What is it that you are trying to achieve? Start a business, go  back to school, get that job or even get that promotion at work? It is within your reach. The world presents us with so many opportunities every day to achieve our dreams. Do we take advantage of these opportunities or we just allow them to pass us by? I believe you know the answer in your heart. Your answer is the exact reason why you are where you are today. If things are not unfolding as you would like, it means you have to take action and explore other possibilities.

Exploring possibilities is a personal task. No one can do it for you. While your parents (family, spouses, mentors etc) may be able to provide you with the platform you need, the main responsibility is on you. No one can help you to achieve your dreams. You know what you want and must be ready to pay the price to achieve it. People around you (mentors, boss, parents, friends etc) can only show you the way.They may be able to teach and advise you and enable you to become a wise and effective human being. But taking the actual steps is your responsibility.

“I do hope I have a mentor, but you still have to go through many things by yourself. The only person who can help you is yourself.” - Fann Wong

If you continually wait and hope for things to be different or for others to provide, then you will remain a victim of circumstances. And really, how much fun is that? And how much fun do you think it is for to be at the mercies of others? Believing that someone else is responsible, or making them responsible, for your happiness limits how far you will go. People can only do so much for you. Always remember that irrespective of what people tell you about being successful, you have to be willing to put in the time and effort. If you don’t have the drive to be successful, you are not going to succeed. So, here are some things that may help you move in the direction of your dreams:

1. Make the commitment to reach your goal: “One person with a commitment is worth a hundred who only have an interest” – Mary Crowley. Your goal is worth nothing without your commitment to follow through on it. You need to constantly remind yourself that nobody can achieve your goal for you. How committed are you to your goals?
2. Be prepared for change: Something are definitely not within your control. The foreign exchange flunctuation, radical changes in oil prices, inflation, interest rates, government policies etc. are things that you can not control.  Stick with your decision to move toward a goal – but be willing to change your direction to get there as conditions and circumstances demand.
3. Be accountable: Commit yourself to detailed accountability. Get a mentor that you know would be interested in you. Remember that the mentors are not there to help you achieve your goals. They are to ensure that you remain on the right track.
4. Give yourself no other option: Whether you will achieve your goals depends on how you respond to tough circumstances. Most people give up when all that they need is just to try one more time. Join the league of the few that succeed because they did not give in. Give yourself no other option.
5. Hang around with successful people: Being around successful people will make you want to be successful as well. Look for people that you know are going somewhere and engage them. You might need to go extra miles to build relationship with this set of people but it is worth the effort. Just remember that “iron sharpens iron”
6. Get back to reality: Spending hours in front of TV, watching movies and even playing games is a great way to escape from reality. This may be fun but it will pull you away from your goals. While you may have immediate satisfaction, you may be sacrificing your future at the same time. Concentrate on your long-term goals and don’t get caught up in things that take you away from reality.
7. Stop thinking and start acting: There is a limit to how far thinking can take you. The best laid plans, the most comprehensive preparation, can still lead to nothing unless you endeavour to take the necessary action. No matter how strong and promising your thought, plans and preparation are, once you fail to act, you would still be heading no where. The action step does not have to be perfect but ensure you start acting on things.
8. Read success stories: There are a lot of biographies of successful people and case studies successful entrepreneurs (business start-ups) who went from rags to riches. Lay your hand on these materials and learn from their mistakes and secrets. Following these people would help in motivating yourself.

Above all, remember, the first step is to know where you are going. If you do not know where you are going, you will undoubtedly end up somewhere else. You can do better, you can achieve more, you can be the best God has created you to be. Start now to make your dreams happen! It is never late to achive your dreams… Go for it!

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Are you ready for your winter? Can you say that you are better equipped to face your winter? It is not a question of “if” winter will come but rather a question of “when”. What you do today will determine the kind of experience you will have in winter. I will like to share a story I read some years ago. The story may be old but I keep seeing new applications each time I re-read it. So, join me on this storylane…

One summer day, a lazy grasshopper was chirping and sitting and playing games, just as he did every day. A hard-working ant passed by, carrying a huge leaf that he was taking back to the ant’s nest. The grassshopper said to the ant, “All you ants do is to work all day. You should be more like me and play, play, play.”

The ant replied, ” I’m storing food for the winter season. You should be working, for just the same reason. What will you eat when the weather gets cold? How will you feed your hungry household?” The grasshopper laughed, “All you ants do is work and worry. Slow down, don’t be in a such a hurry. Just look around, there’s plenty of food; don’t give me advice, that’s just plain rude.”

The ant kept working, the grasshopper kept playing, and winter soon came. The ant had prepared for the winter and had enough food stored in the nest to last through the cold, harsh winter weather. Now that winter had arrived, the grasshopper couldn’t find any food and soon became very hungry. He soon remembered the hard-working ant he had made fun of in the summer. The grasshopper went to the ant’s nest and asked for food.

The ant, who was still busy working at keeping the food clean and dry, said, “I toiled to save food for the winter freeze, while you spent the summer playing in ease. I stored just enough food for the winter, it’s true, but I can’t feed you all winter, or I’ll starve too.”

The ant, however, gave the grasshoper a few crumbs, but the grasshopper was cold, miserable, and hungry all winter. The next summer, the grasshopper worked hard to store food for the upcoming winter. That next winter, the grasshopper was well fed and happy! He learned to think ahead and plan for the future.

Can you pick any lesson(s) from this story? If not, I would suggest that you go back and read it again until the message sinks. However, I will like to share some of the lessons I have been able to pick from the story.

