6 Life Lessons From Playing Tetris

I believe most of you already know the game of Tetris. It is usually a default game in most Java phones and early old games. If you don't know about the game of Tetris, a quick Google Search would better enlighten you. But here's a brief description of the game:

Tetris is a tile-matching puzzle video game, originally designed and programmed by Russian game designer Alexey Pajitnov. The Tetris® game requires players to strategically rotate, move, and drop a procession of Tetriminos(four tile block structure) that fall into the rectangular Matrix at increasing speeds. Players attempt to clear as many lines as possible by completing horizontal rows of blocks without empty space, but if the Tetriminos surpass the Skyline the game is over! You can play or read more about it here.

In simplest terms, the game of Tetris is about arranging falling shapes into horizontal lines which disappear once completed. You could turn these falling shapes or move the left or right. But you can't change the falling shape.

I have played and grown up with this game many years ago, however when I played it recently, my eyes were somehow opened to deep insights and I came to spot many life lessons from it. So here are the life lessons I learnt playing the game of Tetris..

1. Make the best out of whatever you're given.
In Tetris, Tetriminos fall from above. They're come in different structures. It could be a straight line, square, L-shaped or cross like shape. You have no control over the falling shapes you're given, but you have control over where to place it and its orientation.

This reminds me of the phrases: "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade," "You may have no control over circumstances, but you have control over how you react to them," and "We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails."

In life, we have no control over what we are given. You have been born into a country you didn't choose. You have wealthy, poor or average parents which you didn't choose. You didn't choose the way you look, your complexion, height or natural talents. You were given these things naturally.

The successful outcome of your life is greatly dependent on how well you choose to use these these things you were given which you didn't choose.

Many people fail because they spend a better part of their life rejecting and hating on what they were given. Instead of making any progress with the little they have been given wherever they find themselves, they keep comparing themselves with others and they never see anything good about themselves or their situations.

You see, we are all created equal. And wherever you have found yourself and whatever gifts you possess is exactly linked to your path to success. There's a reason why you have been positioned and gifted in that manner. 

It is by using these things you have for good that you find out the real reason why you were placed there.

Tetriminos will keep falling from the sky without you choosing them. That's how life is. You don't get to choose certain things. But the little you are allowed to choose, make the best use of it.

2. You may not always get what you want
This is an unforgettable lesson. While playing the game, you may tend to expect or wish for certain kind of shapes which will easily suit the arrangements you are making. However, you may not necessary be getting those.

As a matter of fact, you might suddenly be getting all other shapes except the exact one you really desire. What do you do? Do you quit? You just have to make use of what you're getting to build what you want.

So it is in life. In life, we wish for many things. Even when we get some of those things, we desire for more. Leading economists have argued that man's wants are insatiable. We always desire. However, if we are to keep our sanity and mental health, we must understand that we may not always get the exact things we desire.

If your life is structured in such a way that you cannot do without getting exactly what you expect, then failure is inevitable. To succeed like a bold winner, you must understand that things may not always go as planned and you must make counter arrangements just in case it doesn't go as you planned.

This is not lack of faith. It is simply preparedness for any outcome.

This understanding leads me to the next lesson:

3. Plan for the unexpected
In the Tetris game, you have to plan for the unexpected kind of shapes. While arranging blocks, you must try to make room for any kind of shapes which could show up so that you won't be in for unpleasant surprises.

If you fail to do this and you're always expecting the game to give you an expected shape, it won't be too long before you lose. And you will be unable to do anything because you didn't plan for anything else than what you expected. Don't be that incapacitated person.

That's how it is in our lives. Life is a much more bigger game with so many uncertainties and possibilities. Never in the history of our world has there been a time when serious planning is of such high priority.

We must learn to plan for the unexpected. You can't really prepare for everything, but you can prepare to a good extent for a number of outcomes in your endeavors.

Learn to stop putting all your eggs in one basket. If you're applying to one job and you've gotten invited for a test or interview, don't stop applying to others until that one is certain to have worked out.

You have very important files you can't afford to lose on your phone, don't gamble with it. Anything can happen. So if the files are so important, copy them to a laptop, hard drive or an email. It doesn't mean you believe any bad thing will happen. You're only getting prepared. What if a virus attacks the phone's operating system?

You must plan for the unexpected in life. That's the way to sail through. 

4. Time is precious. Don't waste it thinking, take action!
When you get to some levels in the game, the speed of falling Tetriminos(blocks) will increase. You will now have to think faster as they show up to find out the best place to place them in your building.

Here time becomes of the essence because if you take too long to think, the block will fall and land anywhere which could potentially ruin what you're building. So you have to think fast and direct it fast enough.

Here we see the importance of being time conscious and not thinking too much.

Thinking too much could lead to a disaster because you lose the time which you could've acted upon.

In life, there are situations that require us to act well in a limited period of time. The situations could range from your relationships, career, education, business or even your lifestyle.

You must understand the time involved in any of those situations and know how quickly you should come up with a solution and carry it through.

Many people have missed lots of opportunities in their lives because they didn't utilize their time well. Some people wasted their youthful years, the best time they may have used to develop themselves for opportunities in the future and they end up regretting it. Would you rather be found regretting?

Someone said that "time is money." I believe he said it because he understands many people place so much value on money, but fail to see the value in time! In some cases, you should spend money to buy you some precious time! Take your time seriously.

5. No matter how bad the situation looks, you can conquer it if you don't lose hope.
While playing Tetris, Sometimes I built a total disaster. The blocks lie around with poor arrangement and it's very difficult to see how I can rearrange everything to clear up the mess. But sometimes it happens.

