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.. 

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.

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! 

Why Success At All Costs Is Bad Advice

Hi guys, it's been a while since the last time I wrote. I had some technical issues with my main device. I'm back and better.

Today I'm really inspired to share this blog post aimed to help you see reasons why pursing success at all costs is bad advice.

This blog has been about success and achievement. It's been targeted at helping people to live better lives by getting to know and understand themselves better, then make the best decisions in their lives.

It has been all about activity, action, motivation and inspiration.

However, I'll love to really point out that in all these our desires to be successful in life, to make a difference, to lead change, to become recognized and whatever kinds of great things we want to achieve, we should be wary of trying to achieve them at any costs.

There is a right way to pursue whatever things we desire. Those who claim that there is no right or wrong way are only trying to sweep the truth under the carpet.

If you want to pass a particular course excellently, you can choose to go the right way by studying that course and getting to know it or you can choose the wrong way by trying to cheat your way through it.

The thing is that both ways leads to seemingly the same results. But then, the person who passed through the right way will be able to correctly apply or defend his knowledge wherever he finds himself while the other person who cheated his way through it won't be able to do the same.

Some people who desire to become very wealthy may seek to deal in fake goods, engage in fraud, deny other people their due money or commit crimes just to get quick money.

Rather than pursue riches the right way by creating value, solving an identified problem or working to earn an honest living, some people choose to be corrupt and shady.

The thing is that such people who pursue success through any means tend to make certain deadly mistakes that could irreversibly affect their lives.

They don't enjoy whatever they have achieved because they live all their lives haunted by the things they didn't do right and stand the risk of being caught.

Cutting corners doesn't pay as much as going through the necessary stages necessary to achieve anything.

Your peace of mind, happiness, sense of purpose and fulfilment is more important than many of the things you may desire to achieve in life.

I understand that the desire to achieve success at any costs is greatly influenced by many things which we see and experience in our lives daily. Social media has also influenced it.

You log on to Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat and you find out that some of your friends are already where you want to be.

One of them posts a picture of a brand new house or car that he or she recently bought. The other one posts a picture of their wedding. You scroll down and you find out that another one just landed a highly paid job with a top multinational firm. You like the posts and drop a few comments.

But then, your mind comes in.. You begin to think about your own life and you start to compare yourself with them. You probably begin to think: "Why is my own case different?" "Why haven't I gotten married?" "Why haven't I gotten a job or why am I not successful in my own business?" "Why haven't I been able to own a car or a house?"

You begin to think deeply about these things and before you know it, you start considering some negative suggestions that might seem to get you those things quickly.

You begin to consider settling down with an abusive or cheating partner who doesn't love you because you are under pressure to get married.

You start thinking of illegally smuggling certain contraband goods or drugs into your area so you can make quick cash.

Negative things begin to flow in and you start thinking of doing things that are morally and reasonably wrong because you just want to be like those people who are in your age group who are seemingly living the dream.

Well, you're in luck, because I'm here to remind you that everyone's time isn't the same. As long as you're doing what you can do about your situation, you will be fine.

Keep applying to jobs, keep doing an honest business, keep searching for the right one for you, keep moving at your own pace.

The mere fact that other people your age possess or have accomplished the things you desire before you doesn't mean that you're a failure, so you shouldn't let such thoughts put you under pressure to make terrible mistakes.

Do what you can do. Move at your own pace. Form the habit of continuing to try. Be happy for those people who have what you desire and keep the hope alive for yours while being active in pursuing it.

You will get there. It is okay to be where you are right now because the future still holds a lot of possibilities for you. You never know what the next moment holds for you. One second, one action, one idea, one more application, one more date, one more effort can change everything.

So, don't let unnecessary pressure push you into trying to achieve your own success at any costs. It is okay to move slowly sometimes. It is okay to take your time. It is okay to be more careful in making your decision. Some people are successful at a very young age. Others make it at a later time.

The important thing is that you make an honest effort everyday towards those things you desire. Don't let yourself be pushed to go into things that would affect your peace of mind, purpose and happiness all for the sake of success.

I hope this article makes sense to at least one person.

The sky is the limit for you. Your time will come. Stay bold and keep winning! 

Develop A Culture Of Excellence

Many people are comfortable with being just okay or average. They don't want to go the extra mile. They just want to do things at the most basic acceptable level and be free to go back to their relaxation.

Many want to be just good enough and not stand out. Just make some observation around you. You will see that most people are just okay with the barest minimum.

However, reality continues to show us that it is only those who excel in their fields that are celebrated. The world celebrates and rewards only those who are exceptional in whatever they do. This is why it is important we develop a culture of excellence.

When I mention the names Pele, Messi or Christiano Ronaldo, it doesn't take you long to know that those guys are exceptional in the game of football. They've become so good at football that their names have become associated with exceptional football.

When I mention Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin or Donald Trump, you already know that they are exceptional leaders who have distinguished themselves through their style of leadership.

When you hear Michael Jordan, you already start thinking of basketball and how skillful the guy has been. When you hear Usain Bolt, you think of speed.

When you hear Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, you're already thinking of men who were exceptional in fighting for the things they believed in and injustices prevalent during their time.

The name Walt Disney trends till today in the world of cartoons because his creative cartoons were and are still legendary.

It's not just about the men.. there are excellent women too.

Serena Williams has been exceptional in the game of Tennis.

Michelle Obama, Angela Merkel and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf(the world's first elected female black president) were excellent in politics.

Oprah Winfrey(one of the most influential people in the media industry and one of the few female billionaires in the world), Beyonce, Taylor Swift were all excellent in Media and entertainment.

Maya Angelou was a legendary poet and award-winning author.


There is something common to all these famous people who I have mentioned and that thing is excellence! Excellence is what will practically distinguish you from the rest and earn you respect, recognition and the wealth you may seek.

You see, there are many people in the world who are doing these same things that these recognized people are doing. Some are still starting, some have been doing it for a long time and some have given up.

But how many of them are being excellent in what they are doing?

Excellence cannot be hidden. Once you are excellent in anything, people will always talk about you and recommend you to higher things without you knowing. They will come to you and even invite people to come as well without you paying for any advert.

