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  • Your Confidence is Key to Success

    “It’s not the mountain we conquer but ourselves”~ Edmund Hillary.

    “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without confidence” ~ Hellen Keller.

    Success cannot be achieved without confidence. The most successful people are the ones with confidence. You cannot set out to do something and succeed without the backing of confidence.

    If you lack confidence there is a very high likelihood that whatever, endeavours you have embarked on, will not be a success.

    It’s absolutely vital that you develop the confidence and self-belief that you will achieve your goals. Self-belief is very crucial to succeed.

    I am not talking about being arrogant and ignoring feedback from other people and thinking you are infallible or invisible. Am talking about having a balanced view of yourself that does not indulge in false modesty and self-pity, and an inner view that is not strong enough to be crushed and defeated when someone challenges you.

    The thing is; to succeed you must develop the mindset and confidence to achieve your goals.

    If you’re really serious about succeeding you cannot afford to wallow in negative thoughts of “I am not good enough.” Here are a few tips to help with the development of your confidence.

    Positive Self-Talk

    Self-talk is perhaps the most important step towards developing self-confidence. What you tell yourself has more bearing and effect than what other people talk about you.

    Remember you are what you think. The bible says “as a man thinketh so is he in his heart.”

    Develop the attitude of talking positively to yourself. It helps to keep telling yourself that you can do it, you can do it. The Bible says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” If God is for you, who can be against you?

    Usually, when am working on a task I keep reminding myself of the benefits that accrue when a task is achieved.

    I usually remind myself early in the morning that I can achieve all the tasks that I have laid down. Yes, I will come across obstacles but my mind is prepared for the tasks ahead.

    Sometimes I fail and sometimes I win, but I always learn from my failures and move on. I do not let them take the best out of me.

    You should try having a to-do list every morning and see, how that helps you towards achieving your intended goals.

    “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” ~ the bible.

    This is my prayer every morning. Try personalising the above quote and see how your confidence levels will improve.

    Your Behaviour Matters

    What you think about and what you say to yourself has a profound bearing on your behaviour and on what happens to you.

    Your thoughts, attitudes, and behaviours towards your ability to achieve your goals, have an impact on your expectation of the situation.

    In turn, your expectation will impact the way you behave in a given situation.

    People will always respond to your behaviours.

    “The most powerful forces of nature are the invisible forces, so we find that the most powerful forces of man are his invisible forces, his spiritual force, and the only way in which the spiritual force can manifest is through the process of thinking” ~ the Master Key.

    Am sure we’ve all known someone if not ourselves, who has been worrying about something they have to do and have constantly spoken how badly it’s going to go. 

    When it does go badly they jump and exclaim “I knew” that would happen.

    You see all along they did not realise that they created their own self-fulfilling prophecy. There is power in your thoughts and in your words. Always be mindful of what you say. It is better to keep quiet than say anything.

    Focus on the Things You Do Well

    Take stock of your skills set and attributes that you already possess. In other words, know your weaknesses and strengths and focus on improving your strengths even further.

    This is not to say that you should neglect to improve on your weakness. But focusing on doing the things you do better can highly improve your motivation and confidence levels.

    The idea is when you set out to do a task and accomplish it very well there is a sense of well-being and satisfaction.

    I have listed down some personal questions to help identify your skillset and attributes if you are not sure of them. Write down the answers and keep on reviewing them.

    Please make sure you answer the questions honestly there is no right or wrong answer.

    • What am I good at?
    • What have I received compliments and positive feedback for in the past?
    • What do people value me for? (Compare this with what you value yourself for).
    • What challenges have I overcome in the past?
    • What skills do I possess that have helped me to overcome the challenges?
    • What have I achieved in the past that I perhaps thought I couldn’t?

    “We see things not as they are but as we are” ~ H. M. Tomlinson.

    As human beings, I have noticed that we judge other people by our own standards.

    Believe me, if you have set yourself a high standard that is what you expect to get from other people and nothing less.

    Be Inspired by Other People

    One of the things that have always inspired and given me the confidence to succeed is by looking at and reading about other people who have made it.

    Find yourself some role models whom you admire and whose story of success inspires you.

    A role model does not necessarily have to be alive or known personally. It could be someone you have read about or someone who does not even know you.

    Most successful people have written books about their lives. Find some literature about them and read it.

    A good role model will show you the following attributes

    • Their attitude and approach
    • Where and how they started
    • How they made the most of their abilities
    • How they handle their success
    • How they overcome challenges

    Always remind yourself that these too were or are human beings just like you and I. If they can make it, why shouldn’t you make it?

    Conclusion

    Let me end by emphasising that you cannot succeed without having self-belief and the confidence to carry you on.

    I have not come across a successful person without self-belief and no confidence. I challenge you set out your intended purpose in life and start pursuing it with confidence.

  • The 9 Must Have Life Skills part 3

    Welcome to part 3 of “the 9 must-have life skills.”  This is the final part of the 3 series.

    Let’s start with a quick recap of the past two articles. In part one I mentioned the first three life skills namely, influencing; delegation, and persuasion.

    We went on to describe these in detail click here to read part 1.

    In part two I talked about the next three life skills namely; coaching, feedback, and conflict handling click here to read part 2.

    “A general is just as good or just as bad as the troops under his command make him” ~ General Douglas MacArthur. “A leader is a dealer in hope” ~ Napoleon Bonaparte.

    The last three life skills are the ones that expose your inner being, to the outside world.

    Remember you work from the inside out and not vice versa. You are made of what is inside you.

    You must know that all growth is from within. You cannot give out what you do not have.

    People will only judge you from what they see and how you present yourself to them.

    Presentation

    Presentation is an area that can be a challenge to many of us. We all make judgments by seeing or rather analysing the presentation by a colleague or friend.

    In my own humble definition, I regard presentation as a way of sending and receiving information in a way that makes people want to hear what you are saying or doing.

    Presentation can come in many different forms. In fact, we are always presenting ourselves on a daily basis, be it at work or to our customers, friends, spouses, children and the list is endless.

    Presentation is about getting your message across a section of society. In doing this, you should ask yourself what you want to achieve.

    A good leader should also be a good presenter and a good listener.

    If you are in leadership this is the skill that will influence your team members to appreciate or agree with your philosophies.

    The key to being a good presenter is knowing what you want to achieve.

    To effectively get your message across, it is important to consider these two perspectives;

    •  What do you want to say?
    • What is the expectation of your audience?

    Dale Canergie, once said, “there are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wished you gave.”

    As I mentioned before, the skill of presentation is mainly to deal with the public.

    The public in this instance are the people you come into contact with every day. If you want to create a lasting impression on people you need to be a good presenter.

    Facilitation

    What is facilitation? This is a life skill that is needed and mostly used in a meeting environment.

