Do Not Let This Steal Your Dreams

“Discouragement steals your dreams.”

Hand in hand with setbacks and challenges comes discouragement. Its ferocity can stop you in your tracks and before you know it your dreams seem unreachable.  Stop!  This is only true if you give in.


Today is the day you will conquer discouragement.  Today is the day you will feel more determined and stronger than ever.  Today is the day you will put one foot in front of the other and persevere.


Make a commitment to yourself that you will never give up when you feel disheartened, rather, you will view these feelings as a sign to work harder.


You are entitled to your dreams and aspirations. So why not make this commitment today? Be committed to conquering discouragement.

HEART ATTACKS AND DRINKING WARM WATER

This is not only about warm water after your meal, but about Heart Attacks.

The Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals, not cold water, maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit.

For those who like to drink cold water, this is applicable to you. It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal.

However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed.

It will slow down the digestion. Once this 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.

Common Symptoms Of Heart Attack
A serious note about heart attacks - You should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of intense pain in the jawline.  You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack.

Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms. 60% of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let us be careful and be aware.

Shatter All and Any Limitations

 “Your mind can shatter your limits.”

You have a choice.  You can be confident or unconfident, happy or unhappy, attractive or unattractive, powerful or weak.


All these things start with you and what you tell yourself about what you can and cannot do.
Your mind is where you define your limits. If your inner thoughts are self-defeating, you will become what they tell you. If your thoughts are empowering, positive and upbeat, you will become that person.  It is a self fulfilling prophecy.


Impress upon your mind what you want to be, not what you don’t want to be.
That is where the true power of self suggestion lies.

Bounce Back from Tough Times

 “A lesson from the lawn.”

Imagine if a blade of grass decided it had had enough. It was done with having its head snipped off every weekend and its seeds – its future – cut off in their prime. Who could blame it?


Yet, what does that old blade of grass do? It doesn’t say:  “I give up! I’m getting nowhere!” It just keeps on growing. It continually takes in the energy from the sunlight and magically converts carbon dioxide from the air into food to make more leaves and more seeds.
A blade of grass is resilient.


You too, can learn to be as resilient as the grass. You may be cut down on a regular basis, yet your strength is in standing up, dusting yourself off, and starting all over again. Even when grass is covered in concrete, it finds a way to grow up through the cracks.
And, so must you.


Connect with your own resilience and keep on growing.

KEYS TO HELP YOU TO OVERCOME ALL TYPES OF DIFFICULT PEOPLE PART ONE

1.   Be accountable without getting hung up on doing things right and forgetting to 

      do right things.

2.   Be alert but do not be quick to criticize, doubt or presume something is missing 

      without first looking for the silver cloud behind every dark cloud in situations 

      and people.

3.   Be all things to all men to win some without being insecure about your own 

      identity, personality, outlook, convictions, experiences, callings, culture, 

      genetics, ideas or background.

4.   Be amiable but do not be so socially concerned that you become a man pleaser 

      willing to do whatever it takes for people to like you.

5.   Be analytical without becoming too wrapped up in details and problems 

      in situations or people.

6.   Aspire to greatness but do not pursue only selfish ambitions that involve dirty 

      politicizing.

7.   Be balanced without lacking hard convictions to do what is right even when it is 

      unpopular.

8.   Be bold without being over-bearing, pushy or insisting on your own way.

9.   Be compassionate but do not be overly sympathetic.

10. Be confident but do not become arrogant, high minded and conceited.

11. Be contextual without being inappropriate, compromising or lacking in 

      relevance to reality.

12. Be cooperative but do not resort to conniving, intrigue or under-handed tactics.

13. Be courageous but do not become a loose canon that shouts one's mouth off 

      whenever you become irritated.  Do not let subjective moods cloud your sense 

      of objective purposes and processes.

14. Be courteous but do not merely resort to superficial flattery to impress people.

15. Be creative but do not let your dreams dictate how you live your life.  Do not let 

      speculations, imaginations or visions of greatness determine your sense of well 

      being.

