THE FAST KILLER CALLED "DEPRESSION"
HOW
CAN A PERSON EFFECTIVELY DEAL WITH DEPRESSION?
One
of the major reasons for deaths in the world today is depression. How
can this be effectively dealt with?
Lets
know your thoughts….
Monday, October 22, 2018
REKINDLE YOUR LOVE
HOW
CAN LOVE PARTNERS REKINDLE THE FLAME OF LOVE IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP?
Statistics reveal that 81% of relationships end up in break-up or
divorce.How can love partners rekindle their love?
Lets
know your thoughts on this...
SOCIETY AND THE YOUNG CHILD
HOW DOES OUR SOCIETY MISEDUCATE THE YOUNG CHILD? The high rate of immorality in the society today has been marked as a reason for lack of morality.How does the society miseducate the young child?
Let
us know your thoughts...
Saturday, October 20, 2018
EDUCATING THE YOUNG CHILD: WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?
It
is often said that it takes a village to train a child, but on the
flip side what becomes of the child when this village is the reason
for his misfortunes later in life? What hope does the child have for
the future when this village is the hub for insanity which has turned
him into a pervert and a mediocre? The high rate of out-of-school
children is weakening coupled with the unsavory spectacle of seeing
some young children fully engaged in child labor when they should be
receiving quality education. The truth is that failing to educate
young child can be damaging to the extent it will take a long process
of rehabilitation before sanity can be restored. Educating the young
should be done intentionally and strategically. The word ‘education’
is derived from the Latin words - ‘educare’, and ‘educatuum’.
The term ‘educare’ means to bring up, nourish, train, or mould.
This means that a child has to be brought up like a plant in the
garden by his teachers. Other meanings of the term ‘educare’ are:
‘to lead out’, ‘to draw out’, and ‘to bring forth’. This
simply means that the potentialities of the child need to be
discovered, harnessed and maximized through the help of his teachers.
More so, the term – ‘educatuum’ means the teacher through
education provides instructions and gives direction to mould the
child’s abilities.
From
the above derivative meanings, it has been revealed that education is
an indispensable tool that gives birth to a knowledgeable society
which in turn drives social prosperity, economic wealth and political
stability. In fact, education is central to the development of any
nation. No nation can rise above the wealth of knowledge of her
people. In real perspective, knowledge is acquired through education;
be it formal, informal, semi-formal. As a matter of fact, countries
don’t grow, rather it is the people that grow. When the people
grow, the country grows. When you grow the people through education,
then you transform the nation. The success of any nation is
determined by the success of her people. It is our collective
responsibility to educate the young child so that he can be
successful.
Families
should play their part by providing the necessities needed for him to
be truly educated. More so, our institutions of learning are to
ensure that quality education is being served to the child by the
best professionals, while the government should always do their best
to put in place structures that will provide an iron-clad foundation
that will give the child a solid platform to excel. In addition, we
must all synergize to bridge the gap between the success and failure
of the child by inspiring, educating and empowering him to seek
constant and never ending improvements. This he can do by committing
to self-education. When we all do this, the multiplier effect is a
transformed world.
Cheers!
CAPACITIES TO BUILD FOR LEADERSHIP 1
I’m
quite sure you might have come across the familiar deep words of
Leadership Expert, John C. Maxwell which reads: “Everything rises
and falls on leadership”. Why then do many people still fail to
lead right? Why do many leaders fall from grace to grass? Why is
leadership a problematic issue for many organizations, nations, and
even individuals? The answer is not far- fetched – the reason is
because many fail to build capacities for leadership. They fail to
understand that leadership positions doesn’t make one a true
leader. True Leadership is not about titles, but it’s about visible
impact. It is not even about status, but it’s about making a
difference. You are regarded as a true leader when you are able to be
the difference-maker in any sphere of influence you find yourself.
When you help your nation, organization, and people around you to
succeed and surpass their expectataions, then you are a true leader.
