SECRET OF CHAMPS

Getting better is the goal of every athlete; or for the older athlete it was a goal. Everybody "wants" to get fast, just like everybody "wants" to win races. Every athlete you come across will tell you that they want to get faster and they want to win races. Now if you ask those same athlete a question such as, "How many days a week do you spend working out?" or "How often do you really work on getting faster while running?", now assuming that they give an honest answer; almost 99% of the time the numbers will be small. This is not how champions are built.

Nobody was born to win, people were born with passion and those who can find it will be champions. Some athletes may have been born with more natural talent than others; life isn't fair. Any runner that hits the gym five days a week and focuses on getting faster every time they have the chance to run WILL get faster.

If you decide that sometimes you skip days of training(in whatever you have chosen to do) to hangout with friends or go to parties, that is the reason you aren't where you want to be. You have to decide if it's worth it to dedicate all your time. If you decide that your goal isn't really worth it; well then you will always be a mediocre. In the case that you decide that you want to dedicate every possible moment to developing your skills and knowledge; well the possibilities are endless. The only difference between the best and the slowest in any endeavour is time and commitment.

Talent does play a role in this, but I'm talking about pure and raw IMPROVEMENT Believing you are giving everything you have will pull more out of you than you thought you had. Now it takes time, continue and train with this attitude and you will become very skilled . It may take years before you are one of the best guys..

If you truly want to operate at your full potential, you will have to give up everything that distracts.The decision is yours to make; nobody can force you to do anything. That's why only few will ever see themselves at their full potential. COMMIT. YOURSELF AND BE AMAZED AT WHAT YOU CAN DO. Have a great day!

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WAITING, WISHING, HOPING

Waiting for something to come into your life; good or bad? We all wait sooner or later for something and I'm not referring here for the traffic to lighten up or for a call from the lottery that you just won a million naira.

Waiting takes patience, something that few people have today. We want what we want and we want it now - good luck. This is what I call " the Mr Biggs mentality"

Waiting takes trust, the ability to trust life, yourself and God that the right things will show up when the time is right not when you want them to show up. That reminds me of Angelique Kidjo's song that things do not always go the way we choose.--What a truth!

Waiting takes courage, the ability to believe that you can handle whatever crosses your life path today, tomorrow or next year.

Waiting takes faith, the ability to believe even when you don't have evidence or can control circumstances.

How are you doing so far? Fall short in any of the above? Need to do some inner work to improve your ability to wait with grace, joy and confidence?

Waiting... I know I have waited for; return phone calls, yes responses, appreciation form someone, courtesy from others and just life's many simple gifts but in the end much of my waiting was in vain as what I wanted and waited for often eluded me. Ever had that experience? Come on don't tell me that your life always proceeds with your wants, desires, needs and dreams showing up every time you just snap your fingers.

You've heard it, we've all heard it - hope is not a strategy, no it isn't but it is, in my opinion, the best way to approach each day. By this I'm not suggesting that you sit in a lounge chair hoping. Yes, you have to work, take action and have persistence but in the end there is no guarantee that all of this will produce what you hope for. But I don't believe this is a reason not to always have hope in your heart for what you desire.

Now we come to wishing. This is a lot different in my opinion than hoping. I wish I could win the lottery, live to a ripe old age healthy and vibrant and never have any more adversity in my life. Time to get real here - no one in this life escapes some form of trials, tribulations or adversity. The question is are you spending your days - waiting (and doing what you can), hoping or wishing?

Don't know about you but I think all three have value. You can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket. You can't achieve success if you don't learn, grow and put forth the required effort and you can't just hope things will turn out the way you want them to if that is your only approach.

So, have fun waiting, wishing and hoping. Have a great week!!!

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WHY PROBLEMS PERSIST

Have you ever wondered why sometimes "problems" don't go away in spite all strategical and even spiritual approach to solve them?
The reason is this: We think too much about those problems rather than focus on the solution; we wonder times without number why of all people in the whole world, we are the one facing such challenge. We think about the situation all day and all night.
And you know what? You are bound to attract your predominant thought. Life usually flows in direction of our predominant thought.

You are a living magnet .If your focus is on the possibility of things getting worse and you play the image over and over again in your mind, things cannot but get worse. You might not get what you are thinking about immediately but you are attracting them to yourself by the day and the more you think about the problem, the longer they stay with you.

The Temptation has always been to focus on the problem and even celebrate them.
It takes a great discipline and self control to shift attention from the problem and start thinking about the solution. Solution sometimes seems to us like fantasy .They don't look real.  But you really need to stay stuck to the solution thought if your problem must go away. Focus focus focus on the solution, take action on the solution and your problems would soon be a thing of the past. Find below a few other tips on how you can effectively get over challenges;

·         To solve any problem, here are three questions to ask you: First, what could I do? Second, what could I read? And third, who could I ask?

·         ·If you feel like you can't do anything, stop thinking about what you can't do and start thinking about what you can do. Even if it's something small or seems unimportant, that little step might just lead to another, bigger step.

