YOU'VE GOT IT

YOU’VE GOT IT

You may not have a beautiful face

But you can have a beautiful heart

You may not have a nice set of teeth

But you can be known for your words of wisdom

You may not have a well-formed nose

But you can be a man of great intuition and perception

You may not have hot legs

But you can be a woman of hot ideas

You may not have broad and sexy shoulders

But you can have strong and healthy shoulders able to care for and bear others’ weaknesses

You may not have attractive nails and fingers

But you can have a helping hand

You may not have the opportunity of a formal school

But you have the privilege of making life a continuous school

You may not have a rich background

But you can create for your children a prosperous background

Every successful person all had their drawbacks

But they’ve learnt to look beyond to get comebacks

There is no faultless idea, no flawless plan, and no fearless hero

What matters most is the willingness to work at it till it works

After all is said and done

What matters most is not what you have or don’t

Rather, it is how you make the most of what little you have

You’ve got what it takes

THE 7 IRREPLACEABLE LAWS OF MONEY

Money is not paper. Money is a measure of value. It is what you get in exchange of value. It is what you get in exchange for the value you give. The barter trading system is not strong enough to support man’s rapid expansion; therefore, a means has to be devised to allow for trading without moving about heavy goods or products. The crave and rave for money is a proof that money is value. If someone has money, we tend to adore them and accrue them some respects that we ordinarily couldn’t have if the money factor were not there. And we do this whether or not the money was acquired via legitimate means and moral standards. Supposing that the money we have, the valuable we become, we shoot ourselves in the foot. This assumption has been the cause of all vices and evils in our society today. The reverse is actually the real thing. The more valuable we become the more money we attract.

Below are the seven (7) inevitable, irrefutable and irreplaceable laws of money:

1.       The Law of Exactness

The first law in understanding money is the Law of Exactness – knowing exactly what you want. If you don’t know what you want, how do you recognize it when you find it. If there are no goalposts in a game of soccer, how do you know which of the team wins. You must come to a state in your mind where you know the exact amount of money that you seek to acquire. Ask yourself: What amount of money do I need to get? When do I need to get it?

                It is only when you know the exact amount of money that you want and the time you seek to acquire it that the other laws can be activated and applied.

2.       The Law of Exchange

There is no such thing in life as getting something for nothing. You must sit and settle with yourself what exactly you would be willing to give in order to acquire the amount of money you have set for yourself. The following questions may guide you: What skill, talent or experience do I have? What product or service can I render? What do people really need that they would be willing to pay for?

3.       The Law of Explanation

There should be a reason why you seek to acquire such wealth; nothing else can motivate as such. The reasons people seek wealth could be for popularity, possessions, pleasure or power. And few for more noble causes like helping the physically challenged, the orphans, or some life-saving projects. Whatever your motive, whether glorious or inglorious, you will never really attract money until the reason becomes strong enough. People change only when they hurt enough.

4.       The Law of Eagerness

We do not get money simply we think we deserve it; we get money because we demand it. Your desire is your demand on your share of money and other wealth that nature carries in her womb. Desire compels and constrains you to do what is necessary to acquire the wealth that you seek. It fills you with such energy and enthusiasm that you just can’t be contained nor constrained by circumstances. Desire fuels you with determination, discipline and drive.

5.       The Law of Expression

Write down clearly the amount of money you want, the time you want to acquire it, and what you are willing to give to acquire it. Make this into a statement. For example: “I have 100 million dollars by the 25th of December, 2020, by creating, developing and selling products and services that are helping people and organizations to be more effective and productive. ” read it aloud to yourself twice daily, especially in the morning and evening, just before going to bed. This would make it register in your subconscious mind. And never utter statements from your mouth that negates and dilutes this statement. Your confession determines your actual possession.

6.       The Law of Environment

Neither knowing what you want nor confessing it is enough, you must also create an enabling environment for you to be able to attain it. Your environment either elevates or crushes you. To create a right environment, watch your association. Where are they going – poverty or prosperity? Your association is a prophet of your destination. Who you accompany determines what you accomplish. If your association is not helping you, help yourself by changing it.

                Another way to create a right environment is by imagining the kind of life you would live when you acquire that wealth. Then paste pictures of those things everywhere around you. They create a vivid mental picture in your subconscious mind. Celebrate your future and not elevate your past.

7.       The Law of Execution

A Chinese proverb says: ‘Talk does not cook rice.’ No matter how lofty your ideas may be, they would amount to nothing unless backed up with appropriate actions in an attitude of faith. People win patents not for their intentions but their inventions. Roll up your sleeves, put on your overalls, and get down to work – no matter how daring or unpopular it seems. Action is your only guarantee for wealth accumulation.

