HANG ON

                                           ... By Uwaoma Eizu


Please hang on. In 1976, a man, Ronald Wayne gave up on his work, he was frustrated at the way things were going, so he sold his 10% stake in a company called Apple for $800. He was excited. But now he regrets it, now his shares are worth $58,065,210,000 (58 billion dollars) but it now belongs to someone else!


Hang on, Law 16, Perseverance (Hexavian Laws of Business).


Keep going. In the words of the 80's rapper Chuk D, "don't let a win get to your head and a loss to your heart." Go. In the words of Julie Andrews, "perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th."

Sacrifice is deep. Going through stress, pain and sacrifice for what you want shows to the powers of creation, the  forces of life, an inner proof of desire. At the point of breaking comes your breakthrough.

Every sacrifice counts. Pain creates value. In the words of one of the greatest European thinkers and philosophers, Frederick Nietche, he says that "most times, the value of a thing is not in its worth, it's in what it costs us to get it." I concur.

No matter what you're going through, hang on. Fight! Perseverance is the handwork you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did. In the words of the Somalian singer K'naan ft Nas, he says  "difficulty is an excuse that history never accepts." Do.

To me, a good business and a good life is like a natural spring. And like a natural spring, to drill a well or to have pipe borne water, you have to break through hard ground, move away all the rocks and after a great level of work the thirsty ground becomes damp. And just a little deeper you begin to uncover a beautiful underground stream that washes away everything in its path. This is clean water, at that point comes a good spring! Have a taste with us!

We are Hexavia!
Business Plan. Strategy. Branding. Website. Startups. Trainings. Project Management. Advisory.
www.hexavia.net, 08035202891.

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©Eizu Uwaoma. Repost if you find useful.


 I received this post from Uwaoma Eizu as a Blackberry broadcast on Tuesday, 16th April 2013.

SUNDAY SCHOOL



                                                   

                                         
Christian Marriage ... with Pastor Enoch Adeboye

Memory Verse: "Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing and obtaineth favour of the Lord"- Proverbs 18:22.
Bible Passage: 1 Corinthians 7:1-15.

Introduction
Marriage is the oldest human institution. It predates the Church and government. Breaching marital vows is more dangerous than many realise.

OUTLINES

Why marry?
Some reasons are: to obey God (Gen. 1:28); for fellowship (Gen. 2:18); for partnership (Ecc. 4:9-11; Gen. 2:24); to legitimately satisfy certain desires (1 Cor. 7:9) and for the propagation of the human race (Gen. 9:1).

Who to marry
Christians may only marry Christians (2 Cor. 6:14-17). We have clear reasons why a believer should not marry an unbeliever: do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers; righteousness has no communion with darkness.

When to marry
Marriage is for adults because it carries heavy responsibilities requiring maturity and experience. Resolve issues and be in good health. Marriage requires strong healthy bodies. Parental approval is a precondition, especially for the bride. Ensure financial stability, especially for the man.

Courtship
This commences when the parties have declared an intention to marry. It is very important to keep yourself pure or you may discover how easily love can turn to hate (2 Sam. 13:15). Pre-marital sex is not acceptable to God. It erodes the foundation of the marriage.

What makes a happy marriage?
Sacrificial selfless love, prayer, faith and patience are some of the key ingredients. It's a lifetime "till death do us part" commitment. Marriage is not an experiment. It is permanent, (Matt. 19:6-9; Eph. 5:25; Tit. 2:4).

Conclusion
The greatest marriage ever is that between Christ and His Bride, the church. This unites heaven and earth. Are you ready for this most wonderful union? Are you saved? If not, there is no better time but now. Welcome to the family of God.


Culled from The Guardian Newspaper, Page 40: Sunday, February 3rd, 2013.

"21 COLLECTED NIGERIAN POSTS."

Spiritual, inspiring, provocative, humorous and encompassing. I present to you:

"21 COLLECTED NIGERIAN POSTS."  

You will definitely learn a thing or two from this collection.

1 talks about how to overcome fear. 2 says you should not be lazy. 7 says opportunity will come, but be prepared. I don't have a word for 8. Point number 9 says- be benevolent! Men have responsibilities- that's point 11. Please don't read 15, someone said it's provocative; the person's response follows immediately. You will find SHIPS and KIDNAPPERS in 16 and 17 respectively. Read 20 if you desire a happy home.

Please drop your comment or suggestion at the end.


1. The first step in the deliverance from fear is to have the right kind of fear: The fear of the Lord. That is why Solomon wrote in Proverbs 2:1-5. Get only the Fear of the Lord.

2. Are you young? Engage your hands in something profitable and don't be idle. Only ensure that it is something legitimate and God-glorifying. Don't fold your hands! If there is no job, you can create one for yourself. Ask God for inspiration. If you will not work until you get your dream job, you are very lazy and operating outside of faith. But if you excel in little jobs, they will pave way for the dream job to come.