·         ·BE BRAVE
·         ·Attitude is the key. The more problems you solve the greater is your experience with problem solving. You can apply a solution from one area to another only by gaining experience. Be open to new problems.

·         ·If you start feeling overwhelmed or frustrated, take a breathe. Realize that every problem has a solution, but sometimes you're so wrapped up in it that you can't see anything but the problem.

·         Albert Einstein famously said "You cannot solve a problem with the same mind that created it." When you identify a problem, you might be emotionally charged, disappointed that the problem exists. The initial emotional reaction is normal, but how you express it is very important. Getting angry at others will usually put them into a defensive or withdrawn position, far less helpful for collaborative problem solving. Give yourself a moment to let the initial emotions calm down, then you'll be better able to evaluate and decide on how to proceed productively. Try to be calm and logical when approaching a problem, resolution ultimately lies in this approach

·         Keep your motivation up. It´s easy to be discouraged, especially if you fear failure and your first and second solution to a problem didn´t work. You might feel like just giving up. Then it´s time to give yourself a boost of motivation. Changing your mental state to a brighter, more positive and more motivated one can make all the difference in the world. It will keep you going. Even though you might just a few minutes earlier felt like all hope was gone.

Temitope Bolarinwa

Follow Temitope on twitter @batemol and also @WeInspreNg

THE DAILY MAGIC DEPOSIT

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

Imagine that you had won the following prize in a contest:
Each morning your bank would deposit $86,400 in your private account for your use.However, this prize has condition - just as any game has certain rules.

The first set of rules would be: Everything that you didn't spend during each day would be taken away from you.
You may not simply transfer money into some other account. You may only spend it.Each morning upon awakening, the bank opens your account with another $86,400 for that day.

The second set of rules: The bank can end the game without warning; at any time it can say, it's over, the game is over!

It can close the account and you will not receive a new one.What would you do?
You would probably buy anything and everything you wanted, right?
Not only for yourself, but for all people you love, right?
Even for people you don't know, because you couldn't possibly spend it all on yourself, right?
You would try to spend every cent, and use it all, even if some of the cash was wasted - right?

ACTUALLY, this GAME is REALITY!

Each of us is in possession of such a magical bank, but we just can't seem to see it.

The MAGICAL BANK is TIME!
Each morning we awaken to receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life, and when we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is NOT credited to us.

What we haven't lived up that day is forever lost.

Yesterday is forever gone.
Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve your account at any time...WITHOUT WARNING.
SO, what will YOU do with your 86,400 seconds?
Aren't they worth so much more than the same amount in dollars?
Think about that, and always think of this:

Enjoy every second of your life, because time races by so much quicker than you think!
So take care of yourself, be happy, love deeply and enjoy life!
Here's wishing you a great day and may your seconds be well spent

 

Temitope Bolarinwa

Follow Temitope Bolarinwa on twitter @batemol and also@WeinspireNg.

MAXIMIZING YOUR DAY

Does your day start in a relaxed, organised, passionate and driven way, where you have a clear understanding of exactly what you will achieve that day. Or do you wake up already frantic, concerned about all the tasks you need to complete, almost in a state of overwhelm, before the day even starts? If you live in a world where the latter is the norm, then it is time to wrestle back control of your life and to bring some order and organisation back in to it, before things completely spiral out of control. You can never perform optimally, when you are constantly in a state of overwhelm or if you feel like you have lost control of your most valuable possession, namely - "YOUR TIME". The solution to the challenge, if you feel overworked, overwhelmed and like you have lost control, is not as difficult as you might believe.

Tips To Gain Control

(A) Plan your Day the Night before - Yes of course, when you first introduce this discipline into your experience, it will feel like just another additional task, which you need to cram into your already overloaded schedule. Let me assure you that within a very short space of time, this daily discipline will turn into a few extra hours of useful time every day.
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(B)Review your day - Review your day, explore your day to identify all the tasks you have not completed that day.Secondly reward yourself for the all the things you did get done, by stopping for just a moment and allowing the glow of satisfaction to flow through you This whole exercise, surprisingly will only take a few minutes to complete.

(C) Plan every day - Next, move into planning session for the next day. Invest a few minutes on Sunday evenings, to put scheduled time slots into your dairy.Slot the various tasks, which you have not completed that day into your schedule.Secondly Iook at the other issues you need to address the following day and easily slott these into the pre-allocated time slots in your dairy too. You will be astounded that the planning session will only take you about 10 minutes to complete.

(D) Action Idea - Making your plan actually work for you- The secret to make your plan work and to actually get things done is to avoid the natural tendency to want to tackle non essentials, first thing in the morning. This is the worst thing you could possibly do, as you immediately surrender your day and your time to the whims and needs of everyone else.

Your first 90 minutes of your day is the primetime of your day. Allocate this time to perform the highest value actions of your day. These are the actions, which will bring you the greatest value that day.

