digitalization, you can now recharge your phone via your bank account.

So find below the codes for recharging your phone via the Nigerian bank of your choice.

How to recharge your PHONE from your Bank Account...
(All Banks)
1. Access bank: *901* amount#
2. Eco bank: *326*amount#
3. Fidelity: *770*amount#
4. FCMB: *389*214*amount#
5. First bank: *894*amount#
6. GTB: *737*amount#
7. Heritage bank: *322*030*amount#
8. Keystone: *322*082*amt#
9. Skye bank: *389*076*1*amount#
10. IBTC: *909*amount#
11. Sterling: *822*amount#
12. UBA: *389*033*amount#
13. Unity bank: *322*215*amount#
14. Zenith: *966*amount# or *302*amount# (for mtn users)
15. Diamond bank (yellow acct. only):
*710*555*phone no.*amount*pin#

Hope you find it helpful?
----

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HOW TO TALK TO YOURSELF

We can talk about others, we can talk to others, but how many of us do talk to OURSELVES? One of the greatest secrets that will take you far in life is the ability and the practice of talking to yourself. This is what may be termed, Self-talk. Self-Talk is what programs you for victory in life.

Your Self-Talk is more important than People's talk about you. Stop being worried about people's talk. Take your Self-Talk seriously and you will see amazing results. According Dr Mike Murdock, "External communication is what you say to others. Internal communication is what you say to yourself. Others may not talk the Good Report to you...so talk it to yourself! What you say about your enemy, your future, your expectations affects what you believe."

“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success,” (Joshua 1:8).

JOKE: CAMPAIGN &VOTE!

While walking down the street one day a Senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies.
His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.
'Welcome to heaven,' says St. Peter.
'Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you.'
'No problem, just let me in,' says the man.
'Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.'
'Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,' says the Senator.
'I'm sorry, but we have our rules.'
And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he went down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he found himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.
Everyone is very happy and dressed in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.
They played a friendly game of golf and then dined on lobster, caviar and champagne.
Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly & nice guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it's time to go.
Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and wave whilst the elevator rises....
The elevator rises and the door opens in heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.
'Now it's time to visit heaven.'
So, 24 hours pass with the Senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.
'Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.'
The Senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: 'Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell.'
So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down down to hell.
When the doors open he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.
He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.
The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. ' I don't understand,' stammers the Senator.
'Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened? '
The devil looks at him, smiles and says, ' Yesterday we were campaigning..
Today you just voted!

(Source Unknown)
----
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Friday, 20 November 2015

POWER LIVING - YOUR ROLE

Power Living is key to maximizing your life. You have a role to play in the way people see you. Don't leave your life to chance, become proactive. Stop being a conformist.  Wake up to life.

Pastor Chris puts it in his words he titled "The Purity of a Christian", in it he says: As a child of God, it’s important that you always exude the excellence and righteousness of God that’s in your spirit. It should be easy for anyone to look at your life and tell that you’re a Christian. In the context of our opening scripture, "godliness" doesn’t refer to the righteousness which is in your heart, but to what you do that can be seen outwardly; it means piety.

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness (2 Peter 1:5-6).

There must be some piousness expressed in your behaviour, attitude, language, way of thinking, and way of doing things. There must be some discipline in your life, and in your communication. Never use vulgar or unwholesome words; have a clean language. The Christian has what is called "purity"; there’s the purity of a Christian, which should radiate through you. There’s some spirituality about a real Christian. It’s something that distinguishes you, because you’re not of this world.

You’re separated unto God, unto the life of righteousness. There should be some "calmness" in your life; there should be a way you carry yourself. There should be no roughness about you. There’re places you shouldn’t be found in, and things you shouldn’t do or say.

Use the Word to check yourself always, to get rid of any wrong stuff in your life. Keep bringing forth fruits that are consistent with your life and nature of righteousness: "Bring forth fruit that is consistent with repentance [let your lives prove your change of heart]" (Matthew 3:8 AMP).

Romans 6:1-4 KJV "[1] What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? [2] God forbid..."
- Culled from Rhapsody of Realities by Chris Oyakhilome, PhD
------

J4Men means Just For Men! This is a blog dedicated to providing wholesome information to inspire men to maximize their lives in every sense of the word. Please leave a message here. We will be glad to respond.

Ever heard about "Men of Honour"? Men of Honour (MOH) is a group for men aged 18 years and above. Founded by International Lead Coach and Mentor, Benson Akhigbe II, MOH is committed to helping build male role models who are purposeful and result-oriented in their personal life, family & workplace. MOH meets once in every two months and you can be a part of us from anywhere you live in world! For more information, do leave a message on this blog or call +234 806 0780 297, Thank you.

ALIBABA: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Well Alibaba is a household name and many times people don't even know where they are coming from. However, it's good to know so one can be inspired and be of course encouraged to press on. Jack Ma is the Founder, Alibaba. Jack Ma hit it off quite well with Alibaba, but he wasn’t much of a success before then.

He failed consistently over a period of 20 years. He failed a college entrance exam three times and was rejected from 30 different jobs. When KFC came to his city, he was the only one rejected out of 24 people that applied for a job at the franchise.

How hard could it possibly be to flip a couple of chicken laps and serve chips? Well, that’s the story of Ma. He is now worth more than $20 billion.