3. There are TWO ways to being Successful; one is to figure out what you are PASSIONATE about & the second is to DO IT. What you are passionate about will always DRIVE you.

4. Teacher Asked:- What's A Baby Lizard Called?? Akpos Answered:- Lizzy Baby.

5. Fake friends reveal themselves during your time of victory and defeat. The clue? They're silent. They will not congratulate or comfort you.

6. You don't force respect out of people; that's rape. You earn respect.

7. Without realizing it, every human being walking the face of this earth, is not looking for a house, a car, plenty money or in some cases, many girls. What we are really looking for are opportunities. The problem now is when we find them, are we prepared to seize them, use them or even recognize them? The moral of this story: Study, prepare and be ready, the opportunity will come.

8. My dear brothers please don't play with a woman’s heart. She only has one. Play with her boobs, she has two. Thanks for your co-operation.

9. Don't feel bad if people remember you only when they need something. Feel privileged that you are like a candle light that comes to their mind when there is darkness. Be a blessing this month.

10. Bringing people down will never take you up. He who digs a pit doesn't fall into it. He's actually in it.

11. If you can't afford her bills, say so. Don't turn around and say she is materialistic. Women have needs, men have responsibilities. Live up to it.

12. The most expensive liquid is TEARS because it contains 1% of water and 99% of feelings.... Please think twice before you hurt someone.

13. Everyone wants to be part of a "Success Story" but not part of a “Misery Story.“ They forget that the misery story formed the foundation of the "Success Story." Things are getting better!

14. When things are at their worst, keep on going, this means they can only get better from here.

15. Dear girls: If you have slept with over 10 guys, seriously, you have lost the exclusive right to call your "p***y" a private part. It now belongs to your local government.
RESPONSE: ... that's funny. But why do we label girls that have a high affinity for men but celebrate guys that womanise? I think both sexes are culpable. "Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband." (1 Corinthians 7:2)

16. SHIPS were designed to take you to places. So if your friendSHIP, relationSHIP, partnerSHIP is not taking you anywhere you should abandon that SHIP and let it sink!

17. Your Ex asking you to be friends after breaking up is like... KIDNAPPERS asking you to keep in touch after letting you go.

18. Sleeping with the richest guys won't make you rich & life is more than Bold5, colour blocks & taking pictures in hotels and eateries... work hard and stay classy.

19. You will always find someone who can jump higher, run faster, go farther, dig deeper, talk smarter, think bigger than you. What you should concentrate on is this: in anything you choose to do, make it difficult for anyone to say that you were not EXCELLENT!!!

20. THERE IS NOTHING AS SWEET AND WONDERFUL AS THE UNION OF TWO SOULS BECOMING ONE.... But because of some factors some of these unions don't see the light of the day. Sometimes I try to analyze some of the causes that hinder long lasting happiness in a once happy home: Communication, lack of understanding, bad friends, family interference, bad advice, lack and poverty, unfaithfulness, keeping secrets, I am the boss attitude and finally disrespect of one another. If only we can work on these ills, am sure we will not only have a sweet and better home, we'll enjoy absolute peace of mind.

21. The road to Success is not straight...there is a curb called failure, a loop called confusion, speed bumps called friends, red lights called enemies, caution lights called family. You will have flats called job....But if you have a spare called Determination, an Engine called Perseverance, insurance called Faith and a driver called Jesus, you will make it to a place called success!!!



Kindly drop your comment or suggestion.

THANK YOU!

Compiled by Charles Okoh.

GOOGLE MESMERIZES OBAMA

Barack Obama tours Google:

Toward the end of the tour, Larry led me to a room where a three-dimensional image of the earth rotated on a large flat monitor. Larry asked the young Indian American engineer who was working nearby to explain what we were looking at.

"These lights represent all the searches that are going on right now," the engineer said. "Each colour is a different language...." The image was mesmerizing, more organic than mechanical, as if I were glimpsing the early stages of some accelerating evolutionary process, in which all the boundaries between men- nationality, race, religion, wealth- were rendered invisible and irrelevant, so that the physicist in Cambridge, the bond trader in Tokyo, the student in a remote Indian village, and the manager of a Mexico City department store were drawn into a single, constant, thrumming conversation, time and space giving way to a world spun entirely of light. Then I noticed the broad swaths of darkness as the globe spun on its axis- most of Africa, chunks of South Asia, even some portions of the United States, where the thick cords of light dissolved into a few discrete strands.

Richard Branson's remark:

I have been asked: "What is the greatest business invention of the last fifty years?" That's a tough question because you need to factor in the mobile phone, DNA testing, the personal computer and the Internet, but I think the winner has to be Google's powerful search engine.

