Good Stress

In the name of running away from stress, many of us have built a character of indiscipline, laziness and never going the extra mile. In today's blog post, I'll give you a fresh perspective on why stress can be a good thing for you.

A lot of us easily run away from things because they appear stressful. They look too tedious and so we can't just handle it. We will prefer to take on things that are much more easier to handle.

Maybe you got a chance to take on a wonderful opportunity that will require you to wake up say an hour earlier than you normally do. This opportunity will open doors for you in the long run. But because you feel inconvenienced and won't like to wake up earlier than your normal time, you call it stressful.

Maybe you have to hit the gym and exercise your body for at least 30 mins so that you can make progress with your fitness goals. But 30 mins is too long. You do say 5mins and you go home because working out for 30 mins looks very stressful.

Or maybe you're working on a very important project or preparing for an important test and it needs more time from you personally. It needs you to stay late nights for a couple of days, so you can adequately prepare, engage and achieve the desired results. But then you choose to abandon the project or underrate the test because it's too stressful and demanding.

There are just many instances I can give, but the point is that: our excuses using stress is often based on our unwillingness or lack of motivation to do a particular task. This is an unconsciously learned behavior.

It's not that we cannot do those things. We can choose to wake up earlier than usual. We can put in more time when we are working on a project or preparing for tests. We can push ourselves to meet our fitness goals. There are a lot of things we can actually do. But the idea of being stressed limits us from achieving what we can actually achieve.

Good stress helps us to build discipline and see the plethora of things which we never knew we were capable of. Without good stress, we will be lazy and reluctant to make those sacrifices necessary to achieve what we want to achieve and we won't even know how powerful or enduring that we can be.

Yes, there is bad stress. Recognizing that stress can be good doesn't mean that you should do everything and overly stress yourself. There are indeed things that aren't worth much fuss. And if you try to overdo everything, you'll break down, which is bad for you because your body and mind must be in top condition for you to excel. Knowing when and how to relax is important as well.

So, you must be able to differentiate between good stress and bad stress. Good stress should be related to those uncomfortable sacrifices and necessary pains you must pass through in order to achieve a desired objective in future. Bad stress is just wasting your energy for nothing.

Good stress will help you achieve your goals and save you time for relaxation. Contrary to what you may think, it is the continuous avoidance of good stress that actually steals away your time in future.

In whatever thing you do today, try and see the future consequences of doing it. Because at every moment we keep moving into the future and to be better positioned for the present, you must set yourself up for a very juicy future by passing through the good stress you need to pass through in order to achieve it.

Remember that sticking around your comfort zone is not usually beneficial to your progress. So learn those push yourself a little bit further and go the extra mile in the pursuit of your dreams. Your dreams must never die because the process looks stressful. The process only looks stressful because you aren't used to it.

No matter how stressful the requirements it looks, remember that someone was able to pass through it and become successful. So why do you think you cannot do the same or even better?

Take advantage of good stress without wearing yourself out with bad stress and just keep winning!

Until next time,

Nigel. 

The Power Of Repetition

Many atimes, we usually don't notice the power of repetition and the indispensable role that it plays in our daily lives. You see, when you do something over and over again, it starts becoming a lot more easier to do and with time it becomes am automatic process where you don't feel any stress doing it.

I remember sometime ago, I was walking up the stairs of a building where I lived with a friend of mine who was visiting me for the first time. I was leading the way and in a very short time, I was at the topmost floor while my friend was still lagging behind. When he got to the topmost floor looking quite stressed, he exclaimed: "Nigel, how do you manage to climb up and down these stairs everyday?" "It's tiring", he added. I smiled, looked at him and said, "It's because I'm used to it and you're not".

The staircase of that three storey building has become second nature to me because I had been doing it everyday and my system had quickly adapted to it as normal. To someone who isn't used to stairs, it will definitely be tiring the first time.

It's not just in climbing stairs, repetition has strong influence over the way we think and act. If you are used to thinking negatively about your situation, it will be very difficult for you to see anything good in your life until you break that repetitive thought process in you which may have become automatic.

Back in high school days, some of my peers had this belief that math was hard and therefore, they just disliked the math teacher and never paid attention in any of his classes. The result? Few of them who were lucky escaped with E's, but most of them failed woefully.

There were also some who initially thought math was difficult, but when they tried to solve questions on their own, pay more attention to the teacher and try over and over again to solve questions, they became better and good. It then dawned on them that mathematics was easy and they got excellent results.

Addiction to anything is effective as a result of the power of repetition. The more you engage in what you're addicted to, the more power it has over you.

Repetition is also at play in the way you talk, the way you respond to people, the way you dress, how disciplined you are in your life, your career and relationship lifestyle etcetera.

To break any strong cycle of repetition, it needs a high sense of consciousness about that process. And breaking an addiction to a repetitive process like porn will need a counter repetitive process which will replace the negative one.

