Deoluakinyemi
Daily Motivation and Development for People and Organizations - ASE

I have always been a strong proponent of the power of unity. I believed that the implication of the fact that if one could chase 1000 and then 2 will put 10,000 to flight means that there is power in synergy. In fact, I analyzed and showed people that any one who stood alone when he could collaborate with someone else, was wasting a lot of potentials. Can you imagine how much of 10,000 is lost when two people decide to go separately? If you calculated it, it’s 8,000, that’s a huge percentage of possibilities lost out of lack of collaboration. Just for clarity, here is the equation. 1 will chase 1000, this means that two independent 1’s will chase 2,000, as opposed to the 10,000 they could have chased this is a loss of 8,000 or 80%.

I however discovered a slight modification of this calculation today! I discovered to my utter surprise, that it is not normal for one to chase a thousand. When one chases 1000, it is because the almighty God is involved. That equation is an equation that is only in force when God is involved. One will normally chase a few,  but one with God is majority! Sometimes we underestimate the power of God in our lives, we forget, and we think we are where we are because of our attitude, skill and knowledge. Well A.S.K. (Attitude, Skill and Knowledge) helps but God is irreplaceable and key! So in this call for collaboration, I call on God almighty without whom life would not be worth living, and I call on you too, my ever supportive friends. I have developed something, and I need your collaboration for it to succeed.

Read: Please Let’s Collaborate �

“If you must play, decide on three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time” - Chinese Proverb

In my last trip outside the country, I got the opportunity to watch American Gangster. It’s an interesting film for many reasons, it’s also a film that I find a lot of lessons in. I would cronicle a few, in my attempt to share with you what is frontal in my mind this morning.

The story line was that, an American Area Father (Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson)and crime boss died, and his driver  turned right hand man Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) took over. Denzel Washington had driven this man for years, been with him for negotiation meetings, been  his PA for most of the journey, and had watched and learned. There were quite a number of people in the hierachry ahead of him, but he had been closest to the old man, and had learnt a lot from him. How to handle pressure, how to be patient, how to be decisive, how to negotiate e.t.c. He had learnt the art of business. When the Area Father died, a vacuum was created, the market was going to go unregulated. Leadership became available and there were a number of options.

Read: Quitting Time! �

Today, July1, 2008 is the beginning of the second half of the year… so Welcome to Second half!

In the last one week, one particular thing has consistently been coming to my attention. While I have been busy, I have also had the time and opportunity to have some fun. In the midst of it all, I have come to realize that the greatest benefit you can do for yourself in this second half is to up your game!

The greatest enemy of great is good. The greatest enemy of exceptional is average. Rarely are people get motivated to do beyond where they get comfortable. Do you have a benchmark? Do you have standards you aspire to? Did you set goals for yourself at the beginning of the year, are you taking stock? If you are far from your goals, it’s alright, you now only need to up your game.

Here are a few tips on why and how you need to up your game this year.

Read: Up Your Game! �

I came across a quote from a friend today, and it spurred me on to write.  For all those out there who are looking for an “elevator” to success, I believe that this quote and write-up is a must read for you. We are in a sharp sharp generation, a microwave, two minutes noodles generation. We want what we want, and we want it yesterday.

Our young people don’t want to invest for the long term, they want short term, and high returns. Nobody is willing to test the powers of compound interest, nobody is willing to wait for 10yrs and see what a million can become after so long. They all want it in 1 month, in 3 months or worst case scenario in 6 months. We are too in a hurry, too hasty, too much in a rush! When we approach the building of life that has success on it’s topmost floor, we go to the elevator and punch the up button, we enter and hit the 10th floor. All we need to do is stand still, and wait for the elevator to deliver us to sure success. Isn’t this the way we want it? Smooth easy effortless ride to our dreams? Wake up, and smell the coffee.