    Facilitation is the art and science of helping a group or team in their thinking, planning, and decision-making.

    Imagine the chaos and confusion there would be when you are holding a meeting without a moderator or facilitator.

    Very often we do not realise the knowledge and potential we have within a given grouping or team.

    In many cases, the insights and knowledge needed to resolve problems and or identify innovative ways forward, are just within the team.

    The skill to unlock this potential knowledge and solution in most times is found during facilitation.

    A good facilitator will strike a balance between dominant personalities and those that are less dominant.

    Facilitation mainly focuses on progress rather than arguments.

    It is very common during meetings to drift away from the point being discussed and so it is very important that the facilitator does not lose focus.

    There are 3 main elements to effective facilitation:

    • Focus on the Progress – the key to successful facilitation is to focus on the progress.  To achieve this you need to set the right tone of the meeting and ensure that the participants are motivated from the start to end. You will also need to use your feedback life skills to ensure that information is flowing smoothly and at the end of it all, a consensus has been built.
    • Interpersonal Skills – to manage progress you need not only keep things on track but, also need to use good interpersonal skills. These will include having a good command of; rapport building; effective communication verbal and non-verbal; listening actively and how you use your question technique.
    • Personal Characteristics – we all have different characteristics though I feel that the following are a must-have to achieve better facilitation; ability to learn; sensitivity; openness to change; self-awareness; friendliness and off-course some sense of humour.

    Team Meetings

    The last and final life skill set is rather not a skill but something I feel should be acquired in your life “team meetings.”

    As a leader, you will need to have regular meetings with your team or group.

    The key to an effective team meeting is to know why the meeting is being held.

    So before you call for a meeting ensure that your mind is clear and certain as to why you are calling for the meeting.

    In other words, prepare an agenda and circulate it beforehand if possible.

    I will not go into details of what a meeting should be but they could be formal or informal.

    As a leader only hold meetings when necessary. I have worked in companies where meetings are held unnecessarily.

    Meetings if not well planned for can be a share waste of company time as they take away the time for doing other duties.

    The best way is to have planned meetings with set targets. Only “bosses” call for unnecessary meetings.

    Another key factor is to call only people you think need to be present or will make a worthwhile contribution.

    You see when you call for a meeting it is your reputation at stake. Make sure you build a reputation for handling meetings very well.

    Leading team meetings effectively requires a wide range of skills.

    These skills could include the ability to focus on how the meeting is progressing and blending it with your own interpersonal life skills and characteristics.

    To achieve this you need to build your knowledge base and step out of the box.

    In fact, let’s just say remove the box altogether; think about what you are doing as a group and get a lot of practice.

    Conclusion

    I hope you have learned something from the three series I will end with a Chinese proverb ~ “Tell me and I will forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.”

  • The 9 Must Have Life Skills Part 2

    Welcome to part 2 of “the 9 must have life skills.” In part 1 I talked about the first three life skills namely; the skill of influencing; the skill of delegation and the skill of persuasion.

    As mentioned in part 1 this article will be more of help to those in a leadership role.

    “Leadership does not always wear the harness of compromise” ~ Woodrow Wilson.

    In this article, we will look at the next 3 life skills. You may wonder why I call them life skills and not leadership skills, this is because we are all born leaders and we have these skills in us.[the_ad id=”72155″]

    The skills are listed randomly even though they are related.

    The Skill of Coaching

    This is perhaps one of the most critical skills to have in relation to delegation. If you are in a leadership position you will or may have delegated some work to your subordinate(s) and the most critical area is to have confidence in your colleague.

    The only way confidence can be created is by way of coaching. You will only have confidence in someone if you know that they were properly coached and more especially if the coaching was done by you.

    By definition “coaching is a process which supports people in developing their skills and achieving their skills.” The subject of coaching is a wide one that needs a dedicated article. I promise to do more research on this topic.

    There are several approaches to coaching and they all tend to be in agreement that it involves:[the_ad id=”72155″]

    • Activities to develop someone’s skills and abilities. This could be either on a one on one or group basis.
    • Developing targets that are both individual and group-oriented. This is very common in sports-related activities.
    • Focus on improving performance, this could be individual or team.

    I believe the skill of coaching is equally important even in parenting. These days our children are very clever and they need to be coached in order to get the maximum benefit from their academic work.

    The speed at which they learn is amazingly fast and as a parent, you just need to keep up with them. A good leader should be able to coach, that is imparting some of his skills to his colleagues.

    A good leader is judged by how knowledgeable and skilled his team members are. If you are a leader you will be judged by the results your team is achieving.

    Feedback

    Feedback is inter-linked with the skill of coaching. I regard feedback as a form of communication. Feedback serves two main purposes:

    • Motivation – when a team is performing well, feedback can increase confidence and encourage the team to perform at the same high or even higher level.
    • Correction – this is also true when a team is not performing at the expected level, feedback can be used to assess how to change and improve performance for the better.

    This skill (feedback) can be very critical in the following instances;

    • When providing coaching support. At this point, there is feedback from both the coach and the student. As coaching involves the setting of goals the student has to give feedback on the progress and what difficulties are being encountered. The coach also has to give feedback on the modification of the program if need be.
    • Reviewing how a delegated activity is progressing. When you delegate work there is a need for feedback from both ends to ascertain that the job is being done correctly and the person delegated has understood the instructions.
    • Conducting management reviews and appraisals. In a work environment as a leader, you will be required to conduct employment appraisals for your juniors. Appraisals are a two-way assessment. The person being assessed gives feedback to his appraiser and vice versa.
    • Handling conflict – this is discussed below.
    • Facilitating – this is also discussed in part 3.

    For feedback to be appreciated it has to be positive. The following are a few tips for ensuring positive feedback:

    • Feedback has to be specific and to the point.
    • Feedback has to be fair and sincere. This will ensure maximum or intended results to be achieved with minimum difficulty.
    • Feedback should be descriptive and focused on action and not on an individual.
    • Feedback can also be futuristic. This is especially important for corrective feedback.

    Remember that feedback is a very vital skill for both good leaders and managers.

    The Skill of Conflict Handling

    The final skill to be dealt with in this part is the skill of handling conflicts. I would be safe to assume that every one of us has had to resolve some feud of some sort. It doesn’t matter how it was resolved but it was done.

    Conflict handling is vital to all human beings whether in leadership roles or not. Yet this is one skill that many of us do not want to have or use. A good leader should know how to resolve conflicts among his team members. This is vital because unresolved conflicts can be very detrimental to the team as a whole.

    The first step in handling conflicts is to be aware of the possible reason behind the conflict. A mini investigation can be conducted to ascertain the cause. By definition, some conflicts are easier to handle than others. Some cases can be very difficult to handle that you may require a third party to help resolve them.