I need you to remember this: "NOTHING IS TOO HARD OR DIFFICULT TO ACCOMPLISH, YOU'RE EITHER NOT USED TO IT OR YOU LACK THE PASSION FOR IT."

Getting to that point where something admirable becomes second nature to you is the goal. I call that point the 'elastic limit'. You subconsciously attain it by constant repetitive activity. It is then your whole system adapts to it and it becomes easy to always do it.

If you're very observant, you would notice that very successful people in any field have one thing in common. They are always relaxed, calm and poised when they are performing.

Did they master that overnight? No!  A very big No. Rather, they've invested time to repeatedly master their skills over and over again until it became an integral part of them. They've used the power of repetition to always stay relaxed and calm during activity. It becomes their second nature.

Smart and driven people understand that excellence is a habit. That's why they put in effort to GET USED TO doing those things necessary to achieve the dream they're passionate about.

There's no big magic to it. Most people don't succeed because it's either they're not passionate about what they do or that they give up too easily.

Passion for whatever you choose to do is very important. It is fuel that keeps you going until you cross that 'elastic limit' threshold where it all becomes very easy. Therefore, you must be passionate about the goal you have in mind.

On a final note, some people like to ask the question "How long will it take?". I feel that question is for losers looking for a reason to back out or for shortcuts.

They lack that passion and dedication needed to walk the walk and that's why they want to be given a particular time when they can expect to relax and quit.

Truth is: who's willing is willing. If you have truly made up your mind to succeed in anything and you have the strong drive for it, you'd be willing to walk the walk repeatedly for as long as it takes to attain the goal you have in mind.

This can be applied to achieve success in any area of life ranging from your career, relationships, lifestyle, habits, character and much more.

Till next time,

-Nigel

I Should Have

A lot of people are wallowing in self pity, worry and regret because they are always busy thinking about what they should have done. They go about telling anyone who cares to listen their sad stories.

I should have started my business, I should have told her I loved her, I should have taken advantage of opportunities, I should have chosen to be educated, I should have avoided bad company, I should have kept myself for the right person and so on and so forth. You will often hear these "should haves" from depressed people who can't let go of their past.

It's a good thing to feel sad over ones mistakes, but it's not a good thing to dwell so much on it and make such a big issue out of it. You're not the first person to have missed out on doing the right things you should have done, neither will you be last. So it's pointless to keep recounting and crying over those things.

As long as your heart is beating and there's still air passing through your nose into your lungs, there is hope. No matter how bad you feel about those things you should have done, the fact is that you can never go back in time to do the right thing. It's long gone and it's in your past. You've got to let it go if you really want to still make meaning of your life.

Indeed it's difficult to forget some of the things you could have done because your inability to do them must have been what is responsible for your present difficult situation. However, if you want to make it out of that difficult situation, you must stop killing yourself over the missed opportunity and learn the lesson from your difficult situation.

Tough challenges are usually blessings in disguise, but there are very few people who would agree with that. Your challenges contain your life lessons. And if you really want to make progress, you must be open minded enough to see and understand the particular lesson life is teaching you at every present moment.

Life lessons are unique to the individual and his actions. So it's the responsibility of the individual to understand what life is trying to teach him or her using his or her peculiar challenge.

If you got a bad result and you start thinking that you should have studied your books more, it should be apparent that life is trying to teach you the value of adequate preparation before going into any venture.

If you hesitated to start your business and those who started the business before you are raking in the millions, life could be teaching you that you should learn to take your ideas seriously and don't delay too much in their execution.

If you feel like your life was ruined by bad company, perhaps, life is teaching you that to succeed, you must roll with like minded people who would spur you to be your best.

If you lost out on someone you love because you were afraid to express your love, perhaps life is teaching you to be bold enough to make your moves in relationships.

Whatever it is, there is a life lesson you must recognize and apply to experience the new magic. Failure to recognize the lesson will only lead to a repetition of the same mistakes over and over again. And you will keep feeling more and more terrible about your life and how it may turn out.

Motivation to succeed in life is contained in your life lesson. Always complaining about the things you should have done and regretting or feeling bad all the time will only keep you trapped in same situation. The key is to learn the life lesson and just do it!

Study that course you think you should have studied, start that business you think you should have started. Express your love to the next person you really admire, associate with good company, go start that business, go hit the gym, go lose weight, go out and associate with people. Dare to leave your comfort zone.

In all things, remember that it is never too late till the last breath.

Keep on winning!

Message To The Wise Modern Woman

I have looked around me and I've seen that one of the strongest motivating factors for a man to cheat on his wife or his lover is the inability of the woman involved to provide for herself. In other words, the woman is constantly dependent on the man to provide even the most basic things for her. This kind of woman is more like a liability to the man involved and he feels that he has a right to cheat on her given that the woman doesn't really have much to offer him but her incessant demands. This is what has spurred me to write today's blog message to the wise modern woman.