Originally Written by: Gbenga Onalaja

Wednesday, 18 November 2015

iROKOtv: SHOCKING STORY OF A CO-FOUNDER

Do you know who one of the founders of iROKOtv is? Would you like to know about where he is coming from? Well, Jason Njoku is co-founder of  iROKOtv. After Jason graduated from the university in 2005, he founded a student focused magazine, Brash. The magazine turned the table on everything politically correct. It captured the ugly underbellies of student life in Manchester.

Although the magazine was successful creatively, Jason and his team got the economics wrong and the magazine only survived three issues. “Commercially it was my most expensive failure. Both in time and money. All in we are talking about 3-years of my life and ~£120,000,” Jason said of the failure.

The failure of these founders is a reflection of the larger entrepreneurship scenery and the reality of existence in general. The British author, JK Rowling summarized it in this quote:

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”

In the long run, if you’ve failed at anything, you are on the right track. It’s the way of the winner. Embrace it, then learn from it.

Written by: Gbenga Onalaja

SHOCKING STORY OF SOME TECH FOUNDERS

Tech Founders who failed miserably earlier in life

It’s not uncommon to read up press coverage of successful founders and come away with the impression that they could not have failed one day in their lives. Like, how could Mark Cuban, popular Shark Tank investor and rockstar entrepreneur ever have failed at anything? Turns out Cuban has a failure story capable of reassuring a floundering founder.

Mark Cuban: Shark Tank investor. Co-founder, Broadcast.com

Mark Cuban was so clumsy he couldn’t open a bottle a wine. This clumsiness was why he was sacked as a waiter. Before he went on to found his internet radio company, Broadcast.com – that he would later sell to Yahoo for $5.7 billion in 1999 – he also failed as a carpenter, as a cook and as a powdered milk salesman.

He says of his failures, “I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter how many times you failed. You only have to be right once. I tried to sell powdered milk. I was an idiot lots of times, and I learned from them all.”

Hiten Shah: Co-founder at KISSmetrics

Before founding the web analytics company, KissMetricsHiten failed at launching a web hosting company. According to him, he “spent over 1 million dollars on a web hosting company that never launched”.

The team made the mistake of building out every detail of the product before attempting to understand what the customer cared for. By the time they realized no one needed their solution, 1 million had already gone into development.

Written by: Gbenga Onalaja

SHOCKING STORY OF MICROSOFT FOUNDERS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT

Bill Gate and Paul Allen: Founders of Microsoft

Who would have thought? But Bill Gates remarkably failed with his first business, Traf-O-Data. The product, which he designed along with Paul Allen, aimed to process and analyze data from traffic tapes. But when it was time to launch, Traf-O-Data didn’t work. A few years later, he began working on Microsoft, the company that would go on to produce the OS I am using on my PC.   

‘Even though Traf-O-Data wasn’t a roaring success, it was seminal in preparing us to make Microsoft’s first product a couple of years later,’ Paul Allen said of the failure.

Written by: Gbenga Onalaja

SHOCKING PAST OF KONGA FOUNDER

Konga today is a household name and one of the leading online shops in africa. However, many people do not even know that the owner of Konga is also the proud owner of DealDey and E-motion!
So what's his name? He is Sim Shagaya: Founder, Konga, DealDey and E-motion. The truth of the matter is, you won’t be wrong to dub Sim a serial failure! (That's in the past now, anyway).

Before going on to succeed with DealDey, Konga and his billboard advertizing agency, E-motion, he had launched “a failed dating site, a jobs portal that never caught on and a Nollywood streaming service that came before its time.”

“I learned something from each, every single one. There is not one I didn’t learn a lesson from. You just have to keep getting up. And have no ego,” Sim said in a 2013 interview.

Written by: Gbenga Onalaja

Sunday, 15 November 2015

BECOMING HAPPIER, HEALTHIER, AND MORE SUCCESSFUL ON YOUR OWN TERMS - 50 WAYS, Part 1

Becoming happier, healthier and more successful involves a number of things that you can do and things you should stop doing. In this powerful exposé by the great writer Benjamin Hardy, he brings out straight to the point and clear cut points that can help you take decisions to be Be Happier, Healthier, And More Successful - On Your Own Terms.

1. Stop consuming caffeine

Although people think they perform better on caffeine, the truth is, they really don’t. Actually, we’ve become so dependent on caffeine that we use it to simply get back to our status-quo. When we’re off it, we underperform and become incapable.

Isn’t this absurd?

With healthy eating, sleeping, and exercise, your body will naturally produce far more and better energy than caffeine could ever provide. Give it up and see what happens. You will probably get withdrawal headaches. But after a few days, you’ll feel amazing.

2. Pray or meditate morning, mid-day, and night

In a recent interview at the Genius Network mastermind event, Joe Polish asked Tony Robbins what he does to get focused. “Do you meditate? What do you do?” Joe asked.

“I don’t know that I meditate. I don’t know that I want to meditate and think about nothing,” Tony responded, “My goal is clarity.”

Instead of full-on meditation, Tony has a morning routine that includes several breathing exercises and visualization techniques that get him to a state of clarity and focus. For me, I use prayer and pondering (my version of meditation) as the same vehicle.