Break your day up into 90 minute time slots, followed by short rest periods and allocate your tasks in order of importance, into these time slots. Decide what are most important tasks to you and then in diminishing importance, tackle each task in sequence, throughout your day. Once you get the most important things done, you will not be wasting energy worrying about them, any longer.

When deciding on the importance of each task, start by testing them against the rewards you will get for completing the task, versus the consequences of putting it aside to complete later.

As you know 20 % of what you do, delivers 80 % of the results in your life and the other 80 % only delivers 20 % of the value. Carefully select the right 20 % to focus your energy on and find ways to delegate, delete or just do the other 80 %, so that it does not interfere with your day.

You must remain in control of your day at all times. Yes of course people want to interrupt you throughout your day. Schedule your day according to your needs and you will have mastered your life and optimised your productivity.

Don't forget to schedule time each day to work on your goals. This is time I like to call "MEET MY FUTURE". This is time I schedule every day to carry out my goal specific actions. Those actions, which are going to deliver the meaning and fulfilment I desire.
You are in charge of your life and time. Stop allowing everyone else to dictate how your day unfolds and you will gain hours of useful time, each day, to carry out your priority tasks. Continue to be at the beck and call of everyone else and you will just continue to feel overwhelmed, overworked and you will achieve very little.

These are what I learnt from different accomplished persons and I put them to practice. Some of the actions might seem difficult to put to practice but they are rewarding. The Nigerian environment is always demanding for your personal time most especially if you have dependants and subordinates but you have got to do what you have got to do. Have a great day!

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CONFRONTING YOUR FEARS

There is only one person keeping you trapped in a life, which you do not enjoy. That person is no one other than you. Get out of your own way and everything will immediately begin to change for the better. You are not born with courage or the drive to succeed, but at the same time, neither are you born with fear or doubt about your potential. I believe that your fear of success or failure for that matter is a direct result of all the pressures placed on you by society.

Of course some fears are valid, like the justifiable fear of walking alone down a dark street. Eliminating your need to fear this justifiably dangerous situation is simple. Be aware of the potential danger and then take steps to ensure that you avoid this situation altogether. Once you have eliminated the potential risk, there is no longer a need to fear it in any way. Irrational fears about failure or even success are exactly the same. Explore the fear; create awareness about the potential risk. Take steps to reduce or eliminate the risk and you no longer have any need to hold onto the fear any longer.

FEAR DESTROYS-IF YOU ALLOW

Fear about any facet of your life, is very limiting and will either paralyse you into inactivity or hold you away from performing at your best. Both are not desirable states, if you want to achieve success. Fears, even irrational ones, which have no grounding in fact at all, can and will destroy your ambitions, fortunes and even your relationships. If left unchecked, they will eventually destroy your future success completely. Fear is an unseen enemy to your future success and if you are not vigilant, it will creep into your life and steal your dreams.

ACTION IDEA: Confront your fears. Explore them, until you uncover the reason you have them and then find ways to mitigate and eventually eliminate them from your life completely. If your fears are grounded in fact i.e. you are in imminent danger, because someone is out to steal from you or do you harm, then you need to use the fear to protect you. In most cases though, your fear is not grounded in fact at all. You feel fear, because you are out of your comfort zone, you are moving into unchartered territory or you are taking a calculated risk etc. Under these circumstances you need to find ways to mitigate and even eliminate the fear from your life completely, otherwise it will negatively affect your future.

What else is in your way?

Once you have confronted your fears and found creative ways of eliminating them and the negative effect they have on your life, you need to look to eliminate a few other enemies, which emanate from within too.

Indecision - If you are to begin taking inspired action daily, to achieve the success you desire. You must become decisive and commit to make the tough choices to firstly get off your butt and start and secondly to continue to take daily action until you succeed. Indecision, if left unchecked, will steal opportunity from you before you even start.

Lack of Belief or Doubt - I have emphasised on numerous occasions that all the super achievers, I have studied, have all had an incredible belief in themselves and their ability to achieve their vision for the future. Of course you should explore opportunities and be a little sceptical. You can never just throw yourself into something, without thoroughly doing your homework to ensure that it is indeed what you need. The secret to success though, is to explore, discover whether the opportunity is what you want. Then you must pull the trigger and begin taking action. Once you pull the trigger, you must believe 100 % in yourself and your abilities. Belief fills your life with success and doubt on the other hand, will over time, rob you of everything.

Indifference - Too many people have a lacklustre approach to their lives and the opportunities, which come their way. Their indifferent attitude stops them in their tracks and they never pull themselves out of their comfort zone. Indifference will cause you to drift through life and as you know you can only drift in one direction - downhill.

Risk - Of course you cannot gamble with your future and take irresponsible risks. You can also not afford to be over cautious to the point, where you take the timid approach to life. Timid people don't step outside of their self-imposed comfort zones and therefore they remain trapped in average.