16. Be decisive but do not become so stuck in your ways that you lose flexibility.

17. Be diligent but do not get into one-track thinking.  Do not become selfishly 

      industrious.

18. Be discerning but do not become judgmental, overly critical or proud of your 

      analysis.

19. Be disciplined but do not become rigid, harsh, overbearing or dictatorial.

20. Be discrete but do not be so over-cautious that you are afraid to act on truth.  

       Do not become so timid and afraid. 

21. Be earnest but do not become nervously meticulous, over conscientious or 

      over serious.

22. Be empowered by God without being too authoritative, dictatorial or 

      overbearing.

Develop Success Deep Within You

 “True Success.”

Success is not in your environment. It is not controlled by luck, chance, or the influence of others. Success is not in the greener pastures on the other side of the fence. Success lies right where you are – here and now!

You don’t need greater abilities, or greater opportunities. You already possess what you need for success to develop deep within you.  So, don’t look elsewhere. Instead, expect the seeds of success to grow from your heart.

Starting today, vow to focus, explore and take action on what you have and what you can do. When you do, success will surely follow.

Today’s Affirmation: I have everything I need for success.

 Facing the Enemies Within

We are not born with courage, but neither are we born with fear. Maybe some of our fears are brought on by our own experiences, by what someone has told us, by what we've read in the papers. Some fears are valid, like walking alone in a bad part of town at two o'clock in the morning. But once we learn to avoid that situation, we won't need to live in fear of it.

Fears, even the most basic ones, can totally destroy our ambitions. Fear can destroy fortunes. Fear can destroy relationships. Fear, if left unchecked, can destroy our lives. Fear is one of the many enemies lurking inside us.

Let me tell you about five of the other enemies we face from within. The first enemy that we've got to destroy before it destroys us is INDIFFERENCE. What a tragic disease this is. Some will say, "Ho-hum, let it slide. I'll just drift along." But here's one problem with drifting: we can't drift our way to the top of the mountain.

The second enemy we face is INDECISION. Indecision is the thief of opportunity and enterprise. It will steal our chances for a better future. Take a sword to this enemy.

The third enemy is DOUBT. Sure, there's room for healthy skepticism. We can't believe everything. But we also can't let doubt take over. Many people doubt the past, doubt the future, doubt each other, doubt the government, doubt the possibilities and doubt the opportunities. Worse of all, they doubt themselves. I'm telling you, doubt will destroy your life and your chances of success. It will empty both your bank account and your heart. Doubt is an enemy. Go after it. Get rid of it.

The fourth enemy within is WORRY. We've all got to worry some. Just don't let it conquer you. Instead, let it alarm you. Worry can be useful. If you step off the curb in New York City and a taxi is coming, you've got to worry. But you can't let worry loose like a mad dog that drives you into a small corner. Here's what you've got to do with your worries: drive them into a small corner. Whatever is out to get you, you've got to get it. Whatever is pushing on you, you've got to push back.

The fifth interior enemy is OVER-CAUTION. It is the timid approach to life. Timidity is not a virtue (unlike humility-they are different); in fact, it can be an illness. If you let it go, it'll conquer you. Timid people don't get promoted. They don't advance and grow and become powerful in the marketplace. You've got to avoid over-caution.

Do battle with the enemy. Do battle with your fears. Build your courage to fight what's holding you back, what's keeping you from your goals and dreams. Be courageous in your life and in your pursuit of the things you want and the person you want to become.

MAKE THE CHANGE YOU CRAVE

 “What are you telling yourself?”

Positive self-talk is not about telling yourself that bad things in your life don’t exist or have not happened. It’s not about telling yourself life will be easy if you think the right thoughts. 

Self-talk is about self-awareness and recognizing how your thoughts affect how you feel and ultimately what you accomplish.

Your thoughts are your self-talk. And, they directly affect the way you feel. Since your feelings dictate your actions, it’s important to take notice of the chain of thoughts and events in your life.

This new found awareness holds the key to making the changes you crave come to pass.

Today’s Affirmation: I am aware of my feelings and the thoughts they invoke.