Whatever your approach, the goal should be clarity and focus. What do you want to be about today?

What few things matter most during the next 24 hours?

I’ve gotten the best results as my morning prayer and meditation are motivational; my afternoon prayer and meditation are strategic; and my evening prayer and meditation are evaluative and educational.

3. Read 1 book per week

Ordinary people seek entertainment. Extraordinary people seek education and learning. It is common for the world’s most successful people to read at least one book per week. They are constantly learning.

I can easily get through one audiobook per week by just listening during my commute to school and while walking on campus. Taking even 15–30 minutes every morning to read uplifting and instructive information changes you. It puts you in the zone to perform at your highest.

Over a long enough period of time, you will have read hundreds of books. You’ll be knowledgeable on several topics. You’ll think and see the world differently. You’ll be able to make more connections between different topics.

Reference #19 on this list if you feel you’re “too busy” to read one book per week. There are methods to make this task extremely easy.

4. Write in your journal 5 minutes per day

This habit will change your life. Your journal will:

    Clear your emotions serving as your personal therapist
    Detail your personal history
    Enhance your creativity
    Ingrain and enhance your learning
    Help you get clarity on the future you want to create
    Accelerate your ability to manifest your goals
    Increase your gratitude
    Improve your writing skills
    Lots more…

Five minutes per day is more than enough. Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism, recommends writing far less than you want to — only a few sentences or paragraphs at most. This will help you avoid burnout.

5. Marry your best friend

“For all the productivity and success advice I’ve read, shaped and marketed for dozens of authors in the last decade, I’ve never really seen someone come out and say: Find yourself a spouse who complements and supports you and makes you better.” — Ryan Holiday

Research done by economists have found — even after controlling for age, education, and other demographics — that married people make 10 to 50 percent more than single people.

Why would this be?

Being married gives you a higher purpose for being productive. You are no longer a lone ranger, but have another person who relies on you.

Marriage also smacks you in the face with what’s really important in life. Sure, hanging out and partying are fun. But too many people get stuck in this phase and miss the meaning that comes from building a life with someone.

You will never find a better personal development seminar or book than marriage. It will highlight all of your flaws and weaknesses, challenging you to become a better person than you ever thought possible.

6. Make a bucket list and actively knock items off

Most people have it backwards — they design their ambitions around their life, rather than designing their life around their ambitions.

What are the things you absolutely must do before you die?

Start there.

Then design your life around those things. Or as Stephen Covey explained in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “Begin with the end clearly in mind.”

7. Stop consuming refined sugar

If you stop consuming sugar, your brain will radically change. Actually, study after study is showing that refined sugar is worse for our brains than it is for our waistlines. According to Dr. William Coda Martin, refined sugar is nothing more than poison because it has been depleted of its life forces, vitamins and minerals.

Refined sugar has now been shown to make us cranky, make us make rash decisions, and make us stupid.

Again, like caffeine, if you stop eating refined sugar, you will experience some negative withdrawals. But, like any good habit, the effects of this will be seen in the long-run. What would your health be like a year from now (or five) if you were completely refined sugar-free?

8. Fast from all food and caloric beverages 24 hours once per week

One-day (24-hour) food fasts are a popular way to maintain health and vigor. Fasting leverages the self-healing properties of the human body. Radical health improvements occur when the digestive system is given rest and the organs get ample time to repair and heal themselves.

A regular practice of fasting can:

    Improve digestive efficiency
    Increase mental clarity
    Increase physical and mental vigor
    Remove toxins
    Improve vision
    Give a general feeling of well being

Like all the other habits, fasting gets easier with practice. I’ve been fasting for years and it’s one of the best things I have done for my health.

Fasting is also one of the most recognized techniques in religious and spiritual practices. I also use fasting to get spiritual clarity and refinement.

Honestly, I could go on for hours about this one. Give it a try. You’ll never be the same.

9. Fast from the internet 24 hours once per week

Your body gets an intervention when you fast. Your mind and relationships could use one too. Unplug yourself from the matrix.

If you haven’t caught on already, human beings are highly addictive creatures. We love our coffee, sugar, and internet. And these things are all great. But our lives can be far more enhanced by using these tools in wisdom.

The purpose of the internet fast is to reconnect to yourself and your loved ones. So, you probably shouldn’t do it the same day you do your food fast. Because eating is one of the strongest ways to form bonds.

You’ll be blown away by how much more connected you feel to your loved ones when you can give them your undivided attention. It may even feel awkward for a while having a real-life conversation without looking at your phone every three minutes.

10. Stop consuming the news or reading the newspaper

Although the amount of warfare and deaths by human hands are reducing globally, you will not get that message watching televised news or reading the newspaper.

On the contrary, these media outlets have an agenda. Their goal is to appeal to your fears by inflating extreme cases — making them seem normal and commonplace. If they didn’t do so, their viewership would plummet. Which is why Peter Diamandis, one of the world’s experts on entrepreneurship and the future of innovation has said, “I’ve stopped watching TV news. They couldn’t pay me enough money.”

You can get high quality news curated from Google news. When you detox from the toxic filth that is public news, you’ll be startled as your worldview becomes radically more optimistic. There is no objective reality. Instead, we live in perceived realities and are thus responsible for the worldview we adopt.