So when then is building capacity for leadership important? It’s
simple to understand - If you want to build a really good house, the
standard requirements must be met to ensure the house can hold firm
and last long. The same goes for leadership – there are capacities
you need to build in order to be a leader who will keep a lasting
legacy. The big question is: what capacities do you need to build for
leadership? I’ll share with you seven (7) capacities to build for
leadership:
1.
THE CAPACITY OF PURPOSE
As
a leader the first capacity you need to build is purpose – the
discovery who you really are. Knowing who you are starts with the
discovery of the reason why you were created and the crux of your
existence here on earth. Your purpose unlocks your identity and leads
to your fulfillment. Rick Warren in his book, ‘THE PURPOSE-DRIVEN
LIFE wrote: ”Nothing matters more than knowing God’s purpose for
your life, and nothing can compensate for not knowing it – not
success, wealth, fame or pleasure. Without a purpose, life is motion
without meaning, activity without direction, and events without
reason”. I totally agree with him. Many people do so much in
leadership with little or no progress to show for because of lack of
purpose. According to a research by Bana Group, it reveals that one
out of every two persons is trying to figure out their purpose in
life. It is your purpose that gives potency to your potentials,
talents and gifts as tools for effective leadership. It is also
expedient to understand that it is your purpose that uncovers your
mission – calling and assignment, and it also gives you a clear
idea about your heritage and your destiny. As a leader, you cannot
help others discover themselves if you have not discovered yourself.
2.
THE CAPACITY TO FOLLOW
In
the world today, almost everybody wants to be the leader, but only a
few are willing to follow. Effective followership is the product of
effective leadership. In fact, the first commandment of true
leadership is for you to master the art and practice of purposeful
followership. You cannot lead effectively if you don’t follow and
can’t allow yourself to be led. Authors, David Heenan and Warren
Bennis wrote: “Learning the secrets and skill of great No.2s
remains the surest path to becoming No. 1.” The
truth
is followership is a discipline of supporting leaders and helping
them to lead well – it is an act of quality and productive service.
3.
THE CAPACITY OF SELF-DISCIPLINE
Why
are some leaders more successful than others? Why do some leaders
accomplish more in the same number of years and same resources than
the great majority? Why are some leaders more appreciated, valued and
celebrated than others? One of the secret of successful leaders is
their ability to lead self through the art and practice of
self-discipline. Self-discipline is the ability to what is right even
when it is not convenient for you or you don’t feel like doing it.
Great leaders understood that it is the training of the body and the
mind to achieve desired goals. No wonder Greek Philosopher, Plato
asserted: “The first and best victory is to conquer self”. The
battle of self-discipline is an internal one that needs to be
decisively and consciously won. A leader will struggle to live to the
fullness of his potentials until he learns to deal with the desires
of his carnal mind and body – he must learn to guard his thoughts,
control his desires and plan his actions. The truth is that the most
difficult person to lead is you, and until you lead yourself, you
cannot lead others effectively.
To
get the other four (4) capacities to build for leadership, please
share your afterthoughts about this leadership lesson in the comment
zone.I will love to hear from you.
Cheers!
HELD BOUND 1
I
was a sojourner in a small country. Everything seemed so new to
me.Soon I met a young lady who demanded money from me. Believe me I
felt unsure about her because she spoke to me with a fiery look and
coarse voice. Compassionately I gave her a hundred dollar bill and
she beamed with smile. Then I understood that her demeanor was
prompted by the pangs of hunger she felt in her stomach. As I turned
to head back to my house, I saw a crowd of people chasing me for
money too. These people were also fierce and possibly angered by
hunger too. I was urged to run else they would mob me to death. I ran
three miles and three cities, and yet still found them chasing after
me. Just as I was about to give up, suddenly a soft tender hand
swiftly pulled me into a hiding place. It was her again, the lady I
met at first. We stayed together in peace and gleefully feel in love
with each other. She fed me with the honey between her thighs at
night. Then, when I was about to leave, she dealt me with a bout of
reality. She pulled me close and said: “I have your seeds growing
in me and they are twins, and are you going to still leave or stay
with me?” Immediately I became transfixed and still don’t know
what to do…
To
be continued…
Friday, October 19, 2018
BUILD AN INTELLECTUAL DATABASE
In
our rapidly-changing world it is sickening to imagine that people are
not intentional about increasing their intelligence quotient. The
stark reality that technology has led loss of millions of job every
year is yet to bring a bell in the ears of many. The effect of global
recession is a financial tsunami that has crippled numerous financial
gigantic organizations and institutions.