Lesson 1:

Winter is inevitable. Every human being and business will go through a winter period. The only difference is the timing. You might be going through your winter time while your friend’s winter is much later.  So, PLAN. Once you fail to plan, you are definitely planning to fail. No one can effectively achieve an objective that he or she does not have clearly defined. The ant’s main objective was to ensure that he had enough food in winter. This he planned to achieve. Likewise, you and I have to think things through, decide on the kind of lifestyle we want irrespective of circumstance, and write out our plan to achieve it.

“the depth of your plan determines the length of your success,” Rev’d Sam Adeyemi

So, if you really need to succeed, you need to embrace planning as part of your life. You need to plan very well so that you can sweat less. Only then can we do as Dr. Stephen R. Covey suggests, “begin with the end in mind.”

Lesson 2:

The  next important lesson is that the Ant prepared for the winter. There is no easy way out. There are basically two types of pain available – pain of discipline and pain of regret. So choose the one you want. You can either choose to be the ant or the grasshopper. The ball is in your court. Commit to learn new trade, study, practice, take that lecture, attend that seminar and go for that course.

Exercise, listen to those tapes, nurture a relationship, read that book (especially those written by people who have gone ahead in your chosen field). Someone somewhere has passed through your current path in your business or career. His/her experience has been packaged in a book / CD and is within your reach. Instead of you charting the course all over, grab the book/CD, digest the content therein and apply it to the situation at hand. You will be surprised at easy things will turn out to be. The important thing is to do something today that will make the path smoother tomorrow.

Lesson 3:

The ant did not stop at preparation. The ant performed. He worked every day during summer to gather his food. David Schwartz made this simple but profound statement,

“the only way to start, is to start.“

The simple fact is that the best laid plans, the most comprehensive preparation, can still lead to nothing unless you endeavour to take the necessary action. No matter how strong and promising your plans and preparation are, once ye fail to act, you would still be heading no where. The action step does not have to be perfect. They just  have to be taking you towards achieving your plan.

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale observed,

“If you put off everything until you’re sure of it, you’ll get nothing done.”

One of my favourite passage in the Bible - Ecclesiastes 11:4 - even confirms this,

“He that observeth the wind shall not show; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap”.

The truth is that nothing would be achieved until you set out to act. We would only continue to make matter worse. The need to act the plans does not only become necessary but important. Nike – one of the top kit manufacturing company in the world – has the right idea in her simple slogan, “Do it!” So, I advice that you change your motto to “DO IT” now.

Lesson 4:

The ant was persistent. Discouragement came from grasshopper painting picture of a better way to live. But the ant did not let go of his goal / plan. Will the road ahead be smooth? Will there be any adversity on the way? Yes… The difference between the successful person and the one stalked by failure is not the adversity – everybody has that. What do you do when you are faced with obstacle on the way? Do you regroup and hit it hard again, or do you just lay it down and quit? Many people have made a u-turn when success is actually around the corner.

It is therefore normal for you to have obstacles before success. Even the dictionary puts the word obstacle before success. Obstacles are there to strengthen you and offer progressive measurement of your growing strength. Discouragement sets in when you misunderstand the purpose of obstacles. Persistence is a conscious decision. So, you and I need to train ourselves to be persistent persons.

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1st half of year 2009 will soon come to an end and whether we like it or not, year 2009 will come to an end like a breeze. Reviewing my activities versus my plan for 1st half of the year shows that there are still many things I wish I had done these past months. I didn’t fully match my actions with my words. One thing that became more obvious is that most of the people around me are still in the planning mood. They are still talking about what they would do in the course of the year. Are you ONLY a talker?

Talkers are those people that have great ideas or great intentions, but just never follow through. Anyone can be a talker, but to make a change in your life, you need to take solid action and follow through 100%. If you don’t, you will never see the results that are ultimately in your grasp. As this first half comes to an end, revisit your plan. Dust off your plans from where you have kept them and review everything you have written down. And if you don’t have any plan for this year, it is not too late to get down to work.

“if you do not know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.“

Once you fail to plan, you are definitely planning to fail. No one can effectively achieve an objective that he or she does not have clearly defined. We have got to think things through, decide what we want, and write out our plan. Then make a personal commitment to follow through.

If you want to succeed, you need to embrace planning and commitment to action as part of your life. It is one thing to determine the things that you have to do in order for you to achieve your objectives, it is another thing to commit to work on everything. Forget about what you have not done in the past months but choose now to act on what you have written down. If you don’t know where to start from, seek counsel. Attend a “How To” seminar. Pick up a book and listen to that message.

Someone somewhere has done something similar to what you plan to do. Some people have passed through similar situation as yours and have packaged their experience in books and CDs. These are within your reach. Instead of you charting the course all over, grab the book, digest the content therein and apply it to the situation at hand. It is time to  to do something today that will make the path smoother tomorrow. So, make a commitment to follow through on your plan(s).

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Why would a bank that is laying off some staff announce payment of bonus to the remaining staff if indeed the focus is on cutting cost?  The response of the CEO was shocking. He said, “the only way to keep their best staff is to pay them high bonus“.  What is the difference between the ones laid off and those that received bonus? The difference? The people who are seemed to be successful – those living their dreams – are those that have learnt to manage their future. They live not at the mercies of others. They are in charge of their destiny.

How do you take charge of your destiny? Manage your future and mind your business. I am not not saying that you should resign from your job or rather that you should start your own business now. Very few people are cut out for business. So, I will definitely not advise you to take that route if business is not passion. The challenge is for you to really be in charge. You don’t have to keep worrying that your job security depends on the whims or moods of your current boss. The kind of live you have always wanted to live is within your reach. You can even transform your current job into that dream job.