To increase in wealth, you must first increase your capacity to attract it. Quick-fixes will only make life meaningless and miserable for you and those around you. Learn the laws, live them and you will be on your way to true financial freedom. Laws are fundamental and universal. We cannot break the law; we can only break ourselves against the law.

7 LIKABLE QUALITIES OF A LEADER

INTRODUCTION

A leader is someone who recognizes a need, and visualizes, mobilizes and organizes resources in order to actualize and realize that need. No evocative, evolutionary and enduring contribution has ever been made without the untiring and unflinching contribution of a leader. Devoid of this attribute, man becomes reduced to an instinctual and irrational animal clamoring only for survival at the expense of others. He utilizes every opportunity to devour, diminish, and if need be, destroy others. The world is clamouring for a new generation of leaders who are not only out for what they can get, but for what they can give. Leaders whose purpose is service, whose passion is transformation and whose point is freedom. They are needed everywhere – from sports to transports; from education to entertainment; from media to ministry; from public to private organizations. But a leader-servant who can find?

A leader-servant is one who leads with the attitude of a servant. He is one whose thoughts, intentions, words and actions are in harmony with sound principles and moral values. He is one who has a well-formed spirit, a matured soul, and a disciplined taste. He is one who says what he means and means what he says. Below are seven (7) indispensable and irreplaceable qualities of leader-servants.

7 ‘LIKABLE’ QUALITIES OF A LEADER-SERVANT

1.       LOVE

Love is the genuine interest in the well-being of another. It is expressed not just in affirmations but in actions. Love, or its absence, is easily perceivable. Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care. People will naturally gravitate towards a leader that cares.

2.       INTUITION

This is the capacity of a leader to know what to do per time. It is being sensitive to an Inner Guidance System (IGS) which all humans have the capacity to develop and deploy. Intuition gives a leader a sense of direction, keeps his passion alive, and gives him the motivation for consistent action.

3.       KNOWLEDGE

Leader-servants don’t only have character, they also have competence. They have an understanding of the requirements of their leadership and apply themselves to it. One truth is always certain: You can never give what you don’t have.

4.       AIM

Leader-servants have a clearly defined purpose for all they do. They don’t act just out of feeling or duty, but with a vivid goal in view. They have a vision of what they want their followers to be, and all they do is geared towards achieving this vision. You must find out your purpose as a leader or you would live out the purposes of others.

5.       BALANCE

Leader-servants are not afraid of being vulnerable; they are secure. And this makes them to be plain with their followers. They have nothing to hide; they fear no loss. They are down-to-earth with their followers. They are practical; and the people they lead respect them for their sincerity. NOTE: No matter how long you fake it as a leader, you will be found out. It is better to confess your weaknesses than to be found out.

6.       LEARNING

Leader-servants don’t just coast through life; they learn from every experience. They know that the best way to give encouragement to the people you lead is through experience. Experience can be personal or shared. Shared experience is such you pick up by reading and observing others. Personal experience is such you acquire through your own faults and victories, and through your commitment to being a better person. Shared experience may accomplish your purpose, but personal experience will definitely be more effective. With shared experience, you use more of your head; but with personal experience, you use more of your heart.

7.       EXAMPLE

A leader-servant walks his talk. He speaks out of conviction, and it shows. His life-style and message-style are one and the same. John C. Maxwell defines him as one who knows the way, shows the way, and goes the way.

THE PURPOSE OF LEADERSHIP

1.       RECOGNITION

Leadership is service. You must be committed to adding values to people with your gifts, skills and privileges. You are recognized by your leadership. You measure the effectiveness of your leadership by the people you serve. Leadership brings recognition.

2.       REQUIREMENT

People have needs of varying degrees – from depression to oppression, from stress to distress, poverty to affluence, desolation to consolation, from mental to emotional, physical to spiritual and the need to laugh and to love. The one who puts himself in position to meet these needs becomes the leader. Leadership is the requirement for influence.

3.       REGULATION

Every one living believes in the existence of God and His creation. The purpose for which man was created is to provide leadership for the earth – directing the resources therein in meeting personal and collective needs.

4.       REFLECTION

Your leadership is a reflection of who you are. It does not matter what you say and cover up with heartless actions, the real you is reflected in your dispositions. It reflects your quest and queer. Character is who you are, and this is most revealed when you are in a position to serve others.

5.       REWARDS

There is no such thing in life as having something for nothing. You must offer some form of service to others. The amount and attitude with which the service is offered determines the rewards that are accrued to you in return.

HOW TO BE A LEADER-SERVANT

1.       Connection

Heartfelt leadership starts from within; it is first within then without. To lead from your heart, you must stay connected with your source, whatever it is. Staying with your source exposes you to understanding principles that sustain life, the value of humans and their need for help. Knowing that you are also frail, it makes you humble, and fills you with such hunger to make a difference.