The best advert is being excellent in whatever you do.

Developing a culture of this excellence is not easy. In a world of over 7 billion people, an alarmingly high percentage of them don't care about being excellent. They just want to survive and do the same thing others are doing.

Why do you think they won't get the same results those people get? When you do only what every other person around you does, how can you be different from them? You can't! You'll just be like them.

But when you do more than the rest and go through the risks and the pains many of them aren't willing to go through, you'll definitely get what they don't have. That's how it works. Your culture of excellence will always pay off.

If you'll take the time to go over the biography of some of these famous and successful people, you will find the culture of excellence embedded in their routines.

They worked harder, they tried harder, they trained harder, they acted more, they read more, they contested more, they practiced more, they disciplined themselves more and used their spare time to develop their abilities. They were more thoughtful and courageous. All for the sake of sharpening their excellence.

Their excellence finally singles them out from 7 billion people who may be trying the same things. If you want to sound religious, you can say it's God's blessings or grace that singles them out, I will also agree with you.

However, I believe that blessings and grace favor those who are excellent in what they do and not those who are lazy and reluctant to try.

So, to conclude this post, I want to enjoin you all to strive to maintain excellence in anything you do. Be the exceptional guy or girl. If everyone does it in a particular way, find a way to do yours in a better and improved way.

The desire to improve always is a mark of excellence.

Every one can stand up to give a speech. But the difference between a speech that genuinely connects with the audience or brings out emotions from them and a speech that people are bored to listen to is excellence in the delivery of that speech.

We all love excellence, but few of us are willing to go through what is needed to be excellent because we don't like stress. At the end of the day, we are no different from the average person.

Don't you love watching those inspiring personalities speak to you?

Don't you love watching Messi play or Beyonce sing?

Why do you love your best musicians, actors or celebrities? The answer is their excellence.

So, in truth we all love excellence in any form. However, many of you don't want to develop the culture of that excellence because it looks hard.

The truth is that developing excellence is not as hard as you think. If other humans who you admire could cultivate it, why can't you?
.
The problem is that we think too much about what we have to do, we worry about the hard work involved and we decide to just not go through it and just be average.

But we don't want to be average. It is our minds that trick us into thinking we want to be average so that we can avoid the "hard work" we have envisioned. But the reality is that deep down you also badly want to be excellent.

Therefore, shake off that mindset that makes you think being excellent is hard. It is not. What you need is only a willingness to try one thing at a time and you will see how things will go.

Before you know it, you become used to those steps and it becomes part of you. Then your excellence becomes as easy as pie because you are now used to it.

Develop a culture of excellence and keep winning!

Do It Irrespective Of Acceptance

Many people today care too much about being accepted by others at any cost. They give up on their values, their ambitions, their morality and even their own peace of mind just for acceptance.

It's a natural thing for a human being to desire to be accepted by other people. However, it must never be to the detriment of that individual. You cannot displease yourself or put yourself at a disadvantage because you want to be accepted.

A lot of people have given up on doing the positive things they are genuinely passionate about doing because they want to be accepted and they care about how others perceive what they are doing.

The secret that most winners know is that irrespective of whether people like what they do or not, as long as it is something good and they are passionate about doing it continuously; they care less about how people see it.

When you are convinced of exactly what you want to do and you know deep down in your conscience that it is a good thing, go ahead and do it irrespective of acceptance.

J.K.Rowlings, the writer of the famous Harry Potter novel said that twelve publishers rejected the manuscript! A year later she was given the green light by Barry Cunningham from Bloomsbury, who agreed to publish the book but insisted she must get a day job cause there was no money in children’s books.

What if she cared too much about the acceptance of the book that she quit her determination to get a publisher?

Legend has it that Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC thought restaurant owners would love his fried chicken recipe and there would buy it and sales would increase. He drove around the country knocking on doors, sleeping in his car, wearing his white suit and asking people to buy it.

Do you know how many times people said no till he got one yes? 1009 times!

What if he cared too much about acceptance and decided to quit the business because he wasn't accepted?

Walt Disney was the man who gave life to Disney World and Mickey Mouse. History has it that during his first animation, his company went bankrupt.

He was fired by a news editor cause he lacked imagination. He was said to have been turned down 302 times before he got financing for creating Disney World.

If he cared about his rejections, would he have continued trying to get finance?

Michael Jordan, the renown basket baller once said:

"I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

If all these failures which may have led to his non acceptance by certain people deterred him from playing basketball, do you think would have ever heard about him?

Nelson Mandela was known for his indispensable role in fighting apartheid. It is said that at some point, the people closest to him tried to discourage him from fighting for what he believed in.

If he had listened to them and thrown his dream away because he wanted to be accepted by family and friends, who knows how far apartheid would have gone till date?

All these famous people I have mentioned cared more about their vision than acceptance.

They cared less about those who accepted or rejected them and focused on still making a genuine effort in line with what they are passionate about.

How many times they were rejected, how many people rejected them and who rejected them never mattered.

What mattered most was the dream..

Whether people like it now or not doesn't matter at all.

Whether they love it or hate it doesn't matter at all.

Whether they think it is a wise thing to do or not doesn't matter.

Whether they are willing to roll with you or not for the sake of that dream doesn't matter.

What really matters is that you do what you love to do and keep doing it irrespective of whatever they want to think.

Before you made up your mind to do anything, you must have weighed your options carefully. You must have thought it through. And even though you still keep an open mind, you still know exactly what you want. So just do it.

The people you should crave for their acceptance are people who share similar dreams and visions as you do.

They are the people who inspire you to keep performing your best, the people who are already making a difference in  the lives of others and the world at large.

The people you wish to be like and friends who see the potentials in your vision.

They are the ones you should even at least care about their acceptance. But even their own acceptance mustn't be at any cost as well.

Just keep doing what you're passionate about doing. Just keep working on the functions you're genuinely interested in. Just keep on keeping on.

Everybody doesn't have to accept you.. Because it's not everyone that will understand you no matter what you do.

You don't have to smoke or take hard drugs if it's not your thing just for acceptance sake.