The starting point is to control what happens in your career. You must take charge of your work life. You will have to fire your boss mentally. You will have to determine your own value. You will be setting your own goals. You have to be in charge of selecting the skills you wish to attain. You will also have your own personal work plan.You may need to do the following:

• Write your own job description: Write a brief description of your job. However, do not align yourself with a certain company, profession or specialization. Reflect on what you do each day and each week.
• Give yourself a performance review: Find out what other people with the same job description earn. Also find out the skills that are valued in this certain field.
• Define alternate courses: After you have done the two steps above, you will realize that there are alternate courses available to you. Brainstorm about all the other fields and occupations that would suit the job description that you created.
• Put your plan into writing: Develop your own plan for your work life. Remember that your future plans should not hinder the alternate courses you have defined. Note down the new skills you need to acquire.

Where you are today is a direct reflection of the words, thoughts and actions you took days, months and years ago. No matter how much you continue to blame your parents, teachers, where you grew up, television, the government or anything else, the truth is that nobody got you where you are today but yourself. The longer you choose not to take responsibility for your live, the longer you will be living uninspired lives that you do not love.

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Technorati Tags: start your own business, job security, dream job

‘Parties who want milk should not seat themselves on a stool in the middle of the field and hope that the cow will back up to them‘. Albert Hubert

Are you going after what you want? Or you are just complaining about your present situation without making any effort to change? Do you still think it is the responsibility of your employer to make you happy? Then, you need to have a rethink. What you become today is your responsibility and the outcome of the choices you made yesterday. You owe yourself a living. So, now is the time to take charge of your life.

You can live your life the way you want it. Believe it or not, it is now very easy to rule your world. Waiting for something just around the corner is merely reacting to life. If you are going to be a difference-maker, a maximizer, you need to be assertive and proactive in your thoughts and actions. You need to make things happen and not just wait for them to engulf you! You need to take responsibility for your life and future.

Your decision to take charge of your life is the starting point. Don’t just sit there! Do something! You need to focus instead on those items you can control: right attitude, right beliefs, and right commitments to action. By so doing, you will use your emotional energy in a positive way and actually move forward more quickly. Reactive people focus on the result. Proactive people focus on the principles.

Do you think you want that thing bad enough? But why do you still place your life at the mercy of others? I bet you will not henceforth… Make a commitment to living your the way you want it. Get started today. This is YOUR season if ONLY you will decide to face your challenge and go for your goal. Remember, excuses will take you no where. Take ACTION NOW.

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One day, he boasted that he could walk on water. Everybody in the village thought he had gone mad. Not only because they believed it would be an impossible task for the guy but also because nobody had done it before.

The fact that nobody has done it before does not mean that it can not be done.

The man made-up his mind that he would do it. He then went ahead fix the date when he would be able to show everybody that he could actually walk on water. The deal day came and to everybody’s surprise, the man walked on water. The village head later called the man aside and asked him how he was able to achieve this feat considering the fact that the river was deep. What the man said shocked everybody…

Anybody can walk on water if only he knows where the stones are.

The man told the village head of how he laboured almost every nights for many days to ensure stones were placed on a particular route he had carved out in the river. While everyone was asleep, this young man would go to the river and continued his work. He hided these stones on this route in the river but he was able to trace the path. So, the only thing he did on the day was to just place his legs on each of the stones and marched on as if nothing was happening.

This may sound like a story but the same can be applied to our lives. This is exactly the reason why some people succeed in whatsoever they do. They have not only been able to identify where the stones are placed on their path, they have also been able to harness the opportunities this presents to achieve their dreams. So, what is your dream? What are you trying to achieve? Set out to work NOW. And you will succeed. Give yourself no other option.

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A lot of things are happening at the moment. Companies are folding up. Jobs are being lost. People are loosing money. No investment vehicle can give you guaranteed returns again. But in the midst of things, some companies are still making money. People are still getting the kind of jobs they want. A lot are living the kind of life they want. So, what is their secret? They took charge of their lives. If you must succeed in your business or in your career, you have to take responsibility for your life. This is a choice you can’t do without.

“If you take responsibility for yourself you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams.”  Les Brown

Where you are today is a direct reflection of the words, thoughts and actions you took days, months and years ago. It is a matter of “Input and Output“. What you put in determines what you get. No matter how much you continue to blame your parents, teachers, where you grew up, television, the government or anything else, the truth is that nobody got you where you are today but yourself. The longer you choose not to take responsibility for your live, the longer you will be living uninspired lives that you do not love.

We are currently in a free society. So, you are at liberty to live your life at our own will. I challenge you to draw a switch board for your life right away if you don’t have any. Indicate all your right and wrong buttons – your positive and negative habits, your creative as well as time wasting activities etc. Then, make a firm commitment to yourself today that you will never again push the wrong buttons. Cross out all the wrong buttons from the switch board of your life.

Concentrate on the right buttons and let the doors of success open for you. Look for reliable people who are also taking charge of their lives then you can share your views with them. You can both encourage and motivate one another to work on the success plan of your lives. Above all, dare to succeed. Walk the pathway of success. Remind yourself that the responsibility lies with you. Start working on YOURSELF.  Sharpen your axe. The world does not owe you anything and the earlier you understand this truth, the better.

“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” Albert Einstein

In case you are still looking for job, don’t get a job that gives you the highest pay but rather one that matches your passion and allows you to express yourself. And if you are currently working, seek to understand your company vision and mission statement and then identify how you fit in. This should be your starting point. Always strive to be a person of value in whatsoever you do. As long as you keep improving and adding value to the business, your employer will do everything to keep your service.