Unnecessary worry - Of course you need to always be aware of what is going on in your world. You need to review and measure your progress daily, to ensure the actions you are taking are delivering the desired results. What you must not do, is get bogged down and trapped in a place where you become paralysed by unnecessary worry. Worry will push into a place of overwhelm and inactivity, a place where average people hang out all the time.

I challenge you to have the courage to confront your fears and work to eliminate any of the other things, which are holding you away from the inspired, fulfilling life you know that you deserve. The moment you start to do this, I know that numerous, new opportunities will emerge and you will start to achieve all your goals and dreams. When you have the courage to take inspired action daily, you will gradually attract the success you really want and will become the person you need and want to be.

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THE COSMAS MADUKA STORY: TURNING OBSTACLES TO CLIMBING STONES

The Chairman/CEO of Coscharis Group of Companies and sole distributor for BMW in Nigeria, Dr. Cosmas Maduka, has a success story filled with intrigues. Imagine a seven-year old boy going to serve as an automobile apprentice because of poverty! Who could ever have imagined the outcome of such for this Nnewi-born business tycoon?

TOUGH BEGININNG

At age four, Cosmas Maduka lost his father, and therefore started hawking bean cake (akara) and climbing palm trees before the age of five, to assist his mother. Three years later when life became more miserable, his mother had to send him to her parents to lessen the task of providing for him and the other three children. By the time he was seven, little Cosmas was withdrawn from Elementary Three to serve as an automobile apprentice to a maternal uncle in Lagos.His uncle had no home of his own but stayed with a friend, and Cosmas spent the nights in the store while he went home with the key.

FINDING CHRIST

As common with many young people, Cosmas had along the line drifted from the Catholic faith shown him early in life by his mother and had taken to trivialities like smoking and drinking. He, however, found Christ again through a friend who led him to the Redeemed Christian Church of God at Ebutte-Metta while still in Lagos, and, this time, he was dead set on serving the Lord.

Having mastered his craft effectively by the age of nine, Cosmas would single-handedly travel to Nnewi to purchase items for his boss and, by the age of 14, he was smart enough to be sent to work in one of their branches at Sokoto and, later, at Nnewi! Little Cosmas was actually working without any contractual agreement with his uncle.

Something eventful happened at Nnewi in 1975, and that marked a new beginning for young Cosmas. While at Nnewi at age 14, there was a church camp which he went for and when his boss came on the fourth day to the shop and didn't meet him, he sent for him and his elder brother that evening and then gave him N200, saying he should go and concentrate on his new found faith.

It was done to punish him, but having known a little about God, he looked at his boss in the eyes and said, `God hardened the heart of Pharaoh to show His might in the land of Egypt. I served you well, and I don't deserve this. But if this is what you have to offer me, five years from today, you will be amazed at what you're going to see out of this", he painfully recalls.

STAYING POSITIVE

He continues: "I've always been very positive from my childhood and this often made people laugh at me to scorn. I still recollect those days at Oyingbo Bus-stop when school children would mock me, and I would tell them I was going to be better than them in six years. I do not know why I was so confident, but the truth is that my mother inspired and encouraged me always." He thereafter teamed up with his elder brother who had concluded apprenticeship to set up a company, Maduka Brothers, selling spare parts. They had to part later due to ideological differences. His capital then was N300.

THE BIG BREAK

With that, he started his my own enterprise by coming to Lagos to buy goods. "I had my first breakthrough when I went to Boulous Enterprises to purchase motorcycle spare parts. I stumbled on a new innovation, motorcycle crash ban, and I bought several and then removed the address of Boulous from the carton so that others would not know where I bought them from.."

He sold everything the next day and joined the night bus again to Lagos to buy more. He did that four times in one week and his capital rose from N300 to over N3,000. He ventured into importation with the little capital He had. Unfortunately,he received the wrong consignment and therefore, had a serious setback which left him indebted even to his landlord for months. His shop was also locked..

DIGNITY IN LABOUR
Having grown up to believe in the dignity of labour, Cosmas was not ashamed to start all over. He searched out a scale which he got as a wedding gift, took it to the market, and from everyone who climbed it, he got 10kobo. His wife cried when she knew what her husband was going out to do every day. She decided to pick up a job to support the family while Cosmas gradually built up another business capital through the scale.

"I've made mistakes in my life, but the grace of God has been sufficient. Unfortunately, when a lot of people look at me today, they think I was born Coscharis. I believe life is not so much about what happens to you, but about the opportunities and obstacles God puts in your way to get the best out of you", he says.