You don't have to live in a promiscuous way just to be accepted.

You don't have to throw away your morals and your conscience because you want to be accepted.

If you must do away with the things that matter most to your heart and happiness all for the sake of acceptance, then the acceptance can as well go to hell.

The desire to be accepted isn't bad as long as it brings out the best in you and makes you perfect your abilities.

It's not bad as long as you don't sacrifice your heart and personal happiness.

But when you have to do away with the very essence of your humanity, throw whatever acceptance you seek into the thrash can.

Of what use is being accepted when you have to throw away everything that makes you happy and feel at ease? Is the ultimate aim of the acceptance you seek not to be happy?

So just keep doing what you're passionate about doing very well. Irrespective of how many people accept it or not. Just keep doing it.

It will definitely pay off in the end.

Be your true self, do it irrespective of acceptance and keep on winning.

The Definition Of A True Man

In today's world, it seems as though the definition of a man is getting more debased day by day. Value systems seem to have changed and being a man appears to now be centered on ephemeral, distasteful and immoral behaviour. Here on this blog, you'll get the truth on the definition of a true man.

Yesterday, I got into an argument with a male colleague at work. Ordinarily, I try my best to avoid any form of arguments except when absolutely necessary. This was one of those exceptional days.

We were all having a wonderful discussion about things we need to know in making the right choice as regards a life partner for marriage and everyone of us was sharing their candid opinions and learning from those shared by others.

Then, the young man who was standing aside joined in and started saying that we were all talking nonsense. He continued by saying that only his opinion was valid because he had slept with so many different women to the extent he had lost count.

I didn't know whether he was saying this to feel good about himself because obviously, he wasn't really  a self confident man. I also thought maybe he was drunk, but he maintained that the opinion of other participants in the conversation didn't count because in his mind; he had slept with many women.

At first, I was grossly disappointed that a man like him who I had some level of respect for was boasting about sleeping around with different women even prostitutes. However, I kept quiet and decided to ignore. Hoping he would also keep quiet.

But the dude went on from boasting about his lascivious lifestyle to boasting about the number of drinks he could consume and the packets of cigarettes he could smoke at a sitting. And he further implied that as we were not smoking and drinking just like he did, we were not true men.

That struck the chord and I had to engage him on words toe to toe. I first told him that he was really annoying with his behavior and irritating attitude by implying that our opinions were wrong because we weren't living the same way as he did.

And I schooled him on the definition of a man:

A real man is not defined by the number of women he may have had sex with or by the number of drinks or cigarettes he can consume in a day.

A true man is not really defined by the way he looks.

Neither is he defined by the material possessions he may have amassed.

All those things barely scratch the surface.

A true man is defined by his attitude, his fearlessness in the pursuit of his goals, his courage in the face of impending danger and his resolve to stand by his words.

A real man has a great sense of responsibility and contributes as much as he can to the progress of his society. He is not lazy, he does not boast(because he knows himself) and he doesn't waste his time with unnecessary things.

He is focused and determined. A real man doesn't waste his time trying to get various women to lie with him. When he loves, he loves for real and he cherishes, provides for and protects his woman.

Chasing after different women is what makes most men lose their focus in life.

And these things are self evident. The men who have been relegated to the doldrums are those who are notorious for excessive womanizing and wayward lifestyles. The men who are high on the ranks are known to have been very focused and they're committed in their relationships and ambitions.

By their fruits, you shall know them.

A true man is hard working, focused and dedicated. Not a lazy man who thinks about girls all day.

A real man takes pride in his achievements related to making an impact in the society and distinguishing himself through diligence in his works.

A real man takes pride in that particular women who he has given his love to. He focuses his attention on her and her alone and constantly makes her feel like a woman.

A true man is a man who knows when to be angry and when to be calm. He knows when to apply force and when to be diplomatic. He knows himself, his abilities and where he wants to be.

He is a man who isn't afraid to stand for what he believes in and goes alone if need be.

He is a man respected by his peers and his society at large.

The Modern man defines a real man thus:

" A real man is a man with genuine self-confidence and true masculinity. He’s a man who knows his own mind and knows what he’s about in life, and he’s not afraid to stand up for what he believes in.

When a man has these qualities, he has a natural self-assuredness that makes him stand out head and shoulders above other men, and women feel an instinctive sexual attraction towards him because he has what it takes to protect her and provide for her, allowing her to relax into being a woman in the relationship.

A real man has the strength of character to be his own man in the world and to always be true to himself. If he takes part in any passing trends in society (e.g. fashion trends, social trends, etc) he does so because he is interested in it, not because he’s trying to hopefully impress people and get them to like him.

He focuses on being the best version of himself it’s possible to be by developing the characteristics that help him to go on improving and becoming a better man at each new stage in his life...  "

I'll love to add that a true man is not always a gentle man. He is gentle when he needs to be and also tough and firm when the situation calls for it.

A true man is simply total and very focused on making reasonable impact.

Basing the definition of a man on very little, ephemeral, crude or vulgar things isn't what any highly motivated and successful man should be doing.

A man is defined by his attitude and his diligent achievement in his society and his work.

Be a true man and keep winning!

March On To Your Goals

It is a New month. It's the month of March. It's a period when you've got to ask yourself where exactly you're marching on to. Would you march on to your goals this month or would you rather fall back to your comfort zone? It's a question you should answer yourself.

It's already two months away this year, how time flies! We celebrated the New Year just like yesterday and we all made our plans and resolutions not long ago. But hey, it's already March, the third month of the year!

If you've been reading this blog, I believe it would be pointless to start reminding you of how important your time is as a factor of success. Time as you already know doesn't wait for nobody.

Whether you lie in bed all day or you go out every day and work towards what you want, time doesn't give a shit. Time is always on time and it doesn't stop for anyone. So the ball has always been in your court as regards the way you manage this time.

Today is the third day of March, thirty one days in January plus twenty eight days in February gives us fifty nine days.. Add three days to that and you got sixty two(62) days gone.

