Believe in Yourself

No one else has the ultimate power to change your life but you! In the past I used to think that the outcome of my life was dependent on the circumstances and conditions surrounding me. I used to think I was limited by my skin color, looks, country, tribe, nationality or belief system. As a result, I didn't believe in myself.

It was when I discovered the power of believing in oneself and one's ability to make it through any challenge that I began to see things change in my life. I believe in God and I can't confuse my belief in God with belief in myself. It's important to note that they are two different things.

In short, if you really believe in God, you will also believe in yourself and you won't believe in failure. When I talk about believing in yourself, I am referring to being self confident and highly motivated to pull through whatever challenge that comes your way.

It should be part and parcel of every genuine believer in Almighty God. God never fails, so you should be confident in yourself and your endeavors that you cannot fail because your father cannot fail.

When people claim to believe in God and yet they don't even believe that they have what it takes to pull through difficult times, it means they don't really understand what they claim to believe. Belief is not just lip service. It is a deep seated consciousness that must permeate every aspect of your life.

There are millions of people out there willing to tell you that you can't and give you millions of reasons why you should give up your "crazy" idea and quit, why should you add to that number by also telling yourself that you can't? No! You know what you believe in.. And that should spur you to continue believing in your ability to succeed even when many people are predicting your failure.

Have you looked at the lives of people who are always saying negative things about your ideas? Take a look at their lives, they're all the same. Nothing spectacular or noteworthy about them because these people only speak and BELIEVE in negativity! They believe the can't and so it becomes their reality!

Would you rather accept the limited beliefs of those people and stand a greater chance of experiencing the same dull kind of lifestyle they're experiencing or would you rather aspire for bigger things? The answer is in your hands.

Henry Ford said and I quote, "Whether you think you can or you can't, you're RIGHT!"

A winner believes in his God, himself and in his ability to accomplish a mission, no matter what the world tells him.

He is undeterred like a formidable lion and his determination scares the hell outta any obstacle standing along his path...  Be a bold winner today and take control of your life. 

Define Yourself

This is a short video I made for Instagram concerning the art of knowing and defining oneself. Watch and share. 

20 Inspiring Picture Quotes From Goalcast

Have you heard of Goalcast? Well if you haven't, Goalcast is an inspiring community for achievers dedicated to helping you improve all aspects of your life. The community provides practical advice, resources and the motivation to help you realize your full potential. They believe that anyone has the potential to reach their goals no matter how ambitious and hope to be a source of motivation for people on their journey towards success.

I discovered them sometime last year and saw that they are driven by a similar mission as The Bold Winner's Blog, so I started following and sharing some of their content. In this blog post, I want to share a collection of 20 picture quotes from them which are designed using some famous people to keep you motivated and inspired in the daily pursuit of your goals. Enjoy:

So there you have it. I hope you were motivated by them? If you'll like to see more of their content, you can follow them on Instagram @Goalcast and on facebook using the same username. You can also check out their website: www.goalcast.com for more information or content.

Stay inspired and keep winning!

Try Discomfort

Many of us would rather settle for the easier way of doing things instead of taking the route that looks difficult at first glance because we hate discomfort. We go for what looks less stressful and never consider to try discomfort.

This attitude is quite understandable because when you think about it, you'll see that most people don't like anything that will "stress" them. Everybody wants it to be easy. But when you look at it deeply, you'll see that it is those people who are willing to take the road less traveled by the majority that eventually find life easier.

Many people prefer to always take the easy way. Instead of moving away from home and try to start living on your own to pursue your endeavors, many matured people these days will rather cling onto the safety of their parents. It's easier for them. There is free accommodation, free money and free food, so what's the point of trying to get things for themselves? They remain there wasting their years.

But there are those who have opportunities to live in so much comfort, but rather chose to take the bold step and be independent. They don't cut off from home as they still visit occasionally. And they earn the respect of their parents as a result of their choice to leave home into discomfort and pursue their dreams. These ones usually end up successful.

For some people, it's much easier to sneak in a textbook into the examination hall so they can cheat,  rather than study to pass their exams. It looks much easier to do that. And it looks harder to read and understand.

But later, these guys come out of school with great results but nothing to show for it! They can't get jobs because at tests and interviews, their performance doesn't show that they deserved the results they presented. And then, they blame the government for no jobs.

The ones who were willing to study and develop the necessary skills are those who finally get great jobs because they prove themselves worthy and then life suddenly looks easier to them because they have worked hard in discomfort for it.

Some people lack social skills. They don't know how to meet new persons, talk to a member of the opposite sex or just feel free around people. They may go about saying that it's just the way they are and therefore remain the same because they feel comfortable that way.