I bounce back from a seemingly hopeless position to a very good position! How? It's hope and conscious action.

One thing I found out that put me in bad positions while playing Tetris is not concentrating. I may be talking to someone, trying to listen to news or warm up food. And then I start stacking up rubbish.

But when I suddenly become conscious of what I'm doing and play with focus, I bounce back to a better position.

In life, some of us find ourselves in bad positions because of the mistakes we made in the past. These mistakes could be as a result of our lack of concentration or ignorance. Whatever the cause, we must not lose hope.

One thing that could take you from a bad situation to a better one is your consciousness. You must suddenly become very conscious of exactly why you've been in that bad situation. And also be very conscious of what you have to do to turn it around. A religious life could help you build this type of consciousness.

It is that consciousness that will help you become much more careful with your actions and see the opportunities that surround you.

Many people can't see opportunities passing them by everyday because they are simply not conscious of it.

No matter how bad your situation looks, don't lose hope. Channel your focused consciousness on it.

6. To succeed, you must learn to build
The game of Tetris is similar to laying bricks as in building a house. The saying goes, "As you lay your bed, so will you lie on it." Building is conscious activity. You don't build anyhow. It takes planning, foresight and intelligent arrangement. It is when you build with these qualities that you become successful in whatever you're building.

If you play Tetris without building well in an arranged manner, you'll lose very quickly.

In life, we have to build. We are constantly being given something in our lives. It could be in the form of skills, abilities and etcetera.

If we do nothing with these things we are given or we despise them, we will lose and end up with nothing but bitterness.

Building is the way to live! If you build with the things you've been given, no matter how little you think it may seem, you will experience success in your life and you'll be surprised at how doors of greater opportunities will be opened to you.

The key to your success in life is building with what you're given. Hating what you're given and refusing to build will only make you fail quicker than anybody else. Love what you have been given and build with it. Trust me, you'll be grateful.

So those are the insights I gained from playing Tetris again after many years. If you're inspired by it, share with at least one person.

Stay sharp and keep winning!
Until next time,
Nigel.

Traveling Expands Your Mindset

Hi guys, it's been a while away from this blog and believe you me, I've been caught up with quite a number of things which has got me traveling to different places in a short period of time.

Prior to that, I spent one year in a city I've never been to in service to my country and my experiences during the entire one year made me a better person. This is the main reason why I think it's appropriate to write about how traveling expands your mindset.

Many people barely travel and spend a better part of their lives living in the same geographical area. They live in the same neighborhoods and meet the same people over and over again. They barely get the chance to interact with people living in other areas or even live with them.

It's not like this is an entirely bad thing, however there is a high tendency to behave and think only in a similar pattern as people who live in your area tends to. This usually happens subconsciously without your knowledge. But you may think that you aren't being affected.

When you hardly travel and keep living in the same place or meeting the same people, you will tend to easily accept their prevailing belief systems and point of views without any proof. Because there's no where else to gain firsthand knowledge about others save from what you hear(which is sometimes very incorrect).

Traveling enables you to actually get first hand experience from people who may share dissimilar opinions and beliefs. You may have had some preconceived ideas about these people and your judgements may have been wrong. When you travel, it gives you an opportunity to interact with them and get to know things for yourself through experience.

Traveling also makes the world look smaller and enables you better understand your environment and terrain. When you travel, you get to come across lots of places you've never been to. You learn new names and new sites. You get to know new routes.

Learning these new things has a way of sharpening your thought processes. And it makes you smarter as you gather a wealth of new knowledge which could be very useful someday. No knowledge is a waste.

Traveling also boosts your confidence and has a way of making you more willing to take risks. We know that self confidence and a willingness to take risks are crucial ingredients to success. Living in fear is usually our barrier. Fear could cripple us.

When you travel to a place you have never been before and you try to live with the people there and adjust to the lifestyle, you may initially have some fears about them. You think about a lot of "What Ifs?" and you are uncertain about how things may go.

But once you start living with these people, these fears begin to gradually die off. This fear only arises because it is your "first time." Once you've eliminated this first time fear, you will find it easier to settle in unknown places. Eliminating first time fears is very key to succeeding in life.

You will also be more willing to travel to new places as you get used to how to meet strangers.

Traveling could also be the missing link to your skyrocketing success! Just changing your geographical location could be the only thing keeping you in that same situation.

When you travel, you expand your life by making new friends and getting to know more fun places to be. You gather story from daily experience and your story could help identify a hitherto unknown problem and bring it to notice or even change someone's mind for good. You could also share these stories with loved ones instead of appearing boring around them.

You could meet someone or gain knowledge from traveling that could turn your entire life around. You could identify opportunities that you never thought existed by traveling and the best opportunities may be waiting for you in another location. Why not make the move?

Traveling expands your mindset in a lot more ways than I've mentioned here and I believe it is crucial to one's success in life. Even if you feel conditioned to stay in a particular place for a long period of time, learn to make out time and budget some amount of money for just traveling to different places. Learn to meet different people and gain proper knowledge of their way of life and system of beliefs. Your opportunity might be waiting for you somewhere.

Travel when you get the chance and the means. Keep winning!

The Harsh Reality of Birthdays

It's your birthday and you're really excited. You dance, play, eat, drink and have fun. You get exciting calls and text messages from family and friends. You're surprised with lavish gifts. But after all the celebration of adding one more year to your life, you suddenly start to think about the harsh reality of birthdays.

First, you may start worrying about the future.
You have just added a year to your life. You start thinking about the things you've failed to achieve or not. You start wondering about whether you have found your purpose and what the future may hold for you. You feel sad when you've not been able to accomplish as much as you had thought. You only feel good when you've achieved some good things during the year.