Shift the focus from your employer and work on yourself. Stop the blame game. Put in the extra effort and take up the responsibility to be the expert in your field. Your skills will soon stand you out from the crowd. As a business owner, seek to add values to your customer. Filling the needs of your customers will ensure that you stay in business for a long time. So, start today to take charge of your life…

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I have been busy with my school work for some weeks now and this has reduced the time I have to update my blog. A thought came to mind this morning and I feel I need to share it right away. Many things have been happening in the world these past few months. A lot of companies are declaring losses. As a result, many jobs are being lost. Your job may not have been affected but you always live with the constant fear that your job may be taken away from you soon. Your situation may be different. You may be your own boss and feel this does not affect you much. I will like you to have a rethink…

The goodnews is that you are not in this alone. A lot of people are going through the same thing as you. But they have been able to ride on every challenge that comes their way. They now live their dreams. How did they move from where you are to where you dream to be? They took the first step. They stopped the blame game. They became disatisfied with what the world presents and decided to do something about it. This is about getting started. Taking that first step.

It is so easy to moan about our present situation and complain that things are not how we want them to be. How can we break out of that moaning habit and actually do something? Having a commitment to take responsibility for your life is the first step. Making the decision to do something is another vital step – but actually taking action is the most important one. Accept now that you are responsible for what happens to you.

Now that you have accepted responsibility for your life, it is time to take action. Do you feel the things you want to achieve seem too big or too far off in the future? Break down each goal into little steps which will lead you to your dream. Are the things you are doing today moving you towards achieving your goals? If you answer “NO”, then you need to ask yourself “what small thing (or big thing, if you like) can I do today that will move me towards achieving my goal?” Make a commitment to do it no matter what it will take!

Do not wait for some far-off time when you think conditions may be right before you go for what you want. That perfect time may never come. Have you ever thought of what would have happened if everyone in the world is waiting for the perfect condition? We would definitely not have anything today. Decide today that you would do something about your situation…It doesn’t take a minute to make a decision. Make the decision now and follow up with required action.

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Are you living your dream right now? Or you are waiting for the right time before you start living your dream? Millions each day have been taken over by the habit of procrastination. They find reasons daily to push forward what they would have done today. Yet, they profess to have a dream. Are you still part of this set of people? If you answer YES, then it is time for you to take charge of your destiny. Choose to live your dream from today.

Wait, how many times have you said, “Oh, I’ll do it tomorrow“? “I will do it when I have time?” Your motto may even be “I will do it as long as I can have someone to help out…” Procrastination will kill your dreams faster than you can even have them. When you procrastinate, you take no action and nothing is born. There is need for you to take action irrespective of what challenges you would have to face. It is your responsibility to ensure that you work towards living your dream.

What you call tomorrow or the future is actually TODAY. Tomorrow never comes. I believe it actually never exists. I used to get like a deer in headlights, frozen in my tracks, when it came to reaching for my dreams. The idea of going back to school seemed so daunting that I didn’t know where to start…! There was always something “more important” or “necessary” to do and my vision took a backseat… day after day after day.

I bet you know exactly what I’m talking about. You may even be experiencing the same at the moment. Make a commitment to pick up from where you last stopped and DO SOMETHING about it! What is is that you want to achieve? Go back to school? Start a business? Or even change your career? It doesn’t matter how poorly you think you would do. Just Do It.

Make a commitment to getting started today. This is YOUR year if you decide to go for what you want. Remember, excuses will take you no where. Take ACTION today.

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Time is running out. This is the plain truth. January is almost over and before you know what is happening, we would soon be in December. Have you just be living each day without carefully considering what you do with your time? Now is the right time for you to pause and reflect on the value of time and how important it is that you create priorities.

If you are yet to create plans of what you want to achieve this year, you may need to take out some hours to do this. It is never too late to put up one together. It is better to be late than to not to have one. One of the basic tenets of goal setting is that you choose, in advance, how you are going to allocate your time. This helps to ensure that you use it in the best way that will move you towards achieving your goals.

You may not have heard the phrase “the time value of money“. But I want you to consider this scenario carefully. A dollar in your hand today is worth more than a dollar in your hand a year from now. Why? The key difference is what you can do with that dollar next year. You can invest that dollar right now in any business or even in an interest – bearing project and have $1.05 at the end of the year. If you decide to take your money in a year, your opportunity cost (foregone investment) will be five cent. Not to mention what inflation will have done to your purchasing power within the time frame under consideration.

Now think about how many hours you are losing each time you engage in those irrelevant activities. Apply the same thought process to when you ARE actually working – maximizing your time. Decide what better use of your time IS every time. Having this at the back of your mind always will ensure that you always decide what the best use of your time will be. Time is money and money is time. So, choose today invest them wisely.

Meanwhile, let me leave you with this short movie.

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Technorati Tags: opportunity

I am glad we all made it to this new year. So, I will like to use this medium to say Happy New Year and to thank you for your constant visit to this blog. Your visit and comments last year were source of encouragement and gives me more motivation to keep updating this blog. However, if you feel there are some things that need improvement, do visit the contact me page and send me an email. I would be glad to hear from you.

As we start this great year, I will like to share with you one secret that can help you live your dreams / goals in 2009. You might have heard a lie that only selected few can succeed in life. Someone might have told you specifically that it will be hard for your business to succeed. They might have even pointed your attention to other businesses that are failing. Don’t believe that lie. The fact that other businesses are failing does not mean yours have to. Also, the fact the other people are loosing their jobs does not translate to you loosing yours. What then is the secret? Turn everything you have got into seed.

As long as you have seeds, you can create your world. The most interesting thing is that God has given everyone seeds to sow. God has based this world on the Law of Sowing and Reaping. If you want to reap yam tubers, the only way out is to plant yam seeds. You can not plant corn and expect to harvest cassava. What you plant is what you will receive. So, if you want to experience success in your business or career, you have to plant the right seeds. And this has to be on a daily basis. Planting your seed only once is not enough. You have to ensure that you keep putting your seed into the ground no matter what demands it places on you.