...To Be Continued
Written by Benjamin Hardey ( Originally titled 50 Ways To Be Happier, Healthier and More Successful...)

IMAGINATION - YOUR BEST ASSET


When I was younger, long before I read Stephen King’s IT, I remember holding my mums hand (I must have been five) and walking through a sun dappled wood. I was patiently explaining how a race of small people lived in the drains under the roads, a whole universe existing below foot.

As grew older I hungrily read a vast forest of books, played, as well as wrote, computer games (this is back in the day when most things were text based) and enjoyed hours of fun with my friends in worlds created through Dungeons and Dragons roleplay.
Lots of imagination required

As I grew older still I migrated to university and my whole aspect shifted. I still read, but not in any way as much as before. I enjoyed socialising with the friends’ who build up around you as you discovered your freedom and more of yourself.

This is not meant to be a potted biography, so I’ll fast forward a bit more, I entered the world of work and started to earn my daily bread. I was one of the lucky ones who found something which I enjoyed (in as much as you can enjoy your first job).

I still read, I still played computer games, mostly as a means of escapism and to unwind an otherwise buzzing mind.

It wasn’t until sometime later that I realised through no design I’d been exercising one of the primary muscles that drives personal and social growth. Imagination.

Imagination is something which we have in giant buckets as children, it entertains us and paints worlds on top of the world we live in. As we grow older our imagination begins to wane, in-fact day dreaming is seen as childish and we’re conditioned to engage with the real world around us. This is just what happened to me, my feet became more rooted to the ground and my imagination, whilst still active, started to atrophy.

If you’re lucky, what you’ll learn later is that imagination, day dreaming and just dreaming can be a wonderful way to stay happy, to innovate, to motivate yourself, in fact there’s not a lot of things you can’t do with imagination. Most entrepreneurs used their imagination to see something which no-one had yet envisioned. They made a leap, either big or small, to create something which didn’t exist before. How can you do that without imagination?

It’s been said that happy people live in the moment. I propose that happy, motivated people live with one foot in the moment and one boot place in the future, imagining the next step, the next dream, the next place to visit, or taking people along the way to visit with you. Anticipation, the sense of possibility and the golden hues of things yet to happen drives us forwards.

I’m not saying to be successful you need to feed your imagination, to be an innovator, to be successful you need lots of different things (in fact so many different things that no formula has ever been written down which guarantees success). What I’m saying is that if you want to be an entrepreneur you might want to try working your imagination. I don’t mean being consumed in a good TV show or engrossing film, sure these are a trip in your imagination, but they’re pretty insignificant imagination exercises. Perhaps similar to lifting a couple of grains of sugar and expecting to grow giant muscles’ (largely because the imagination has been done by other people and you’re simply consuming it; there’s little room for you to embellish), perhaps a better analogy is like cooking a microwave meal rather than making something from scratch. You’re not going to get better by eating someone else’s meal.

It’s going to be a real personal choice how to get your imagination going; painting, writing, reading, day dreaming, imagineering, there’s a whole gamut of options open to you. The key thing is, if you want to make a leap forward, you need to strengthen your jumping legs.

I would also suggest that this is not something which happens overnight, or through a forceful step-by-step development process. It might be a handy little tool in your personal development tool box though. You might be thinking of solving a problem, even something mundane and then completely imagine what the end result might be like. Once you have the end goal, you can work backwards and figure out how to get there.

It might be of no use to you what-so-ever, but along the way, in trying to ignite the flames of your imagination, you’ll probably have spent a few enjoyable moments stepping outside of yourself.

Article by: Phil Bird
Entrepreneur and innovator of market places, the founder of www.perfectchannel.com

Friday, 13 November 2015

MOUNTAINS CAN HEAR! SPEAK TO THEM

Mountains refers to challenges that are before you. According to Mike Murdock, he says to talk to Your Mountain. 

"Words matter. They create death or life. Your mind and your faith respond to anything you say. Never verbalize anything you don’t really want to happen. Pray your expectations, not your experiences."

“For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith,” (Mark 11:23).

Courtesy: Dr Mike Murdock

GETTING TRUE FRIENDS

FRIENDS ARE GIFTS FROM GOD
Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble.
Proverbs 17:17 (The Message Bible)

Today, most of the vital aspects of human relationships have become warped; including friendship. The mention of the word ‘friendship’ triggers off only thoughts of romance and a love relationship between a man and a woman. Friendship is the strongest human relationship and the main ingredient for any successful marriage. True friends are uncommon and they are gifts from God; you should pray for friends like you pray for anything else No man is an island and whatever you are today, you are the result of contributions from different people.

Action Plan: The bible says concerning friends in Proverbs 18:24 that there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. You can make this your prayer today and God will answer you.

PRAYER
Lord, I thank you for the gift of friendship. I ask that you make me a friend indeed to others even as you bring the right friends into my own life, in Jesus name, Amen.

Today, The Lord will Favour You with a friend That sticks closer than a brother, as Transformation Starts with You!
Courtesy: Ben & Kay Akhigbe II (Different Thinking)

Tuesday, 10 November 2015

8 THINGS YOU SHOULD BEFORE 8AM EVERY MORNING

8 Things Every Person Should Do Before 8 A.M.

Life is busy. It can feel impossible to move toward your dreams. If you have a full-time job and kids, it’s even harder.