Secondly, you think about death. Someone once said that every birthday takes us closer to our graves. You start thinking of the time you've spent so far on earth and how much more possible time you may have left. This is more common with the older folks, so at some point, they may be reluctant to even celebrate or become too excited about their birthdays.

You get to think about those who really care about you and those who are in your life. Maybe you expected a different birthday wish or present from someone who you really care about or someone who is really close to you, but nothing was forthcoming. You may become saddened about the fact that some people don't just care about your birthday at all.

You may start to compare your birthday with those of other people. You may suddenly remember how that friend of yours celebrated his or her birthday. He or she may have gone to the beach, entered a speed boat or a ship, taken a flight to an expensive resort for the birthday and all.. Your own birthday might have come up at a time when you were not buoyant enough and you probably celebrated it in a "not so big" way.

You start to think of how well you have lived and the progress you have made. The thoughts of how well you have progressed so far in your relationships, finances, career and education will begin to haunt you. You begin to see where you have done well and where there is still room for improvement.

Despite these harsh realities which we must have to come to terms with, birthdays are still awesome. They remind us of our human nature and position in life. The harsh realities only help us to look introspectively into our lives and make necessary adjustments for a better birthday. It is not there to make us feel bad about ourselves.

Your birthday may have reminded you that you are not currently where you had planned to be. But remember that you are alive and well, that's enough reason to be happy. With life in you, you can always make plans and keep trying.

You may have thought about death on your birthday, death is inevitable in this realm of our mortal existence. The thought of death should make you see life as it really is and love more often than you hate. It should make you enjoy this life and do good to others because you never know when your time is up. And it should motivate you to work hard to make a lasting impact.

The harsh reality of the people who really care about you may have also dawned on you. But guess What? It doesn't really matter. Everyone must not care about you even when you might have cared about them. Sometimes life may look that unfair. Those you love and care about may not really love and care about you in the same way. And that's okay. They really don't owe you nothing.

Still show love and care to people when you can and when you want to. Don't cut people off easily because they haven't met your expectations. None of us is all perfect.

Comparing yourself with other people for whatever reason has always proven to be wrong because there is no point doing so. If you want a particular thing for yourself, all you need is to plan and work towards it.

Action is what you need to get it. If you want your birthday to be a blast, you have to plan for it and make some decent amount of money which can afford you such a luxury. There's nothing bad in celebrating your birthday in a small way. As long as you had some fun at all, you should be happy. But if you want it big, plan big and act big.

If you catch yourself thinking about how well you have made progress, it is actually good. But be careful not to slide into over thinking which can lead to depression. Take note of where you need to improve and just draw out new plans to help you make progress. Act on those plans consistently. That's all.

Birthdays are still awesome!

The Secret of Successful Countries

At the root of all forms of progress, there are systems and actions which led to it. Also at the root of failure and decadence, there are a set of events which have also led to it.

If we are really concerned about how to make significant progress in any setting we find ourselves, it is of primary importance to understand the secrets behind it. It calls for serious reflection and observation of the already existing entities which have made progress in a similar setting.

The secret of successful countries lie in their building very effective reward systems.

The leaders of these countries ensure that every deserving citizen who is playing a role in making the nation progress is adequately rewarded.

These leaders care well about the soldiers who defend their countries and go for their peacekeeping outside if necessary.

They take good care of the families of these soldiers in their absence.

They use tax payers money to build exactly what their people want. They provide and assure citizens of their security.

They take good care of the retired civil servants who have adequately served in various capacities for the good of the country and give awards to those who have distinguished themselves in service, so that the younger ones can be motivated to also work brilliantly wherever they find themselves.

They look at their education sector and diligently reward and sponsor those students who have distinguished themselves in the fields of sciences, technology and arts. This motivates other students to really take academics and scientific research seriously for the progress of the nation.

They take their reward systems very seriously. The idea behind that is this: People who are rewarded for their actions are highly motivated to do the right thing for their country and perform at their very best at any given time in any given opportunity.

Almost every one of us loves to be rewarded for the good things we do. And it is only when we are not rewarded adequately that we feel really reluctant to do our work.

Therefore successful countries don't joke with their reward system. They know and understand what rewards do to the minds of their countrymen.

Countries that have failed woefully are those countries where the reward systems have been bastardized by corruption.

Countries where civil servants die and the government does nothing to even provide for the families of the bereaved.

A country where hard working citizens are not even paid their salaries on time. How on earth do you expect them to discharge their duties adequately?

Countries where their leaders care less about their citizens and just act as they like. How will the people ever be happy to contribute in nation building?

Countries that are not making progress are countries where the leaders have failed to understand that it is the collective efforts of all the people that builds a nation.

Countries where the people do not even believe in the nation anymore cannot make any reasonable progress because a people who have lost faith are a people that will hardly do things unselfishly for the good of the nation.

I mean, why should they do anything good for the nation when they have not even seen any good results from their efforts to build it? Why?

In such failed states, the reward systems are not even in place. Corruption becomes the order of the day and in the end, it rubs off on everybody.

Therefore, how should citizens of countries that want progress work to build their reward systems?

The first step is to ensure that only credible and trustworthy leaders are elected into power.

Indeed, the electoral systems in many nations may have been compromised and voting systems may be tampered with. But one thing cannot be tampered with and that is the unifying voice of a desperate people.

If concerned citizens of those countries work together and enlighten others with one voice, they will form a voice that cannot be quenched by corruption.

Whatever fake results they may come up with, the people's unifying voice is enough to shake up the very roots of any administration.