62 days gone like a flash. Ask yourself how closer you are to where you have always wanted to be after these days. If you don't have anywhere you want to be, well, that's fine, you can as well waste the remaining 303 days left. You shouldn't even be reading this blog.

But as a reader of this blog, I can bet that you want to be somewhere. I can bet that you're different from the rest of them out there who are so comfortable being stuck in their comfort zone. You have a vision and, a target and a big dream for yourself.

That's why it's important you ask yourself exactly what progress you have made so far. Maybe you've really been trying your best and working hard towards the goals you've set for yourself this year and you're not seeing results.

I want you to not worry and do not despair. For the fact that you were able to discipline yourself to work on those goals within these 62 days, you're already making progress. Whether you've seen results or not doesn't really matter for now.

You've already made progress because you worked towards those goals you set out in the beginning of the year.

What you should do right now is to go back to the drawing table and find out exactly what is wrong. Why aren't you making progress? Try to think about how you've been going about your efforts. Just take some time to think about approaching those goals through a better strategy.

Believe me, if you give some thought to it, you will definitely get some brilliant ideas and you may figure out where you're going wrong. What you need right now is to re-strategize your methods.

If you really care about those goals, you must not give up on them or relent because it appears you've not made progress. As I said, you've made progress by at least trying it.

There are many who haven't even tried. They're not even aware that they could experience what you're experiencing right now, they're still in the dark.

You're already steps ahead of them because in the process of this experience you're getting right now, you'll discover the best way to go about those goals. And you're already closer to success. But for those who haven't tried, they are still ignorant.

So be glad my friend, every disappointment is indeed a blessing in disguise because you get a chance to learn something and be better than you were.

If you're a religious person, you should also try to strengthen your relationship with your creator. Pray often and perform your acts of charity to the less privileged.

I personally don't really like to attribute challenges or setbacks to spiritual causes because I believe that despite our beliefs, we still have our individual roles to play as human beings. However, there are certain things beyond our control of which faith and devotion brings us solace.

That doesn't change the fact that as human beings we shouldn't try our own best. My problem with some people who pretend to be too religious is that they often attribute everything to spiritual causes rather than look critically at it to make changes.

They don't like to accept any responsibility, they depend on their beliefs or creator to do everything for them. I don't believe that is a true way to be devoted. You should be devoted, but you must not neglect the part you must play.

So, when all seems not to be working fine, by all means pray harder, but ensure that while praying, you also think deeply about the problems you're facing and try your best to work on them. Don't go and relax, then expect God to do everything for you.

If you've made some consistent progress within these days, congratulations, keep it up. Making progress alone is already enough motivation to keep up with what you're doing. Just keep on keeping on.

Some may have forgotten their New Year resolutions and plans. They're over with the euphoria of the New Year. They've dropped everything and now they're back to the same person they were. I don't wish this for anyone of you reading this article.

Positive change is something that must be constant in our lives as bold winners. At every moment, we must be changing to better humans. Every time we stop changing to become better, we become stagnant. And whatever remains stagnant dies and becomes stale.

A river that doesn't flow, stinks a lot because it remains the same. A river that flows is constantly fresh and alive. The movement of the river is what washes away those things that could make it stale.

So, just like the river, we must be constantly flowing and changing positively. Every time we decide to relax and go back to the way we had been in the past, we're standing the risk of being stagnant and stale.

Therefore, if you've not been working on those goals you set for yourself at the year's beginning, you better start this second to do something different towards it's achievement if you care about any progress this year. If you've forgot them, better find the book you wrote them down on and be conscious of them once again.

This is the month of March and this is a reminder to you to march on to your goals.

Believe me it's all about marching on, it's all about constantly flowing like a river, it's about movement. Life is all about movement.

And what are you moving towards? You're moving towards your dreams. Your moving towards where you desire to be. You're moving towards prosperity, achievement, love, joy, goodness and happiness.

I wish you the best of the month. Keep marching, keep moving and never stop winning!

Stop Watching TV Like A Zombie

These days, a lot of people are spending more and more time glued to their TV's, laptops or mobile devices watching various programs continuously. Unknowingly, they're gradually turning themselves into zombies if they don't stop this bad habit.

Our television sets weren't designed to be watched almost every time. They were designed for our entertainment and it's up to us to plan ourselves accordingly as regards how much entertainment we need to be getting from it. However, the use of TV has been greatly abused as more people are losing control of it and consequently it's turning most of them into unproductive people.

Come to think about it, what exactly do you really gain from spending too much time watching TV? If you think about it well enough, you will find out that your rarely gain much asides from fleeting excitement, laughter or some new information about something. And you only get the latter benefit when you're watching something educational or you watch the news. But how many people watch educating programs?

Massive man hours are spent by majority watching different kinds of movies, music shows, sports and etcetera. What exactly do you gain from movies? Nothing much asides the most common moral lessons which are: Be good, be smart and be more alert. What else do you want to learn from watching hundreds of movies on TV?

What about music shows? What could you gain by watching hundreds of them? Nothing much except the excitement(which you won't use for anything) that comes from watching a popular singer or dancer on TV. Just the excitement which doesn't last long . It doesn't add anything else to you. Why do you have to sit back and watch every music video?

When it comes to sports, it's only the excitement once again. There's no point watching all the leagues or all the sports. Therefore, you don't need to be watching a sport channel for many hours. If you love football and you have a favorite team, it's okay to plan yourself as regards when to watch your team play during the week and then plan to watch the highlights for other teams. You don't have to watch every game played by all the teams. What's the point? Same goes for all other sports.

I'm not against watching TV at all or seeing interesting programs. What I'm against is watching TV too much like you're a Zombie. And you are liable to do that when you have no plans for watching TV. You should have plans. You should have a scale of preference as regards the programs you will like to watch. You must understand that you mustn't watch every program. You've definitely got to miss some of them, so you can do some other important things.

Watching TV twenty four hours a day is one of the easiest paths to failure. Ask yourself the question: "The people I watch, would I be seeing them if they were also busy watching TV?" This question will open your eyes to the reality of what you're  doing. Those actors you watch aren't watching TV all day like you do! They're acting: they're living their lives being productive through acting a movie. And if you're always just watching them act, how can you be productive at all?