In
his best-selling book titled : 'The Secrets of the Millionaire Mind',
Author Harvard Eker advises: "it is not enough to be at the
right place at the right time, but you must be the right person, at
the right place and at the right time". Becoming the right
person starts with your building your intellectual property. I am a
profound advocate on the subject of building mental/intellectual
capacity. I eschew the rigours of learning, unlearning and relearning
by committing my time, resources and energy to building my
intellectual assets. I once met someone who told me reading is very
difficult and in response I also told him so will living life be when
you don't cultivate the habit of constantly gaining knowledge and
updating what you know. Life is a journey that is best travelled with
relevant information that keeps us moving from one point to the next
till we finish our mission here on earth. On the other hand, many
people feel they don't need to go further the road of building their
intellectual capacity when they attain a certain position. Their
dependence on past achievements with obsolete information is a
disaster in disguise.
Here's
what Management Guru Philip B. Crosby writes in his book 'Quality is
free': 'There is a theory of human behaviour that says people
subconsciously retard their own intellectual growth. They come to
rely on clichés and habits. Once they reach the age of their own
personal comfort with the world, they stop learning and their mind
runs on idle for the rest of their days. They may progress
organizationally, they may be ambitious and eager, and they may even
work night and day. But they learn no more'. The quality of our lives
is determined by the quality of our thinking, and information at our
disposal. All successful people are 'knowledge addicts".
Information is key for life transformation. Be on a live update.,be a
lifelong learner.
What are your contributions on this? Let us digest this and learn more from one another.
HEARTS APART: THE WHIRLWIND OF AGONY
Often
at times we've been at crossroads with the time periods of our lives
- the past, present and future, wondering where to go. We either have
ghosts from our past, the nightmares of our present and fear for the
future hunting our very existence. We ignorantly fail miserably to
reconcile our differences as our deeds of yesteryear's and today,
threaten to blow away the hopes of our future. That was the
case with the effervescent Chuka.
What lesson did you learn from this story?lets know your thoughts...
Here's
his story : As we gathered at moonlight to hear this tale from Mazi
Ejiofor, the greatest village warrior, he began: Right
there at the village square as the villagers crowded the arena on
hearing about the demise of Chuka. What a wasted life! hurled Mazi
Nnabuife, the farmer. Mazi Okafor, the palmwine tapper, in his
usual manner wailed like a widow in mourning period and screamed: :
'the stubborn fly that refuses to listen follows the corps to the
grave.' Like our elders say 'whoever opens holes in his house
is surely inviting the gathering of lizards'. Handsome Chuka was a
ladies-man who applied himself much to that proverb with his
womanizing lifestyle. He made himself vulnerable to the veinous
attacks of the 'beautiful delilahs' with his promiscuity. His
muscular built could topple that of Goliath in the bible. His sense
of tush dressing added to his class as a graduate from the States was
swashbuckling. Little wonder every maiden in the village desired,
fought and sought to have him. To them not having him was unthinkable
- 'it's like taking away a little child's favourite candy from him'.
They all develop weak feets whenever he comes calling for his sexual
escapades. His sugar-coated tongue did the dirty tricks of luring
them into his bed. His insatiable desire for anything on skirt
regardless of age, shape and size was a ticking time bomb ready to
explode in no time. He used, dumped and made a public show of them
with reckless abandon. Ultimately, his life-clock stopped ticking the
day he met Ufuoma. She had just returned from the city where she had
gone to learn a trade. She was much changed from the village maid she
was at the palace before fortune smiled on her. She had a soft heart
that radiated her innocence and naivety. Perhaps she didn't allow the
pleasures of city life influence her. She was the toast of all.