I believe that if a  man or woman of integrity is the leader,  he or she will ensure that these failed reward systems are reactivated. And from there the people's confidence will be restored in the nation. From there progress flows.

The second step is for the inhabitants of a country to work together irrespective of their tribe or religions. Tribal and religious sentiments keep on distracting ordinary people from what the problem they face really is.

The problem lies with their collective resolve to change things. And confidence can only be restored by a leader who genuinely cares about the people.

But we fail to see this problem and we do nothing about it because they are busy fighting and quarreling over tribal or religious sentiments. When will the antagonism stop and when will they face the real problem?

Take a look at these countries that have made progress and where the reward systems are still in place. You will hardly hear of religious or tribal conflicts. The citizens of those countries understand that it is their country first and foremost before any other thing. They practice their different religions in peace with mutual respect for one anothers religion.

But in failed countries, there are conflicts almost always. If the economy was better, everyone would have been happy and people wouldn't care about fighting or making trouble. But when the economy is not booming, business is not also booming, so people are easily prone to hostility and anger.

A united people irrespective of their faiths are a God fearing people. And God fearing people elect the best leaders.

So, it's important the citizens work together irrespective of their origins and faiths. A great leader will be able to inspire the people to do so.

I believe that these two things are the indispensable ingredients for a successful country.

If struggling countries can focus all their energies to actualising these two, things would definitely turn around for the better.

But first and most importantly, a good leader must be chosen by the people who can restore their lost confidence..

Through him, reward systems will be taken more seriously and believe me, the country will boom from there.

You can share this article or share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Try to apply the reward system in the management of people where you may find yourself as a leader. 

The change begins with you. Keep winning! 

Until next time.. 

Learn The Art of Seeing The Brighter Side

A lot of people are anxious, depressed and worried about many problems they are facing in their lives. Some of them resort to suicide, while many of them have already given up because they only see negativity.

The only ones who still smile in the face of their challenges and continue to push on with every ounce of energy in their bodies are those who have mastered and learnt the art of seeing the brighter side.

So, how do you learn this art and why is it important you learn to see the brighter side in your problems? Read on.

First and foremost, you should understand that there are only two possible outcomes when you take an action or seize the initiative to do anything:

It is either you succeed or you fail.

There's no in between. Every result falls into these two categories. If you're thinking of breaking even, a middle ground or something like that, I want to spell it out to you right now that there's nothing like a middle. You either made it or you didn't.

And here's the truth: We cannot be successful in everything.. I mean, it's just not possible given the supposed limited time of our existence on this earth.

To be successful in everything means that you are able to do everything possible in this world without falling short at all. I don't know of anyone who has achieved that and I don't think anyone will.

Secondly, you should know that you don't have to be the best in something before you can be successful in that thing.

Some people are limited by the mindset that because they were not the very best in something at a particular time of their lives, what it means is that they can never succeed as much as the best.

That idea is totally wrong and with a little study of successful people's biographies and your immediate environment, you will understand that the most successful people were not always the best at some point in their personal lives.

Everyone, no matter how many times you failed or how many times you've succeeded has got the same 50:50 chance of success or failure whenever they want to venture into anything.

With an understanding of the aforementioned points, I want you to see clearly that the reason why you are too anxious, negative minded or worried about stuff is because you're keeping your eyes on one side of your results.

You are taking record of how many times you've failed and you're only seeing those things that you have not been successful in.

But come to think about it. How well are you taking record of the good things happening in your life?

You may be very healthy, but jobless. Are you noticing that you're healthy? And are you grateful that you are still very active physically? Some people are jobless and unhealthy.. Are you aware? It probably never occurred to you.

Maybe you just broke up with someone abusive whom you really loved. Are you seeing the possibility that freeing yourself from angry people actually makes you available to people who would genuinely care about your welfare? Or are you just seeing that you broke up?

Maybe you don't have the latest car, the most beautiful houses and the most expensive phones. But you have family and friends who love you. Are you grateful about them and having hope for the best? Are you are aware that some people have neither wealth nor close family and are still surviving?

If all the successful people you know about today were busy thinking of what was going wrong in their lives all the time, they would never have gotten to where they are today.

They also experienced lots and lots of failures. Many of them have lost count. But you know what? They refused to see the failures!

Read this over and over again: THEY REFUSED TO SEE THE FAILURES! 

They were not busy counting their failures.

They were not busy crying like babies about their failures.

They did not contemplate suicide because of their failures.

Neither did they give up because of their failure.

You know what these guys did? They totally ignored their failures. As in, they were failing, but they refused to see it or give it too much attention like you may be giving yours right now.

You know what they were seeing? They were busy seeing the brighter side. They were constantly seeing the light at the far end of the dark tunnel they were in and they kept on moving and looking forward to it.

Even when they fell, even when they were hungry, even when the journey seemed endless, you know what they did? They raised their eyes to see that shining light at the end of the tunnel and they kept moving towards it.

Martin Luther King Jr once said and I quote: "If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."

He is right. But the only way you can keep moving forward is when you are seeing something up there. Whether it's a breakthrough in your career, your life, your business, whatever it is, you are seeing something. That thing is what keeps you moving.

You can't move when all you see is darkness. How can you move? You must train yourself to see that light and totally ignore (while learning from it) the darkness if you want to succeed.

We all experience dark days in our lives. There are times when all hope seems lost and when our challenges are too burdensome to carry. We all experience it. However, no matter how tough, remember that you are not alone!

You just have to learn to see the brighter side and keep moving towards the light.

Learning to see the brighter side of your problems is what will motivate you to continue trying. If you can't see the bright side, no form of motivation will work. But if you can see it, you won't quit. Successful people don't quit.