Read: The Elevator to Success! �

I’m sure many that will read this are conversant with the reality that whether or not we are conscious of it, we are scribbling history with our daily lives. This was literally done yesterday as we presented some great opportunities to the people that attended a New Nigeria Club organized Investors Forum. I’m going to share with you here, the key highlights and opportunities from that meeting, and a little extra.

We gathered a number of high potential Nigerians together and presented them with some exclusive opportunities. In our own little ways we are making history and these opportunities are extended to you as well, provided you meet the exclusivity requirement.

Read: Yesterday Was History �

“Advertorial: Join us at the Investors Forum. Book ahead. Send a text to 08033469632 indicating your name and email.”

I hope you are not postponing your life till tomorrow, because if you are, I intend to shake you a bit today! Yesterday is gone, tomorrow does not exist, when we get to tomorrow, if we ever do, we’ll call it today! This truth leaves one with a shocking reality that what you really have power over is today. In fact if we want to make it more extreme, now! Does it then not seem strange, that many are living lives they are unhappy about today, in the hope that it will change tomorrow? Don’t procrastinate your happiness, don’t postpone your joy, don’t leave off to an unknown future the best parts of your life. Haven’t you heard - “Tomorrow, tomorrow… is always a day away!”?

This reminds me of a story I once heard. Of a rich Consultant that traveled to his village to let his air down, have fun and enjoy the peace and tranquility of the country side. While in the village, he decided to go fishing with on of his old time buddies who was a fisherman by profession. He set up an appointment with his friend and they set out to fish together. While they were on the waters, the rich consultant saw possibilities and told his friend. “Do you know that your business can be much bigger than this? You are living way below your potentials”. The fisherman looked at him, puzzled, “really? But why would I want to make my business bigger?” The rich consultant was puzzled at why a human being would not be aspirational and went on to explain further.

Read: The Unknown Tomorrow �

“Advertorial: There is an Investors Forum on the 15th of June, 2008 (This Sunday) at the Lagos Travel Inn (Toyin Street Ikeja, before Water Parks) at 2pm sharp. This meeting is free for New Nigeria Club members. We’ll be having as guest the MD Property Consulting Company from Dubai, who will be around to offer a unique property deal to interested investors, we will also be providing information about the New Nigeria Investment Club and other exciting opportunities. To book a sit, kindly send a text to 08033469632 indicating your name and email address. Non New Nigeria Club members will be required to pay N30,000 to attend or attend strictly by invitation.”

“A Property Investment forum will also be holding on the 14th of June, 2008 - 2pm (This Saturday) at Realty Point Ltd Office 3RD FLOOR, ONIGBAGBO HOUSE, BESIDE BOLA MEMORIAL CHURCH, BY ABULE B/STOP, 29 MOBOLAJI BANK ANTHONY WAY, IKEJA, LAGOS.”

A friend walked into my office last week, with only one question in mind - “How can I generate multiple streams of income?” From the way he spoke, he had gotten to that point in life, when what is reasonable to do is cry out for help. I tried as best I could to enumerate some basic steps for creating steady streams of income.

If you are wondering whether or not you need this, you probably aren’t ready, at least not yet. Being an employee often offers one the disadvantage of not thinking about this type of thing for a long time. With a sure salary coming at the end of every month, what’s the use of multiple streams? It will be good that you learn ahead though, particularly as we’ll all stop being employees one day. And if you have not developed extra sources, particularly passive ones for yourself, your later years might not be so rosy. When push comes to shove, your net value is the difference between your inputs and outputs. If we borrow from the bathtub theorem, the water the bathtub retains is a function of how many faucets and how you are plugging the drains.

Key tips to creating multiple streams of income

Read: Creating Multiple Streams of Income �

Two young men decided to go visit a “Baba” in their quest to make money. They were both in their middle ages and they were dead sick of being poor. Both of them had struggled on various vocations, they have faced shame in family meetings, and pressures from their wives. The last straw that broke the camel’s back in their frustrated desire to get wealthy was the sudden realization that they were old enough to die. Their third person in their triad unannouncedly passed away, and it struck them, that life is short.

