ENDURE THE HEAT!

You are sometimes locked up in life’s oven. Your life is immersed in challenges, conflicts, demands and disappointments that seem overwhelming. Streams of problems flow ceaselessly and solutions to them elude you. You see no light but gross darkness, bleak hopes and pipe dreams. You desire to see the dark clouds pass away. But it persists for as long as it wills- for as long as it requires to fulfil its purpose. Problems are for a reason and a season.

In a world of dashed hopes and dreams, fraud, sabotage and economic meltdown; renewed courage, determination and hope must be your companion. You need staying power to survive the heat. Dough endures the oven heat before it becomes bread. Clay endures the kiln before it transforms into an adorable ceramic. Gold endures the smith’s fire to become a champion’s medal. On your way to “becoming”, you must endure the heat. Great treasures are fashioned in hot, dark and secluded places. Time is a factor that must not be compromised. Impurities need to be burned out, pure particles need to be melted and moulded into a masterpiece.

Everyone wants to “become” great. Renown comes with its challenges. Patience is the master of all values. Nothing done haphazardly lasts long. An unripe mango will do much harm to your body. Stop trying to jump the gun, endure the process- it will be part of your story. Behind every great man is a story. What is going to be your story?

You must also be in control of your mind, will and emotions. Opportunities to take rash decisions will always present themselves in the heat. Tomorrow is always a victim of today’s decisions. Try not to make decisions that will jeopardize future chances and opportunities. During decision-making, keep sustainable change in view. It is no point cutting corners today to regret tomorrow.

Your life’s course can be cheaply navigated by smartly controlling your emotions. Most human actions are emotionally induced. Censor your thoughts; any thought that becomes dominating has the capacity to induce a corresponding action from you. In other words, your body acts on thoughts that pervade your mind. Think positively. Replace negative thoughts with opposites.

Empower your will to do what is right, despite debilitating situations. Approach issues from an offensive, not from a reactive standpoint. Do not fret in response to bad news.

While you are getting cooked in the heat, realise that the process will bring out a new improved you. Your will, emotions, personality, values and character are becoming transformed. Walk the walk, talk the talk, and endure adversity while it lasts. Before the sun comes darkness, before healing comes pain. Receive a resurgence of hope.

GREAT QUOTES
You don’t live on what you eat, but only what you digest. This is true for your mind as well as for your body. -Anonymous
Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or walk around it, but never give up. –Michael Jordan
Don’t be pushed by your problems; be led by your dream. -Anonymous



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WAITING FOR DAYBREAK

Lukan sits up on the bed, obviously exhausted, his eyes sore from sleepless nights pregnant with expectations of a better tomorrow. He rises and paces back and forth the small lonely room. The small window above his head lets in an ambience of light from the full moon peeping from miles away. His mind is a conflux of imaginations of the court ruling which will ultimately set him free by 10.00 am, just a few hours away. Already he can see Justice Kuti’s gavel smashing open his prison doors. All he is waiting for is daybreak.

Daybreak is a moment in history. It is the triumph of light over obscurity, the revelation of hope and the herald of newness. It is the point when silence gives way to the cock crow and the chirping of the early birds.

I am glad to inform you that your silent efforts in darkness are giving way to fame and cheerful announcements around you. Things are going to take a new turn for you, you will sing a new song and it will seem like things have always been rosy for you. The beauty of your roses will outshine the pain of your thorns.

Patience is a proof of your strength of character, a proof that you merit the trophy. Every enduring value passes the endurance test. Wait, trust God. Our world has sold out patience for lives on the fast lane- 2 minute noodles, fast foods and microwave ovens. We want it sharp sharp. This breeds shallow visions, shallow lives and shallow productivity. We need a new orientation to time. Many embrace get-rich-quick gimmicks and end up beaten. Others move from job to job only to regret their actions so soon. Wait a minute, think again. The grass always seems greener on the other side but you may need to climb the fence to see how dry and brown it is.

Stop feeling hopeless, jobless, wifeless/husbandless, carless and homeless. It is all about the state of your mind. Psyche yourself; feel hopeful, feel alive, feel successful and step out to achieve your feelings. Today’s actions were yesterday’s thoughts. Tomorrow’s actions are today’s thoughts. Change your mind, choose to think differently.

Many times, the position we occupy at a point in time gets us puffed up and we feel like there is no greater future than where we are.