So, try to redirect your mind to see the brighter side. The brighter side is always there and it is just as alive as the darker side which you think only exists. You only think negatively because you've trained your mind to only see negativity.

Good things are still happening around you and there are lots of good things that still await you. However, to recognize your good, you must learn to keep seeing the brighter side of things.

Don't always attribute negative connotations to the things that are happening in your life because it's not always so. Your mind is only tricking you to see one side, the dark.

Good things come out from every event that may look negative to you.

Not getting that job might mean that you get the opportunity to land a far better and more fulfilling job. Are you seeing that possibility?

That delay by the cab might have saved you from an accident or possibly it could give you a chance to meet someone who could play a transformative role in your life. Do you ever imagine these possibilities?

Failure in that business might be what will spur you to discover a natural talent of yours.

What's the problem that is making you to feel sad, anxious and worried? Whatever it is.. There's something good that will come out of it.. If only you can learn to see the brighter side of it.

You should read good meanings into your failures and not always bad ones. Learn from every fall, but never lose sight of that glaring bright side.

If we were to count all the good things that have happened to you, most of which you may not have noticed.. You will be shocked.

If we were also to count all the failures and setbacks you've encountered, you will also be shocked.

There's no way to really count it.. But large numbers are involved in both sides. So why choose to only see the failures and make it look as if it's the only thing that has been happening to you?

Stop letting your mind play tricks on you. Our minds are to be used positively in actively creating and shaping our world through analytical reasoning. It's not for thinking negatively about our lives.

Whatever it is, you're going through right now, it will be okay. Trust me. It only looks impossible to handle and could lead you to frustration when you fail to see all the good things flowing from the brighter side.

Learn to see the brighter side of all your setbacks and keep on winning!

You will succeed.

Till next time..

What To Do When Your Passion Does Not Make You Money

We've all been there at least once right? Many of us have been there. You may currently be in that position where you've figured out what you love doing and start working hard on it, but somehow it  isn't paying your bills.

This is the period when your passion does not make you any money. It could be really frustrating for you if you're really expectant about earning a living from it, so what can you do about it?

I know you've seen it everywhere on the billboards and the media. You hear it on your favorite songs and from inspirational icons: Follow your heart, follow your passion.. Dare to do exactly what you want to do. It excited you and you took the leap to dedicate yourself to doing what you've always wanted to do.

But right now, you're in a dilemma because it doesn't pay you. You still find it hard sorting yourself out when it comes to money.

First of all, I will like you to read and understand these paragraphs before I go ahead to tell you how to get out of that state:

First, it's important to know that identifying your passion and following it is great. Your passions hold the key to your happiness and no matter what, you must never let any of your passions die away whether it makes money or not. 

Second, understand that it is not a must you make money from your passion. You don't have to force it or put all your hopes in making money from it. You can actually make money from something you can do which you aren't so passionate about.

If you disagree with any of the above, there's no point to continue reading from here. If you agree with me, let's ride on:

We all know that making money is important. The world has been built around money. Without any money in your pockets, there are only a few things you can really do. So we all need to make some money.

However, it would be a mistake to impatiently try to force your passion to make money for you.

The truth is that your passion MUST NOT make money for you. It is there primarily for your own joy, self expression and happiness. And by this, I am not saying that you CANNOT make money from it. It is very possible.

The intricate thing here is not allowing the pressure of making money from your passion lead you to undue frustration, impatience and the much more disastrous abandonment of what you love.

I know you can give me examples of many influential people who are making tons of money from what they appear to be passionate about. It's true that some people are doing it, but do you know their stories before they got there?

Do you think it just happened overnight for those people? You need a bit of patience if you must force your passion to also make money for you(which is not always necessary), but while you wait, you should be earning from something else.

If you have an empty stomach, hunger will be the drive, not your passion. So this is what to do when you want to make money from your passion and it seems not to work:

Get something else doing that actually helps pay the bills!

Anything is okay as long as it is something you can do and it doesn't make you unhappy.

Go and do it while still making out time to enjoy doing anything you're passionate about.

The advantage of having something else you're making money from is that it will relieve you of the undue pressure to make money by all means from your passion.

It is said that a person who is too desperate for something is the most easily deceived. If there's no other source of money asides your passion which isn't paying you, you will be too desperate that you may begin to consider doing things that are wrong and against your own principles, just so you can make it.

You might destroy your reputation and self respect in the process and at the end of the day, you may not really enjoy how everything will turn out.

To avoid this pressure, get something else that you can do. You must not do what you don't want to do. You can always find jobs or services that you can render which are okay with who you are.

Whatever job or service it is doesn't matter. You don't have to ask too many questions about what others may think of you if you take up that job, just so you can make ends meet.

The only questions you should ask yourself are these: "Is doing this job or rendering service okay with me?" "Can I do it?" "Is the income reasonable enough to support my needs?" If you answered Yes to all three, go ahead and do it irrespective of what anyone says.

It is your life and no one else knows your pain better than you. So whatever you do should be entirely your own choice. Others might have other sources of income even without work, so they might not understand your choice. They could still be getting free income from parents, lovers or maybe some inheritance. But you know your own situation.

So just do a little bit of research around you. The world will never run out of needs and services. You must know that you're capable of meeting some of those needs asides your passion. And you can make some cool money from doing so.

I'm not saying you should forget your passion while seeking for an alternative source of income. While you work, still dedicate some time to perfect your passion. At the end of the day you make enough to handle your needs and you still enjoy your passion.

One day, an opportunity might just click through around your passion and boom.. you quit your job and expand it fully.