Words are seeds. Pay close attention to words coming out of your mouth every minute. If the first thing that comes out of your mouth each time your family members ask you for money is that you don’t have money, the truth is that you will definitely not have money. Rather than speak about your present situation, speak the future you desire into existence. What you are facing now might be the exact opposite of what you want. You might even be finding it hard to make a single sale but keep sowing your word seed. Don’t let negative word come out of your mouth. Guard your speech. Never speak of yourself in a discouraged or discouraging way. Always speak in terms of advancement. Water the seed of the future you desire.

Thoughts are also seeds. What you allow to go through your mind consistently will ultimately rule your world. Control your thought and you would control your world. Everything around you can be turned to seeds. You might feel and complain that you deserve more than you are being paid now at your place of employment. Your complain from now till eternity will not change anything. The power to change your world lies with you. See your work place as a fertile ground that needs your seeds. If anything needs to be done in the office, be the first person to take up the responsibility.

It may even be your business that is not giving the kind of returns that you expect. Instead of complaining, seek to offer your customers quality service.

Give your boss / customers more USE VALUE that the CASH VALUE you collect from him / them. Turn everything you have to seeds.

Learn to recognise the seeds God has given you and cultivate them. Once you cultivate your seed, the Law of Growth sets into place. Your wealth and dominion are tied to seeds. Value seeds! When you disrespect your seed, you will have to EAT from someone’s harvest and it will be at a cost. Start today to sow your seeds.

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Technorati Tags: Law of Sowing and Reaping, Law of Growth

Compliments of the season. As we get set for the new year, I will want us to take a look at an important question…”where do you see yourself or your business in 5 years?”. If you can not answer this question in 5 seconds, then you need to sit down right now and take a look at your life or business. Some years back, in my final year on campus, five of us were faced with this same question. We were about to graduate from the university and the future stared at us.

Each of us shared our picture of where we would be in 5 years. Looking back today (about 7 years after), I am proud to say that we have achieved everything that we shared at that time.  Now, take a look outside your office now…Spend the next 5 mins watching people pass before you. How many do you think out of those passing before you have specific goals in their life? Do you think they have any specific thing they are pursuing with vigour? I am sure if we decide to take a survey now, we would find very little. This is exactly why many achieve little.

Many people’s paychecks are not large enough to pay their bills because they have no goals. They have no concrete plans on how to improve their life or expand their knowledge so as to increase their value to the society. They wake up each day with their ship heading nowhere.This season is a time to set yourself free and set goals for your life and business.

All tangibles objects began as goals or ideas in the mind of people. So, if you will achieve anything in life, it must be first exist in the form of an idea or goal. This is the starting point. Get out of the camp of many that just exist from day to day, week to week or even year to year without goal or a picture of what they want to achieve in life.

Spend this festive period to design a five-year goal for your life and business. Find half an hour when you know you will be free of all distractions. Use it to make a list of all goals that come to mind.  Include the most outrageous goals you can imagine. Don’t worry about whether the goals are realistics or unrealistics at this point. Just write down everything that comes to mind. After you have written down all your goals, now go over the list and carefully pick out the five which are the most important to you.

Be careful not to fall into the situation where your goals concern only your business or your career. Think of your marriage (even if you are still single), your friends and other important areas where you feel you can improve your life. Write these 5 down on a set of cards and paste them where you can see them everyday. You may need to put one of the cards in your wallet. Just ensure that your goals are visible to you. The result? Your life will always be focused on specific goals. And you will be making progress in all important areas of your life with a steady and consistent pace. Start today and carve out a goal for your life and business.

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Technorati Tags: business, goals, career

If you would always reach an optimal performance each time you get to work, you need to take time out of your busy schedule to recharge. Regular relaxation is essential for a long life and personal effectiveness. Here are some techniques for relaxing physically that Brian Tracy shared in his book, “Getting Rich Your Own Way“.

Take Time Off Every Week: Work only five or six days per week and rest completely on the seventh day. This may be hard to achieve if you are just starting out in business. But as you work on building your business, put this in your plan. If God could rest on the seventh day, then you have no excuse. Create this time-off yourself and you will be glad you did.

Get Your Mind Busy Elsewhere: One good you can do yourself is to make this time-off really a time-off. Do not take home your work and there is no need trying to catch up on reports. Those reports will not run away before you return to work. Ensure that you do not do anything else that requires mental effort. Let your mind relax completely. This is may be a good time to get busy doing things with your family and friends. Whatever you decide to do, discipline yourself to shut your mental gears off completely for at least one 24-hour period every seven days.

Get Away on Mini-Vacations: Take one vacation as often as possible, and during that time, refrain from doing any work. This is one thing that most of us are not used to. There is always a believe that the business will not go on if you are not involved physically in the day-to-day running. This is not absolutely true. If your business can not survive outside you for some days, it shows that there is a problem somewhere. And you need to address this as soon as possible. Like I said earlier, time-off is not attempt to catch up on even a few small things.

Take Big Chunks of Down Time: Yeah, you read it well. You need to take at least two full weeks off each year during which you do nothing that is work-related. You will have to decide between working or relaxing; you can not do both. Whenever you carry your work to vacation, you are not recharging your mental and emotional batteries. The end result? Your guess is as good as mine. You will come back from your vacation just as tired as you were when you left.

Give Yourself a Break Today: Why not start today and take one-day off work. if you are in paid employment, ask you boss that you need a day off. Explain the need for you to recharge especially the impact that it will have on your performance at work when you resume at work. Put your immediate concern out of your mind. Choose not to think about it. So, give yourself the break you need now.