    Firstly you need to understand as the person in charge that conflict is not necessarily a bad thing. There are bound to be conflicts where two or more people are gathered.

    You will also appreciate that if conflicts are resolved properly they can add a lot of motivation to the group, by making the team understand each other even better.

    There are however different approaches to handling conflicts. I know for sure that most of us do not want to handle conflicts or would rather find the easy way out. Unfortunately, there is no shortcut.

    I believe that conflicts have to be faced or handled head-on. Whichever method is used please ensure that the parties involved are satisfied with the resolution. I know that it is impossible to please all but always look at the bigger picture and what is beneficial to the aggrieved parties.

    Conclusion

    I feel that the topic on coaching has not been done much justice. I will be writing a whole article on this very challenging topic so you can have an insight of what coaching is all about.

    “I believe that the mind-set that allows you to spend your working life thinking and congratulating people rather than being unpleasant to them is the mainstay of good leadership” ~ Tim Waterstone.

    The skill of coaching is a must-have for all. Look out for part 3.

  • The 9 Must Have Life Skills part 1

    “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader” ~ John Quincy Adams.

    Although there are no set standards for life skills set to have, in order to be successful, as we all have different skills set to see us through the hassle and bustles of life, there are a set of life skills that I personally feel you should acquire in order that you are distinguished from the rest.

    This set of life skills, I think is the distinction between success and failure. The skills mentioned in this article will be more useful especially to those in a leadership role.

    “I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people” ~ Mohandas Gandhi.

    The Skill of Influencing

    The first among the life skills is influence. Maybe let’s start by defining the word its self influence. Here are some dictionary definitions;

    • The ability to change someone’s views, attitude or behaviours.
    • The power of a person to have an effect on someone else resulting from ability, position, or wealth.

    If you are a leader this is one skill that you will need and use very often.

    You need to know how to communicate in a way that “gains support.” Why do you want to gain support?

    Influencing a group of people should be distinct from coercion and trickery. People do not want to be tricked or coerced.

    If you to be a good leader you will use your influencing skill to gain support from your team or group of people.

    Let the people follow you willingly and you will gain their unwavering trust even in times of difficulties.

    Influence goes hand in hand with power. As we have noted in the definition above.

    Power can be thought of in a number of ways, each relevant to the way leaders can influence others;

    • Expert power – this comes due to the knowledge one has gained
    • Personal power – this comes by way of what other people think about you. The more highly respected the more likely you are able to influence them.
    • Position power – this is gained through your position in an organization. Often times this is the most abused power function, especially in the political world.

    Influencing skills are a combination of various other skills when brought together, these can help you change someone’s views, attitude, or behaviour

    Delegation

    A good leader will always delegate some of his duties. What is delegation?

    “This is giving responsibility to someone to carry out tasks that you normally do yourself. By delegating you give, others the authority to do things, but you remain accountable and responsible for their outcome.”

    Delegation encourages; communicating what is expected and builds trust between leader and subordinates among others.

    To understand delegation you need to have honest answers to the following questions.

    • How do you give responsibility to someone else?
    • How do you ensure that they feel clear about what they are being asked to do?

    Delegation is a powerful tool. Many leaders do not understand why they should delegate. They think they lose power or authority when they have delegated their work to someone else.

    Here is why I think delegation is a great tool.

    • Delegation releases your time to concentrate on other important matters.
    • Builds the capability of others in your team. Remember that no one is indispensable. The organization has to continue growing with or without you.

    “No person will make a great business who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit” ~ Andrew Carnegie.

    Remember always that a leader is a team player. In our society today we lack young leaders simply because there is no delegation from the top to help groom the young ones.

    Theodore Roosevelt says “the best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it”.

    Persuasion

    The final skill for this part is persuasion. “The act or process of encouraging someone to do or believe someone.” Aristotle broke down persuasion and separated it into three kinds of appeals.

    • An appeal to “ethos”  – the credible person making the persuasive argument. This may be how convinced you are by that person.
    • An appeal to “logos” – the use of logic to support a claim. How do the facts being presented add up?
    • An appeal to “pathos” – the emotional or motivational appeal.

    Being persuasive also means being able to sell a message.

    Those in the sales and marketing industry will agree with me that they use persuasion more often when trying to sell products/services, especially to potential customers.

    I love the saying by Professor Bob Sutton “argue if you are right, listen if you are wrong.”

    Many of the times we know when one has made a mistake. I think it is also very humbling to acknowledge as a leader that you made a mistake and allow your subordinates to make suggestions.

    Most of the answers we are looking for are just within our team or group. No one has a monopoly of knowledge.

    Selling a message can mean; convincing your colleagues to a certain approach or methodology; as I mentioned above with the sales guys, persuading your would be customers to buy services or products and bringing your colleagues or members of your group to agree with your ideas.

    We all have the skill of persuasion in us all it needs is to be awakened.

    The most successful leaders I have come across or read about are very persuasive. Remember persuasion can be used to influence people to do negative to society.

    I do not advocate for negativity and I encourage you to use these skills positively and help change the world into a better place for all.

    Conclusion

    I am tempted to write more in this article, I will leave it at the 3 life skills for now and will continue in the next article as  I do not wish to make this article very long.

    As you read these articles reflect on the life skills that you have acquired thus far and evaluate them if they are helping you to succeed in life.

    There is no written down formula for success and there is no prescribed life’s skill set for success these are only suggestions.

    You are the formula and you shall succeed in whatever you do.

  • Tick Toke, Tick Toke, Time is Ticking

    “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff that life is made of” ~ Benjamin Franklin.

    Tick toke, tick toke the clock is ticking, never backwards but always forward. You want it or not; like it or not; believe it or not, time does not wait for anybody.

    Time is no respecter of persons. If God is an unfair God then he has been very generous and fair to all of us by giving us 24hrs to be utilized in a day.

    It does not matter whether you are rich or poor, black or white, able-bodied or physically challenged whatever and where ever you may be, we all share the same hours of the day and that is 24hrs.

    No single person or country is more privileged than the other to have more or less hours.

    The first quarter of the year has but gone, ask yourself what you have achieved as against what you have intended to achieve by the end of the year.

    Many of us will not realize that we have achieved very little or nothing at all. If you are in this bracket stop and take a serious inventory of yourself.

    I am not perfect either but am consoled by the fact that I have achieved most of my monthly targets. Certain things have happened to me that may have derailed my progress but I take them as challenges rather than as problems.

    Look Forward

    We all have lost time at some point in our lives. The key is how you get up and recover it. There is so much to look forward to for me than to look at spilled milk.

    Yes, sometimes I have lost a lot of time, but I always encourage myself by rereading my written down intended life’s purpose on a regular basis.

