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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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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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

My congratulations, therefore, go to everyone who still believes in hope and especially those whose dreams have been brought back to life. While we are still celebrating, I believe this is a good time to examine some of the lessons from this history-making victory. We all need to look beyond the euphoria and see the values that we can replicate in our lives. So, what are the basic lessons that are available to us all?

1. Obama had a dream: What is it that you want to do? Every major achievement in life starts with a dream. The whole world started with a dream by God. There is nothing in existence today that has not passed through the dream stage. Obama started the race to “White House” with a dream. Today, he did not only achieve his dream but also create history.  He became the first Black American president of the United States. There is nothing you can achieve in life without starting with a dream. DREAM is an important foundation upon which all achievements are built. Through dreams, we determine indirectly what our future becomes. We pick our future with our dreams. The question now is, what pictures are in your mind? You can start today to determine the course of your life by dictating the pictures you allow to stay in your mind.

2. Obama had a plan: If you do not know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else. Obama did not only have a dream, he was clear in his mind of how he was going to achieve his dream. His plan was so clear that many would have been surprised if he had not achieved his dream. Everybody could easily identify with his dream and plans. As such, people knew exactly how to come in. The saying that no one plans to fail is not really true. 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. Dr. Stephen R. Covey suggests, “begin with the end in mind.”

3. Obama Prepared:- God believes in preparation. Obama run the most sophisticated election campaign in the world. Things didnt just emerge. A lot of efforts went into preparation. The campaign machine put into place didn’t appear from no where. It was the result of hours put into preparation. If Jesus Christ had to spend 30 years in the carpenter’s workshop preparing for a 3 1/2 ministry, we all have no excuse. We have to take this value serious if we are to turn our dreams into reality. God appreciates preparation and it shows in everything HE does.

4. Obama Performed: David Schwartz argues, “the only way to start, is to start.” The best laid-down plans, the most comprehensive preparation, can still lead to nothing unless we endeavour to take the necessary action. Obama followed through on the plan plans. He followed the months of preparation with corresponding actions.  No matter how strong and promising our plans and preparation are, once we fail to act, we would still be heading no where. The action step does not have to be perfect.

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale observed, “If you put off everything until you’re sure of it, you’ll get nothing done.” The Bible confirmed this in Ecclesiastes 11:4 “He that observeth the wind shall not show; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap”.  History was not in favour of Obama but he still went ahead to pursue his dreams. Nobody gave him the chance of becoming Democratic Presidential Nominee not to talk ot becoming the 44th President of the United States.  So, do like NIKE suggests…Just Do IT.

5. Persist: – Will the road ahead be smooth? Will there be any adversity on the way? Obama’s road to white house was full of so many rough times. There were definitely challenges on the way but he persisted. The difference between the successful person and the one stalked by failure is not the adversity, everybody has that. The difference is your response – your attitude to the challenges you meet on your way. Do we regroup and hit it hard again, or do we just lay it down and quit? Many times we have made a u-turn when our success is actually around the corner.

Calvin Coolidge said, ”

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

Failure is never an end. It should be seen as a bend towards another destination. Setbacks should be seen as the foundations upon which we build future success or the final excuse for failure. The decision is yours. Nearly everyone who develops an idea works it until it looks impossible and then gets discouraged. That is not the place to become discouraged. It is often at this point that many only see the obstacle and no longer sees their idea. They give in to discouragement, opposition and obstacles not knowing breakthrough is on the horizon. If only they were persistent.

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

These are just some of the lessons I am applying to my life. Have you learnt anything? Use the comment below to share your thought and let’s us put hand together to create the world we all can believe in. We will succeed.

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Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, Obama, Stephen R. Covey

“The difference between the rich and the poor is what they do in their spare time .”