If you are thinking about how you can achieve all these, Brian Tracy also pointed out three action excercises. You may take a look at these and see how they apply to you. First, plan your weeks in advance and build in at least one day when you will relax from work completely. Make a commitment to keep this date. Some things will come up that will want to place a demand on you to change your plan. But stick to your plan. Refuse to give in to any distraction.

You may also need to reserve, book and pay for your vacations several months in advance. You can even think of a vacation programme that does not offer refund. The catch is this…Once you have paid the money, it is most likely that you would go on the vacation than put it off. Finally, decide that you will not work at all during your vacations. When you are at work, work. And when decide you want to rest, rest 100% of the time.

Do you have a difference approach on how to recharge? You can use the comment section to share your tips and helps. I am sure many other people will be blessed by your experiences. I am waiting to read your comment. Keep succeeding.

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Technorati Tags: business, business owner, success, Brian Tracy, vacation

I have received series of emails from people asking for advice on choosing a business school. So, I decided to use this medium to answer one of the questions raised. If you are considering pursuing an MBA programme, then read on. Going for an MBA programme might mean sacrificing your present salary throughout the period you would be in school. It may mean you having to fall back only on your savings or investment to meet the financial demand that an MBA programme would place on you. Do you think you have all it takes? Do you have the strength to put in the required sacrifice?

Studying for an MBA is one sort of sacrifice and the weight may be heavy. The truth is that some of the people you are leaving behind at work might have moved up the career ladder before you finish. The result? They would be earning more money than they were earning when you left them and you might not be able to measure up in the immediate. You need to sit down and decide if it is worth it trading your present salary and briefcase for a backpack and student loans?

The thought of going back to school conjures up serene campuses, summer vacations, and a laid-back lifestyle. After several years of 60-hour workweeks, heading back to class might sound like a much-needed two-year break. And, hey, it seems MBA grads can command six-figure salaries. What’s not to like? Should you go for it? Only you can decide that and your dreams / goals should form the basis of your decision. Consider the following questions and be sincere in your answers.

Where Do You Want to Be in Three / Five Years? The first step in deciding whether or not to strap on your backpack and head back to school is to figure out what you want to get out of an MBA program. Business school can mean a heavy investment in time and money — two years for most full-time programs, give or take a year for executive MBAs and part-time students. Ask yourself first how business school will help you meet your goals, then consider what you’ll be bringing to the mix.

Do You Need an MBA to Get There? It’s important to investigate the skills needed for the particular type of position you want. You may be surprised to find out that while an MBA may be an important factor in fields like investment banking and consulting, it would not automatically guarantee you an interview in some industries. But if you’re looking to move to a completely different career, an MBA can definitely facilitate the switch.

Having considered the two questions raised above, do you still feel you need that MBA? Does it worth it to trade your present salary to achieve your goal? If you are yet to answer the tqo questions, go over them again and ensure that you are sincere. This is about your life and only you alone understand that dreams you have. Weigh your options and go for IT if it would move you towards your goals. Decide today to follow your passion.

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Technorati Tags: money, student loans, MBA, investment, business school, goal

Who are your friends? Who are the people that have direct or indirect influence on you? Who are the two or three people that come to mind when you need someone to speak with? Whether you know it or not, you are who you are today by virtue of two things -  the kind of books you read and the company you keep. So, if you need to achieve the type of success you desire, you need to watch who are in your cycle of influence.

Wise people avoid negative souls like a plague. Some people can never see the good in anything. If you want to go somewhere in your life, you must first learn to avoid such people. “It can’t be done” “Oh, there is recession everywhere”. “This is Nigeria, it may never work”. These set of people would give you a million reasons why things can’t just work or why you may never realise your dreams. They will give you enough reasons why you should not waste your time trying to do anything. They will even give your reasons why you should accept your present situation as your destiny.

Friends, there is no challenge facing you today that is peculiar to you alone. Your issues are HUMAN issues! Simple! The only way out is for you to surround yourself with high – thinking and well driven individuals. Do not waste your time with people who are going nowhere. Have you ever wondered what happen to these set of people? They end up knowing all the richest people in this world when they turn fifty but they have no personal result to show forth but many stories. They will be glad to associate with success but do not want to go through the process themselves. “That man called minister of finance was my mate in school”, most of them would say.

Look, just excuse yourself from them, for they see only an ugly world, which is simply a mirror image of what they have and conceive inside. This is one major responsibility you owe yourself. Choose the people that you associate with. The responsibility to choose your friends lies solely on you. Friendship is not by force, it is by choice. God has given everyone the power to choose who you associate with. You have the responsibility to choose your friends wisely. You do not need perfect people but you need people that want to grow like you, and that are teachable. Do these people have regard for life itself? And how do they see their parents, other people and even the opposite sex?

Meanwhile, that you should avoid negative people does not mean that you have to become paranoid. One strategy that is very good here is your ability to value people, and to recognize the right peg for a particular hole when you meet one. You have got to master the art of working with people. There is hardly anything you can do in this world without people. Some people will come into your life and you’ll rue the day you met them. Whereas, when you come across some other, you’d wish you had met them before because of the level of impact they have on you.  Your responsibility is therefore to identify the right set of people and move with them. So, do you think you already build the network you need to succeed? if your answer is NO, make a conscious effort today and choose your friends wisely.

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Technorati Tags: success

Millions each day (if not more) are afflicted with and effected by the habit of procrastination. How many times have we all said, “Oh, I’ll do it tomorrow”? Procrastination kills dreams faster than you can even have them. When we procrastinate, we take no action and consequently – nothing is born. There is need for you to take action irrespective of what you want. No obstacle is big enough to stop you from living your dream. God has deposited in you everything you need. No matter how big your goal is or the challenge on the road, you can achieve it if only you will take the first step today.