Suddenly Chuka had his eyes on her in lust, but Ufuoma gave her heart
to him totally in love. Days passed, weeks moved on like a train and
the supposed two love birds were all over the village. Soon
afterwards, troubles began to creep in gradually as Chuka became
impatient with her refusal to give him her pride, but she always
refused to succumb but kept on preaching patience to him. Her mantra
being :'until her marital rites are done'. Chuka thought to himself:
'the patient dog might eventually die of hunger'. Incessantly they
quarreled and fought bringing back memories of the Biafran War. The
more her resistance, the bigger his obsession grew to have carnal
knowledge of her. Eventually she gave in to his animalistic urge
because she wanted him to be happy or so she thought.
'Life
is cruel, love is fickle and women are bitches', Chuka boasted to his
friends as he told them of the latest victim of his antics. Things
feel apart between the two love birds as news of his sexual affair
with her spread like wildfire. Chuka's refusal to reconcile his
differences with her fell on deaf ears. The hurt, heartbreak and
angst she felt became a disastrous tsunami. She was prepared to have
the last laugh and draw blood that will spill and atone for the blood
of her pride that stained the cane bed on that regrettable night.
Just as Chuka slept that fateful night, she got him bonded with the
help of maidens who had suffered similar fate like her. She then
reached for his manhood slicing it off as he screamed to death. Hell
has no fury than a scorned woman. She laid his lifeless body with his
manhood on it at the village square in public glare and vanished into
thin air - certainly only God knows where.
Theirs
is surely a tale for generations to come.
What lesson did you learn from this story?lets know your thoughts...
THE BEAUTIFUL GIFT WE ALL HAVE TO MAKE THE WORLD BEAUTIFUL
We
all love receiving gifts. Gifts-giving is a powerful way of
communicating the love we have not just for our loved ones alone, but
for everyone around us. God's greatest gift to humanity is Jesus
Christ. But let's do some reflections: what's the best and greatest
gift you've ever given to someone?. For me, the best and greatest
gift you can ever give to someone is yourself.
Let
me share a true life story with you: About two years ago, I organized
a capacity-building training program for the teenage department of a
renowned Church. I was passionate about helping these young people to
discover their purpose and maximize their potentials and
possibilities in God. The training program was supposed to be paid
for, but due to financial constraints, I decided on doing it for
free. As at then, it sounded like a bad decision when I told few
friends about it, but at the end it turned out to be a good one.
The
training lasted for two months and when I had finished with them, on
two occasions, one of the teenagers came to me for a pep talk and
after we were done, he slotted an envelope into my writing pad
unknown to me. On getting home, I discovered it and opened the
envelope and in it was a N1000 note and a short note that read:
"Thank you Sir for everything, with you there's hope for us".
Strong
message and I felt appreciated. I take encouragement from helping
people and his words ignited my passion to do more.
The
church appreciated my input and remarkably the teenagers became
stronger, wiser and better. The visible impact I made led to total
revival, transformation and restoration in the lives of these young
people. What kind of gifts do you and have you been giving to people?
Not every gift is valuable and not every gift comes from the heart.
The gift that comes with all of you in it is the most valuable. My
point is simple, there are people out there who need your gift,
talent, words, songs, time and energy to get out of the slump they
find themselves. They are lost and desperately need someone that can
help them discover their identity. Someone is one decision away from
making a great life mistake, but might just need your gift of love in
counsel that can give them hope for a better tomorrow. Saul became
Apostle Paul when he had a life-changing encounter with Christ. From
being a persecutor he became a defender and propagator of the
Christian faith. Same with Mary Magdalene, the thief on the cross,
and even you and I. You don't need to have all the money in this
world to help people. You can start with what you have and where you
are. We can make the world a beautiful place when we use our gifts to
help others become better. When we all act in this way, the
multiplier effect is a transformed world. Always remember, you cannot
light a path for others and remain in darkness.