It's even possible that you might make so much money from this new source of income that you completely forget the need to make money from your passion and you then decide to do it just for the fun of it. Who knows?

It is far better to have another income source while waiting for the lucky break(which may not happen anytime soon) than to continue doing so empty handed.

I hope this article helped you know exactly what to do from now. Go ahead and do it because the active ones take it all.

Until next time,

Never stop winning!

Nigel.

How To Stop Worrying About The Future

I'm very ambitious and I dream of many things. I want to be successful, I want to be wealthy and I want to be famous for a good cause.

I want to contribute to making the world a better place and I want to take up responsibilities that challenge me to be the best I can be and make the optimum use of my intelligence.

My mind is always working every single day to seek for the things I can do to achieve all these desires and whenever I identify something I can do towards that, I do it.

I believe in God and in all my aspirations, I still say my prayers. My prayers are focused on God guiding me to recognize opportunities around me and take action based on the best ideas that I have.

I know I am doing my best and I am not lazy. But here's the problem that I face: Because of all these dreams that occupy my mind, I often find myself worrying about when I'm going to achieve them.

I expect too much from the actions I take and when it seems that my results or expectations are taking too much time to yield to fruition, I become unhappy and more worried.

Does this sound like you? Are you doing your best and you still find yourself worried about when and how things will turn out? Just know that you're not alone in this and continue reading.

People who are very ambitious and people who care about making a difference are usually those who are worried. So the first thing that worrying says about you is that you are already on the path of success.

Lazy people who care less about their surroundings and how they can make a difference in today's world are those who are always relaxed. They have nothing to do, so what is there to worry about?

If you ever found yourself worrying about your future, it's a sign you want to succeed.

However, you must know and try to always be conscious of this fact: Worrying is not the way to success. The way to success is in being active.

At this point, you might be thinking: "I know that already. I've been active. So what the heck is he talking about?"

Well, I haven't landed.. It's true that active people still worry. But the moment they start worrying, what do you think happens? Inactivity sets in. They aren't engaging themselves when they are worried. That's why their minds take over and they begin to feel bad.

The thing about success is that it doesn't want you to sit idly while waiting for it. Neither does it care about you figuring out when and how it will happen. It wants to surprise you. And you only give success that chance, when you are occupied with doing your work or something else!

And therein lies the point I'm trying to make. The secret to stop worrying is to make plans and always be occupied with things that improve your life, teach you something and make you happy.

When you are occupied with these things, you don't remember to think about success. You are busy growing and improving your skills and well-being. And it often happens that success likes you to be occupied this way before it decides to surprise you.

So when you catch yourself worrying about a lot of things, what it means is that you are becoming less occupied. It means you have allowed your desires and expectations stall your progress and happiness.

Look, I understand that it's natural to feel unhappy and sometimes worry when things you are trying to achieve, don't go as you planned it, but the key here is to quickly step out of that worry and occupy yourself with exciting things.

Your work should be exciting to you and you should derive some joy and sense of pride from doing it. If you're not excited by the kind of work you do, then what's the point?

Getting yourself occupied with other things doesn't mean you should work all the time. You should also make out time for relaxation and play.

When you keep getting yourself occupied positively despite how things are going or what results may be showing to you, you will be able to overcome worrying.

I will summarize everything with this analogy:

When you're cooking food, does the food get cooked faster when you keep checking and checking it every minute?

Or does it appear to get cooked faster than you thought when you go ahead and occupy your mind with something else(say a movie or task)?

Do you get that surprise email when you keep checking and checking your mail box every second?

Or when you forget about it and carry on happily with your life?

Doesn't it seem as though things happen faster when you're not looking?

Worrying is a trap for the mind.

Stop worrying, be happy, develop yourself and keep winning!

Your success isn't that far away! 

You Are Not Alone

Many people around the world today often make the mistake of wrongly thinking that they are the only ones facing certain situations in their personal lives.

This leads most of them into depression, a negative mindset and even suicidal thoughts. In this article I will try to make you see reasons why you are not alone in the challenges you face.

Growing up, I used to think that I was all alone in many of the circumstances I found myself.

As a teenager, I didn't really get along so well with my mom. Maybe it was because Dad had passed away when I was much younger. But we often disagreed on many occasions because of my lack of understanding or trying to see things from her own perspective.

I often thought I was alone in this and it often affected my predominant disposition because I felt unloved. It was until when I discussed with other seemingly happier colleagues that I realized some of them had actually been through more serious disagreements with their parents. But they didn't let it stop them from being themselves.

At parties or picnics, I usually felt awkward as regards how to act and behave. I was too self conscious wondering what people expected me to do and what I should do. Scared of making mistakes and stuff. All these kind of thoughts made me not act freely and I thought I was the only one who felt that way.

My eyes were opened when I talked to others who were seemingly the life of the party. They admitted that they felt the same way and were often tempted to be too self conscious, but they trained themselves to simply take action and do what came naturally instead of keep thinking like I did.

And that's really the secret here: Acting even when you feel alone. When those thoughts haunt you, do you act and switch your mind away from it? Or do you keep seeing more and more reasons why you are alone?

What you do when you feel alone really goes a long way to shape your experience.

There was a time I used to think that I was the only one who had few friends and that meant that I was less popular. I'm actually very careful in selecting my friends and my friends were few and I was feeling bad about that...

Till I found out that the people I thought were popular with many close friends also had few very close friend but many acquaintances. That is.. They knew many people or have been with many people, and it's just the familiarity and exchanging pleasantries that linked them.

I used to think I was the only one who was yet to get a job, start an awesome business and start having fun. Turned out that many other people were in my shoes still working on getting a job or starting a small business.