The sports channel you always watch, are the guys that are participating in the sports busy just watching TV? No, they're busy playing the sport and you're just watching and getting excited. If you think about it, you'll see that always watching TV dulls your brain and your motivation to succeed. You'll gradually become too lazy to even do anything and if you're not careful, you'll live your life in regrets.

Who wants that kind of life? Definitely not you. TV is good, once in while, you watch it alone, with your friends or loved ones, but it should never be a full time job. If you have favorite shows, plan your time according as regards how many hours you want to watch and how many hours you should channel to productive activities. Don't fall into the trap of letting the TV program control you. You should be controlling the TV program. That's why you're the OWNER of the TV.

You become a zombie when you let yourself be totally controlled by your TV to the point where you just sit down on your couch and watch anything at anytime. I don't even wish anyone to be that way.

Be the man or the woman who takes control and learn to turn off that TV when you definitely have to. Channel your energy to productive things. With the hours wasted on a TV screen, you can learn a skill, you can work on your business, you can improve your work, you can hang out and meet real people, you can build strong networks, you can apply for lots of opportunities to develop yourself, you can spend more time with people you love, you can build something that could change lives and so on. There are many more productive things you can do with that time. The worst thing is waste them on TV.

The people who read this blog are people who are motivated to succeed and keep succeeding in every aspect of their lives. And it would be a shame if some of you should allow yourselves to be turned into unproductive and unconscious zombies as a result of an inability to control your TV. That's why I've taken time to write and share this article as a reminder. Some of you are already on track, but some of you might be gradually falling into that trap without knowing it. I hope this article helps you guys stay conscious.

Stop watching too much TV and keep winning! 

A Better Way To Study

When we talk about study, what usually comes to mind is reading books. What did you think this article was about? You probably thought I was going to write about ways to read more effectively. Well, this article aims to point out a better way of studying other than just reading.

To begin with, the word study, according to the Oxford English Dictionary means: "The devotion of time and attention to gaining knowledge of an academic subject, especially by means of books." Take note of the last line: "…especially" by means of books. In other words, it means that there are other means you can study asides books.

The second definition from the same dictionary says "A detailed investigation and analysis of a subject or situation." This definition seems to be much closer to what I'm writing about. Deep emphasis on "detailed investigation and analysis."

Knowledge is everywhere around us. And if only we can pay some attention to many things happening around us, we will know what we need to know.

I'm not against reading as a way of studying. It's good. I've personally learnt many things that has improved my life through reading books, but I know that if I hadn't combined my reading with other means of study, I may not have made as much progress as I've made.

Why do you think some people who are seemingly uneducated still make significant strides in their personal lives and become very successful? Some of them never even saw the four walls of a school system talk more or read big books, but they're not failures. Why's that? They studied through other means!

You can study better by devoting your time and attention to anything. Whatever it is! If you can even observe what's going on in your own environment, you will gain useful knowledge that you may not even find in books.

Books are good, but there are things we must study in life by personal experience and careful observation. There are things we study when we make efforts to be more confident and take risks.

Some people have been so efficient at reading just books, but yet their lives aren't still great. You ever wondered about why's that too?

It's simply because you won't find everything by studying through books. We will study better when we engage ourselves with life and open our eyes to the truth happening around us. If we can be careful to study our surroundings, timings and individuals, we will gain an indispensable kind of knowledge that books may not be able to give us.

I believe that we are all here to learn different lessons and that's why we are not all experiencing the exact same thing. We live in different worlds, though we all coexist on earth. None of us can always and exactly be experiencing what another person is experiencing. It's impossible.

That means that our lives are unique and so are our lessons. To study your own world and your life better, you will have to stop depending too much on merely reading and try your best to understand and interact with that world in which you're experiencing. That way, you'll be able to learn your own unique lesson and make rapid progress.

Here's the summary of everything I'm trying to say:

"If you can study, you will know what you need to know.

Studying does not necessary mean sitting in a class and reading books.

You can study by conscious observation of your environment and the people around you.

You can study by experimenting and keeping record of events with respect to time.

You can study by just opening your eyes to see what's actually happening around you.

Because, our lives are unique and the lessons we are supposed to learn are not the same for everyone. We cannot all undergo the same experiences at same time!

Observe and understand what's happening in your own world. You will know what you need to know if you study this way.

Stop getting distracted with minding other people's businesses. You have your own life, it's more than enough business.

Even the scriptures say "Remove the log in your eyes before complaining about the speck in your neighbor's eye."

Stay conscious, study better, rapidly improve your life and keep winning!

Herd Mentality

Herd mentality is everywhere around us. It's so easy to observe that it often goes unnoticed, but it's a silent killer that we all must be wary of as bold winners. This post was written to remind you that you're not everyone else and you can always stand out from the herd when you are in disagreement.

When you log onto your Facebook and you see a post with  about 400 likes and then one post with just 2 likes posted around same time as the previous post, which post are you more likely to also like?

When you walk into a bar and all the people there seem to support a particular football team in a football game, which team are you most likely to support?

When you're walking on the street and then you see people gathering around a celebrity (an actor, a sport star or a musician), what are you most likely to do?

When you hear lots of people complaining about a particular government with good arguments, what are you likely to think about that government?

When everyone around you seems to be bleaching their skins just to look fairer and more beautiful than they already are, what are you likely to think or do?

When certain well known people you know tend to smoke and do drugs, what are you likely to think about smoking and drug addiction?

When people around you are flirting around, cheating on their partners at will and living recklessly, yet they seem to be doing well, what are you likely to do?

When most people at the office are saying lots of negative things about a particular staff member, what are you likely to do?

When other people tend to show off all their achievements to anyone who cares to pay attention, are you not moved to do the same?

When everyone is dressing in a way that you find inappropriate, however most people think that the dressing is cool or trendy, are you not likely to throw away your values and dress same way just to feel trendy?

When everyone else is having random sex with anyone and seem to be having fun while doing that? Won't you be moved to be reckless as well?

I've asked all these questions because I want you to honestly answer them and see how far this herd mentality has gone in changing the way we think.