COSCHARIS EVOLVES

Later on when he had gathered enough capital, Cosmas teamed up with a friend, David, to set up a company called CosDave. "I formed Coscharis when Dave and I also parted ways due to some ideological differences. Coscharis is a combination of three letter words from my name and that of my wife, Charity. The real breakthrough came in that same year in 1982 when the Nigerian government decided to grant import licenses to ten motor companies and Coscharis Motors was selected! We've continued to expand since then, and we now have several subsidiaries", he explains

SUCCESS, A JOURNEY

From his experience, Cosmas advises: "You can start any mean job as a stepping stone to where you want to be. The best skill you need is simply the ability to manage money properly and rely on God for grace. Blackberry is somebody's brain child; same with Nokia. Unfortunately, many of us do not want to have brain children. Truly, many young people need to be completely reoriented because they have wrong conceptions of what it takes to be wealthy.

"They hit the wall because they search for success in wrong places like Yahoo Yahoo. Why not be practical about life if white collar jobs are not coming to you as a graduate? Learn to set goals for yourself! There are millions of jobs you could train yourself to do! If it takes serving as an apprentice, do it. Many of us die of frustration because we do not want to pay the price.

"I have five children and I ensure they go to school in Nigeria despite that some of them are American citizens, because I believe they need to learn street smartness! My oldest son graduated from the University of Lagos, and till age 25, he didn't have a car because I didn't give him any! He has done his MBA abroad, and now works with one of the banks in Nigeria. He now earns his own money and can buy himself whatever car he desires!"

Ladies and gentlemen, this great man's life is a lesson in determination,doggedness,focus and all other positive attitudes required for success. Wouldn't you rather learn from him?

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HOW TO HANDLE GRIEF

Grief is a common feeling of pain or regret or loss that we all will face at some point in our lives and the depth of our grief can be impacted by the depth of our love. When someone departs that we greatly love, it's normal to experience grief. However, that same depth of love can soothe a broken heart or a sobbing soul. Like many of you, I too have lost the earthly presence of a loved one. I had to take seriously my belief that love conquers all. It can even conquer grief.

We cannot change the past; we can only live in today. Don't add to your grief with words like "if only I would have... " You know what goes in that blank. Instead, replace regretful words with grateful words like "nevertheless" or "Although." Sure I could have told my loved one I loved her a lot more than I did, NEVERTHELESS, I did speak and show my love and she knew it.

ALTHOUGH I didn't do as much as I could have, I did a lot for her and I know that she was grateful. We can't change the past or bring back our loved one; NEVERTHELESS, we can live with gratitude for the love we had and for the life we shared. Don't let grief maintain endless control of your life. It is a process of deep sadness that should eventually come to an end. How you respond in the face of grief will determine how long it lingers.

With every thought of regret replace it with something to be grateful for. Gratitude is a feeling of thankfulness or appreciation. Make a list if you have to of all the things you are thankful for and have it readily accessible when thoughts of regret attack your mind. What did you appreciate about the relationship with your loved one? You don't have to help yourself feel anguish and sorrow that just happens by nature of the fact that you loved whoever departed this life. However, you do have to help yourself feel gratitude in times of grief.

Usually we relate grief to the pain of losing a loved one. But that's not the only kind of grief. When you realize that you've gone as far up the promotion ladder on your job as you're going to go, there may be grief over unrealized dreams. If you have to consider the possibility that you may never be a parent or grandparent, there may be grief.

When a spouse says, "I want a divorce," there may be intense grief. If your health begins to fail, there is grief over things you can no longer do. When life choices become more stressful than fulfilling, there is grief over wrong choices and missed opportunities. If your child has a handicapping condition, there may be grief about what he may miss in his life.
Everybody will experience grief along the way because life is not a bed of roses. It is important that we get over this feeling in other to forge ahead.. We can do this by developing a grateful spirit notwithstanding the pain we experience.

Yours inspiredly.

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SUCCESS IS NOT MAGIC

Success is not one of those things that can be achieved overnight, nor is it where you take instant pills, go to sleep and magically achieve success.

Success itself has boundaries and roadblocks every person must abide in their path to success. It will lead to a bumpy ride at first, but eventually, through desire, they will persist in overcoming their obstacles.

When you aim yourself at success, it will begin as a journey, going through your own journey and discovering every bit about the process you are going through.

The decision to go through this journey rests entirely with you; how desperately you wish to achieve success.

To be able to fall in love with the process, to be able to comprehend what it will take for you to seek out this journey on your own will be amongst your decisions.

As you go along in this journey, always remind yourself that your belief system plays an intrinsic part before you start to see results. Belief is what triggers people to go through different obstacles in life. Belief is what keeps people pushing toward their goals. Belief is what will get you to get what you want in life.

Always affirm to yourself that you are worthy of whatever you desire in life. Practice using the words, "I am and I can" every single day and that will create a belief inside your mind which will block anything unexpected.

The more you work on your self-image, your belief and your desires, the more drive you will push. Your actions lead to results, your results lead to drive, and your drive leads to action-an ongoing cycle that has been proven through the history of all successful people.

I.t is your responsibility to do whatever it takes for you to start exploring this journey. It is a commitment you have to keep, no matter how much pain and struggle you bear.

Of course, support from people in your inner circle is always a great boost to staying positive, so listening to mentors and leaders giving you advice can help you break through your struggles.