There was a time I was so confused about finding my purpose. I didn't know exactly what I was in this world to do and I felt bad that I've not yet narrowed my life down. It was liberating to find out that many other people were in my shoes. And I could still live out all my ambitions.

Some people who are in relationships or married often times fall for this trap too. They see all the good things happening in other marriages or relationships outside and only see the wrong thing in theirs. Then they feel all alone in that condition.

Are you seeing the problem? Some of the marriages or relationships they envy might have faced or are facing worse challenges than theirs, but the partners involved acted and somehow twisted the hands of fate to their favor. And now you envy them and you think their relationship was all perfect.

What the seemingly perfect partners did was simple: Instead of feeling all alone about their own predicaments and getting depressed, they understood that they were not alone in their situation and focused on working their way out of the love challenge.

The only way is working your way out of your feelings of being alone. Then you'll see how things transform.

Some people you see also pretend. They have mastered the art of pretense. They also feel all alone sometimes, but they can cover that feeling with a lot of things. Some resort to drugs, excessive drinking and lasciviousness. All because they are trying to avoid that feeling.

But all those substitutes don't help because you're just avoiding the feeling. The best thing is to work your way out of it through the things you do.

All you need is to simply observe or discuss with people, you will see that you are never alone in whatever you face and many others are encountering the same thoughts or experiences.

My life changed when I realized how easy things I thought were difficult really were. And when I saw that challenges I faced weren't really so different from the  challenges of those I envied.

The difference between me and them was in my attitude. While I had let my challenges make me look down on myself, they ignored their challenges, still saw themselves in a positive light and took conscious action to overcome those challenges.

When I understood this, I copied their pattern and consciously took any action to overcome the personal challenges I had. Though difficult for me initially, but as I kept on doing it, my life changed.

I attracted people to myself and when they left me, I didn't feel bad, I moved on to other people. I wasn't stuck thinking about the meaning of stuff like why they had to leave and why stuff happened to me. There is no meaning to anything except the one you give that thing. So I committed to acting right.

When I disagreed with mom, rather than feel like I was all alone or sad, I tried to see things from her perspective and made her understand my own feelings about stuff. No matter how strongly I disagreed, I walked up to her and tried to understand her. Our relationship got better and waxed stronger.

When I went to parties and felt awkward, I take the initiative and start a conversation with someone or even get up and dance naturally to the beating of the music. I never cared in the world what anyone thought about my dance steps.

Instead of feeling like I only had few friends. I made conscious efforts to build my network of friends and tried to keep in touch with most of them occasionally. My network expanded for good.

Bottom line is that I tackled all my feelings of aloneness with conscious activity. I didn't let my feelings make me inactive. I acted despite how my mind wanted to make me feel. That was when the transformation began in my life. And that is where yours will begin too if you ever feel alone.

Most of our problems arise from either over thinking or a lack of the most basic form of it. Because if you had given a little thought to other people, you would've seen that they too faced the same challenges, but the difference between those who appeared to be having it smooth and yourself was all in the attitude!

 You could sit around all day feeling bad about your predicament or you can do something about it right away. The magic happens in doing. When you do, you make a difference. Stop being stuck with feeling and thinking too much. Learn to Act your way out!

There are many people who have faced, are facing and will still face whatever thing you think you are facing all alone. Don't fall for the trap of thinking that you are the only one facing anything. It leads to acute depression and suicidal thoughts.

If some of them were able to make it out successfully, why can't you?

Thinking sure helps, But over thinking without any action is a curse.

You are definitely not alone.. If you're religious, you should know that God sees everything and is with you at all times. Just play your part by doing and watch the miracles happen.

Keep winning!

Enjoy The Process

Oftentimes, we are too focused on the end goal of what we desire to achieve that we fail to enjoy the process we must undergo to achieve it. 

We are too future oriented to pay attention to what we are presently doing. This isn't really desirable for us if we really want to succeed. 

If we cannot enjoy the process involved in getting what we want, how will we be motivated every single day to achieve it? 

A lot of people today are unhappy. They don't let like what they are doing, they hate every present thing they have to do to achieve their desire and they try to fast forward to where they want to be. 

The truth is that there is really no fast forward button in life because life will always follow the due course, no matter how badly we intend to speed up its process. 

When you are always refusing and hating what you have to presently do, you're only hurting yourself because you are missing the opportunity to learn the lessons you need to learn from that situation, so you can move on to higher positions. 

When you keep turning a blind eye to that present situation, you are only extending the time you will have to face it. In a previous article titled "The Power of Your Attention," I shared insights on the benefits of paying great attention. 

Without that attention, you will miss. Therefore, it's pointless to desire anything if you're not enjoying the process involved to get there because there is only one way to get there and that is to pass through the process. 

If you want to be a world class footballer, you have to enjoy the process of going for tedious trainings and practice games. You must enjoy practicing the dribbles, the stunts, the free kicks and the penalties. 

You cannot hate these things or try to fast forward them to suddenly become a star. It doesn't work that way. Expertise takes time, attention and hard work. And it's only when you're enjoying the process that you can give those three. 

If you want to join the Armed Forces, you should be prepared to enjoy the drills, target practices and rigorous stunts involved. They may be tiring and painful, but you have to enjoy it and always be willing to participate. 

You cannot hide or always feign sickness when those things are being done, yet claim that you want to be a renown officer. 

You want to be a great writer? Then you have to enjoy the process of writing constantly, reading the written works of other people and perfecting your writing style. 

If you hate sitting down in one place to write at least 500 words or more and you don't like reading, how do you want to become a great writer? What would you write? How well would you have developed your craft? 