    This gives me a sense of purpose to live for. I imagine and appreciate the life ahead of me and how comfortable it will be. My written down “intended life’s purpose” is one of the motivating factors.

    Whatever is done is done and whatever has not been done has to be done. If you are to become a better person and an achiever you need to improve on how to utilize your time.

    Time management is of the essence. Great men and women are those that have learned and mastered how to manage the precious commodity called time.

    If there is anything that has to be taught or learned at an early stage in life it is time management. Unfortunately, our education system does not teach us how to manage and utilize time. How I wish this could be introduced in our schooling systems.

    Sometimes I feel that most of what we learn from our schools is irrelevant in our lives. Most of the stuff does not apply. What a waste of time and resources.

    Please this does not mean you should not get an education. You need it. When you wake up every morning, regardless of your circumstances, look forward to getting started with the day. There is so much waiting for you out there. Always look forward to enjoying the day.

    Have Courage

    “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage” ~ Anais Nin. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be discouraged” ~ the Bible.

    In order to succeed at anything, you need to be bold and courageous. You will need to take bold steps.  Some steps will of course trample on other people’s toes, but if it is the right thing to do just do it. Warning, PLEASE DO NOT CREATE ADVERSARIES.

    I will be very honest here, some decisions I have made have actually offended other people. But under the circumstances, they were about the best choices I have made in my life.

    These choices have been life-changing and over time wounds have been healed. As a human being, you are bound at some point in life to make some tough decisions.

    Like, I always say decisions have to be made. Wrong or right. It could be resigning from your current job; it could be cutting links with some of your old mates or any other life-changing decisions. It has to be done.

    It could be that you are wasting time in your current job and are not progressing. Please be wise and pray over it before you make those life-changing decisions.

    Have a master plan for your life, especially if you are married and have children to support.

    Conclusion

    If you have a plan to do something just do it. Many of the time we spend a lot of time procrastinating and let our good plans go to waste.

    If I can recall, I’ve had so many plans on how to make money and most of them have gone down the drain.

    Not because they were not viable ideas but because they were not even tested. I know that this describes some of you.

    Lastly, we must all endeavor to learn and appreciate how to manage our time this is the only way to ensure personal development and self-improvement.

  • The 6 Qualities for Self-Development and Improvement

    “You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude towards what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you” ~ Brian Tracy.

    We all have qualities for self-development and improvement. Everybody has it in them to develop themselves to their fullest potential, whatever they set their mind on.

    The last few months have seen me delve a little more into the subject of personal development and self-improvement. 

    This is a very wide and interesting topic that I recommend everyone to be interested in.

    If you want to achieve anything worthwhile you should be a student of personal development and self-improvement, you can never go wrong.

    During the study, I have noted that the following were the common qualities or attributes needed for self-improvement or be it personal development. 

    Yes, there are many more qualities that I came across but the most common ones are the ones that will be covered in this article. 

    Attitude

    The first quality is attitude. Let’s start by defining the word attitude, “the way a person views something or tends to behave towards it, often in an evaluative way” ~ the free dictionary. “Attitude is everything” ~ Unknown.

    The starting and ending point of all self-development is attitude. Without the right mental attitude in life, you will not achieve anything of great significance. Your attitude will largely determine the level of your achievements.

    The mind is creative, and conditions, environment and all experiences in life are the results of your habitual or predominant mental attitude. 

    Personal development and growth starts with the mind. If you have a negative perception of something most likely the negative result will be attained and vice versa. 

    This means that the attitude of the mind depends mainly on what thoughts we harbour. The thoughts we harbour have a great influence on our self-development journey.

    Man has the mental power to determine his future. They say all growth is from within. This means that all self-development comes from within. This theory is very true because you become what you think about most of the time. 

    Personal growth does not happen by chance or accident. You attract it to yourself. If you want to attain your personal development goals you must first change your thoughts and attitude towards life. 

    Having the right mentality coupled with the right attitude will surely guarantee you better results. Yes, setbacks will be encountered; the most important thing is how you react when faced with challenges.

    For all I know is that there is no success without challenges. To every successful person, there are more challenges than success. I believe that our environment reflects the conditions corresponding to the predominant mental attitude which we entertain. 

    It is the attitude of the mind toward life that determines the experiences with which we are to meet; if we expect nothing, we shall have nothing; if we demand much, we shall receive the greater portion. 

    Attitude has everything to do with the mind. We must endeavour to have the right mental attitude as an ingredient to achieving our life’s objectives.

    Faith

    What is faith? The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen is faith.

    “Faith is like a bird that feels dawn breaking while it is still dark” ~ Scandinavian.

    The one thing that distinguishes success from failure is self-belief. In fact, the strength of your faith is the one thing that determines whether you conquer mountains or foothills. 

    It means believing in something that you cannot prove or be certain of; something that you have not seen physically. It means believing in life’s magic. 

    If you are a Christian like me the emphasis on faith in the bible is very well taught. Christianity is a faith-based religion. In this regard, religion plays a major role in helping to increase your faith. 

    One of the best ways to increase your faith is by the recognition of your spiritual nature. 

    The other best way to acquire faith is to have positive affirmations. The bible says “faith comes by hearing.” True to this statement is that you must formulate positive affirmations to encourage you achieve your intended purpose in life. 

    Replace all negative thoughts with positive ones and keep reminding yourself about them. I have some magic words that work for me. Every morning I remind myself that “I can do all things possible through Christ who strengths me.” 

    This is my magic sentence, it has done wonders for me even in the darkest of situations, I have managed to pull through. This is because I have faith that I can do all things through Christ.

    Courage

    “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged” ~ the Bible.

    It is very easy to start the process of personal development, but it is much more difficult to keep it going especially when faced with tough decisions to make. 

    The make or break of your journey to success could end if you lack enough courage to see yourself through trying times. Believe me, you will be tested and tried to your limits before you move to the next level.

    Courage is the main distinction between being successful and being a failure. The people who succeed are those that exhibit enough courage in times of difficulties and are willing to go the extra mile. 

    Those that fail have very little courage. Wisdom, strength, courage and all harmonious conditions are the results of power and we have seen that all power is from within; likewise, every lack, limitation or adverse circumstance is the result of weakness, and weakness is simply the absence of power; it comes from nowhere, it is nothing.

    The following sentence underlines the link between courage and faith.

    “You must first have the knowledge of your power; second, the courage to dare; third, the faith to do” ~ The Master Key.

    Courage can help you eliminate one of the greatest enemies to success and that is fear. If you want to eliminate fear, then concentrate on courage. 

    To achieve greater success always concentrate on the ideal as an already existing fact; this is the germ cell, the life principle which goes forth and sets in motion those causes which guide, direct and bring about the necessary relation, which eventually manifests. 

    Courage is best illustrated by the story of David and Goliath in the bible.