SO, GET STARTED NOW…Guess what? Tomorrow never comes. Yeah, it never does. Tomorrow only appears in the mind. Have you ever considered the fact that the tomorrow you were talking about yesterday is the today you are in now. I used to get frozen in my tracks, when it comes to reaching for my dreams. The idea of starting and running a successful business seemed so daunting that I didn’t know where to start… There was always something “more important” or “necessary” to do and my vision took a backseat… day after day after day. But I took the bull by the horn. I moved towards my goal. I started a business part-time but I ensured that I keep moving towards my goal. The steps may be small but I am definitely not stagnant.

I bet you know what I’m talking about too. You too can make the decision today to move towards your dream. First, have a clear picture of what you actually want. Then, make a commitment to do something in line with your goal every day. Give it everything you have got and ensure that you DO SOMETHING about it! It doesn’t matter how poorly you do it. Like Nike suggests, “Just Do It“.

Will you still watch your dream pass you by? Make a commitment to getting started today. This is YOUR season if ONLY you will decide to face your challenge and go for your goal. Remember, excuses will take you no where. Take ACTION NOW.

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Technorati Tags: Start a business, goal, procrastination, dream, successful business, dream

1. Make the commitment to reach your goal: “One person with a commitment is worth a hundred who only have an interest.” Mary Crowley. Your goal is worth nothing without your commitment to follow through on it. Lack of commitment is one of the reasons why many people do not [achieve their goals. Many have great goals and even wonderful plans to achieve the goals. But without a personal commitment, nothing will be achieved. You need to constantly remind yourself that nobody can achieve your goal for you. Your employees or your boss is only working at achieving his goals. So, how committed are you to your goals?

2. Be accountable: Commit yourself to detailed accountability. Look for someone that you respect and share your goals with the person. If possible, get a mentor that you know would be interested in you. Remember that mentors are not there to help you achieve your goals. They are to ensure that you remain on the right track. But I bet you this is worth much more than you can quantify. Also, develop the habbit of recording your progress toward your goals every night, and list the six most important things you need to do the next day. This daily discipline is not only key to reaching your goals but also gives you motivation to keep going.

3. Build your life on a sold foundation of honesty: A life and / or business built on strong character, integrity, trust, love, and loyalty is definitely going to succeed. The progress may not be visible but it will pay off. This foundation will give you an honest shot at reaching any goal you have set properly.

4. Break your intermediate and long-range goals into small bits: Imagine that your goal is to have a certain amount of turnover in your business within the next one year. While this is may be a great goal, the implication is that you will have to wait till the end of the year before you know if you achieve your goal or not. But if you break it down into monthly turnover, this is easy to measure. Moreover, you will be able to know on time if you are close to your goal or not.

5. Be prepared for change: Something are definitely not within your control. The foreign exchange flunctuation, radical changes in oil prices, weather, inflation, interest rates, government policies etc. are things that you can not control.  So, you have to consider this when setting your goals. Stick with your decision to move toward a goal – but be willing to change your direction to get there as conditions and circumstances demand.

6. Share your “give-up” goals: I can not over-emphasise the importance of sharing your goals with people. While this will help you stay on your toes, it will also do you much good. Assume that your goal is to give up drinking, being rude, or even procrastinating, you will surely see people that will encourage you. They can even help you track your action towards achieving your goals. So, don’t keep your goals to yourself only. Share it and get the help that you need.

7. Become a team player: Nobody is created an island. If God could create Eve and bring her to Adam, then you definitely need people. I have not seen any person who became successful alone. Just take a look around you. The people they are working with may not be visible but I bet you there is little they can achieve without the support they get from their team. One thing you need to consider when in working in team is what you are going to add to others. Focus on how you can help others achieve their dreams. The people you may be working with may even be your employees. Just have it in mind that they have their goals that they are trying to achieve. And if they can’t get to achieve their personal goals working with you, they will leave you and you might have to start over again. Always remember: “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want. Zig Ziglar”

8. See yourself reaching your goal: The main reason why you set your goals is because you want to achieve them. It is, therefore, important that believe in yourself. Constantly put the goal before you.  In your imagination, see yourself achieving whatsoever goal you have set for yourself. Can you see yourself receiving that diploma, getting that job or promotion, making that speech, moving into the home of your dreams, achieving that weight-loss goal, hitting that turnover target? This is necessary if you will achieve your goals.

9. Document your achievement: One reason why you have to do this is the effect it has on you. Every time that you reach a goal, your confidence will grow. See your achievement motivates you to work towards achieving bigger and better things. After accomplishing any goal, make it a habit of recording it in your Journal, Weekly Planner or Palm Pilot.

10. Give yourself no other option: Challenges will come on the way. They are there to refine you. But whether you will achieve your goals depends on how you respond to tough circumstances. Most people give up when all that they need is just to try one more time. They give up when they would have hit their target in the next attempt. Join the league of the few that succeed because they did not give in. Give yourself no other option.

Above all, remember, what you get by reaching your destination is not nearly as important as what you become by reaching your goals – what you will become is the winner you were born to be! The first step is to know where you are going. If you do not know where you are going, you will undoubtedly end up somewhere else. You can do better, you can achieve more, you can be the best God has created you to be. So, start now to make your dreams happen!

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Technorati Tags: goal, business, achieve your goal, accountability, mentor, team player, dreams

If your parents are like mine, you would agree that they always have their own plans. Parents seem to know what is best for their children. Why the child keeps dreaming and looking forward to pursuing his dream, the parents would normally be working out their agenda for the child. You will hear statement like, “I want you to be a doctor“. “That my friend that is a medical doctor is doing very well“. “You have to be an engineer“. I am sure you heard something like this if not exactly the same when you were growing up as a child. You may be fortunate to make your final decision as regards the course you would study in the university. But the story is definitely different for most people.