2.       Commitment

The cheapest way to know what to live for is by serving others. It exposes you to responsibility. Responsibility is the back door to opportunity.

3.       Commissioning

When you discover your opportunity, seize it. And act on it. No one ever gets an award for what they intend to do.

4.       Copying

If you want to make a lasting impact, make copies of yourself. Replicate yourself in others. When you lift others up, you remain up.

CONCLUSION

It is a new dawn in the school of leadership. The need for leadership is in taking people to a desirable destination. We all have a part to play in keeping watch over others. Therein lays true fulfillment. The desire of God is to see a people spotless and stainless; a people being and living out their fullest potentials. Leadership is your opportunity to partner with God in creating a new world order. Will you partner with Him?

Ayo Bankole: An International Keynote Speaker, Creative Writer, Leadership and Productivity Coach, and Corporate MC. He has spoken on several platforms - from schools, churches, business organizations to gatherings of all classes. He is the President of Barnabas International, and Principal Coach, LEAP Academy. He designs websites for leisure. He is based in Lagos, Nigeria.

Differences between Activity and Productivity

ACTIVITY OR PRODUCTIVITY

It is commonly said that activity is not productivity. Nothing can be truer than that. Productivity is the deploring of the right resources for the right causes. A resource is anything that can be used to achieve a defined purpose. Resource in this sense could be gifts, talents, people, time and place. Productivity then is the activity involved in the realization of a correct, clear and concise product. Without the product in view, the entire process is frustrating, fatiguing and futile.

Below are a few distinctions between mere Activity and Productivity as can be seen in an individual or organization:

ACTIVITY	PRODUCTIVITY
1.       There is no clear goal in view	There is a clear and concise goal in view.
2.       Work is frustrating and futile.	Work is fun and fulfilling.
3.       Always looking for the next opportunity to quit or change course.	Always willing to stick it out to the very end.
4.       Filled with painful murmurings and complaints.	Filled with pleasant memories and compliments.
5.       The driving force is to please someone, to prove a point or to avoid some circumstances.	The driving force is a sense of purpose; a sense of “I was born for this!”
6.       Half-hearted commitment	Dedication with passion and compassion.
7.       Creativity is half-explored or never explored.	Creativity is let loose.
8.       Keeps to customs and traditions with no drive for change – even when they are no longer working.	Given to reviewing processes and constant improvement – jettisons what no longer works, embraces what works.
9.       Has a critical, slanderous and judgmental attitude, and shows it very frequently.	So engrossed in work that he does not have time for others’ weaknesses and shortcomings.
10.   He criticizes and competes with colleagues	He celebrates and complements colleagues.
11.   Desires to be better than somebody else.	Desires to be better than his last performance.
12.   His attitude repels clients and they complain about him often.	His attitude attracts clients and they complement him often.
13.   Wastes company resources and opportunities.	Makes the most of every resources entrusted to his care.
14.   May seem busy but hardly meets targets.	Always exceeds targets and expectations.
15.   Golden Rule: If others don’t go, I can’t grow.	Golden Rule: My growth is tied to my performance, irrespective of who stays or not.

Is yours a productive workforce or workplace, or you are just activity-full? Review your performance indicators today and you’d be astounded at how far you are from realizing and maximizing the potentials of your organization.

Ayo Bankole: An International Keynote Speaker, Creative Writer, Leadership and Productivity Coach, and Corporate MC. He has spoken on several platforms - from schools, churches, business organizations to gatherings of all classes. He is the President of Barnabas International, and Principal Coach, SOAR Academy. He designs websites for leisure. He is based in Lagos, Nigeria.

Enhance Your Productivity

ACTIVITY OR PRODUCTIVITY

It is commonly said that activity is not productivity. Nothing can be truer than that. Productivity is the deploring of the right resources for the right causes. A resource is anything that can be used to achieve a defined purpose. Resource in this sense could be gifts, talents, people, time and place. Productivity then is the activity involved in the realization of a correct, clear and concise product. Without the product in view, the entire process is frustrating, fatiguing and futile.

Below are a few distinctions between mere Activity and Productivity as can be seen in an individual or organization:

ACTIVITY	PRODUCTIVITY
1.       There is no clear goal in view	There is a clear and concise goal in view.
2.       Work is frustrating and futile.	Work is fun and fulfilling.
3.       Always looking for the next opportunity to quit or change course.	Always willing to stick it out to the very end.
4.       Filled with painful murmurings and complaints.	Filled with pleasant memories and compliments.
5.       The driving force is to please someone, to prove a point or to avoid some circumstances.	The driving force is a sense of purpose; a sense of “I was born for this!”
6.       Half-hearted commitment	Dedication with passion and compassion.
7.       Creativity is half-explored or never explored.	Creativity is let loose.
8.       Keeps to customs and traditions with no drive for change – even when they are no longer working.	Given to reviewing processes and constant improvement – jettisons what no longer works, embraces what works.
9.       Has a critical, slanderous and judgmental attitude, and shows it very frequently.	So engrossed in work that he does not have time for others’ weaknesses and shortcomings.
10.   He criticizes and competes with colleagues	He celebrates and complements colleagues.
11.   Desires to be better than somebody else.	Desires to be better than his last performance.
12.   His attitude repels clients and they complain about him often.	His attitude attracts clients and they complement him often.
13.   Wastes company resources and opportunities.	Makes the most of every resources entrusted to his care.
14.   May seem busy but hardly meets targets.	Always exceeds targets and expectations.
15.   Golden Rule: If others don’t go, I can’t grow.	Golden Rule: My growth is tied to my performance, irrespective of who stays or not.

Is yours a productive workforce or workplace, or you are just activity-full? Review your performance indicators today and you’d be astounded at how far you are from realizing and maximizing the potentials of your organization.

Ayo Bankole: An International Keynote Speaker, Creative Writer, Leadership and Productivity Coach, and Corporate MC. He has spoken on several platforms - from schools, churches, business organizations to gatherings of all classes. He is the President of Barnabas International, and Principal Coach, LEAP Academy. He designs websites for leisure. He is based in Lagos, Nigeria.

Phone: 2348064980357, 2348096001659

HOW TO STAY HAPPY AND HEALTHY

Staying happy and healthy can be as simple as ABC. If you can lay hold of the right tools, then you'd have no problem achieving your purposes.

Here are a few tips to help you get started:

1. Have a Vision

Nothing motivates like having a vision. And nothing demotivates like a lack of it. You won't be truly happy if you can't convince yourself that there is a better future ahead. All contraction is death. All expansion is life. Vision gives you that expansion. A life without vision will end in frustration.

2. Live in the Present

To be truly happy in life, you must learn to be happy with yourself and what you have per time. No matter what you have, you will soon discover someone that has what you don't. Instead of living in frustration, comparing yourself with another person, pause and consider the vision you have for yourself, and compare yourself from where you are and where you ought to be. Then celebrate where you are as if you are already where you ought to be. In no time, you will see yourself there.

3. Be Humble

You have nothing to gain by riding on others roughly and arrogantly. The shortest route to the top is through service. You need to be calm-headed, while you cloth yourself with patience, perseverance and persistence. You will surely get there.

4. Desire the Best

What you don't desire, you don't deserve. The proof of desire is pursuit. So set great goals for yourself, and keep them in focus at all times. Your goals should be in consonance with your vision. Place a demand on yourself by deliberate discipline. What you don't demand, you simply don't deserve.

5. Be Kind and Generous to Others

You must learn to keep the Golden Rule: Do for others what you want them do for you. Be committed to helping other people, especially those who can't repay you. When you put smile on people's faces, you cannot be frowning yourself. when you sow happiness, you also reap happiness. This is a sure way to keep your joy tank full always.

6. Be Sincere

Many have landed theomselves in trouble simply by trying to be what they are not. The greatest misery is self-imposed misery. A fake person is one that brings hardship on himself by himself. You don't have to please everybody because you can't please everybody. Always be free, open, and be yourself at all times. Whatever the situation, give your best even when to the ordinary eyes your best doesn't seem good enough. Don't pretend to be what you don't intend to be.

7. Be Lively and Sociable

You have all to gain by welcoming others into your life. Be that kind of person that people are always comfortable to be with; cheering them up, lightening their burdens, and lifting their spirits. When you create this kind of atmosphere for others, you also create it for yourself.

8. Maintain Justice; Whatever it takes

We seem to celebrate mediocres and castigate excellence today than ever before in history. The wrong is wrong even if all support it. That same sex marriage is passed to law in some states does not make it right. We all know that by common sense. The right is right even if all kick against it. Stand for the truth, whatever the cost. The feeling that you are up for the right thing to do brings a sense of fulfilment and happiness to your soul.

9. Be Unperturbed

You must strive to maintain your inner peace and joy, whatever comes your way. A certain man went to a sage one day and said, "Sir! Nothing is working for me." The sage examined him for some seconds and asked, "Did anyone carry you here or you walked by yourself?" "I walked in myself," he replied. Giving him a piece of paper and pen, the sage said, "Write, number one: My legs are working." "Did anyone lead you by the hand?" "No, I can see." "Number two: My eyes are working." They went on and on, until the list had thirty items on it. The young man exclaimed, "Sir! now I can see...everything is working." Focus on what is working, not what is not, and you will always have your peace intact.

10. Seek and Merit Divine Help

God created you, and is so much interested in you. Work on building a quality relatioship with Him, and the joy of His presence will always permeate your heart and life.