You want to be a well known politician? Then you must enjoy the process of setting up meetings with political stakeholders, the process of campaigning and speaking to a large number of people. You must enjoy travelling around almost all the time to make decisions that affect a large number of people. 

If you are predominantly an introvert and you don't like people being in your own space or you don't like to speak in public or even travel a lot, how on earth do you want to be a great politician? 

Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man ran for 3 - 4 hours every single day for practice because he was in love with his process to be the fastest man.. Before he became world class, he loved to run. 

Mohammed Ali, one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all times was said to run 3 to 5 miles three times a week during his preparation for a fight. He would hit the speed bag rapidly in 5 minutes. It should've been stressful to him, but he loved it. 

An article from medium claims that Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and Space X, works between 80 to 100 hours a week running Tesla and SpaceX, even when his net-worth would easily allow him to elope to a beach and never be heard from again. For the record, Elon says he’d have to be on serious drugs to live that kind of beach life.

The article also says Bill Gates (Billionaire, Philanthropist and Founder of Microsoft) loves working with scientists and field workers at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He could work less hours if he wanted to, and he takes more vacation than he did in his 20’s (where he took zero vacations), but chooses not to. 

These men could have easily quit, but because they've fallen in love with their processes, they get better and better. 

You just have to love the process to become what you want to become if you're passionate about getting there, because there is no other way. 

If you cannot love the process, there's no point wishing for it because it's the process that will build you to achieve it. 

Some people may tell you that they didn't enjoy the process, but they struggled and passed through it before they made it. 

I tell you that if they were not enjoying it in any way, they wouldn't have been able to complete it. The right description is that it was very tough for them, but because they liked it and were really passionate about their dreams, they loved it and continued. 

How can you make any progress doing something you don't even love? Even when you force yourself, you are still bound to make mistakes and overlook certain things because your attention is not there. 

You can actually develop love for something. Some of the things we currently enjoy today, we probably didn't enjoy them years ago. So it's possible to develop love for something.

Therefore, if you want to get somewhere and you can develop genuine love for the process involved, by all means, go ahead. But if there's no love for the process and it seems you cannot develop any love for it, it is wiser that you leave the dream and go for one that aligns with your passion and creative genius. 

Not loving the process involved in achieving anything is almost as certain as failure in that thing. Because after wasting more time than necessary in it, you'll still find out that you cannot be where you envisioned. 

How to be where you desire to be is hidden and encoded in the "process" … From the first day you engage the process till when you finally become what you desire, every action of yours builds up that dream! 

The dream you seek is not so far away from you if you understand the magic that happens through the process. In short, the more you love and enjoy the process, the closer you are to your dream or desire. 

The more you hate and dislike the process, the farther away you are from the dream. 

Every step in the process builds that dream and that's why you cannot go through the process reluctantly or indifferently. The process is like the little drops of water that will make up the mighty ocean which is dream. 

That's why you should abandon dreams when you know you cannot enjoy the process and go for dreams in which you can love the process. 

We all want to achieve our dreams in the shortest time possible and with loving the process, we can hack time. 

If you love the process, stress wouldn't seem like stress, work would seem like play, effort would seem effortless.. You wouldn't know where your energy to practice will come from because you'll never get tired easily. 

You will find yourself studying, learning, asking questions and doing research or practice on your own without being told by anybody. You'll work 110% and you'll not feel satisfied. 

If you hate the process, everything looks like a chore. Every second drains the energy off you. You cannot wait to complete the barest minimum required of you, so you can rest. There would be no motivation to achieve more. You're just passing time. 

Once time is up, you cannot study, research or practice on your own. You hate everything about the process. You just got to quit and quit now. Go out there, find the process you'll enjoy and pursue it! 

Enjoy the process, hack the time and just keep winning! 

Be New Every Single Day

All progress comes from our being new..
A musician keeps singing new songs.. An engineer keeps innovating new designs. A scientist keeps carrying out new experiments.

You don't have to carry over the past with you everyday you wake up.

Be new every single day. Don't be the same old person you were yesterday..

It's only when you're new every day that you experience miracles.

The past is usually a burden to us and when we stop letting it drag us behind, we become free to experience the beautiful things in the new.

Many people are stuck with either the good or bad experiences of their past that they cannot even live.

When you keep thinking about the past, you keep reliving it in your mind and you miss the beautiful opportunities to experience greater things which the present always offers you.

Many other people who have accomplished certain notable things in their lives tend to feel that they are complete or that they have arrived.

Once you start thinking that you're complete you start becoming dead.

Aspire for more and more everyday. There should be no point where you should get to and stop trying. Each level you attain calls you to a higher level.

Don't be the same old person you were yesterday. You can always be better than your old self and every single moment of today offers you that chance.

You see, the reason why some of us are still trapped in the same circumstances is simply because we have not changed our attitudes or tried to improve ourselves.

The circumstances you experience outside of you is often a mirror of your own person life.

If you find yourself in the same circumstances over and over again, you need to change and become new.

You can move a new neighborhood, you can change the way you dress, you can become more careful about your words, you can try a new method of doing something you've always done or you can make new friends.

There are many ways we can renew ourselves and our attitudes. And all it takes is conscious action. Be conscious of what you really want to achieve.

Be conscious of the things you always do. And try to improve them.

We must not let the circumstances or achievements of the past keep us stuck. We must celebrate our successes, but it shouldn't make us to relax and stop seeking to improve.

Because life is all about improvement and renewal. Reptiles shed off their old skin to reveal their new bodies. Plants die and their seeds grow again to renew them.

We must never get stuck at any point in mind or in body.

Always be new everyday and keep winning!