You may have studied a course chosen for you by someone else but the choice is yours to make the best use of what you have got. You need to revisit your childhood dream. Wait…what are those things that you were dreaming of when growing up as a child? I believe this is the time to do some soul-searching to find out what you would rather be doing at the moment. Imagine for a second that you are living your life and suddenly missed out on what you were supposed to be doing. The truth is that this is exactly what happened to many people. Instead of living their dream, they result to following the route of least resistance. Many give reasons why they should continue doing what they have been doing – living someone’s dream.

Just as many successful people have had to realise that their parents’ goals were not theirs, you too have to find what makes you tick. Every successful person has had to set his goals and pursue them. The question I want you to answer now is, “if you are not living your life, then whose is it?” If you are not going to think about your life, then who will? The past may be beyond you now, but you have the power to change the present. Choice is a freedom we can all exercise. We are all in charge of writing our own movie and that movie is our life.

Imagine that you are sitting in front of a computer now and you are typing a scene as it comes to mind. What kind would you want to have? Somehow, I have a feeling that most people would not choose their present situation. It would not only be boring to write, it would be no fun to watch. So, why are you living out a script that you would never write? Give yourself a little freedom now to develop into someone you would actually like to be. The only person that can and that will give you a chance is yourself. Nobody can do this for you.

Too many people want status quo to remain the same and that includes you. So, you have to do everything to separate yourself from this group of people. If it means going for another course in the university, it is worth it. You have the ability to change your present situation. You are already equipped with what you need to move beyond mediocrity or whatsoever that may be holding you back. Make up your mind today not to follow the easy route. If you would really live your dream,  you have to do what the successful people normally do. Move beyond the common.

I will leave you with what Donald Trump said. “Write your own script. Then produce it yourself and find yourself living the way you want to. That is freedom; that is power and that is winning“.

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Technorati Tags: ideas, plans, dream, successful people, Donald Trump

Red lights on our street are necessary for safety. So, whenever you feel the urge to stop, you need to ask yourself if you are stopping yourself from realistic reasons. Are you stopping because you sense you are moving towards danger or because you feel you may never achieve your goal? The truth is that if you feel you would not be able to achieve your goal, there is no point going ahead. People normally put themselves in this kind of situation when they focus too much on the failures of the past.

Failure is normal. Ask all successful persons and they will tell you that they had failed before but they did not allow the failure to keep them down. They chose to learn the lessons and try again. Stop wasting your fuel worrying about yesterday. The past is gone, the future may be unknown but the present is real. And so your opportunities are real. Wait…if your mind is buried in the past failures, if you keep reliving old mistakes, your opportunities can not be real to you.

Just as you would take good care of your car, take care of your emotional car and ensure that it moves you towards your objectives. Stop when the red light on your mental dashboard signals a necessary slowdown but change it to green as soon as you notice any feeling that wants to keep you from moving towards achieving your objectives. Nobody is going to do this for. You just have to give yourself no other option and you would be surprised at the kind of resuls you would get.

Stop now and start again. Engage this process always. This is definitely one way of moving towards your goals. As you formulate your goals and move towards then, always remember your past successes. See them in your mind as they were happening  now. Your success will not only live now but also give you enough motivation to face what lies ahead. Use your success of the past to launch yourself towards creating the success of today. Stop when the red light signals but start immediately the light changes to green. Keep an eye on the red light.

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Technorati Tags: opportunity, goal, successful persons

You are the opportunity and it is your responsibility to knock on the door to your destiny. You start by preparing yourself to recognise opportunity when you see one. Have an open mind in all situation. Then you will have to pursue and seize opportunity as you develop your strength. The one opportunity that is accessible to you NOW is being able to steer yourself to a productive goal through the growing awareness of “who you are”, “what you can be” and “how you can channel what you have got to turn your dreams into reality”. Nobody can do this for you. So, you owe yourself a lot by committing to this.

You have to create opportunity. This is your responsibility and don’t let anybody deceive you that they can do this for you. It is your call to develop the capacities you need to move towards opportunity. Your starting point will be to work on your thinking. What normally comes to mind when you are faced with challenges? Do you see adversity or opportunities? Your thinking has to align with your goals. Your thought must be able to direct your energy towards fulfilling your dreams / goals. This won’t come easy but you must fight for your right to fulfil the opportunity that God gave you to use your life well. You can do this in your mind when you support yourself.

You have to constantly focus on developing your creative and imaginative power instead of worrying. Don’t bother yourself with what other people think or say about you. Always remember that opinion doesn’t change potential. Moreover, you must stop complaining about your unfortunate past and open your eyes to the opportunities that exist for you. One thing that complaining or focusing on the past does is that it robs you of the future. While it is true that you may have limitations, you need to focus on the opportunities that abound. Search for your creative powers so that you can move towards your opportunites. Leave the camp of those whose major work is to criticize everything. The best they can do is to take you further away from recognising your opportunities.

Finally, know that our world is full of so many opportunities. There are countless number of businesses yet to be started, softwares yet to be written and even exams to be written. The frontiers are not all closed and the doors are not yet shut. Every new day creates a platform for us to move forward and create exciting new opportunities. The ball is in our court. Also, the amount of opportunities that we create is independent of what others can create. God has blessed us with everything we need. Will you waste God’s resources? Answer the question within yourself but make a commitment today to develop the strength you need to seize your opportunity…

Are you still Passing Over Opportunities Repeatedly?

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Technorati Tags: opportunity, dreams