They decided to brave the option of making money by consulting a traditionalist, and decided to seek the counsel and craft of “Baba”. When they got to Baba, baba gave them a string of cowries to utter their desires to. The environment was filled with all sorts of artifacts that are typical of Ifa priests. They uttered their desires silently and returned the cowries to Baba. Baba then went ahead to consult the oracles on their plight. He takes his “Opele” (Opele is a string of split big seeds with a face and a back, this represent a binary code with about 65536 verses) in his hands, chants the prayer to Ifa that helps him to see meaning and interpretation from his craft. He chants while moving the Opele back and forth and throws it in front of him. As soon as he throws, he moves touches the seed, looking for the leader seed, trying to see where the binary code starts. He does a quick binary conversion and identifies the verse, he sighs - “Ifa mo roye, ela loro” - Ifa, I understand, it is clear!

Baba recites what he sees, and tells them why they have come. “You have come because of shame, you have come because of pressures, you have come, because you are tired of being poor.” - Baba tells them, as they both nod involuntarily. If Baba can decipher their quest, then he should have a solution. Baba tells them that he is interested in helping them, but first, asks if they are really ready to get wealth. They say they are ready, but he asks again. He asks them if they are willing to do anything to get wealth, at this point, one still retains his motivation, while the other becomes a part of the background to the discussions, nodding sluggishly. Baba then goes ahead to tell them what they would need to do. They would need to capture and have sex with two notorious mad women in their town! One decided to go with it, and the other backed down.

Read: For Men Only �

Has it ever happened to you before, that the things you used to do, the things you felt proud of, the things that were consistent in your life are now left unattended to? Do you worry that you are not as good as you used to be? Are you struggling to keep up with good habits you used to have? Is it as though your life is slowly heading downhill? Or are you one who has enjoyed a lot of bad habits but now want to do things right and it’s been an insurmountable struggle? Are you paddling hard without motion? Are you kicking your feet and splashing water yet no movement? Are you crying for help, yet no one can see your tears? Or  your case might be much milder, no one knows that anything has changed about you yet, you are still relying on the old glory and shining brightly. Are you aware of something that most of the people that see you daily know nothing of? Are you losing connection with your root and afraid that in a while you leaves will soon lose colour? Has your iron be unplugged with the world unaware? Do you know that the heat is being lost, and all else think all is well?

Today, one of my sisters (not blood, but close) came to pour her heart to me, in a bid to be helped. The things she used to do, that made her stand out, that made her desirable, that made her a blessing, she was doing them no more. She confided in me, that if she didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t know, but this is not the way she wants it to go. She felt so bad, she wanted to cry - “The good things I used to do, I don’t do them anymore”. She wants to, she knows she ought to, she can’t say it’s because she has no time, she knows that’s an excuse. All she does is work work work, and she was afraid that the source of her warmth was long gone.

Read: The things I used to do… �

It was 1992, I was 15yrs young and had just recently had reason to rededicate my life to Jesus Christ. I had a strong lure of temptations from the world, I had a few things I was battling with, but it had been impressed on me over and over again, the magnitude of God’s finished work on my life, and the fact that he had me in mind. I had come to love God, and somehow thirsted for more than the ordinary.

On this particular occasion, I was at a youth camp organized by the Baptist Student Fellowship of Emmanuel Baptist Church. I was young and a small in stature. It was a 3 days retreat, we were all young, and away from home, in a quest to hear more about God, have fun and get to bond together. We were over 150 in number, and the camp was big. Shortly before the program opened, I looked behind me at the crowd of people who had come to meet with God, and I prayed a silent prayer to God. “God please, I want to be your favourite”. God answered me immediately!

God make it abundantly clear to me, that he had no favourites. He said he will draw near to those that draw near to him, and lift up those who come running in faith to him. If I was going to be seen by the world as a favourite, it would have to be because I drew nearer to him than anybody else did. It isn’t God’s responsibility to distinguish a man, a man first distinguishes himself and God responds.

Read: Does God Have Favourites? �