Google has allowed ordinary peope to find things out much more quickly. It has led to more immediate choice- and increased consumer power- and a freer flow of information, knowledge and ideas. It is far more than just a search engine- it has become an engine of change.

Google's History: Two Standford Ph.D candidates in computer science Larry Page and Sergey Brin collaborated in a dorm room to develop a better way to search the web. In 1998 with some million dollars raised they formed Google with three employees operating out of a garage.

IMPORTANCE OF WINE

WHY WAS WINE USED AS MEDICINE DURING BIBLE TIMES?

In one of his parables, Jesus spoke of a man who had been beaten by robbers. Jesus said that the man was helped by a Samaritan who bound up his wounds and poured "oil and wine upon them." (Luke 10:30-34) When writing to his friend Timothy, the apostle Paul advised him: "Do not drink water any longer, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent cases of sickness." (1 Timothy 5:23) Were both the practice Jesus described and the advice Paul gave medically sound?

The book Ancient Wine describes wine as "an analgesic, disinfectant, and general remedy all rolled into one." In ancient times wine had a central role in Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Syrian health treatment. The Oxford Companion to Wine describes it as "man's oldest documented medicine." As for Paul's advice to Timothy, the book The Origins and Ancient History of Wine says: "It has been shown experimentally that living typhoid and other dangerous microbes rapidly die when mixed with wine." Modern research confirms that some of the more than 500 compounds found in wine have those and a number of other medicinal benefits.

Culled from THE WATCHTOWER (August 2012 Edition, Page 26).

PENSIONERS’ POVERTY AS LESSON TO THE YOUTHS

PENSIONERS’ POVERTY AS LESSON TO THE YOUTHS published in The Guardian Newspaper of Monday, 26 July 2010 23:00 By Luke Onyekakeyah Opinion - Columnists.

WHEN the ancient Hebrew King Solomon stated that the aggressive shall be rich while the poor is feeble (Proverbs 10.4), he probably foresaw the poverty, agony and distress that retired civil servants in Nigeria would be subjected to after spending their lives and talents working for a system that doesn’t care about their welfare. King Solomon was sounding a note of warning to humanity that the only way to be rich is to be diligent, working with the hands along the path of personal vision. Getting a job is good in a system that cares for the citizenry. Though, one won’t be rich in such system, but the person won’t suffer at old age after retirement.

It is common knowledge that the richest people on earth are not salary earners or civil servants as it were. The richest people are those who have personal vision of what to do with their own hands. When the vision is put into action, the result is wealth. Forget about the corruption and greed in Nigeria whereby people who didn’t do any work simply become rich overnight by stealing and cornering what belongs to all to themselves. To such people who got their wealth through dubious means, King Solomon has a word for them. He reminds them that, “Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished; but he that gathereth by labour shall increase”, (Proverbs 13:11).

The wealth of dubious, corrupt, scammers, thieves, robbers, kidnappers, pen robbers, forgers, etc, shall be diminished. Their wealth shall never succeed them into the next generation. Their ill-gotten wealth shall end up with them. That is the eternal truth whether they like it or not. It applies whether or not they know about it. It doesn’t matter if one doesn’t believe or acknowledge it. The only solution to avert the disaster associated with ill-gotten wealth is restitution. Those who have stolen from the system must restore what they have stolen as the only way to be free from the eternal wrath of God.

Now back to our distressed pensioners, you may then ask, does it mean that the pensioners weren’t diligent? Were their hands slacked? Could that be the reason why they’re poor today? The answer to all this is simply yes. If it is true that under normal circumstances, salary earners are not known to be rich, then, it means that a decision to remain a salary earner, working to realise someone else’s vision or a system that doesn’t care for your welfare at old age is a decision to be poor.

In Nigeria, it is common knowledge that people working in public establishments, namely ministries, departments and agencies (MDA), are among the laziest workers in the system. They don’t think about how to improve the system. And, as if the system recognised that, they’re being punished for their lack of wisdom. Their not being diligent explains why they couldn’t realise early enough in their lives that one day they would retire and leave the system and what becomes of their lives thereafter never crossed their minds. They’re the people suffering today at a time they should be reaping the fruit of their labour.

Unfortunately, the system they worked for is corrupt and didn’t provide for them. It is not that they didn’t make savings through the extant pension scheme at the time. Apparently, that money has been stolen by their corrupt successors who have become “wiser” by falsely believing that the only way they could safeguard and guarantee a comfortable old age is by stealing from the system.

After stealing the funds, their corrupt successors are the ones asking them every now and then to come for endless verification even if they’re bedridden. At the end, most of the pensioners won’t get anything. Many will die in penury. But the consequences of a diminished wealth await whatever wealth those corrupt officials have gathered by vanity. As a matter of fact, their situation after retirement would be worse because their generations would suffer the consequences. God visits the sins of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations… (Exodus 20:5).