It's easier to do something when you feel that many people are doing it or many find it cool than when few people are doing it.

It's really affecting a lot of intelligent and success oriented minds. Our experiences always tend to shape our beliefs and when we feel that something is acceptable to more people than less, we tend to easily welcome it into our own personal lives.

But it doesn't have to be so and if we really want to stand out, we must do away with that innate tendency to do something just because many others are doing it.

It's not always about what you think many others are doing. It's about you and what you really want for your life. You're not the same with everyone, so you mustn't setup your own standard with what they are doing.

Let people do what's best for them. It's none of your business. Know yourself and do what's best for you! You must not be a die hard smoker or drug addict to be successful. Drugs can ruin your entire life and your motivation to excel.

You mustn't sleep around with different people, just to feel cool about your manliness or womanliness. Challenge yourself with higher goals and aspirations and save yourself the various risks associated with promiscuity.

You must not like a post because 1000 people have liked it. You have to know why you're doing whatever you're doing. You like things because it agrees with your kind of person and your values, not because everyone likes it. Who cares?

You mustn't bleach your skin to feel good about yourself. Why can't you cherish your skin the way you are? Why can't you feel good in your own body? It's because you've agreed with the herd that a bleached skin is better than a natural one. You should scrap the nonsensical thought and love yourself the way you are.

You mustn't gossip about other people, support a cause or complain because everyone is doing so. What's the point? If your opinion is unique and you think it's  better, share it and enlighten the herd. You stand out.

We must learn to cherish our individual differences and our various choices. We must cherish our ability to make our own decisions guided by our own reasoning and consciousness.

I mean, we have a brain for a reason! We act like we're brainless when we do things because everyone is doing them.

To really make progress, we must learn to think for ourselves and question why we do certain things without even knowing why.

We must stop falling into this trap of herd mentality. It's the trap of mediocrity. Successful people have always been ahead in planning and thought because they don't always follow the crowd. They think for themselves and do what's best for them not for everyone.

Avoid herd mentality.. Think for yourself, stay success minded and keep winning!

Stop Hating On Other People's Success

I was inspired to write this article because of what I have been observing in my environment for a while now. Majority of people find it very easy to continue hating on the success of other people. I don't know why they like to do this, neither do I know what they stand to gain, but I know for sure that this is an attitude they must stop if they really want to succeed.

Today, I was checking out an online news forum where I learnt that a governor had just sent 30 listed shoemakers overseas to China to master and develop more skills in their craft. I was happy that the governor was able to take such an initiative as a contribution towards the empowerment of those youths and also motivate other youths to be diligent in whatever they do. But I was surprised to read one of the first comments on the news which said:

"I'm sure the list was politically induced..
How can this be a success when those with passion for shoe production are left out on the streets for some politically connected children of godfathers..?"

And I was taken aback. Why was this guy quick to claim that this was a politically induced list? Why was he quick to believe that those listed were the children of political godfathers? These questions raced around my mind. It wasn't just his comment, other people were expressing their doubts about how the governor came up with the list and the authenticity of the selection process.

In all these, there were fewer people who congratulated those selected and shared good remarks about the governor. So few! Majority were just criticizing what they were not sure about. They were just hating on the selected.

It's not just online, many people behave this way too in their daily lives. How many times have you heard people ask the question,"How did he make so much money so fast?" "Where do you think he got his money from?" Or say things like "He must've been involved in some shady business," "He might have been a ritualist," "He must be a fraudster," whenever they see a very rich young individual? I have personally heard it more times than I can count.

Or maybe there's a young hardworking lady who has made a First Class in her undergraduate studies and people are quick to say, "She must've been sleeping with her lecturers," or "She's been cheating her way through every exam." Even when a lady attains a high political or business position, most people will say "She must have slept her way into it." Why's that?

There's a young man who's so passionate about body building and fitness. He begins to build himself gradually and continually. Then he develops an attractive and healthy body structure and he keeps on building his body. People begin to say, "Don't mind him. He's jobless. All he does is gym, nothing else!"

A young girl is happily married to a young responsible guy and instead of being happy about the couple, you'll hear some people say "That girl has been wayward all her life, she doesn't deserve to be married to such a man." They say she has been a bad girl and the  marriage shouldn't have been successful.

I've been bothered about why people do this and I've come to three conclusions:

#1. They're simply jealous 
When you become really successful in what you do, be it in terms of more money, fame, recognition etc, people become naturally jealous because they don't have what you have. Now most of them will rather attribute negative things to your success rather than be motivated to work harder and achieve their own success.

 Are you jealous of the success of other people making you hate on them? Then you need to transmute that jealousy into motivation for yourself because saying negative things about successful people will keep success far from you and make you feel comfortable with where you are. A poor man who calls all rich people ritualists or thieves will never be rich because he believes riches are connected to negativity.

#2 Some are sadists
The second reason I figured out is that some of those people are just naturally sadists. Some people are so negative about everything good. These guys only think in the negative direction and hardly see any positives. Most of them became like that because they have been so frustrated in life and they have given up on any efforts at being successful.

They rest in their obscure position and each time they see anyone successful, it reminds them of all their failed attempts at success and reminds them of the life they could've been living if they hadn't quit. This hurts them and in order to feel better, they will always say something negative about other people's success. These people will hate you for being successful, no matter what! Why not have them hate you for being so happy and successful?

#3 Successful people remind them of their fears
The last reason is fear. People have their fears all bottled up inside of them. When they see successful people, their fears spring up. Will they ever be as rich as that man or woman? Will they be as successful as they are? Will they be able to save up enough money to build that kind of house? Will they ever become as famous as that guy? All these questions race through their mind.

They become scared that they may never be as progressive as you are and may never have what you have. It scares them. And some of them will choose the easy way out which is to hate your success. A person with a mind to succeed will not turn to hating on you because you're successful. Even though they're also reminded of their fears, they will be motivated to face it and keep trying!

If you fall into any of the three categories above, save yourself the stress and strive to make your own life better. Instead of being jealous and letting yourself remain stagnant, why not be genuinely happy for successful people and strive to become successful too?