Remember, success doesn't happen quickly, it is a journey you will face as you go along. Making errors and fixing those errors are all part of your journey. Improve your belief system every day to shape up your confidence that you have what it takes to pull it off.

Always stay hungry till the end.

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THE WRIGHT BROTHER'S STORY

All around the world, people who have heard of the Wright brothers,the mechanics who pioneered manned motorized flight in the first part of the twentieth century. The circumstances surrounding Orviilee and Wilbur Wright's first flight on December 17,1903 makes an interesting read. What you may not know is that prior to that day, the Wrights,who were virtually unknown,who had no university education,were by no means no leaders in aviation.. They were obscure at best, and another man was expected to put the first airplane in the air and he had financial help from the American government.


His name was Dr Samuel Langley and he was a respected Professor of mathematics and astronomy who at that time was the director of the Smithsonian Institution..

1898,Langley approached the U.S. war Department for funding to design and build an airplane to carry a man and the Department gave him a commission of $50,000. Langley went to work and by 1901,he had successfully tested an unmanned gasoline-powered heavier-than-aircraft.This was the first in history. And when he enlisted the aid of Charles Manley,an engineer who built a powerful new lightweight engine, his success seemed inevitable..

On October 8,1903, Langley expected his years of work to come to fruition. The attempted launch of the experiment failed woefully. The criticism of Langley was brutal. At first Langley did not let that failure or accompanying criticisms deter him. Eight weeks later in early December,the duo made another attempt and like the first it failed. Again the criticisms were fierce. Langley was accused of wasting public funds.

Defeated and demoralized,Langley abondoned his decade-long pursuit. Just days later,Orville and Wilbur Wright-uneducated,unknown, and unfunded-flew their plane "Flyer I" over Kitty Hawk,North Carolina. And that my friend is something worth thinking about.


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MORNING NUGGET:YOU CAN DO IT

The only person that keeps you back from achieving your goals,objectives and dreams is YOU.. To achieve your goals,you must be determined and resolute. Who can keep a determined man from success?Place stumbling blocks on his way and he takes them for stepping stones, and climbs to greatness. Take his money away,and he makes spurs of his poverty to urge him on..

Do not hide behind such silly excuses as that you have no chance,nobody to help,nobody to pull you up and nobody to show you the way. If you are worth your salt,you will make a way if you cannot find one.. Without the energy and the will to succeed,no amount of education,no power on earth outside one's self can push a person into success. It is the difficult things in life that develop our mental and moral muscle,that build up courage and stamina.

Do not wait for perfect conditions. The man who waits for favorable conditions and circumstances will find that success in any field is never a walkover.. It is the man who wins inspite of circumstances,inspite of adverse conditions,the man who wins when other people say he cannot,the man who does the "impossible" , the man who rides over obstacles,who gets on in this world. The very struggle to overcome the obstacles develops the power that carry us step by step to our goals.

That is food for thought for us this morning. Whatever your goals might be,stand up and achieve it now. Take note: if your determination is easily deflected,if any persuasion can separate you from your life resolve,you may be sure that you are on the wrong track.. Have a great day.

Yours inspiredly.

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FAILING FORWARD:TURNING FAILURE TO STEPPING STONE

Every event, whether good or bad, is one small step in the process of living. Know that every experience is a positive experience when you view it as an opportunity for growth.. Tom Peters said," If silly things were not done,intelligent things would never happen."

There is an American adage that says," It doesn't matter how much milk you spill as long as you don't lose your cow." In other words, mistakes,mishaps and misfortunes are not irreversible. Always view life from the big picturre perspective.. Problem arises when we see only the spilled milk and not the bigger picture.

People who correctly see failure take it in stride,learn the lessons, get back on track and focus on life.. They still feel the sting from hurt of loss but they do as the famous French general Napoleone Bonaparte did," I see only the objective, the obstacle must give way." Failure is always reversible,just ask any successful person.

Yours inspiredly.

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THE RAZAK AKANNI OKOYA STORY:FROM AN APPRENTICE TO A MULTI-BILLIONAIRE.

Razak Okoya was born in Lagos on January 12, 1940 to Tiamiyu Ayinde and Alhaja Idiatu Okoya (both of blessed memory). He had his education in the present Ansar-un-deen School, Oke Popo, Lagos. He worked with his father who had a tailoring business, who also sold tailoring accessories. After working with his dad for a while, he began to do a few things on the side, like amending shirts and trousers for a fee.For instance, turning long sleeves to short sleeves or trousers to shorts. He saved every penny he made.

When Razak had saved about twenty pounds, he wanted to go into trading. Back then, ordering for goods directly from manufacturers was not popular; most people bought goods imported into Lagos. But Razak got hold of the catalog of a manufacturing business in Japan. He liked the goods but he needed seventy pounds to be able to order and ship to Lagos. He approached his mother for the money.