Since April or so, both the federal and state governments once again embarked on a fruitless identity verification exercise for the over 160,000 pensioners throughout the federation. Most of the pensioners are owed pension stipend for upwards of six months. One Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) retiree reportedly died at the General Post Office, Ikeja in Lagos while protesting for his unpaid 49-month pension arrears and another three deaths were recorded in Lagos. Reports abound of other deaths of the old and feeble men and women who are regularly forced to travel long distances to Abuja or the state capitals to be verified before they could be paid their legally deserved pension.

Each time the pensioners are assembled, there aren’t adequate preparations made to attend to them in a smart and civilized manner. The verification exercise is an experience in anarchy for the poor and weak old folks. They’re dehumanised and clearly abused by the system they served. At the end only a few would manage to get probably one or two months out of the many months of arrears owed them. The rest get nothing. Thereafter, the arrears will begin to accumulate. When the greedy corrupt officials observe that the money, which probably they lodged into their private accounts to yield interest, has become huge enough, they would initiate another verification exercise designed to kill many of the pensioners so that their entitlements would end up in private pockets. That is the vicious cycle of corrupt enrichment that has been entrenched in the government pension scheme.

It is pertinent to ask why it is necessary for the frail looking men and women to be regularly invited for verification? Is there no database of the pensioners at their various places of work? Is there no other way of monitoring those that are living or dead? Why can’t the exercise be done at the ward level considering the age of the people? Why is it so difficult to organise the payment of simple pension if it is not to defraud the system? For how long will this continue and people are subjected to untold pain and suffering?

Like I said above, the youths should learn from the bastardisation of the system and learn their lessons. The situation is made worse and unpredictable now with the high rate of unemployment. There is need to shift the paradigm as regards employment. Since the system is not yet prepared to cater for the citizenry, particularly the aged, there is need to de-emphasise paid employment and instead give thrust to enterprise development at personal level.

The National Directorate for Employment (NDE) is not doing the whole job it is supposed to do. I have said it before that training people to acquire skills only without doing anything to assist them set up personal businesses is an effort in futility. There should be an enterprise development fund from which prospective youths are assisted financially to set up businesses. If one million youths are assisted in one year and each in turn employs two persons that will be three million jobs in one year. If that is consistently done for five years, that will be 15 million jobs. That will make unemployment history in this society.

The shabby way the pensioners are treated should be an eye-opener to the youths, especially, those that have graduated from the universities and are busy traversing the cities looking for non-existent jobs instead of sitting down to decide what to do with their lives. The Nigerian system has not changed. The bush fowl, in an Igbo adage, told the chicken to watch the way it is dissected that is the way she too will be dissected. This is a warning to those youths who have ears to hear.

Author of this article: By Luke Onyekakeyah

INSANITY ON LAGOS HIGHWAY

INSANITY ON LAGOS HIGHWAY published in The Guardian Newspaper.
Thursday, 04 November 2010 00:00 By Charles Okoh
Opinion - Columnists

AN average road user in Lagos State violates traffic laws probably as a result of ignorance or impatience. This lamentable act can be likened to “insanity.” I have not had the opportunity of visiting a dozen countries, but I think Nigeria (with Lagos as focal point) is ranked among the highest in the comity of nations where traffic offences are committed. Both motorists and pedestrians are culpable.

A good number of drivers on our roads were neither trained nor tested by an instructor before they were issued a drivers’ licence. It becomes impossible therefore to expect the best from them on the highway. No wonder they drive at unsafe speed and also ignore road signs as simple as ‘NO PARKING” or “NO U-TURN.” Another disheartening fact is that a typical Lagos driver will readily beat the red light if no vehicle poses a threat and if the traffic officers are not on ground to apprehend him. Again, there is an increasing abuse of pedestrians on a daily basis, motorists hardly give way to pedestrian crossing. In most instances, no sooner will a pedestrian step on the zebra crossing than the approaching vehicle will increase its speed. This will prompt the pedestrian to either retreat or run across the road like an Olympics athlete.

I am not absolving pedestrians; they constitute a nuisance also. Tell me why people in their right senses would decide to cross the highway indiscriminately risking being knocked down by unsuspecting vehicles even when they have an option of using the zebra crossing or pedestrian bridge close by. Does that not amount to insanity? Who is to be blamed – the government or the people? Let’s see if there is a justifiable reason for breaking traffic laws. Lagos State has an unenviable reputation of gridlocked roads. This is evident on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Third Mainland Bridge and Abeokuta Expressway among others. The reason is that there is no effective transportation system to move people around the state en masse. As a result, thousands of private and commercial vehicles take over the highway.Construction and maintenance of roads across the city also hamper the flow of traffic as alternative routes are not always in place. This recurring congestion causes some fretfulness. It turns decent road users into beasts and they resort to breaking the law. But is that justifiable?