How do you move forward?

If you don’t purposefully carve time out every day to progress and improve — without question, your time will get lost in the vacuum of our increasingly crowded lives. Before you know it, you’ll be old and withered — wondering where all that time went.

As Professor Harold Hill has said — “You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays.”
Rethinking Your Life and Getting Out of Survival Mode

This article is intended to challenge you to rethink your entire approach to life. The purpose is to help you simplify and get back to the fundamentals.

Sadly, most people’s lives are filled to the brim with the nonessential and trivial. They don’t have time to build toward anything meaningful.

They are in survival mode. Are you in survival mode?

Like Bilbo, most of us are like butter scraped over too much bread. Unfortunately, the bread is not even our own, but someone else’s. Very few have taken the time to take their lives into their own hands.

It was social and cultural to live our lives on other people’s terms just one generation ago. And many millennials are perpetuating this process simply because it’s the only worldview we’ve been taught.

However, there is a growing collective-consciousness that with a lot of work and intention — you can live every moment of your life on your own terms.

You are the designer of your destiny.

You are responsible.

You get to decide. You must decide — because if you don’t, someone else will. Indecision is a bad decision.

With this short morning routine, your life will quickly change.

It may seem like a long list. But in short, it’s really quite simple:

    Wake up
    Get in the zone
    Get moving
    Put the right food in your body
    Get ready
    Get inspired
    Get perspective
    Do something to move you forward

Let’s begin:

1. Get A Healthy 7+ Hours of Sleep

Let’s face it — Sleep is just as important as eating and drinking water. Despite this, millions of people do not sleep enough and experience insane problems as a result.

The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) conducted surveys revealing that at least 40 million Americans suffer from over 70 different sleep disorders. Not only that, 60 percent of adults, and 69 percent of children, experience one or more sleep problems a few nights or more during a week.

In addition, more than 40 percent of adults experience daytime sleepiness severe enough to interfere with their daily activities at least a few days each month — with 20 percent reporting problem sleepiness a few days a week or more.

On the flipside, getting a healthy amount of sleep is linked to:

    Increased memory
    Longer life
    Decreased inflammation
    Increased creativity
    Increased attention and focus
    Decreased fat and increased muscle mass with exercise
    Lower stress
    Decreased dependence on stimulants like caffeine
    Decreased risk of getting into accidents
    Decreased risk of depression
    And tons more… google it.

The rest of this blog post is worthless if you don’t make sleep a priority. Who cares if you wake up at 5 o’clock A.M. if you went to bed three hours earlier?

You won’t last long.

You may use stimulants to compensate, but that isn’t sustainable. In the long-run, your health will fall apart. The goal needs to be long-term sustainability.

2. Prayer and Meditation to Facilitate Clarity and Abundance

After waking from a healthy and restful sleep session, prayer and meditation are crucial for orienting yourself toward the positive. What you focus on expands.

Prayer and meditation facilitate intense gratitude for all that you have. Gratitude is having an abundance mindset. When you think abundantly, the world is your oyster. There is limitless opportunity and possibility for you.

People are magnets. When you’re grateful for what you have, you will attract more of the positive and good. Gratitude is contagious.

Gratitude may be the most important key to success. It has been called the mother of all virtues.

If you start every morning putting yourself in a space of gratitude and clarity, you will attract the best the world has to offer, and not get distracted.

3. Hard Physical Activity

Despite endless evidence of the need for exercise, only one-third of American men and women between the ages of 25 to 64 years engage in regular physical activity according to the Center for Disease Control’s National Health Interview Survey.

If you want to be among the healthy, happy, and productive people in the world, get in the habit of regular exercise. Many people go immediately to the gym to get their body moving. I have lately found that doing yard work in the wee hours of the morning generates an intense inflow of inspiration and clarity.

Whatever your preference, get your body moving.

Exercise has been found to decrease your chance of depression, anxiety, and stress. It is also related to higher success in your career.

If you don’t care about your body, every other aspect of your life will suffer. Humans are holistic beings.

4. Consume 30 Grams of Protein

Donald Layman, professor emeritus of nutrition at the University of Illinois, recommends consuming at least 30 grams of protein for breakfast. Similarly, Tim Ferriss, in his book, The 4-Hour Body, also recommends 30 grams of protein 30 minutes after waking up.

According to Tim, his father did this and lost 19 pounds in one month.

Protein-rich foods keep you full longer than other foods because they take longer to leave the stomach. Also, protein keeps blood-sugar levels steady, which prevents spikes in hunger.

Eating protein first decreases your white carbohydrate cravings. These are the types of carbs that get you fat. Think bagels, toast, and donuts.

Tim makes four recommendations for getting adequate protein in the morning:

    Eat at least 40% of your breakfast calories as protein
    Do it with two or three whole eggs (each egg has about 6g protein)
    If you don’t like eggs, use something like turkey bacon, organic pork bacon or sausage, or cottage cheese
    Or, you could always do a protein shake with water

For people who avoid dairy, meat, and eggs, there are several plant-based proteins. Legumes, greens, nuts, and seeds all are rich in protein.