Love is a beautiful thing. I'm tempted to say that it "used to be" a beautiful thing, but the truth is that genuine love will always remain a beautiful thing which every human being needs to experience in this lifetime. A life without love is almost meaningless and empty. Love really makes life rewarding. However, the real meaning of love is gradually being destroyed on the alter of money and sex.

A lot of women these days have started understanding and redefining love with material things. To them, a man who provides for them, gives them money all the time and buys them gifts(irrespective of who the man is) genuinely loves them. In other words, all it would take for them to fall in love with you as a man is: give them money, spend on them at expensive places and buy things for them. That's all! Your attitude, your little acts of care and affection, your personality, your character doesn't matter.

And why are lots of these women defining love based on material things? The answer is very simple and not far fetched: Many of them cannot provide for themselves. A woman who cannot provide for herself in today's world will get easily deceived by men who are willing to spend on them, not because they love them, but because they just need to get access to her cookie. Women who are jobless and cannot fend for themselves will not be able to look beyond the money and the gifts and see who really loves them and who doesn't.

I'm not saying it's wrong for you to accept money or gifts from a man who claims to love you. I'm saying that you should be careful that you're not blinded by those things to see this man for who he really is. If you could cater for yourself as a young woman, you will care more about falling in love with a man for who he is rather than the money he may be showering on you. I'm an advocate that a man should spend his money on a good woman. A man who is genuinely in love should surprise the woman he loves with lavish gifts once in a while. This is good.

The only problem is that men who don't care about you are also willing to do the same.. So if you're defining love based on who is spending on you, can't you see the danger you stand if you are carried away by the spending?

To be in a better position not to be carried away, you must be up and doing. Learn a skill or a craft. Apply to jobs that you can handle. The world has changed and equal opportunities are opening up for both men and women in various sectors. Why don't you take advantage of these things and live on purpose? Attach your life to goals and not to a man. When you're on track, your eyes will be opened to see the right man for you and not the one who wants to deceive you. And when you finally tie the knot with him, he will value you and your opinion because he knows the kind of woman you are. He knows you're not a liability, but a precious asset to him.

This is very important to you as a young woman. If you're reading this and you're already married or single without anything you're doing to support yourself and your family, you better start thinking and planning of how to start earning. Being able to cater for yourself financially gives you voice in your marriage, relationship etc. It also gives you respect and value.

This is a blog for winners and as a lady bold winner, I don't want you to be at the mercy of a nasty, cheating and wicked man simply because you cannot provide for yourself and without him you won't have money. That's disguised slavery. It's imprisonment because you know this man doesn't love you one bit, but because he gives you money, you stay. Talk about carrot and stick approach.

I think I've written enough for today. A word they say is enough for the wise. Empower yourself career wise and financially as a lady, keep winning! 

Focus and Determination

In a world of so many distractions, two attributes that can keep you on track are your focus and determination. Without these two, you will waste your energies trying to do many things without achieving any.

When you have a good measure of focus and determination to achieve a particular objective in your life, you hardly fail.

There's the story of two farmers: a wise farmer and a foolish farmer. They were both raising chickens for sale on different farms. On the same day day, it happened that 4 of their chickens escaped(for the both of them).

The foolish farmer was trying to catch all four at the same time.. He pursued one in a particular direction and immediately he saw another running chicken, he left the one he was pursuing and chased after that one. He continued chasing after them randomly and changing targets. Before he knew it, it was nightfall and he caught none of the chickens.

The wise farmer focused on catching one chicken at a time. He pursued one chicken, followed it in every direction and even when he saw other missing chickens aside, he continued with the one he was pursuing. And he caught it. Tied it to somewhere close and went in pursuit of the next. Before nightfall he was able to recover 3 out of the missing 4.

This story is commonly told by the elders in our community to the younger ones to teach them the value of focusing and staying determined. It is the key to achievement.

These attributes of success have always remained the same for winners, but very few people are willing to live by it and that's why there are few people who are really winning. When you look around you today, many people are so distracted. They pursue one thing today and the next minute, they chase after something else.

With use of the internet becoming increasingly popular in our society today, the problem many people are facing is staying focused and determined in using the internet. One minute, they are researching about something, the next minute, they end up clicking something else totally unrelated.

It takes a lot of discipline today as few people are willing to put in the time, determination, effort, obsession, dedication and focus needed to live the life of their dreams. Very few people care to think deeply, plan, stay focused and utilize their God-given intelligence to solve their problems.

What is the thing that separates the bold winner from the loser? It is the ability to have that patience in putting in the required time, determination and focus required to achieve exactly what they want.

And how do they do it? They "think"...they think very quickly or slowly about the situation as required and make the best decisions before acting.

They don't rush to act... Thinking is about 85% of the work...because winners understand that if they get the plans right with effective thought processes, the action becomes easy.

Let this blog post be a reminder to you to stay focused and determined in whatever objectives you have decided to achieve. That's the key to achieving it. 

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!