In a scenario where one has an interview to attend or a flight to catch and one is stuck endlessly in traffic, should one not react? God be thanked for commercial motorcycles popularly called “Okada.” They serve as alternative in circumventing traffic jams especially when one is in a hurry. I think it is safe to say that hitherto, Okada remains the fastest and most available commercial means of moving from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ within Lagos metropolis. Do you know the State Government has plans to ban these life-savers?

In my opinion, Okada riders should be left well alone until an effective transportation system is made available. Newton’s law of motion says, “for every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction.” This law applies to our highways. That’s why for every road congestion, there’s almost always an equal and opposite traffic violation. It is laughable to see that some traffic violators (military and paramilitary men, government representatives, traditional rulers etc) go unpunished. In a real sense, should there be a sacred cow?

It is often said that every rule has an exception. Since there are no emergency lanes on our roads, does it mean that ambulances and fire services vans should be exonerated when they obstruct traffic? What about bullion vans and military vehicles manned by some brutal personnel – does the law allow them to blare siren and intimidate other road users? It has been noticed that more often than not, they move at breakneck speed and scare innocent citizens with their guns and horsewhip.

There is a kind of reckless driving that goes on especially at junctions where traffic lights are lacking. It is called ‘Lagos driving’. You could find about 12 lanes of vehicles struggling to narrow down to one or two escape lanes. It is usually a survival of the fittest contest. Cars come in very close contact because everyone is jostling for the available space. In the process, some of them collide and more delay is caused from ensuing arguments.

Road congestion and traffic violation go hand in hand. Over the years, it has caused untold suffering to Lagos residents. Man-hour is lost on a daily basis. People are stuck in traffic until late hours of the night and they are sometimes attacked by hoodlums. There is increased fuel combustion and pollution of the atmosphere. Humans are forced to inhale a mixture of dust and poisonous gases deleterious to health. Vehicles also wear out fast as a result of overuse.

The onus is on government to enforce traffic laws. Except for very special reasons, no offender should go unpunished. There should be no sacred cow. Anyone who violates the law should be brought to book – whether a Governor, an Army General or an obscure pedestrian. Besides the option of a fine, I suggest that violators should be detained for between 30 minutes and 4 hours depending on the magnitude of their offence. And while in custody, they should be given a copy of the Highway Code to digest. Is there a lasting solution to road congestion and the attendant traffic violation? The answer is yes! Lagos Island has a transient population. A good number of its visitors (workers and traders mainly) reside on the mainland. So there is mass exodus to and from work. Government as well as private establishments should create more jobs on Lagos mainland. This would reduce the mass movement of people in one direction. In addition, alternative routes or timing should be provided for heavy-duty trucks especially the ones that ply the infamous Oshodi-Apapa Expressway.

During road construction and repairs, temporary passage should be created before-hand to forestall traffic congestion. More traffic officers should be deployed to traffic prone areas to maintain law and order. An individual should be properly trained and tested before he is issued a drivers’ licence, Motorists and pedestrians should be continually enlightened on highway ethics. I must commend the Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola. His administration has since begun to make a concerted effort to ease traffic within the city. But more still needs to be done in this regard to satisfy the burgeoning population. Eko o ni baje!

• Okoh lives in Lagos.

Author of this article: By Charles Okoh

WHAT IS SUCCESS?

Here is a definition by Richard Branson:





"Success is neither money nor celebrity. Success for me is whether you have created something that you can be really proud of. Whether you die with a billion dollars in your bank account or $20 under your pillow is actually not interesting. That's not what you've achieved in life. What matters is whether you've created something special- and whether you've made a real difference to other people's lives."

7 Ways Of Making Money

1.Earning: Employees fall under this category. The Boss gives them a pay cheque at the end of the month.


2.Selling: Aliko Dangote, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson and even Bright Okpocha (aka Basket Mouth) are sellers. Hitherto, they are selling their goods and services to the burgeoning population.


3.Investing: A good example of an investor is Bill Gates. In Guide to Investing, Robert Kiyosaki wrote, “Bill Gates did not invent the operating system that made him the richest man in the world. He simply bought the system from the computer programmers who did invent it and then licensed their product to IBM. The rest is history.”


4.Gift: This can come in the form of benevolence or inheritance. A rich person could donate some cool cash to you. You could also inherit your dad’s estate.


5.Cheating/Illicit trade: Have you been involved in deceit, fraud, embezzlement or drug peddling? Please turn a new leaf! Again don’t make cheats your hero. Don’t envy or celebrate them. Cheating is a wrong way of making money.


6.Gambling: You can make a fortune from gambling. But in the long run you stand to lose everything. The odds are always against a gambler. Please don’t base your destiny on fortuitous circumstances.


7.Begging: Is it proper to beg? The streets are filled with able-bodied and physically challenged beggars. Mind you, Cobhams Asuquo is blind and he doesn’t beg. Jessica Cox was born armless. But she moved against the odds to achieve greatness. She is the world’s first licensed armless pilot. Jessica is also a certified SCUBA diver.