I don't want to believe you're a sadist, but if you fall into #2, you need to understand that your past doesn't define you. You can still turn your whole life around with a single decision and action. Why choose to be sadistic?

We all have fears, but facing them and using them as our source of motivation has often proven better than letting those fears turn us into hateful people.

Because there's no point hating on successful people! There's no point whatsoever! You gain nothing by doing it, rather you lose because your hate for success will keep you in the same place.

Your hate can't change their success. Your hate won't get those things they have for you. Your hate won't add or subtract anything from the lives of these successful people, so why bother hating on people's successes?

The young man who made money quickly may have been lucky enough to get it right early in his business. There's no where it's written that making profit must be very slow. The beautiful girl who made a First Class may have worked very hard for it and burnt her midnight candle. The newly married young lady may not have been as bad as you've tagged her.

You should even ask yourself: Has everything you've ever achieved been through a negative way? Did you always cheat through everything? If No, why do you quickly attribute negative things to success? If Yes, then it's understandable why you think everyone is like you. Drop the hatred and negativity.

Rise above it and focus on your game! Start with telling yourself the truth about your position and where you want to be, then commit yourself to tirelessly working towards that place you want to be. When the time is right, you will hit your own success and you'll  be glad you did rather than join the haters.

If you're already successful, you shouldn't care about what haters are saying. I guess you know that already. If you can inspire or help others to be as successful as you are, please do. But never pay any attention to haters because if you're not careful, they will infect you with hate and bitterness and you will spend useful energy hating on those haters.

If this article makes sense to one person, my work has been done.

Don't hate the success of other people, be happy for them and keep winning! 

Face Life With A Mindset Of Simplicity

Often times we face life with a mindset that makes us believe it's difficult to excel or become successful in certain things. Rather than keeping an open mind to learn the simplicity behind many things, we tend to complicate it with our minds. This article aims to help you see and approach things from the basics rather than complicate them with your mind.

Recently, I went for a skill acquisition program with some friends of mine and soon there was this enthusiastic guy who came to speak to us. He was confident, funny and delivered his lesson very convincingly. After his final speech, the whole class honored him with a thunderous round of applause.

And then a friend who sat by my side asked, "How does he do it?" I replied, "How do you mean?" He  continued, "I mean, how does he make public speaking look so easy?" After a brief pause, I replied "It's because it's actually easy for him. He is that precise because he no more sees speaking as a difficult thing and so it has become actually easy for him."

It's not just my friend, many of you might be wondering or must have wondered about how well certain people become so good at what they do. You watch Barack Obama give a speech and he connects deeply with his audience. Then you wonder how he does what may look difficult for you so well. What about when you watch top football players like Messi play? You wonder how they manage to dribble with the ball like that and score.

You might look at pilots, engineers, mathematicians, doctors, singers, teachers, lawyers, strategists, dancers, politicians and etcetera. And then you wonder how the experts in those fields do what they do so well. You could think, "Well they practiced, so they became perfect." You're not wrong, but it's only a half truth.

Constant practice with a wrong mindset about what you're practicing will lead to frustration. What you believe about anything is exactly what you get. If you already think something is too complicated, believe me, no matter how hard you practice it with that mindset, you won't make any serious progress.

Reminds me of something way back in college. I loved mathematics, it had always been my best subject and I found it very easy and exciting to learn. However, some of my peers had a mindset of difficulty when it came to mathematics. No matter how much I try to explain to them, they always say they hate math and won't ever understand it. Their words became reality for them. Only a few of them willing to believe that it was as easy as I told them, made some progress in learning  it.

This holds one truth: Your mindset about anything will affect the results you get out of it. Have you ever wondered why a woman who believes that all men are cheats or irresponsible usually gets to hook up with same kind of men over and over? Or ever wondered why the person who believes that there are no jobs or opportunities out there seldom finds any? It's worth thinking about.

Some people think that things are difficult. The truth is that there is nothing as difficult as you imagine it to be. The mere fact that someone is doing it and doing it with so much ease should be proof that it's not difficult to do. But the thing is that you believe it is difficult and it makes you afraid to even try the basics which are usually easy to grasp.

People often want to make things look complicated and that's why they often miss out on achieving success. Things are incredibly easy believe me! If only you can accept that mindset of simplicity and approach it step by step. You will eventually get to that point where you see how easy it is. That's only when you have invested time through practice and then you make progress because your mindset is right.

Nothing is difficult once again. Just approach it with the right mindset, persistence and practice, then you will see how easy it is to do.

You have always been the one in between where yourself and where you want to be. You are totally responsible. 

People keep asking what's the secret to success? The answer has always been free and commonplace: work hard and smart, do more than others in your area of interest. But then the answer is too simple, so they don't accept it. It has to be a secret or a mystery or something more complicated. So they seek for harder answers. They keep asking the question over and over.

Some ask, "How do I get good at math(or anything)?" And you tell them the simple truth: "Math(anything) is really easy, just work at it and practice as much as possible." But no.. The answer is too obvious, they want a shortcut to make things easier because the way of simplicity looks difficult to them. They go on looking for non existent shortcuts and never get good in what they want to master. 

You should know that there are no shortcuts to finding how easy things really are. The shortcut is to have a simple open mind and then invest time and practice to learn the ropes. When you've paid your dues, it becomes very easy. But then you may decide to go on wasting the time you should've used to pay your dues in searching for illusory shortcuts. Then things will continue looking hard for you.

If you're to take anything away from this article, I want you to just know that nothing is hard. Everything is easy. But then you have to pay your dues(which may look hard) in order to see the simplicity in it. That's the price to pay for things to be easy for you.

Don't complicate things for yourself. Follow the basics, take time to learn the ropes from the beginner level to the advanced level, you will see that nothing is difficult. Don't look at the part that looks hard, don't worry about how you're going to do achieve it. Just know that it's as simple as ABC and bend down to learn it gradually. Everything will surprisingly look easier as you go higher.

We all need to approach our lives and challenges with a mindset of simplicity. That way, you and me will be positioned to achieve the very best!