But some other person who may lack these social skills may decide to move into discomfort and take the initiative to try these things. (It will feel awkward at first. Entering into discomfort comes with awkward feelings and some fears. But as you keep on trying, you will master these feelings.) This person stands a better chance of becoming better than he was because he stepped into discomfort.

Many of the great inventors, scientists and politicians that we knew all stepped into discomfort. Most inventors and scientists spent a better part of their lives researching, experimenting and trying to discover things that have changed this world for good in their name. Some politicians have been jailed for years and attempts made on their lives because of a good cause they have been fighting for. Yet, they didn't run away from discomfort.

These men and women could've chosen to forget about these endeavors and just be comfortable and average. Why not keep partying, drinking and having some random sex instead of bother about achieving anything? It definitely looks easier to do.

But these men cared less about just entertainment. They moved into discomfort because their hearts were really burning to achieve something. Today, they are well known and respected. They speak and others keep quiet. They can enjoy their lives as much as they want because they earned it through their achievements. And what can be said about those who chose only comfort?

The big question now for you is this:

What does your heart burn for? What is your purpose or mission? How comfortable are you? How willing are you to delve into discomfort?

Winners are associated with some discomfort which they either created or which were brought upon them by fate, but they embrace and transform them.

If you're getting too comfortable anywhere or in any situation, just know that there is a problem. Moving into discomfort at some points in your life is what leads to your skyrocketing progress.

Stay bold and keep winning! 

9 Life Lessons From The Game of Chess

Chess is a wonderful intellectual game. It is not merely an idle amusement as wrongly believed by those who may not understand the beauty of the game. It is a game in which several wonderful capacities of the mind can be developed.

Many things happen on a chess board from which we can pick vital lessons that could help us in our daily lives. It is almost eight years long since I learnt how to play chess. And so far so good here are 9 life lessons I have learnt from the game:

1. Never give up

This one comes first because I feel it's the most important lesson I've learnt from playing chess. Many times when I play with stronger players and find myself in a bad position, I tend to easily lose hope. I'm like "What's the point?" "The game is already lost."

But as I advanced in gameplay, I stopped giving up easily when I've made any errors or when I appear to be losing. I just focused on playing as best as I could given the situation. In doing this, I often found many other opportunities which helped me to bounce back into the game and gain an upper hand.

I realized that any mistakes I made wasn't the end. Despite my position, I should focus on making the most of my moves. And I have applied this lesson to life to liberate my mind from depression.

2. Women are powerful 

In chess, the queen is the most powerful piece on the board, not the king. The queen can move in any direction and for longer distances. While the king has one step to move around it. Though the king is the most important piece, it has limited mobility.

I have often asked why this had to be so until the message became clear to me. Women are powerful influencers. Hell hath no fury like that of a woman. The place of women in the society and their capacities even though they may look physically weaker must never be underestimated.

And if you take a peek at history, the downfall of most great and powerful men were simply orchestrated by a devious woman! The creator of chess must have had these in mind before creating the game.


3. You can never win if you don't make a move

In Chess you have to make a move if you are to make any form of progress. In the beginning, white has to make the first move, before black. If white refuses to make the first move, then there would be no game. And no game means no action and no forms of progress.

So it implies that of you want to succeed and make any form of progress in your life, you must make a move. You must use the resources you have and move/manipulate them to achieve your desired results. Failure to do anything will keep you trapped in the same situation.

You see many people pray all the time for God to bless them, but they don't make any moves towards what they want. They pray from January to December and nothing happens because God is probably waiting for these guys to just make a move.

4. Attack is often the best form of defence 

While playing chess, I have often found myself in dangerous positions when my opponent is launching very aggressive attacks on my side. The attacks are well sustained that oftentimes the first thought that comes to mind is to run back and defend my territory.

But experience taught me that the best way to defend is to also carry out strong attacks on your opponents side. When you learn to also launch deadly attacks instead of just defending, your opponent will have a hard time continuing his own attack because he has to attend to his own territory.

Don't always be defensive in life. Don't always relax and wait for things to be given to you or just happen on its own accord. You should learn to attack. Make plans and carry them out. You will stand a better chance of surviving when you attack sometimes in response than when you always crawl back to defend.

5. Consider or think about the future

 Foresight is a lovely attribute of the mind that you learn from chess. In playing the game, you have to think of what your opponent is planning to do and also think up of various plans you can use to defeat your opponents.

You think about the future consequences of the move you want to make and how better or worse it will make your position. You're careful responding to your opponents move because you have to try and see the future moves they are planning.

In life, many of us have made terrible mistakes because we don't really think deeply about the actions we take presently. I have written extensively on this here. Chess teaches us to remember the future before making any moves in life.