HOW TO SELL YOURSELF

If a likely employer, client or spouse says you can’t deliver, how will you respond? How will you convince the person to think otherwise?

It’s simple. Just SELL yourself. Mention your past victories or better still state what you can accomplish if given the opportunity to perform.

David sold himself to King Saul and he was given the opportunity to kill Goliath.

(1 Samuel 17:32-37):

David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.

Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.

The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.”

SUCCESS SECRETS REVEALED

1. JESUS CHRIST: “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:25 & 33).

2. Philip Emeagwali: “The secret to my success is that I am constantly striving for continuous improvements in my life and that I am never satisfied with my achievements.”

3. Robert Kiyosaki: “If you want to get richer faster, simply look for ideas that are better than the ones you are using today. That is why to this day, I read biographies of rich entrepreneurs, listen to audiotapes of their lives, and listen to their ideas.”

4. Steve Jobs: He once said, “People with passion can change the world for better.” Asked about the advice he would offer would-be entrepreneurs, he said, “I’d get a job as a busboy or something until I figured out what I was really passionate about.” Passion is everything.

5. Mark Zuckerberg: “It’s being young and technical. Young people are just smarter.”

6. Michael Dell: He says. “You’ve got to be passionate about it.” Dell also added: “I think people that look for great ideas to make money aren’t nearly as successful as those who say, ‘Okay, what do I really love to do? What am I excited about?’’’

7. Catherine Cook: Her advice, “Stop just thinking about it, and make it happen.”

8. Sean Belnick: “It is never too early to start. I started when I was 14. There was a lot of great information on the Internet. Just do the research and find a way to do what you want to do.”

9. Juliette Brindak: “Find a solid support team who believe in your idea. If someone starts to doubt your company and what you’re doing, you need to get rid of them.”

10. Matt Mickiewicz: “People who say it takes money to make money are using the worst excuse ever. Create massive value for others by providing a solution where no other exists.”

Read Biographies

By CHARLES OKOH

There are loads of lessons you can learn from reading biographies. The one lesson I have learned is that successful people fail far more often than unsuccessful people. Successful people stick to their goals painstakingly. Unsuccessful people try a few things; fail somewhere along the line and more often than not quit.

Once upon a time, there lived a great inventor called Thomas Edison. He was a tenacious man.He performed over 10,000 experiments before he discovered the electric bulb. How many of you, including me the writer, would be patient enough to try a particular task a thousand times- let alone ten thousand? But Edison did! He was a possibility thinker. A reporter once inquired of him how he felt to have failed 10,000 times in his present venture. His response was “I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.”

Biographies are very educative. Read the biography of the rich. Read the biography of the famous and not too famous. Find out how they became successful or how they got trapped by failure. Then program your life to achieve greatness- bearing in mind that each breaking day comes with obstacles as well as new opportunities. When you study those who have succeeded where you intend to succeed, you will know what to do and what not to do. Admiral Hyman Rickover said, “Learn from the mistakes of others; you will never live long enough to make them all yourself.”

The story of renowned neurosurgeon, Ben Carson is an inspiring one. It urges young people to read in order to achieve greatness. Carson was born into relative lack. But he moved against the odds from the streets of Detroit and rose to national and international prominence in modern medicine.

Let’s glance through one more story. It is a biography on the life of Sir Isaac Newton. It was created by Melissa Kelly of About.com using the educational biographical framework.


Sir Isaac Newton - English Mathematician and Physicist
By Melissa Kelly, About.com Guide

Birth:
25th December 1642, Woolsthorpe, near Grantham in Lincolnshire

Death:
20th March 1727, Kensington, London - buried in Westminster Abbey

Early Influences:
• Father was a farmer who died before his birth
• Mother recognized his talents and encouraged him to get educated
• Uncle recommended that he should be sent to Trinity College, Cambridge

Education:
• Educated at Grantham
• Attended Cambridge University, 1661
• Elected a Fellow of Trinity College, 1667
• Became Lucasian Professor of Mathematics

Major Accomplishments:
• Devised many solutions to contemporary problems in analytical geometry
• Invented Calculus
• Wrote the Principia which outlined the Newtonian Laws of Motion
• Elected Member of Parliament for the University of Cambridge to the

Convention Parliament of 1689
• Wrote Opticks in 1692
• Became Mater of the Royal Mint in 1699
• Became President of the Royal Society of London in 1703 and remained President until his death
• Knighted in 1705

Significance:
• Regarded for almost 300 years as the founder of modern physical science
• Responsible for completing the scientific revolution
• His Laws of Motion and works in mechanics are seen as among humanities greatest achievements in abstract thought
• His Principia is regarded as the greatest scientific book ever written

Contemporaries:
• Edmond Halley - English Astronomer
• Robert Hooke - English Experimental Scientist
• Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz - German Mathematician

Health and Fitness

TIPS ON HEALTHY LIFE STYLES

1.Drink plenty of water at breakfast.