After telling her what he wanted to do and getting his father's permission, his mother gave him the 50 pounds he needed. By the time his goods arrived, they were not only of better quality, they were also cheaper than what was available in the market. He sold out quickly and ordered more. That was how it all began. As the business grew, he went into other things. He later branched out into manufacturing.

As his business started expanding, he traveled far and wide and saw how different things were manufactured. He always felt that we could do as good, if not better.

By this time, he had married his first wife. She would bring jewelery that cost so much. He used to be baffled at how much she said they cost. He felt it was ridiculous. These were metals that he felt could be designed and at a cheaper price; especially as we had the metals available in Nigeria. He saw the way women loved to wear jewelery.
Challenged by what he felt was a healthy demand, he traveled abroad, bought the machines and came with some experts. That marked the birth of Eleganza Jewelery. The success was phenomenal. They could not keep up with the demand because, the products were beautiful, durable and cheap. They were instant best sellers.

He was also manufacturing and selling Eleganza buttons and jewelery. Then, he began to import shoes in large quantities. He paid the factory to manufacture and import to Nigeria. On one of these occasions, after paying, the goods were not delivered. He waited a while and traveled to Italy to see the manufacturer. He arrived there and discovered that they had used his money to settle their bills. He was so angry that he decided there and then to begin manufacturing his own shoes and that is what he did. He imported all the machines and brought in some experts who trained his workers. And that was how they began making shoes.

Today, under his Chairmanship, the Eleganza Industries practically produces all manner of household goods and utensils including cutlery, collieries, food warmers, ice chest, electric fan, cosmetics and ballpoint pen. Spread across different locations in Lagos namely, Oregun-Ikeja (Sites I& II), Isolo, Alaba and Iganmu.The company now directly employs over five thousand Nigerians and non-Nigerians including those working in his RAO Property Investment Company. Okoya's Eleganza Group is one of the biggest homegrown conglomerates in Nigeria today, with over six factories, and its products are household names in Nigeria neighbouring African markets.

Courtesy Usiere Uko

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WEEKEND DIET: TALENT IS NEVER ENOUGH

Believe it or not,talent is highly overrated.Not because it doesn't have value,but because talent alone isn't enough to take a person through the multiple mishaps and failures that life brings.Most successful people are successful not because of their talent but because of their drive,determination,and focus towards a predetermined and specific target. Adding focused energy,resolve to talent is like pouring petrol on a fire. It's explosive.

Even at best,talent remains a constant,and those who rely upon that gift alone,without developing further,peak quickly and soon fade to obscurity. The media love to print stories about five-year-old musical prodigies giving solo recitals,but you rarely read about one going on to become a Mozart(at least in Nigeria). The point here is that,whatever his initial gift,Mozart was also an artist who learned to work on his talent, and thereby improved..In that respect,he shares common ground with the rest of us.

The greater your talent,the more likely you are to lean heavily on it and skip the hard day-to-day work on improving it. If this sounds like you need this advice so that you can make the most of your natural gifts and talent,then take it. Have a great weekend!


Yours inspiredly.

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PERSISTENCE:THE ERMA BOMBECK STORY:FROM NEWSPAPER COPY GIRL TO TIME MAGAZINE COVER GIRL

Have you ever been discouraged by friends,authority figure(s),parent(s) or anybody from following your dreams? Do not give up on them. Someoneelse was discouraged too yet she held on to her dreams and found fulfillment. Though some of us might not have heard about her,(I got to hear about her only three years ago) I bring to you the Erma Bombeck story.It is pregnant with lessons

Erma Bombeck traveled a road that was filled with the potholes of adversity,starting with her career.She was drawn to journalism early in life.Her first job was as a copy girl at the Dayton Journal-Herald when she was a teenager.Despite her love for journalism,when she went off to school at Ohio University a guidance counsellor advised her,"Forget about writing." She refused.Later she transferred to the University of Dayton and graduated in 1949with a degree in English.Soon afterward she began working as a writer for the obituary column and the women's page.

In that same year(1949) adversity hit her in her personal life.When she got married,one of her deepest desires was to become a mother but much to her dismay,her ill-informed doctors told her she was incapable of having children. Did she give up and consider herself a failure? No! She and her husband explored adoption,and then they adopted a daughter.Two years later,a surprised Erma became pregnant! But then even that brought her more difficulties. In four years,she experienced four pregnancies but only two of the babies survived.

In 1964,Erma was able to convince the editor of a small neighbourhood newspaper, the Kettering-Oakwood Times, to let her write a weekly humour column.Despite the pitiful $3 per article she was paid,she kept writing. That opened a door for her! The following year,she was offered the opportunity to write a three-times-a-week column for her old employer,the Dayton Journal-Herald.In a matter of months her persistence paid off and by 1967,her column was syndicated and carried by more than nine hundred newspapers!

For more than thirty years Erma wrote her humour column. She became a household name. During that time,she published fifteen books,was recognized as one of the most influential women in America,appeared on the television show 'Good Morning America', was featured on the cover of Time Magazine,received innumerable honours( such as the American Cancer Society's Medal of Honour),and was awarded fifteen honorary degree!