    “It’s not the mountain we conquer but, ourselves” ~ Sir Edmund Hilary.

    Ability

    You will have a tough time achieving your life’s intended purpose by doing something you are not gifted for. 

    Before you set out on your personal development journey, it is very important to recognise what your natural talents and gifts are. 

    Having the ability and skills to pursue your life’s intended purpose using your natural gifts is much easier and more enjoyable. 

    It is of no use running a pig farm badly and only to realise that you should have been a footballer after thirty years. By that time pigs would have been your style.

    The ability to produce is found to be the real source of wealth for the individual. It is for this reason that he who has his heart in his work is certain to meet with unbounded success. 

    He will give and continually give; and the more he gives, the more he will receive. We as human beings are related to the creative principle by our ability to think. It is this ability we must acquire in order that we pursue our self-development goals.

    Action

    Action is perhaps the most important of all qualities. We can acquire all the knowledge and have all the best plans but without putting them into action nothing would have been achieved. 

    They say the richest place on earth is the graveyard. This is a place where you find plans that have never been put to the test, songs that have never been sung, discoveries that have never been unveiled and many more things that would have benefited the human race.

    Do not deny the human race of what GOD has put in you. It is not for you alone but to be shared and enjoyed by us all. Remember we are all part of one big family and if we all play our part, surely the world would be a better place. 

    Whatever plans that you have for your life please ensure that you start acting on them now even before you are very sure of what they are. The picture will become clearer as you go ahead and continuously act on your plans. 

    Imagine how the world have been if the discoverer of the internet had not acted on his plans. We would have been denied the pleasure of communication and possibly you would not have read this article through this medium. But alas they acted and today the internet is a big medium for communication.

    Action is the soul of any business and the cornerstone for prosperity. Action is the only process that brings about results. 

    Opportunity follows perception, action follows inspiration, growth follows knowledge, and eminence follows progress. Necessities are demands, and demands create action, and actions bring about results.

    If you want to see results begin to take action and you will see them. Without action faith is dead. 

    Perseverance

    “All endeavour calls for the ability to tramp the last mile, shape the last plan, endure the last hours toil. In the fight to the finish, spirit is the one characteristic we must possess if we are to face the future as finishers” ~ Henry David Thoreau.

    There is no success without perseverance. All successful people will attest to the fact that they persevered before reaching their life’s purposes. 

    Let us take the example of education. If you set out to have good grades or good results at school you will agree with me that you may need to put in extra for the results to show.

    Perseverance and endurance cannot be avoided in your quest for personal development.

    Whatever you set out to achieve if you are not prepared to persevere you are most likely to fail measurably. Perseverance is the ability to continue moving on even when the odds are against you.

    “Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance” ~ Samuel Johnson.

    Napoleon Hill in his famous book “Think and Grow Rich” says “perseverance and persistence are essential factors in the procedure of transmuting desire into its monetary equivalent.”

    Conclusion

    There is a close connection between perseverance and faith. As you have seen we achieve our self-development through faith and perseverance. In the same way, you can only develop faith through perseverance. 

    I have also noticed that faith can be induced into our minds. The more you believe in something the more faith you develop. Remember faith is a very critical ingredient to personal development so please have faith in what you are doing.

  • 7 Tips for Self-Improvement and Success

    “All the evidence that we have indicates that it is reasonable to assume in practically every human being, and certainly in almost every newborn baby, that there is an active will toward health, an impulse towards growth, or towards the actualization” ~ Abraham Maslow.

    Life naturally dictates that we move from point A to point B and to point C. None of us will remain at the same point or place whether by choice or not. It is therefore in our nature that we seek self-improvement in our daily lives.

    Yes, we all grow as nature dictates, the difference, however, is growth that benefits not only you as an individual but society at large.

    Self-improvement and success does not come easily; it comes with hard work and perseverance. It takes time to build and nurture the right mental attitude and character to achieve self-improvement.

    There can never be self-improvement without personal growth. You see personal growth follows knowledge; action follows inspiration; opportunity follows perception.

    The distinction between success and failure lies in what kind of growth one has attained. To achieve better personal development and success we must strive to improve ourselves holistically.

    So what does it take to be a cut above the rest? I have drawn below a list of tips that have been very beneficial to me as I walk on my success journey. These tips can be practised one per week in order to get maximum benefits.

    Write Down Your Intended Life’s Purpose

    Many people fail because of a lack of a well-defined purpose in life. The first and foremost important tip is having a written down life’s intended purpose.

    Before you even begin on your journey of personal development it is very important to know what you want to achieve with your life. There is no hope of success for the person who does not have a central purpose or definite goal at to aim at.

    If you are wandering through life with little or no direction – hoping that you’ll find happiness, health, and prosperity; identify your life’s purpose or mission statement and write it down, as this will give you your own unique compass that will lead you to your north every time.

    This may seem tricky at first when you see yourself to be in a tight or even dead end. But there’s always that little loophole to turn things around and you can make a big difference for yourself.

    Having a written down life’s intended purpose really takes out a lot of excess baggage and makes you focus on what you want to achieve. Just imagine how light you will be when you have your life’s goals in your hands.

    This is the beginning of your self-improvement and personal success journey. Your life’s purpose gives you a measure and direction of your achievements otherwise you will have no yardstick to measure your success.

    It is therefore important that you invest time researching your persona; knowing your weaknesses and strengths; knowing what flows naturally from you. Remember that we were all created with unique talents for the benefit of all humanity, not just you but for all.

    Know Your Values

    The second on the list of tips is about knowing your values. I am sure that we all have values it is just a question of having the right ones. What do you value most?

    You will realise that as you list down your values they will be closely related to your life’s purpose. Make a list of your top 5 values these should be the ones that come to your mind right away.

    Some examples are security both financial and personal, freedom, family, spiritual development, and learning and peace. Check your goals against your values. If the goal doesn’t align with any of your top five values you may want to reconsider it or revise it.

    Your values will mainly consist of your strengths and weaknesses. This might be the right list to use when deriving your life’s purpose. The values we have are a direct reflection of our inner self.

    Remember you are what you think and your thoughts form your character. The qualities of your values are mainly determined by what you feed your mind on. In essence, your thoughts have a direct bearing on your values.

    In order to enhance your self-improvement process, I encourage you to feed your mind with the right stuff. I have always said that one of the best ways to renew your mind is by reading,  listening and watching. Ensure that you acquire as much knowledge as you possibly can and most importantly take action.

    Knowledge increases your personal self-improvement rate. Remember that your value is established entirely by your ability to render useful service or your capacity to induce others to render such service.

    In relation to establishing what you value most do not forget to attach value to your personal skillset with respect to your life’s purpose.