2.Eat breakfast like a queen, lunch like a prince & dinner like a beggar.

3.Eat more foods that grow on trees & plants and less food that is manufactured in plants.

4.Live with 3E’s- Energy, Enthusiasm & Empathy.

5.Make time to practice meditation, yoga & prayer. Play more games.

6.Read more books than you did the previous year.

7.Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

8.Sleep for seven hours.

9.Take a 10- 30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.





Source: Akin Osibogun.
The Chief Medical Director
Lagos State University Teaching Hospital
Idi- Araba, Lagos.
Published in THE PUNCH Newspaper of 28th January, 2009.

Benefits of Reading

With the popularity of computers and video games in recent times, the habit of reading has taken a backseat. Most parents and children are occupied with movies, television and computer games that they find little or no time for reading. However, those who have taken reading as a hobby are aware of the countless advantages associated with it. Reading broadens the thinking horizon of a person, improves vocabulary and cultivates sensitivity towards people of different cultures.

Benefits associated with reading:

1.Exercises your mind
Reading bends, loosens and supple the mind. It helps in keeping the muscles of the brain in good shape.

2.Gives satisfaction
Reading gives immense satisfaction to a person. Nothing can be more satisfying than to sit with your child and read him a story book or see him grow with the fairy tales.

3.Expands the imagination
Reading expands the imagination of a person. One becomes more confident, self assured of his ability to understand and appreciate the various aspects of life. The mind is channeled to think about the different aspects and then questions and derives conclusion about them.

4.Enhances the ability to focus
The mind of a reader is more concentrated and focused about various aspects of life. When the mind is focused it has the capability to be more attentive in practical situations of life. As a result the body and mind of such people remain calm; they look at the problem objectively and are better decision makers.

5.Improves knowledge
Reading improves a person’s knowledge about various fields of life. This knowledge base helps a person to make correct decisions in different situations of life.

6.Helps to achieve goals in life
People who develop the habit of reading from childhood are better able to decide their goals in life. Reading also helps them in achieving these goals because once a person gets in love with books it is easier for him to just switch over from general reading to their course books.

7.Produces efficient orators
Only those who know something of quality can speak and gain respect and recognition from people. People with scarce knowledge about a subject cannot be good orators.

8.Teaches the art of living
Reading biographies of legendary individuals help the reader to learn the art of living.

9.Helps to accept other cultures and religions
Just having information about other cultures might create misconceptions about their traditions and mythologies. A thorough reading gives clarity about the fundamentals of other religions. This helps the person to accept them in a better and overwhelming manner.

So instead of killing long hours watching television and playing games on the computer, spend some time in reading so that you not only refresh your mind but also develop a good hobby which you will later transfer to your children.

Culled from: http://benefitof.net/benefits-of-reading/

More Quotes

“Since I left school many years ago, I have had constant need to dip into the works of Shakespeare because there is no other author in whom any writer would find help, material and even succour than this man who died nearly four centuries ago.”
>>> Prof. Lamikanra Adebayo (Teaches Pharmacy at OAU, Ife)


“All generalizations are false including this one; yet we keep making generalizations.”
>>> Elisabeth Elliot


“We get very little wisdom from success. Learn from science. In science, mistakes always precede the discovery of truth.”
>>> William Saroyan

Motivation

By James Delrojo author of "Unleash the Success Power of Your Mind"

Dale Carnegie once said that any fool can complain and criticize, and most fools do. Whenever you announce that you have set an ambitious goal all the nay-sayers will come out of the woodwork. This can be very discouraging to many people but there are ways to overcome it.

When you are working toward a meaningful, challenging goal you are bound to come up against obstacles from time to time. If, when you are working your way through these difficult moments, you also have to put up with people telling you that you will never make it or that it can't be done, then you might find yourself being influenced by them and you may even consider giving up.

I have found two good ways to help you in such a situation.

The first method is to minimize the chance of actually getting into that situation in the first place. The way you do this is by not mixing with negative people and by only discussing your goals with those who you are absolutely sure will be encouraging and supportive of your quest.


It is no coincidence that the friends of great people are usually themselves great people. This is a principle that holds true throughout the ranks. The friends of mediocre people are usually mediocre people and the friends of losers are usually losers.

People tend to gravitate toward people who have similar ideas about life and similar ambitions for the future to the ones they hold themselves. Then you have the additional effect that the individual's ideas and ambitions are heavily influenced by those of their inner group of friends and colleagues.

If you are finding that many of your friends and colleagues are negative toward your goals and ambitions then it is a good sign that you are in the wrong group. Some people outgrow their group and in that case the faster you move on the better for all concerned.