Erma Bombeck refused to give up. She learned the difference between failure and failing.She refused to dwell on the past hurts,mistakes and challenges in her life. She always chose to concentrate and focus her goals and compelling future and so can you! Ladies and gentlemen....ERMA BOMBECK!

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HOW TO FIND THE COURAGE NOT TO GIVE UP

You are brave, you are courageous, you are awesome, but remember that whatever obstacles you come across on your way to happiness, never give up on your dreams.

(A) SET GOALS

:"Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible". Tony Robbins

The very first thing you should do in the approach to your success is to set goals. You see, at the beginning you don't know exactly which way to go to find your freedom. You seem to be blind. So you must set goals in order to open your eyes. But setting goals is not enough. Then you should stick to them as hard as possible. Your option is to never give up on the goals you have set.

(B). TAKE ACTION

"If we don't start, it's certain we can't arrive". Zig Ziglar

No matter what you think, no matter what your problems are, you have to find your reason why you should start your journey to independence. You won't finish this fantastic voyage to your freedom, unless you start to take the first steps. The beginnings are always the most difficult. But you can't win if you don't set off. Remember to never give up on reaching your destination.

(C). FORGIVE YOUR MISTAKES

"Forgive yourself for your faults and your mistakes and move on". Les Brown.

The thing is you are unable to finish the race if you pay too much attention to the mistakes. They are the inseparable part of your future success. Learn how to take advantage of your faults and how to change your mistakes into the gold medal in your race of life.

(D) PICK UP LESSONS

"The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it". Jim Rohn.

Jim Rohn makes it to the point in his short sentence. Well, no doubt about it. The most important thing is what kind of person you become during the process of achieving your goals. The finish line is one thing. But what valuable lesson you are going to learn for yourself before crossing the finish line is another thing.
Never give up believing in your greatness.

(E) BE FORWARD LOOKING

"It doesn't matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are going" Brian Tracy.

Tracy wants you to know that you can't be worried about your earlier experiences. Throw them out of your head. You start your new life from the scratch. Set new goals and don't look back on your past. Whatever the circumstances, never give up.
Jim Rohn:"Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well".Everybody can achieve the level of success they deserve. It is not so hard to be successful. You should only master some ordinary things and be persistent in doing them. That's it. Persistence is the measure of your success. You should never give up on reaching your destination.

Set your goals. Pursue them. And reach. Never give up on your goals. Never give up on your dreams. Never give up on making your life better.

Yours inspiredly.
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Morning Nugget: The Formula For Success

Success in every endeavour is everybody's goal. To begin with, all success depends on the understanding that mind-thought-is the only creator. The great business of life is thinking.Control your thoughts and you control your circumstances

The formula for success is FAITH.Bellieve you have it-see it as an existent fact-and anything you can rightly wish for is yours

You have seen men,inwardly no more capable than yourself,accomplish the seemingly impossible.You have seen others,after years of hopeless struggle,suddenly win their most cherished dreams.And you have probably wondered,"What is the power that gives new life to their dying ambitions,that supplies new impetus to their jaded desires,that give them a new start on the road to success?"

That power is belief-faith.Someone,something gave them a new belief in themselves,a new faith in their power to win-and they leaped ahead and wrested success from seemingly certain defeat.

I leave you with a story of Harold Lloyd,a country boy who was afraid of his shadow.Every boy in the village bullied him.Until one day his grandmother gave him a talisman that she assured him his grandfather had carried through the American Civil War and which,so she said,had the property of making its owner invincible. He believed her and when the bully of the town came around,he beat him silly.Before the year was out,he made the reputation as the most daring soul in the community.

Then,when his grandmother felt that he was thoroughly cured,she told him the truth-that the "talisman" was merely a piece of old junk she had picked up by the roadside-that she knew all he needed was faith in himself.belief that he could do these things. DARE TO HAVE FAITH. Have a great day.!

Yours inspiredly.

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Welcome On Board

On behalf of the management of this blog, I like to welcome you on board. It promises to be an interesting journey.

Life is a journey and it has its twists,turns and curves. Nobody is immune to experiences of failure,disappointment,setback,betrayal,loss of loved ones,business failure and other deadly blows life may throw at us. While some pick themselves up and continue the journey,others are not so lucky. The increasing rate of suicides and hypertenive patients are evidences that some lose the battle to get on their feets.

Life is not meant to be a solitary adventure. Incase one falls the other picks him up. We are here to inspire you from the darknesss of despair to the morning of hope. We will share stories of people who have gone through the same experiences and have come up tops.to fan the dying embers of your passion.

Whatever situation you might be going through,you will surely make it through. Do not give up! Constant stories,quotes and nuggets will go a long way to inspire you.
Once again,on behalf of the management and writers of this blog we sincerely welcome you on board.

Yours inspirely.