Time waits for no man. This is simply known by everyone, but it lacks a corresponding common practice to back it. Consider a new – born baby. Upon birth, the child has nothing to his name, except “baba” and “mama”. All this little human has is his time, and he only would one day get to discover that every other thing he would receive / have in his life only would come in exchange for this precious commodity. Many a times, man seeks more of this treasure, while all they need is a better way of employing it as a good steward. Friends, we need to be the pilot of this time, while it flies before your eyes. Believe me, before you say Jack, or the “O” in OBJECTION, the year is gone, and while you take an inventory, you find – out that you have achieved nothing!

It is quite unfortunate to see many people live with no picture of where they are going or what lies ahead. Many merely exist with nothing to show for their existence. The one thing they know how to do best is mark time. This is clearly seen in the way many manage their time. It is worth remembering that a week from now – it will be a week from now and what becomes of you after then is determined by how you make use of your God-given asset. Whether you manage it well or not, either way, you will surely achieve a certain result – it just might not be what you expected.

You have to make a conscious effort to reduce some of time’s best enemies. Probably the strongest of those has just two initials …TV! Is your TV time cutting into your productive time? Take this little test. Take a time out now and estimate how many hours of TV you watched last week. Be honest with yourself. I believe you are surprised at what the result turned out to be. On average, people spend 20 to 30 hours watching TV every week. If you reduce that even by a little, you have more time to take the actions that will lead you towards success.

What about the time spent just surfing the Internet with no clear direction what you intend to achieve? Many times we just sit down behind the computer system at the Internet cafés or at home wasting away the precious gift of time God has given us. An average person spends most of his / her time online in the chat room chatting with people they know next to nothing about. Many lives have been re-configured to exist only in the chat rooms. This makes me wonder what the life of many will turn out to be if Yahoo, Hotmail or most of the chat rooms decide to shut down their chat facility today.

Some already understand how to maximize their time on the internet but they still spend so much time arguing about what they can’t change. You will see them in groups discussing the reasons why someone must be impeached or why one football team lost her last match or another. Imagine what our world would have turned out to be if all those hours are converted to doing things that truly add values to lives or even in a meaningful way to their topics of discussion.

The problem is NOT that there isn’t enough time. Time doesn’t expand. The problem is that we burden ourselves with too many unplanned and most times irrelevant activities. We always want to take part in even activities that do not necessarily need our attention. Many a time, you hear people say that they are busy. But the question is how productive is what they are doing with their time. Don’t confuse being busy with working effectively – activities can be tension-relieving, not goal achieving. By concentrating on fewer priorities regularly on a fixed schedule, you can achieve a lot more in less time.

Time management is an interesting notion. Though it may not be possible to own or control time, we can manage ourselves in time: our awareness of what we are doing and how we are doing it within the construct of time. We can actually determine what we do with the gift of 24 hours that we get freely each day from God. God has given us freely the ability to influence our experience of time and what we do with ourselves within the time construct. What we put our attention on increases, and so it is with our perception of how we use time. It’s all about focus. Focusing your attention is one thing you need to learn if you indeed want to determine what you do with your time. Since you cannot focus on everything, you must be selective about that which you will spend your time on. This means that you must prioritize. The key to success is how you allocate your time to the important ones.

“If you want to make good use of your time, you’ve got to know what’s most important and then give it all you’ve got.” ~ Lee Iacocca ~

You have, no doubt, heard the phrase “the time value of money“. It means that a naira in your hand today is worth more than a naira in your hand a year from now. Why? Because of what you can do with that naira over the next year. You can invest that naira in any business or even in an interest-bearing project and have N1.05 at the end of the year. If you decide to take your money in after a year, your opportunity cost (foregone investment) will be five kobo. Not to mention what inflation will have done to your purchasing power within the time frame under consideration.

Think about how many hours you are losing each time you engage in those irrelevant activities. Apply the same thought process to when you actually ARE working – maximizing your time. Decide what better use of your time each time. By having this uppermost in your mind at all times, you can always decide what the best use of your time is. Time is money and money is time. So, spend them wisely.