However, even if your group is totally supportive and encouraging you are still going to come up against people who tell you that you will never be able to achieve the goal that you have set. This is where the second method comes into play.

When I am in that negative situation I simply remind myself of the old Chinese proverb, probably from Confucius, that the person who says it can't be done should never interrupt the person who is doing it.

Henry Ford was told by expert after expert that he would never be able to develop a functional eight cylinder engine but he ignored them and went ahead and did it. Thomas Edison was told by almost everyone that he was wasting his time trying to develop a commercially viable electric light but, after 10,000 failures, he succeeded and became one of the wealthiest men in America as a result.

History is full of people who achieved the so-called impossible. Everything is impossible until it is done for the first time. Everything is impossible for you until you have succeeded at it for the first time.

Impossible is just a way of saying that something hasn't been done yet. Of course you haven't already achieved your goal at the time that you set it, that's the nature of goals.

So the next time someone tells you that you can't do something then just say to yourself, or to them, that the person who says that it can't be done should never interrupt the person who is doing it.


James Delrojo would like to help you by giving you his
ebook "Unleash the Success Power of Your Mind"
(valued at $27) completely FREE.
Go to http://www.YourSuccessMind.com

Random Quotes

“There are powers inside of you which if you could discover and use would make of you everything you ever dreamed or imagined you could become.”
>>> Orison Marden


“The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but has no vision.”
>>> Helen Keller


“Learn from the mistakes of others; you will never live long enough to make them all yourself.”
>>> Admiral Hyman Rickover


“Music is spiritual. If you play with it, you will die young.”
>>> Fela Anikulapo Kuti


“Givers never lack. Beggars always ask.”
>>> 9ice


“Great things start small. Go start something.”
>>> MTN


“There are 3 keys to more abundant living: caring about others, daring for others and sharing with others.”
>>> William Ward


“Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm.”
>>> Sir Winston Churchill


“In the middle of every difficulty is opportunity.”
>>> Albert Einstein


“He who says it can’t be done should not interrupt the one doing it.”
>>> Unknown


“Learn from everyone. From one you may learn what not to do while from another what to do.”
>>> Unknown


“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether this happens at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps on learning not only remains young, but becomes constantly more valuable regardless of physical capacity.”
>>> Harvey Ullman


“No pauper is friend to the rich. It’s only men of equal birth and equal wealth that can contract friendship and marriage.”
>>> Robert Greene’s book (48 laws of Power)


“KNOW SAFETY, NO PAIN whereas NO SAFETY, KNOW PAIN.”
>>> Safety Rule No.1


“You are the only one who can use your ability. It’s an awesome responsibility.”
>>> Zig Ziglar


“We are told never to cross a bridge until we come to it, but this world is owned by men who have crossed bridges’ in their imagination far ahead of the crowd.”
>>> John Mason’s book (Why ask Why)


“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six hours sharpening my axe.”
>>> Abraham Lincoln


“Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”
>>> Henry Ford


“There’s no future in the past. Stop looking at where you’ve been and start looking at where you can be.”
>>> Mike Murdock


“Everybody steals in commerce and industry. I have stolen a lot myself. But I know how to steal.”
>>> Thomas Edison (1847- 1931)


“Be not afraid of greatness- some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.”
>>> Twelfth Night


"If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?"
>>> Merchant of Venice


“We don’t have to wait for destiny, let’s be the change that we want to see… the future started yesterday- we are already late.”
>>> John Legend


“Don’t let Baba God take your talent away because you abuse it or misuse it or simply refuse it.”
>>> D’Banj


“Happiness is a by- product of making someone else happy.”
>>> Intercontinental Bank


“Reading of books opens up worlds of information and possibilities.”
>>> Ben Carson


“Write down your goals, make plans to achieve them and work on your plans every single day.”
>>> Brian Tracy


“Your past cannot be changed, but you can change your tomorrow by your actions today.”
>>> David McNelly


“To one person the world is desolate, dull and empty. To another the same world looks rich, interesting and full of meaning. Eyes that look are common. Eyes that see are rare.”
>>> J. Oswald Sanders


"That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well."
>>> Abraham Lincoln


“The Stanford Research Institute says that the money you make in any endeavour is determined only 12.5 percent by knowledge and 87.5 percent by your ability to deal with people.”
>>> John Maxwell’s book (Attitude 101)


“ANYBODY can wish for riches, and most people do, but only a few know that a definite plan, plus a burning desire for wealth are the only dependable means of accumulating wealth.”
>>> Napoleon Hill


“A part of all you earn is yours to keep. It should be not less than a tenth no matter how little you earn. It can be as much more as you can afford. Pay yourself first. Do not buy from the clothes-maker and the sandal-maker more than you can payout of the rest and still have enough for food and charity and penance to the Gods.
>>> George Clason’s book (The Richest Man in Babylon)