Remember how as a youth corper, you always felt high whenever those village schools girls and boys addressed you as “Corper XYZ”. You probably dressed in your khaki back to your school to ‘oppress’ those undergrads, like I did when I was serving. Lol.

Now that you are a corporate executive, you feel like a ‘big boy/girl’. You look down on corpers and you tell them stories about “in my days when I was serving…” Life is a staircase; it is a step at a time. The experience enjoyed at each step always seems like tomorrow does not exist. You may proceed up, fall down or remain stagnant on a step- it depends on your attitude to life and success.

When at the threshold of breakthrough, the pressure to give up usually becomes more compelling. Find reasons to stand your ground and you will find greatness in the process of time.
You are a person of influence. You are greatness in the making. You are a power-broker. You are wealthy. You are intelligent. The distance between here and there is t. T is time. Do not stifle your potential by a reckless act of impatience. Wait for daybreak.


GREAT QUOTES

· Anxiety can be described as unresolved fear. -Lewis Wolpert
· Quitting is not running from our problems, it is running from the opportunity to solve
our problems. -Dr Ubah Maxwell
· Quitting means we believe that our problems are greater than our faith, abilities, and our
God. -Dr Ubah Maxwell


· You may email your reactions, questions via this email link: motivation.today@yahoo.com
· Current and past editions of this e-newsletter are available on my blog-
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GRAB YOUR LEVER!

People readily give very fluent and well-thought-through answers to celebrate their weaknesses. They overly emphasise on what they are incapable of doing, or what they had been unable to achieve in the past. Friendship with an inglorious past is a threat to a bright future. You cannot possess the future, driving on the reverse gear.

So, make up your mind.

Decide to focus on your strength areas and not on your weaknesses. Focus on the bog possibilities around you and not on the despondent environment. Reflect on the big breaks that can come your way if you decide to develop the latent talents in you. Think about your network of friends, your knowledge base and your experiences; you surely have something like a lever, something to lift you up to the next level you desire. So, why should you continue to subsist and grope in darkness? Light up your world and shine the light.

Living life on a subsistence level of just sleeping, waking, working, eating and then sleeping would not endure for long, most especially in an economic recession. It is either change meets you lying low or you create a change around you before it beckons. In a hurricane-prone country like China, civil engineers have learnt to construct weather-friendly buildings that withstand hurricane turbulence. Is your building weather-friendly?

How?

What do people say you do so well? Or what do you do so well that make other people grin with envy? Or what do you do so instinctively that make others cheer you? You really need to ask personal questions.

Leverage on your strengths, not on your weaknesses. You will excel by maximising your strengths, not by emphasising on your weaknesses; though weaknesses must be effectively managed. Stop going about complaining about what the government, your parents or your boss has not given you, rather leverage on the little stuff you already have. Marcus Buckingham says strength is “a consistent, near-perfect performance in an activity.” You need to grow your strengths with practice or training and find a role that draws on these strengths daily.

Push yourself to a higher level of existence by leveraging on what you know, the people you know, your talents, your personality (introvert or extrovert) , your character, your skills or training or knowledge or experience. You may also leverage on your culture, ethnicity or nationality, religious inclination, your looks, the places you have been to, worked or schooled (alumni/trade associations) or your power of imagination… The list is endless.

Now, the question is: what do you have that can legitimately get you to where you desire? There is certainly a lever around you with the potential to lift you up the ladder of success. It sits dormant, unused, dusty, rusty, neglected and weather-beaten. Its rusted, lacklustre fulcrum cries for lubrication. Around you and in you lie loads of untapped potentials and opportunities that are tossed to the wind because of your comfort zone. What happens to you if your nest is ruffled by a turbulent wind? You will excel by maximising your strengths, not by emphasising your weaknesses; though weaknesses must be well managed.

Rise up and light up the fire around you. Drive away the chill of mediocrity, slumber, casualness, lethargy, ignorance and fear. Grab your lever, ascend to a new level.