5. Take A Cold Shower

Tony Robbins starts every morning by jumping into a 57-degree Fahrenheit swimming pool.

Why would he do such a thing?

Cold water immersion radically facilitates physical and mental wellness. When practiced regularly, it provides long-lasting changes to your body’s immune, lymphatic, circulatory and digestive systems that improve the quality of your life. It can also increase weight-loss because it boosts your metabolism.

A 2007 research study found that taking cold showers routinely can help treat depression symptoms often more effectively than prescription medications. That’s because cold water triggers a wave of mood-boosting neurochemicals which make you feel happy.

There is of course, an initial fear of stepping into a cold shower. Without a doubt, if you’ve tried this before, you have found yourself standing outside the shower dreading the thought of going in.

You may have even talked yourself out of it and said, “Maybe tomorrow.” And turned the hot water handle before getting in.

Or, maybe you jumped in but quickly turned the hot water on?

What has helped me is thinking about it like a swimming pool. It’s a slow painful death to get into a cold pool slowly. You just need to jump in. After 20 seconds, you’re fine.

It’s the same way with taking a cold shower. You get in, you heart starts beating like crazy. Then, after like 20 seconds, you feel fine.

To me, it increases my willpower and boosts my creativity and inspiration. While standing with the cold water hitting my back, I practice slowing my breathing and calming down. After I’ve chilled out, I feel super happy and inspired. Lots of ideas start flowing and I become way motivated to achieve my goals.

Plus, it’s healthy to do something in the morning that kind of freaks you out! Get’s you feeling alive and sets the tone for living outside your comfort zone!

6. Listen to/Read Uplifting Content

Ordinary people seek entertainment. Extraordinary people seek education and learning. It is common for the world’s most successful people to read at least one book per week. They are constantly learning.

I can easily get through one audiobook per week by just listening during my commute to school and while walking on campus.

Taking even 15–30 minutes every morning to read uplifting and instructive information changes you. It puts you in the zone to perform at your highest.

Over a long enough period of time, you will have read hundreds of books. You’ll be knowledgeable on several topics. You’ll think and see the world differently. You’ll be able to make more connections between different topics.

7. Review Your Life Vision

Your goals should be written down — short term and long term. Taking just a few minutes to read your life vision puts your day into perspective.

If you read your long term goals every day you will think about them every day. If you think about them every day, and spend your days working toward them, they’ll manifest.

Achieving goals is a science. There’s no confusion or ambiguity to it. If you follow a simple pattern, you can accomplish all of your goals, no matter how big they are.

A fundamental aspect of that is writing them down and reviewing them every single day.

8. Do At Least One Thing Towards Long-Term Goals

Willpower is like a muscle that depletes when it is exercised. Similarly, our ability to make high quality decisions becomes fatigued over time. The more decisions you make, the lower quality they become — the weaker your willpower.

Consequently, you need to do the hard stuff first thing in the morning. The important stuff.

If you don’t, it simply will not get done. By the end of your day, you’ll be exhausted. You’ll be fried. There will be a million reasons to just start tomorrow. And you will start tomorrow — which is never.

So your mantra becomes: The worst comes first. Do that thing you’ve been needing to do. Then do it again tomorrow.

If you take just one step toward you big goals every day, you’ll realize those goals weren’t really far away.
Conclusion

After you’ve done this, no matter what you have for the rest of your day, you’ll have done the important stuff first. You’ll have put yourself in a place to succeed. You’ll have inched toward your dreams.

Because you’ll have done all these things, you’ll show up better in life. You’ll be better at your job. You’ll be better in your relationships. You’ll be happier. You’ll be more confident. You’ll be more bold and daring. You’ll have more clarity and vision.

Your life will shortly change.

You can’t have mornings like this consistently without waking up to all that is incongruent in your life. Those things you despise will meet their demise. They’ll disappear and never return.

You’ll quickly find you’re doing the work you’re passionate about.

Your relationships will be passionate, meaningful, deep, and fun!

You will have freedom and abundance.

The world, and the universe, will respond to you in beautiful ways.
Connect Deeper

If you resonated with this content, and want more, please subscribe to my blog. You’ll get my eBook Slipstream time hacking. This eBook will transform your life. You can get there here.
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Thank you for reading. It means a lot!

Article Written by: Benjamin Hardy

MEN OF HONOUR MEETS IN NOVEMBER

It will be an uncommon meeting this Saturday 14th November, 2015, as Life Coach, Mentor and Founder of Men of Honour, Rev Benson Akhigbe II will be sharing with men key principles for transforming our world as men. 
This will be a life impacting meeting following loads of fresh insight gleaned during the CURE CONFERENCE 2015 held in October last month.
Kindly share and invite your male friends. It's a men only event, men who are 18 Years and above. Don't miss it!
Venue is #5 Oregbeni Crescent, G.R.A. Benin City, Edo State.
Admission is Free.
For further enquiries call or SMS 08060780297

Sunday, 8 November 2015

POWERFUL BOOKS RECOMMENDED FOR MEN

One of the most embarrasing quotes about africans  i ever heard is the one that said "if you want to hide something from a black man, put it inside a book". The young generation of people needs to disprove this statement by imbibing a new culture of reading.
Some Nigerian startup founders were reached out to  asked to share some of their favourite reads that have influenced their entrepreneurial journey. With genres ranging from historical fiction, to business management, here are the twenty six books they recommended:

Mark Essien (Founder/CEO, Hotels.ng)

1. The Martian by Andy Wier

2. Traction: A Startup Guide to Getting Customers by Gabriel Weinberg

3. Competition Demystified: A Radically Simplified Approach to Business Strategy by Bruce Greenwald

Tayo Oviosu (Founder/CEO, Pagatech Limited)

In Tayo’s words, “I am actually not a fan of most business books. My best advice to a startup founder is when it comes to books, read fiction so when you are reading, you really get your mind out of business and into another world.”