6. Understand your situation or position 

Chess teaches circumspection. The ability to consciously observe, understand and analyze your position very well before moving. If you don't understand your identity, situation and position in life. You may not really be able to achieve anything meaningful.

You must understand your situation and that begins with how you know yourself, your tribe, your history, your community, your race, your continent etc. When you have known this about yourself. You can then take time to learn about other people, cultures and beliefs.

Wherever you find yourself in life, take time to study and understand the environment. Get access to important information and always update your knowledge of what is happening around you. It is a key ingredient to living successfully.

7. Learn to recognize your opportunities, don't waste moves 

Opportunities they say comes but once. Although on a chess board opportunities usually arise, it is important to take advantage of the opportunity that you are presently aware of rather than gambling with it. I have had opportunities of taking my opponents unguarded pawn and I usually did. It often proved sufficient to finally win in the end game.

So it is in life, sometimes we are too keen on the big opportunities that we lose sight of the opportunities that surround us every single day. And sometimes we are lucky enough to recognize these little opportunities, but yet we despise them and don't take advantage of it.

The truth is somebody else will take advantage of the opportunities you missed. And in chess, it's your opponent. So it's important you learn to quickly recognize and make good use of opportunities that come your way whether on a chessboard or in real life.

8. Time is one of the most valuable resources

Is there any other game that could better teach you the precious value of your time? Chess is a game that greatly valued time. Once your time is up in chess, no matter how good your position may be, you will inevitably lose the game.

It teaches you how best to manage your time and make the most use of it. We all believe that our timeline on this planet is limited. And every second counts. So wasting time is usually not good. Time is meant to be managed and used well.

9. Luck always favors the good planners 

Chess isn't really a game that we say is dependent on luck, just as in rolling a dice. Chess is a game of strategy and tactics and luck has a little role to play here because, whatever happens on the board was created by your moves.

When you are a good player(one who is thoughtful, careful, resilient and determined), you will always be lucky. You won't be lucky in the sense that luck just happens. You will be lucky because you created your luck by playing very well from the beginning.

And that's it: 9 Life lessons from the chess game. Have you played chess? Do you have other life lessons from the board that you can add? You can leave a comment or share the post.

Stay bold and keep winning!

Failure Is Usually The Shortest Path To Success

Sounds crazy right? You might be wondering how failure is usually the shortest path to success. All I have to tell you now is this: "Take some few minutes to carefully read this article to the end and you will know why it was titled that way.

I'll begin with a personal encounter:
"All my life, I've always tried to be the perfect guy. I never wanted to fail in anything I did, so if I  thought there was a possibility of failing at anything, I just avoided it entirely.

The turning point came in my life when I realized that failure is also a path to success. In short it seems like the shortest path. Because when you fail in doing anything, you simply become better at it despite any shame or embarrassment associated with that failure.

It is when you look at the shame that it hinders you. When you are able to learn your lessons and your eyes are opened to the change that has taken place within you just by making that first attempt knowing you might fail, you will see the light in failure.

So I learnt how to try things out even when the chances of failure were glaring. Sometimes I succeeded, sometimes I failed. But the failures never mattered to me anymore because I saw the beauty of the change that it was working within me."

Like I was, there are many people in the world today who are too afraid to fail. They just avoid trying anything out because they are afraid of many things. They don't want to fail and become a laughing stock.  But they forget that staying idle without trying anything is even what makes one a real laughing stock!

There are accomplished public speakers and comedians who were utterly embarrassed and shamed the first time they tried to do anything in front of a crowd. It was failure to them as at that time. But what they experienced had contributed in building them up to where they are right now.

If you're learning a new skill or how to solve a problem, you will often fail as you are trying it for the first time, but as you get used to it, you become better. You wouldn't have been better than you were if failure wasn't there to test and challenge you in the beginning.

If you're learning a dance step or musical instrument, of course you will fail at it as you learn, then master it with time. Gaining mastery of any art or business is passing through and getting used to lots of failures. Those who are accomplished experts in their fields are those who have faced a lot of challenges disguised as failure, yet surmounted it.

We despise failure so much in our society that we fail to see that failure is inevitable to succeed. They are two sides of the same coin and always working hand in hand. You need to fail in order to succeed. Failure builds your success!

The more available you make yourself in the face of failure, the higher your chances of succeeding. But by locking yourself up and not attempting to try new things or break new grounds in your life, you will still find yourself trapped in the same position.

Don't despise failure and do not despair whenever you encounter it in your honest endeavor.. Give thanks that you had the opportunity to fail and you are made better by every failure. Your success isn't far away.

Stay bold and keep winning! .

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.