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Technorati Tags: success, Time management, business

“When the heart of a man decides on a destination, his mind will design the map to get him there“

If I may ask, what makes you tick? Why do you get up each morning? On what do you burn the calories you swallow everyday? Do you know exactly where you are going? On waking up, do you have a clear objective for the day? Doesn’t it make you feel great? Do you know exactly what you want to achieve? What do you want to do with your precious life?

You might be wondering why you need to know what you want in life. Well… nothing comes by chance in life. You need to have a clear picture of where you are going. If you don’t have a clear picture of what you have in life, you will only settle for just anything that comes your way. Everything will be attractive to you and you will always say yes to every opportunity that comes your way.

The story of Neil Armstrong has been told times without number. He stood and looked at the moon and he said to his mother, ‘One day I’m going to go there’. Everybody laughed. He was less than 10 years old and there he was telling people that one day he’d go to the moon. I could imagine what kind of rejections he would have received from people. Many would have told him to forget about it, as space travel didn’t exist at that time never mind traveling to the moon.

Of course, he held on to his vision. He studied, worked smart and he became a test pilot. He was getting closer and closer always pushing the limits. Then, he got the chance to join the US Space Program. He worked tirelessly each day always ensuring that he was at the forefront continuing with his vision. We all know what happened next. He got the chance to go to the moon, and not only that, he got the chance to be the first person to walk on the moon.

So, I am asking the question again…WHAT MAKES YOU TICK? What is it that you wished you are rather doing right now? Is it taking up a new job or starting a new business? The first step is to be clear about what you exactly want to achieve in life. Have a clear picture of where you are going. If you don’t know exactly where you are going, all roads will exciting to follow. Decide today to live your life to the fullest…

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“How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!”

Your ability to plan well, in advance, is a measure of your overall competence. The better the plan you have, the easier it is for you to overcome procrastination, to get started , and then to keep going. Always remember that you have to win on paper first before you can win in the business world.

The first stage in creating a winning plan is to have a list. Always work from a list. This will help you to stay focused and to maximise your time. When something new comes up, don’t do it immediately. Just add it to the list and focus on doing what is next on the list.

“You can increase your productivity and output by 25% or more from the first day that you begin working consistently from a list.” Brian Tracy

Can you still remember the reasons why you started that business? Those things you ever wanted to be or do when you were growing up? That is only possible if you set your mind to it and plan your time accordingly. Goals act like a magnet, pulling you towards it. The realization of your “dream” requires some goals and action. Planning helps you  stay on track and also helps you to channel your energy right.

Get out a piece of paper now and title it MY DREAMS. Draw four columns and label them: Section, 1 – 5 years, 6 – 25 years, and Date. List everything that comes to your mind. Don’t bother about eliminating anything now. You should focus on creating a master list on which you write down everything you can think of that you want to do some time in the future. This is the place where you capture every idea that comes to or every new task or responsibility that comes up. You can then sort out the items later.

Brainstorm on everything you have under your  “1 – 5 years” and “5 – 25 years“. Fill in the DATE column with the DEADLINE by when you would like to accomplish it. This has become your goal. The next stage is to logically put a plan in place instead of letting things “take care of themselves.” Divide your plans into yearly, monthly, weekly and daily. Create your daily list the night before in line with your 5-year plan, at the end of the workday.

Move everything that you have not yet accomplished onto your list for the coming day and then add everything that you have to do the next day. This makes your subconscious mind to work on your list all night long during sleep. You might even wake up with great ideas and insights that you can use to get your job done faster and better than you had initially thought.

As you work through the day, tick off the items on your list as you complete them. A good journal will help you to achieve this while helping you to create a visual picture of accomplishment. Seeing myself working progressively through my list motivates and energizes me and I believe you would derive the same benefit. As you work through your lists, you will feel more and more effective and powerful. You will feel more in control of your life. You will be naturally motivated to do even more. You will think better and more creatively and you will get more and better insights that enable you to do your work even faster.

Download this free book – “Secrets of the science of getting rich!” It is my gift to you.

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Technorati Tags: business, Brian Tracy, plans, science of getting rich