    Know Your Needs

    The next tip is about knowing your needs. We all have needs and these have to be met. Unmet needs can keep you from living authentically.

    Take care of yourself. Do you have a need to be acknowledged, to be right, to be in control, to be loved? There are so many people who live their lives without realizing their dreams and most of them end up being stressed or even depressed for that matter.

    List your top four needs and get them met before it’s too late! They say necessity is the mother of all inventions.

    It’s very important to differentiate between your ‘wants from your needs. Having needs does not mean they are all important.

    We, humans, have a lot of unnecessary ‘wants’ that we think are needs. Some needs are a waste of resources. You should be able to categorise your needs into necessities and non-necessities.

    I will give you an example of owning a car, yes a car is a necessity but, what type of car meets your needs? Such reasoning will help you make the right decisions as you strive to reach your personal goals.

    As you walk the journey of self-improvement there will always going to be challenges that will come your way in the form of “wants.” The body may want something that may not necessarily add value to your progress.

    Know Your Passions?

    We all have passions, don’t we? The next tip is about knowing your passions. Knowing your passions is key to determining what you want to achieve in life.

    Do you know who you are and what you truly enjoy in life? The answer to this question might just be what your intended purpose in life is.

    Review it and compare it with what you have written down as your intended life’s purpose. Obstacles like doubt and lack of enthusiasm will only hinder you, but will not derail your chance to become the person you ought to be.

    Express yourself and honour the people who have inspired you to become the very person you want to be.

    You see having a clear mind about your passions and synchronising them with your life’s purpose makes your work easier and more enjoyable.

    Self-improvement is not a punishment it is about living life the way you want it. I always advise people to make their passions a career.

    If you intend to be successful in business make sure your business is around your passion. This way you will be doing what makes you happy every day and earning a living from it.

    Live From the Inside Out

    There is a world within which is governed by the mind and the world without which is the reflection of the world within.

    Increase your awareness of your inner wisdom by regularly reflecting in silence. Learn to commune with nature. Breathe deeply to quiet your distracted mind.

    The bible says “as a man thinketh so is he in his heart.” Your character and habits are a true reflection of what your world within is about.

    What appears without is what has been found within. In the world within may be found infinite Wisdom, infinite Power, and infinite Supply of all that is necessary, waiting for unfoldment, development, and expression.

    Therefore, it is very important that the world within is fed the right stuff. Remember we said that this world within is governed by the mind.

    Your mind is therefore your greatest asset. Learn to safeguard it. One of the best ways you can help safeguard your mind and enhance your self-improvement skills is by reading motivational books and thinking positively.

    Explore Your Strengths

    Remember I talked about knowing your weaknesses and strengths when writing your life’s purpose? Well, it is now time for me to pay special attention to your strengths.

    What are your positive traits? What unique talents do you have? List three – if you get stuck, ask those closest to you to help identify these.

    Are you imaginative, witty, and good with your hands? Find ways to express your authentic self through your strengths. You can increase your self-confidence when you share what you know with others.

    Your strengths are your weapon for self-improvement. Work to sharpen them on a regular basis. This does not mean you neglect your weaknesses.

    These too need attention. Remember you are improving yourself holistically. The benefits of improving your weaknesses are immeasurable.

    Always find new ways to explore your strengths and put them to good use. Personal development is about achieving your goals and learning to share them.

    The only way you can improve your skillset is by exploring your strengths.

    Service to Humanity is Key

    Service service service. We were created to serve each other. There is no greater satisfaction than serving others. When you live authentically, you may find that you develop an interconnected sense of being.

    When you are true to who you are, living your purpose, and giving of your talents to the world around you, you give back in service what you came to share with others.

    The rewards for sharing your gift with those close to you is indeed rewarding, much more if it were to be the eyes of a stranger who can appreciate what you have done to them.

    All these inventions and technological advancements we are experiencing today are intended to serve humanity.

    People must learn to appreciate helping others before themselves and this begins with you and I taking the first step.

    “Be the change you want to see in the world” ~ Mahatma Gandhi.

    Conclusion

    Self-improvement is indeed one type of work that is worth it. It shouldn’t always be within the confines of an office building, or maybe in the four corners of your own room.

    The difference lies within ourselves and how much we want to change for the better. As we take our journey of personal development success let us endeavour to learn to serve one another for the betterment of our planet.

    Remember we only have one home and it is our responsibility to make it a better place for all humanity.

  • Goals and Goal Setting

    “In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia.” ~ Unknown.

    Goal setting is the one activity that sets apart achievers from those who are surviving or just getting by.

    By setting goals, we are enabled to create the future we want to happen rather than live the future that others want to happen.

    Goal setting enables us to take greater charge of our daily lives.

    In this article, I outline some of the ways to help set realistic and achievable goals.

    Know Your Strengths

    You can base your goals on anything you want, although the chances of your success are significantly increased if firstly you base them on your strengths and secondly on the opportunities in the field you are currently undertaking.

    It is very important to know your strengths and weakness before undertaking any goal-setting venture as this will help you decide what flows naturally from within you.

    Do some self-research such as personal SWOT analysis, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. When conducting personal research note the following:-

    • Your strengths are the things you are good at and enjoy doing. Using your strengths for goal setting will usually provide some sort of motivation as you go on.
    • Weaknesses are the things you have to do, but these are things you dislike or make slow progress at them.
    • Opportunities are the external circumstances you expect to arise, create or already exist and expect them to aid you in moving towards your set goals.
    • Threats are those external circumstances that are very unlikely to help you move forward and would probably set you backwards.

    Whilst we must keep on working to improve our weaknesses and keep a close eye on the threats it is very important that our goal setting should be based on our strengths and opportunities.

    Keep Your Dreams Alive

    “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt.

    The greatest achievement was, at first, and for a time, but a dream.

    You must realise that all who have achieved great success first did a certain amount of dreaming, hoping, wishing, DESIRING, and PLANNING before they succeeded. 

    You may as well know, also that every great leader, from the dawn of civilization down to the present, was and is, a dreamer.

    One of the factors that restrict many people from reaching their full potential is the belief that we should not aim for big dreams.

    Yet all evidence for most successful people is that they have kept their big dreams alive and have fully pursued them without giving up. It is very important to keep your dreams alive and to pursue them without giving up.

    I have learnt to break down my dreams into smaller achievable goals and to always make changes that improve my chances of achieving them.

    Remember that big dreams come with greater responsibility and that “big goals attract big resources like a magnet.” Having dreams makes my life more interesting to live.

    Yes, sometimes days do not turn out as planned but what is life without challenges? I do not give up just because the day has not turned out as hoped for, but rather I focus on the positive things that come my way.

    Abraham Lincoln dreamed of freedom for the black slaves, he kept his dream alive and put it into action, and barely missed living to see a United North and South translate his dream into reality.