GREAT QUOTES

• Leverage is the ability to do more with less. - Robert Kiyosaki
• If you have a talent, use it in every which way possible. Don’t hoard it. Don’t dole it out like a miser. Spend lavishly like a millionaire intent on going broke. -Brendan Francis
• Men take only their needs into consideration, never their abilities. -Napoleon Bonaparte
• We’re limited, not by our abilities, but by our faith in our abilities. -Dr Ubah Maxwell

· You may email your reactions, questions via this email link: motivation.today@yahoo.com
· Current and past editions of this e-newsletter are available on my blog-
www.tundehundeyin.blogspot.com . You may also post your reactions on the website.
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WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

Raw rice is of no use to the stomach if it’s not boiled. Bricks are useless until they’re cemented together and arranged to form a definite structure. Much is the same for a man who doesn’t transform himself from the state into which formal education might have moulded him. You are like gold extracted from the earth, conditioned by the soil composition and other elements. Formal education is like the soil composition. If you fail to improve upon your formal education, you will be of little use to yourself, your family and the society.

Self-development matters
Personal development is achieved through a deliberate effort, commitment and determination to improve one’s intellect, personality and drive for success. It’s an exercise geared towards improving human capital, self worth and employability. As gold in its raw state is refined to bring out its worth, so does everyone need to constantly engage in self development. Formal education cannot wholly transform a man; it only provides a platform for equipping him with basic knowledge in language, arts, science or whatever field of endeavour he might choose. Beyond these basics, however, personal development brings self refinement for success, excellence and personal worth. Personal development can be summarised as capacity building measures taken to improve one’s knowledge, skills and attitude.

Information as intellectual capital
Knowledge is a resource. It is an asset used to create money. Gone are the days agriculture and industry were the mainstay of the global economy. The contemporary world thrives on information – intellectual capital. Teams, groups, small and medium-scale organisations and corporations succeed through the collective working of the minds of their people. That’s the substance which employers search for during job interviews. They want to know what you know – which every other person on the street doesn’t know. Knowledge is, however, progressive. You therefore need to constantly empty your purse into your head in an effort to update your information bank. Keep gathering current information suitable for your need, put some value on them and get pecuniary values in return. Buy and read books, journals, newspapers and magazines. Enrol for courses, browse the internet for relevant information, ask questions, for questions are keys to knowledge. Besides, engage like minds in your area(s) of interest. Find information wherever it may be.


The skilful edge
Develop your skills too. Knowledge is not enough. Skill is the difference between an expert and a novice. Distinguish yourself from the crowd through deploying excellent skills. But you must first develop those talents into skills. Talent is in-born, skill is developed talent. Talent is the raw material for skill; skill is the raw material for wealth. Some skills are polished by education, others are developed by practice. Usually, practice, practice, practice is the key to skill development. The world number one golfer, Tiger Woods, is said to have begun practising with his dad at age 4! Practice is the secret of the best entertainers, sportsmen/women, writers and so on.

From self-discovery to self-development
The truth is that jobs are available (though limited) in Nigeria, but skilled people are scarce. The majority of the skilled people escape to developed nations for better opportunities, thereby contributing to the brain drain in the country. No one is ready to contribute in the arduous task of personal and national development. Without personal development, however, national development will continue to be a mirage. This therefore puts the responsibility of development on all of us. Charles Schwab captures this truth when he said, ‘Everyone thinks of changing the world but no one thinks about changing himself.’ National development is the culmination of personal development. Skill development is impossible without self discovery – the discovery of one’s core competencies. What do you enjoy doing most of the time? What would you like to do without being paid? What captures your interest? What do people usually commend you for doing? These questions will show you the way to your in-born talent/passion/skill.

Attitude is it!
Improve your attitude. An attitude is like a car tyre. Having a tyre burst in motion can change a car’s direction, cause damage and even terminate the driver’s life. Attitudes are personality enhancers. They’re the substance of your behaviour and determine how you respond to the issues which confront you. Lou Holtz said, ‘Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it.’ Attitude determines whether people call you good or bad. Develop an attitude of integrity, excellence, resilience, morality, godliness, gratitude, positivism and so on. You can better yourself and be the person people would like to do business with when you improve your attitude.

More than spare time
So what do you do in your spare time? Do you gist, watch TV, visit friends, browse the net, read, build relationships, hone your skills, think or study? What you do in your spare time determines whether you’re engaging in personal development or not. The point here is not that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Rather, the point is that opportunities for personal development will come regularly during your spare time. Your passion will never leave you (except you let it) even in your spare time and you’ll usually find yourself gravitating towards developing it better at such times, especially if you are a student or you have a job which takes a chunk of your time. Self development is an hourly, daily and a lifetime adventure. It should never stop because the paradigms of the world keep advancing. Keep in step. Find time to develop yourself; find your voice and be the best!