See you at the top! 

The Easiest Way To Rise Above Mediocrity

Let's roll. Catchy title right? You probably were quick to click on this link because you really wanted to find the easiest way to rise above mediocrity. That's a good thing and that's exactly what you're going to get.

A lot of people are striving for success in their personal lives because they want to live life comfortably, stand out and not just live an average life like everyone else. This is really a good thing and the hunger to rise beyond the rest is the starting point. However, even though many people want to be successful and are striving for it, there are few people who eventually encounter success. 

Why is this so? More and more people are working harder everyday doing work from dawn till dusk, trying to make ends meet but still they find themselves trapped living life at same level with other people. Some people have read many self-help books, amassed lots of certificates, gone to the best schools, tried their hands at businesses and even listened to the best advice on success but yet they can't still rise above mediocrity.

Mediocrity becomes a sort of a big wide gulf that is very accommodating and stands in between them and their success. Let's bring it down to you, my dear reader. Maybe you have tried your hands at stuff and failed. Maybe you've applied for lots of jobs, but you've gotten none yet. Maybe you have a work or a business that you're doing, but you're not really happy with it because you can barely pay your bills with it. Maybe, just maybe.

What have you done about it? You've read books, you've gone for seminars, you've done your research and you're trying your best. What's wrong? Why are you still trapped with the majority of people instead of breaking out? The next lines you'll be reading will tell you exactly what's been keeping you from achieving success and what you need to do. Read them carefully, digest it word by word, don't rush and try to understand, then apply it.

The only reason you've not risen above mediocrity is simply because you're not doing more than the rest in your best niche. 

Yeah, you read that right. There are two important things there: "doing more" and "your best niche." You could be working so hard, but you may not be doing more than the rest. Working hard isn't the same as doing more. A person who does more doesn't just work hard, he goes the extra mile to accomplish much more than other people.

A person who does more will put in an extra 2 hours to learn new trends about his or her business while the rest are rushing home to party or club for the weekend. A person who does more will put in time to develop new skills that will enable him or her create something extraordinary, while the rest are complaining about how bad the government or economy is.

A person who does more is not an ordinary person who wastes his or her time. He makes it a business to be very smart and thoughtful about whatever he chooses to do. Working hard isn't bad advice, as a matter fact it's important to work hard, however the question is how smartly are you working hard?

There's a story, two men were given 10 minutes to cut down one tree each of the same size with two very blunt axes. They were not in the same place. So they had no idea what the other person would be doing. As the set time began counting, the first man immediately rushed into action, hitting the tree with the blunt axe. For 10 minutes he tried to cut down the tree without progress.

He was working very hard. Hitting the tree with all his energy. But he wasn't making any progress. In the end he didn't achieve any success. He was sweating profusely, exhausted and panting. This is where so many mediocre people are. They work so hard, and they invest so much energy into achieving more, but they get little. This first man was working hard, but he was doing little. He couldn't cut down a single tree.

When the time started for the second man, he gave it a bit of thought(important) and decided to sharpen his axe first. It took him 3 minutes to sharpen the axe and it was very sharp. And he hit the three "One, Two, Three, Four..." At the seventh hit, the tree fell down thunderously. He accomplished this in 2 minutes. He had 5 extra minutes to spare! This is worth thinking over for sometime.

This second man was thoughtful. He had to do more than the first by being very smart and thoughtful. His thoughtfulness led him to decide to sharpen his axe first. Of course, it paid off. Thoughtful and smart hard work pays off. He did more than his opponent by his thoughtfulness and smartness. You must be smarter and more thoughtful than the rest if you want to stand out and be successful.

The first man could've hit the tree 100 times in quick succession with aggressiveness. This man cut down the tree in 7 hits. It was easier for him to achieve success. Given the extra 5 minutes, he could cut down three more trees. If he desired to work as hard as the first man, 100 hits should cut down about 14 trees coupled with his "doing more" through being smart. The first man cut zero.

I hope you already get the drift about doing more than the rest. It's not about just repeating the same thing over and over without thoughtfulness or doing it the same way everyone does it. You must have the mindset and consciousness of doing things differently with "sense."

Then we come to the second thing to pick which is "Your Best Niche." You should be doing more in your best niche and not anywhere else. It's difficult to even do more than the rest in a niche you have no passion for. Even if you're doing more than the rest in an area that's not your niche, you won't go very far because it's not what you were designed to do.

This is where passion for what you do plays a great role. That's because you are motivated to do more when you're in a field you're passionate about. We were not created to do the same things. Everyone has a role and mission to accomplish. It doesn't have to be what another person does. Many people are trapped in mediocrity because they are merely copy cats and they're never original. 

They say there's money in coding, they rush into coding when they clearly don't love it. They say there's money in medicine, acting, singing, engineering or politics, they rush into it without knowing if that's what they're meant to do with their lives. Someone comes along and says there's money in ponzi schemes, and you see them run along. These people simply don't know their niche. They're just floating and trying things out.

That's why they're easily fed up. They finally go into coding, medicine, engineering, acting or whatever and then it starts becoming a chore for them. They get easily bored and they don't have any passion for their work because in the first place they got it all wrong. Very passionate people are only found in their niche and their passion keeps them doing more than the rest.

That's why all those successful people who stand out are very passionate. You see it in their eyes. From the way it glitters, from their expressions, you simply know they're where they are meant to be. Everyday becomes play to them because they're in their best niche. Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Lionel Messi, Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama are few examples. These guys aren't working anymore, they're playing.. Playing keeps them doing more than the rest because they're enjoying the play.

Do you ever feel tired of doing what you love? Let's say a video game, an interesting movie or being with someone you love? Of course not! That's how work feels like for passionate people in their best niche! This article could help you identify your niche. Discovering your best niche is a personal job which only you can do for yourself. No one else will.

Once again: The only reason you've not risen above mediocrity is simply because you're not doing more than the rest in your best niche. 

In other words, the easiest way you can rise above mediocrity(the rest) is by doing more than the rest(explained) in the niche where you function best. It's just the truth there is to it.

Until next time,

Stay bold and keep winning.