The Time to Act

Engaging in genuine discipline requires that you develop the ability to take action. You don't need to be hasty if it isn't required, but you don't want to lose much time, either. Here's the time to act: when the idea is hot and the emotion is strong.

Let's say you would like to build your library. If that is a strong desire for you, what you've got to do is get the first book. Then get the second book. Take action as soon as possible, before the feeling passes and before the idea dims. If you don't, here's what happens:

YOU FALL PREY TO THE LAW OF DIMINISHING INTENT.

We intend to take action when the idea strikes us. We intend to do something when the emotion is high. But if we don't translate that intention into action fairly soon, the urgency starts to diminish. A month from now, the passion is cold. A year from now, it can't be found.

So take action. Set up a discipline when the emotions are high and the idea is strong, clear and powerful. If somebody talks about good health and you're motivated by it, you need to get a book on nutrition. Get the book before the idea passes, before the emotion gets cold. Begin the process. Fall on the floor and do some push-ups. You've got to take action; otherwise, the wisdom is wasted. The emotion soon passes unless you apply it to a disciplined activity. Discipline enables you to capture the emotion and the wisdom and translate them into action. The key is to increase your motivation by quickly setting up the disciplines. By doing so, you've started a whole-new life process.

Here is the greatest value of discipline: self-worth, also known as self-esteem. Many people who are teaching self-esteem these days don't connect it to discipline. But once we sense the least lack of discipline within ourselves, it starts to erode our psyche. One of the greatest temptations is to just ease up a little bit. Instead of doing your best, you allow yourself to do just a little less than your best. Sure enough, you've started in the slightest way to decrease your sense of self-worth.

There is a problem with even a little bit of neglect. Neglect starts as an infection. If you don't take care of it, it becomes a disease. And one neglect leads to another. Worst of all, when neglect starts, it diminishes our self-worth.

Once this has happened, how can you regain your self-respect? All you have to do is act now! Start with the smallest discipline that corresponds to your own philosophy. 

Make the commitment: "I will discipline myself to achieve my goals so that in the years ahead I can celebrate my successes."

CHRISTMAS CARD ETIQUETTE

The festive season is here again. Sending and receiving Christmas cards are a holiday tradition that keeps us in the spirit through the holidays all the way to the New Year. But, do you know when it is the right time to be sending your Christmas cards to friends and family?

Cards you send mean a lot to the people reading them and will most likely be kept for years to come. Although it does sound obvious, write on your cards using a pen. Do not print off labels on the computer and stick them into the card, this removes the personal touch and makes it look as if they are just one of thousands of people you have sent a Christmas card to from your efficient production line. 

You really should write the names of the recipients on the card you are sending. Some people think that it is acceptable to simply write who the card is from. Address your greeting to the person or family of whom you wish to send your seasonal greetings to. 

Send out Christmas cards and stay away from e-cards. Sending a Christmas card should not suggests that you merely send them out to be polite, but that you actually value your friendship or relation with the addressee. Touching and feeling a card leaves a deeper impression than viewing one on a computer screen. 

Homemade Christmas cards are great for those special people in your life, best friends and close family members. Homemade Christmas cards take time and thought and are a very personal way to wish people merry Christmas. For tech-savvy individuals, you can design a Christmas card on the computer with the right software. However, some websites also enable you to select images and messages to create your own very printable cards, and no computer skills are really required. 

Personalization and custom imprinted verses add a touch of elegance as well. Ordering personalized holiday cards just got easier than ever before with digital photos. Using online photo printing websites, you will choose your card style, upload your photo, and personalize your Christmas greeting. Order your bespoke Christmas cards early so that you will receive them in good time to write and send them.

Send during the first week or two of December so that they arrive on time. This is usually a great gesture to make to friends and family who live far away and gives them the opportunity to return the greeting if they so wish in plenty of time before the last post before Christmas. 

Sending cards for the holidays to business associates is always good practice. Cards being sent internationally should be sent no later than the first week of December. 

Business greeting card etiquette certainly dictates that you buy and send nice, quality cards to your mailing list. Most Businesses are often closed for several weeks over the holiday period. Send their greeting card in advance of closings so they will know you respect their schedules and value their business. 