That said, here are the five business books he recommends:

4. Discover Your True North by Bill George and David Gergen

Tayo says “it’s a great book that helps you think about the directional path you want your life to take.”

5. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

6. Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries by Peter Sims

The book provides a good framework for approaching things in your business

7. Inbox Freedom: The Zen Master’s Guide to Tackling Your Email and Workby Mike Ghaffary and Charles Hudson

The book contains simple, practical but powerful lessons to gain control of your email inbox.

8. Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman and Greg McKeown

This helps you understand how to get the best out of people.

These are four of his favorite fiction reads:

9. My Soul to Keep (African Immortal series) by Tananarive Due

10. About a Boy by Nick Hornby

11. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death by Jean-Dominique Bauby

12. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Somto Ifezue (Co-founder/CEO, Push CV)

13. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

Somto says that this book changed his perception about money and investments. He added that “It teaches you how to make your money or investments (or what you have within you) work for you and not vice versa.”

Sim Shagaya (Founder/CEO, Konga.com)

14. Marketplace 3.0: Rewriting the Rules of Borderless Business by Hiroshi Mikitani

This is about the building of Rakuten – Japan’s ecommerce juggernaut

15. The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon by Brad Stone

16. Alibaba by Shiying Liu and Martha Avery

17. Amazonia: Five Years at the Epicenter of the Dot.Com Juggernaut by James Marcus

The history of Amazon told from an employee’s perspective

18. One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon by Richard Brandt

19. Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

In this book, the author [and founder of Zappos] tells the story of the fashion ecommerce company.

20. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

21. Sam Walton: Made in America by Sam Walton and John Huey

22. The Fortunes of Africa by Martin Meredith

23. The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New technologies Cause New Firms to Fail by Clayton M. Christensen

Sim says it’s the only real “theory” in business about disruption.

24. Zero to One: Notes on Startups, Or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters

25. The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age by William Rees-Mogg and James Dale Davidson

For Sim, it’s a book that fundamentally changed his understanding of nation states, patriotism and nationalism.

26. Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future by Martin Ford

This is the book he was reading at the time he sent in his recommendations. It’s about what technology foretells for employment. He says that “If you think economic growth equals higher employment, think again! Technology destroys jobs. Scary stuff.”

Culled from Nigerian News

CONFESSIONS OF A FORMER FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER

It takes lots of courage and a personal value of being truthful to stand up to the truth and say it boldly.
What are your opinions? What is the way forward? A lot depends on us as men to rise up to the task of nation building. It is evident that we must change our values, our thinking and engage a new culture that will foster development in our nation and indeed Africa.

In this report by Vera Wisdom-Bassey, Former Foreign Affairs Minister, Gen. Ike Nwa­chukwu (rtd) has urged Nigerian youths not to build on the mistakes of past and present leaders even as he regretted his generation of Nigerian leaders has failed the country.

“I want to point out that be­fore independence, we had three regions, Western, Northern and Eastern Nigeria. That was how we started. After independence, those who could not win elections on their own began talk about, I am Igbo, I am Hausa, I am Yoru­ba, I am this and that. NADECO led us to where we are today. The military tried to set these things but the politicians as we all know returned us to the era of I am Igbo, I am Yoruba and so on and so forth. It is now the responsi­bility of the youth. I join you in saying that our generation must have failed, our generation failed you. We tried as individuals but collectively our generation failed. So, for those of you who are com­ing behind us now, you must cor­rect those mistakes, and move our country forward”, he stated.

He made the remarks at a lec­ture delivered Tuesday by the for­mer Minister of External Affairs, and Deputy Chairman for 2014 National Conference, Profes­sor Bolaji Akinyemi on African Countries: Politices, Democracy and Ethnicity at Agip Hall, Mu­son, Lagos. The programme was attended by two other discus­sants; Dr. Sa’idu Ahmad Du­kawa, a Senior Lecturer, Depart­ment of Political Science Bayero University, Kano and Ms. Yemi Adamolekun, Executive Direc­tor, Enough is Enough (EIE), among other eminent Nigerians from different professions. Nwa­chukwu who was chairman of the occasion remarked while summarizing the lecture that since his generation has failed Nigerians, and it is, now the re­sponsibility of the youth to move the nation forward, and not to dwell on their past mistakes.

He said Nigeria today is struc­turally defective while he called for a true federal system. Ac­cording to him, “We do not have a balanced Nigeria and until we have a balanced Nigeria, we will continue to have problems like we have now. This was what the National Conference addressed and I attended that conference. I thought it would give me an opportunity to present my case before a balanced Nigeria.