    That is how important it is to keep your dreams alive and acting on them.

    Write Down Your Goals

    The best way to keep your dreams alive is to write them down and read them every often to constantly remind you of the bigger picture.

    There is something different when you write down your dreams as opposed to just keeping them in your head. DO NOT depend on your memory alone.

    I have a notebook that has all the dreams I intend to achieve; this is like the blueprint of my life. Written goals have a way of transforming wishes into wants, can’ts into cans, dreams into plans and plans into reality.

    The act of writing clarifies your goals and helps you keep a record of your dreams and goals. Writing down your dreams acts as a commitment to your goals. This will eventually aid you when you are doing your daily goal setting activities as these will be tailored to the overall bigger picture.

    You can also add reasons to your written down goals so as to give you motivation and help check your progress on a regular basis. So don’t just think it INK IT. One of the best aid I have discovered is the habit of daily goal setting.

    Pursuing Your Goals with Passion and Desire

    The driving force behind your goal achievement is your passion and desire.

    You must desire your goals constantly, vividly and with a burning passion, knowing that you have already achieved them and are now working towards realising them.

    When you do, it is almost impossibly to fail at what you are aiming for.

    The importance of pursuing our goals with passion cannot be overemphasised that is, why it is most wise and very cardinal that we set our goals based on our strengths and what we enjoy doing.

    Napoleon Hill in his book Think and Grow Rich says that “when a man really DESIRES a thing so deeply that he is willing to stake his entire future on a single turn of the wheel in order to get it, he is sure to win.”

    Conclusion

    Goal setting is central to maximising and realising our potential because it enables us to create something unique and new in our lives, it also allows us to feed our goal-oriented brain and puts us in control of our future.

    Set your goals as big as you can this will help challenge and stretch your capacity and ability.

    There are many ways that can be used to help with goal setting the above are just but some of the ways I have personally devised to help me in my endeavours.

    Remember to also build your goals around your strengths and the things that you enjoy doing.

  • How Being Positive Influences Your Direction of Goal Achievements

    “When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge” ~ Albert Einstein.

    If you are a person who wants to achieve something worthwhile in your life, you must have set yourself some goals.

    Then you should ask yourself what drives you to your goal achievement? If you have not set your goals, well this is about time to reflect and set them.

    Achieving your goals is largely a matter of your attitude which can either be positive or negative. Your attitude has an influence on the outcome of your success.

    We know that you become what you think about most of the time, and what you think about helps shape your character and forms your habits.

    It is these habits; these small little things that you do or fail to do every day that moves you towards or far from achieving your written down life’s intended purpose.

    My goal achievement is largely moved by the positive small things that I have to do every single day.

    If we know that having a positive state of mind has a big influence on our goal achievement then it is important we also know how to make and keep our minds positive and focused.

    Having a Positive Mental Attitude

    “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude” ~ Thomas Jefferson.

    This is perhaps the key to your success. We all know that a positive mental attitude is a requisite to the success of your goal achievement.

    I am pretty sure that you have been told before to have a positive mental attitude if you have to succeed at what you are doing.

    Studies have been made to show that 85% of everything that a person would accomplish or obtain, be it finances; prestige; status, and recognition after they left Harvard University would be based on their attitude and that only 15% would be based on their aptitude and ability.

    If you have to be successful in life then you cannot avoid having a positive mental attitude.

    You see, successful goal achievement begins with having the right frame of mind. There is no way, you will succeed if you are always negative about what you are doing.

    Cultivate or rather develop a positive mind towards your life and all things will naturally fall into place according to your plans.

    I have noticed that every time I expect something to happen I always develop an attitude towards achieving my expectation and believe me the results are always almost perfect.

    Notice also that if you expect something to turn out well, you will have a positive mental attitude and if you expect something to turn out otherwise you will have a negative mental attitude.

    The only explanation I can give is that there is a correlation between expectation and attitude. Therefore, attitude is a product of expectation.

    Your attitude is largely dependant on your expectation. You will agree with me that winners have a tendency of manufacturing positive expectations in advance before the actual outcome. They see themselves as winners even before they are.

    I guess that the expectation of something happening has a direct influence on your attitude. I encourage you, therefore, to live a life of positive expectation.

    Always expect something you planned for to happen. This is the only way you will have a positive mental attitude that will help drive you towards your goal achievement.

    “If you don’t like something, change it, if you can’t change it, change your attitude” ~ Maya Angelou.

    Having a Success Mindset

    “If you advance confidently in the direction of your dreams and endeavour to live the life which you have imagined, you will meet with success unexpectedly in common hours” ~ Henry David Thoreau.

    Perhaps the key question here would be; what is a success mindset? Having a success mindset is seeing; living and feeling success even before it is achieved.

    Remember that all achievement begins with the conditioning of your mind. Having a success mindset will surely help you in your goal achievement.

    When you condition your mind in such a way that you think, feel and live success, believe me, your goal achievement will be sooner rather than later.

    Even just the feeling of happiness and wellbeing is enhanced. Having a success mindset just takes you to another level.

    I don’t know what it is you want to achieve in your life, but whatever it is, tune your mind and begin to see and feel successful.

    Imagine yourself living the life of your dreams; the feeling and the emotion this brings to are so real. This will surely motivate you to work even harder for your goal achievement.

    However, be aware that having a success mindset does not necessarily mean you should stop working. I believe that there is no substitute for hard work.

    “There is no secret to success it the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure” ~ Colin Powell.

    Overcome Negative Habits

    “Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny” ~ Frank Outlaw.

    Remember that our daily habits contribute immensely towards our goal achievement. It is, therefore, very important that you know or rather overcome negative habits that have a detrimental effect on your goal achievement.

    It may be of help to know that your brain has two sides, the conscious and the subconscious. The conscious is the part that takes in data from the environment and processes it.

    It is the link between the inside world and the outside world. The conscious is the thinking part of the brain. The conscious mind can only hold one thought at a time, that is positive or negative; yes or no.

    Whenever the conscious mind has made a decision the subconscious mind accepts it instantly and acts on it. Decisions can be negative or positive, yes or no.

    The subconscious mind stores the processed data from the conscious mind. They say the conscious mind is the gatekeeper for the subconscious mind.

    You will notice that most of the habits we have developed are acted upon unconsciously. Different people will react differently in the same environment.

    This is dependent on what the subconscious mind has been fed. I can safely say that all our habits sit on the subconscious mind. It is therefore very important to guard what we feed the subconscious mind.

    I know for sure that some negative habits are hard to get rid of. But through persistent training of the conscious mind, you can change the perception of the subconscious mind.

    Scientists say the mind does not sleep even when the body is asleep. This only illustrates how powerful the mind is and what role it plays in our goal achievement process.