Sending a business Christmas card offers a chance to blend a time-honoured corporate tradition with the particular, signature style of your own little company. The new rule of thumb advises the words 'Season's greetings' should be used to avoid giving offence to non-Christians. 

Photo Christmas cards are perfect for business use and provide interesting network marketing opportunities. Sending a personalized Christmas card to your clients/customers will keep you front-of-mind when they come to place orders in the New Year.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

WHICH WAY NIGERIA?

Nigeria marked her 50th anniversary as an independent country on October 1. 2010. But the Jubilee celebration in Lagos has been shadowed by growing distrust or dread concerning the future in several quarters.  This fear is fuelled by the malicious nature of the on-going campaign for the 2011 general elections.

At a time when I expect serious self examination on the part of the political elite about the failings and lost opportunities of the last 50 years, all I see is campaign exaggerated display which helps to heat up the polity and pushes our plural society towards its delicate fault-lines. While I have no problem with whatever ethnic or zonal transformation politicians come up with in the process of electing the next president and governors, the bottom-line remains that it would be much more productive if the aspirants also begin to place more importance on the welfare of the people with a view to making the right policy choices. 

With the landscape covered with broken dreams and wasted opportunities, what Nigeria today needs at practically all levels of governance are not those who can entertain the people with series of her failings since we can all see them. What the nation needs today are honest leaders who will accept responsibility for our past; as well as men and women (both at home and in the Diaspora) who will stand up and be counted in the process of her regeneration--change agents who will reposition Nigeria for the promise of tomorrow.  Fortunately, the nation has an abundance of such men and women in all fields of human endeavor. It is time for us to stand up and be counted.          

Nigeria is one hundred and fifty million citizens strong, yet, we seem to think that we are powerless and we endure this assumed powerlessness in the face of daily assaults by those at the helms of our nation's affairs. We feel too dared. 
We can actually confront poor leadership by organizing and uttering distinctly citizens' power for quality leadership. The concern which I have about our citizenship these days is that too many Nigerians appear to have surrendered Nigeria to abnormal leaders.  Good citizenship requires more.

Nigeria is like a corporation and our leaders should be seen as managing director and board members. Nigeria is a corporation into which we are heavily invested. Nigeria should be seen as a corporation which currently has poor return on our investment or no dividends at all. The careful thing for any smart investor, shareholder to do, in order to earn dividends, profits and return on investment, is to eject the errant managing director and board members. Instead, we engage in advertising the corporation to which we are heavily invested, as the worst company in the world. We publicly denounce Nigeria, as a corporation which makes the worst products in the world, and then, we all wonder why no one would buy our products and same are not attracting customers interested in our products hence a lack of profits, dividends and return on investment.
Public shaming, scolding and ridiculing have, over the years, changed nothing.   What to do? A change of tact! 

Might we start the creation of progress, development and greatness for Nigeria by becoming good citizens who are actively involved in participatory democracy? We should be unwilling to rig elections, unwilling to allow smugglers of guns and dangerous goods into Nigeria because we can be bribed. Might we first become decent citizens, brothers and sisters keeper, and reject injustice, oppression by whomever and at whatever parts of Nigeria! Our loyalty should henceforth be to the Nigerian nation and not to our ethnic, state, region or religions. Might we reject aberrant and criminal behaviors, committed by a member of our families and our friends! May we, on every individual level, reject and refuse election rigging, bribery, corruption and open robbery. In effect, the change we want in Nigeria begins with our individual selves. Our change at individual level will lead to Nigeria's development, progress and greatness. 

The 50th anniversary of our independence from Britain therefore offers our leaders (current and aspiring) a valuable moment to accept responsibility for the past and seize the future. They must begin to fashion out the required strategies necessary to overcome the human and institutional barriers that for decades have held the country back, with a focus on accountability and good governance. They must also become more serious about putting in place social and physical infrastructure that will deepen and unleash the capacities of Nigeria's next generation. All these will mean charting a new course and embracing a new form of politics.

GOD BLESS NIGERIA