“Where do I really belong? I am Ike Nwachukwu from an Igbo father, I am Umaru from a Northern Hausa Fulani mother from Kastina, I am married to a Yoruba woman who is from Egba. So who do I belong to? The National Conference gave me an opportunity and luckily I had to lead the South Eastern delegates. We went through the conference, night over night. I was with all the delegates at the conference, trying to find solu­tion to Nigeria’s problem and we believe that we did.”

He added that “It is not neces­sary to continue making refer­ence to past National Confer­ences, which includes Jonathan conference or Obasanjo confer­ence or Babaginda conference or Murtala Muhammed conference and others in the name of gov­ernment of Nigeria. When shall we come down to take the bull by the horn and save ourself less pain and create a strong united Nigeria? You must be a Yoruba or Igbo or Hausa before you are who you are. But when you be­gin to translate who you are, eth­nicity leads to ethnicism that is where the problem is and Nigeria cannot play more of ethnicism than really being a Nigerian.”
 
BY VERA WISDOM-BASSEY

Friday, 6 November 2015

NEW RESEARCH FINDINGS ABOUT MARRIAGE?

Research suggests that being in a happy marriage is one of the best things you can do for yourself.

According to the New York Times, "being married makes people happier and more satisfied with their lives than those who remain single — particularly during the most stressful periods, like midlife crises."

Of course, some marriages are more successful than others. The Times' Tara Parker-Pope recently examined research on the "ambivalent marriage" — one that is "not always terrible, but not always great" — which found that such a partnership can take a toll on health.

So how can you pick the right partner and set yourself up for long-term success?

We asked Peter Pearson, couples therapist and cofounder of the Couples Institute in Menlo Park, California.

Chemistry was his first answer.

"Chemistry is not everything," he said, "but if the chemistry is not there, that's a tough thing to overcome. If the chemistry is more there for one person than the other, that's tough to overcome. It's hard to build passion if it's low at the beginning. If I could find a way to build passion where passion was low, I'd be richer than Bill Gates."

But it's not just sexual chemistry, Pearson said. What you might call social chemistry plays a crucial role — the way you feel when you're with the other person. In his experience, when people have affairs, it's more than simple lust — it's also about the way they feel when they're around the other person.

That sense of "how I feel" can be investigated further by looking at the work of Canadian psychologist Eric Berne. Back in the 1950s and '60s, Berne developed "transactional analysis," a model that tried to provide an account of how two people in a relationship interact, or transact.

His popular books about the model became bestsellers, namely "The Games People Play." Drawing somewhat on Sigmund Freud, his theory argued that every person has three "ego states":

• The parent: What you've been taught

• The child: What you have felt

• The adult: What you have learned

When two people are really compatible, they connect along each tier. Pearson gave us a few questions for figuring out compatibility at each level:

• The parent: Do you have similar values and beliefs about the world?

• The child: Do you have fun together? Can you be spontaneous? Do you think your partner's hot? Do you like to travel together?

• The adult: Does each person think the other is bright? Are you good at solving problems together?

While having symmetry across all three is ideal, Pearson said that people often "get together to balance each other." One person might identify as fun-loving and adventurous, while the other takes on the role of nurturing and responsible.

While that divvying up of roles makes for good odd-couple romantic comedies, it's not ultimately sustainable.

"That works until someone gets tired," Pearson said — until one partner is shouting, "I'm tired of being the responsible person here!"

When that happens (or ideally, before that happens), a couple has to go through the "differentiation" process. 
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Ellyn Bader, Pearson's wife and Couples Institute cofounder, described in an interview with The Script how the high-tension phase of differentiation works:

People have to come to terms with the reality that "we really are different people. You are different from who I thought you were or wanted you to be. We have different ideas, different feelings, different interests."

Differentiation has two components. There is self-differentiation: "This is who I am and what I want." This refers to the development of an independent sense of self: to know what I want, think, feel, desire. ...

The second involves differentiation from the other. When this is successful, the members of the couple have the capacity to be separate from each other and involved at the same time.

For couples to survive that differentiation process and maintain their compatibility, the real secret sauce is effort.

But despite all these theoretical models, Pearson said the clues about what predicts true compatibility are much more of a felt sense than something you reason out.

He provided a litmus test. "If you're living together and your partner is away for a couple days and you see a favorite scarf, a pair of shoes, or another article of clothing that's important to them, how do you feel?" Pearson asked. "Do you feel annoyed that you have to pick up the clutter, or does it bring up happy memories?"

The answer can tell you a lot about how your parent, child, and adult are getting along with theirs.

This is an updated version of an article that was previously published.

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Courtesy: Yahoo! News

Wednesday, 30 September 2015

UNDERSTAND THE PRIMARY NEEDS OF EACH GENDER

One of the primary need of a woman is AFFECTION while for men, it is SEX. Each usually misunderstands what the other needs primarily and tries to fulfill his or her partner with their own primary need.
Therein lies the conflicts of companionship of all ages. Learn the difference and you create a miraculous peace in your relationship and marriage today.
If you know the difference between the two and know how to meet your partner's need, you create a new era in your marriage and relationship that will last a lifetime.
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Saturday, 19 September 2015

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