    The value of the subconscious is enormous; the subconscious inspires us; it warns us; it furnishes us with names, facts, and scenes from the storehouse of memory.

    Conclusion

    Personal success and development cannot be achieved with a negative mindset. Having a positive mindset is one of the key elements to moving towards your goal achievement.

    “Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of the blueprint of your ultimate achievements” ~ Napoleon Hill.

    We should all endeavour to cultivate a positive mind if we have to achieve our success.

  • Nothing is Perfect the First Time

    There is nothing that was created or invented by man that was perfected the first time. Everything that we do or have done is never perfect the first time.

    All the nice buildings and all the beautiful things that are man-made were not perfect at the first attempt. A lot of planning, research, rebuilding, and hard work had to be undertaken.

    That is why there is a constant quest for improvement of the gadgets that we use daily. The gadgets that were more valuable and efficient in the last 5 or 10 years may now be obsolete.

    This is the same as in the journey of life and in the pursuit of personal development and self-improvement, one must always strive to continuously seek to improve themselves.

    They say practice makes perfect. Nature requires and usually compels us to move on. However, we decide the direction of that movement.

    If you look back at your life five years ago, you will agree that there is a change and the direction of that change was mostly influenced by you. You are the driver of that change.

    Nothing is perfect, if things were perfect there would be no need for continuous improvement. There would be no need for research and development.

    However, nature is perfect and nature is neutral. We get from nature what we give it. If you are optimistic nature gives you back optimism; when you are positive you get exactly that; if you are expectant you will meet with expectation.

    In other words, you get your heart’s desires. The Bible says “ask and you shall be given, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened.”

     I don’t know about you, but I know that am still very much a work in progress. Am far from being a perfect role model and forgive me if at all, I present myself as perfect, it is not my intention.

    Every day comes with its challenges and I am continuously learning new things. I keep an open mind and have learned to focus on the positive things in life.

    I am always grateful to God Almighty for allowing me to serve him daily. Every day that we are alive is a gift and an opportunity to make a difference.

    Yes, life will give you what you do not anticipate, but you have the right to make a choice. You may not know it but some people are worse off than you are right now. There are people you can help even in your current situation.

    Continue to Doing Something to Change Your Current Situation

    “A successful individual typically sets his next goal somewhat, but not too much above his last achievement. In this way, he steadily raises his level of aspiration” – Kurt Lewin.

    Success does not come to those who wait for it; neither does it come to those who are lazy. If you want to achieve your life’s intended purpose you must work towards achieving them.

    The important thing is to get started and work daily. Do something every day that helps you move closer to achieving your desired life’s purpose.

    Slowly but surely you will meet with success as you continue to improve on your daily activities.

    The trouble is many of us want to be financially independent yet are not willing to work hard and smart to achieve our dreams.

    Instead, we complain about how hard life is and how things are not going well for us. We expect life to be easy and yet are not willing to pay the price now for a better future.

    Remember that nature is neutral and it gives you back what you give it. If you want to achieve financial freedom, you should be willing to pay the price for it.

    Everything that you want to achieve has a price tag. Nature will pay you back the exact price that you are willing to pay.

    Over the years I have learned that the key to achieving your desired life’s goals is to firstly realise, that no one is responsible for your current situation but yourself.

    In other words, you must take responsibility for your current situation. Acknowledge that you are mostly responsible for being in the current situation and secondly do something to change it, because if you don’t, no one is going to change it for you.

    Yes, it may be tough but it can be done. The Bible says “do not despise the days of your humble beginnings.”

    To succeed you need to start small and be persistent. Be prepared to fail the first time and learn from your mistakes. Keep on improving.

    Refuse to accept failure. They say “Rome was not built in one day” but neither was it built in two days.

    The small things that you do every day, count towards achieving your goals.

    Yes, life will throw things at you, but do not be discouraged, there is always something to be learned from the difficult situations.

    Remember that God always provides a way where there seems to be no way. There is nothing too big or too small for God. He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. 

    I know that sometimes we may feel that things are not going accordingly. That is the time to double your efforts because after every storm the sea is calm.

    The Bible says “weeping may stay for the night but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Life is full of ups and downs.

    If you have been following my blog for some time you will notice that my earlier articles were not as refined as the current ones.

    I would confidently say that there is a great improvement in both the content and quality of the articles. The improvement did not come without a cost.

    I had to put in the time. This, however, does not mean that my articles are perfect, but they have improved over time. Though I know that there is always room for improvement.

    As such am always seeking to make the necessary changes. My dream is for this website to be the number one destination for personal development and self-development materials and articles, and will be distributed for free. 

    We are Responsible for the State of Our Communities

    If you believe that you are responsible for being in your current situation then it is also true that you are directly or indirectly responsible for the current state of your society or country at large.

    I know this may sound ridiculous but I think it is the truth. Whether we like it or not we have a part to play in developing and shaping the direction of our societies and countries at large.

    We may be complaining about the poor service delivery of the various government departments. But if we wait for help from the government it may never come and it surely takes a very long time before it comes.

    Why can we not do something about it ourselves? After all, we are the ones that are greatly affected.

    We can contribute to society in so many ways. There are many avenues out there that can be used to help improve society.

    If we are to see meaningful change, we must be the change carriers. Change begins with you and me, changing our ways and influencing other people.

    For example, we could start by restoring our families. I know that many of us, our families are hurting and broken.

    I believe that at the foundation of every prosperous society is a strong family bond. If you are a parent and have neglected your family it is high time you started taking responsibility for your family.

    Your children need you more than ever before. Do not be an absentee parent. You may be going through a bad patch in your life but that is no reason to abandon or forsake them.

    It is time to show them how responsible you are. It is the time to reassure them and let them stand with you.

    There is nothing more satisfying than spending time with your loved ones. 

    There are many broken homes out there and this has resulted in broken societies.

    Be Patient With Yourself 

    To grow we must learn to be patient with ourselves. Growth is not instant but gradual.

    I always say that all growth is from within. That is why we are all born babies and grow to adulthood with time.

    There is a time for everything. A time to play, a time to study, and a time to grow. We start crawling before we stand and start to walk.

    We learn or acquire skills before we start using them. God has given us time to learn and prepare ourselves for the challenges that lie ahead.

    God has also equipped us with the necessary requisites to cope with life’s challenges.

    Be patient and allow yourself to enjoy what you are doing. Remember that not everything you are doing now will have instant results.

    You do certain tasks for future results. You acquire certain skills and knowledge that will come in handy in the future. 

    Conclusion

    “Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose your ability to learn new things and move forward in your life” – Dr. David M. Burns.

    With time and effort, you will achieve your desired results. Remember always that perfection is not achieved at the first go.

    It takes time, patience, persistence, and dedication to achieve it. 

     

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