Monthly Archives: October 2013

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Random Acts of Kindness

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Street-Hawking

 

In a country like Nigeria where ethnicity, nepotism and tribalism abound, one may be surprised to see kindness as a very uncommon act. This post is dedicated to those whose acts of kindness sometimes go unrewarded.

As I write this post, I’m on a long journey from my office. I stress the word “Long” because my total travel time would be approximately 8 hours, a combination of the journey from my office to my client site and back to my office.

To get a picture of the conditions I was faced with, I’d begin by describing my day to the time of this post.

I slept quite late last night (about past 12 am) and had short sets of sleeps – woke up twice, once at 1:34 am and another at 4:00 am and finally by 5:00 am. Rushed through the morning commuting via public transport to the office. I’d leave out the public transport journey out of this discussion…

Got to office, feeling really sleepy, I had a cup of tea when my manager asked me to conduct a research on something and behold the result was to make this long journey to support a team with some “little challenge”. A challenge which turned out to be a “major challenge”.

By now, you may be wondering where lies the connection between the title of this post – Random Acts of kindness, and my long story. Save your breath. I’m posting this because I was touched by a display of kindness shown to me by a road hawker.

It was a hot, sunny Friday afternoon, I ate lunch sitting in the comfort of a taxi with the AC on, while I embarked on this journey. In case you don’t understand a hot day in Lagos traffic, think of a temperature close to 40 degrees Celsius and here on the high roads of Lagos to Ogun state, along the Ikeja axis, some road hawkers were hustling for daily bread. I had lunch without something to drink. Water was my only option as I love to drink water to stay healthy. A bottle of water costs NGN50 so I stopped the first road hawker but unfortunately, he couldn’t give me my balance because I had NGN1,000 note only. Same with the second, the third and fourth hawker all sweating profusely because of the insolation of the very hot sun.

Out of pity, I said to myself that I’d rather not buy water than watch these men struggle this much. But, nature however has its way of asking for it demands. Having a nice bout of lunch without any liquid to push it down my digestive system would cause me gasping for breath.

Then came my amazement, the fifth road hawker came back to my cab, knocked and when I opened the window, he gave me a bottle of Water and dashed off to the next customer calling his attention. I couldn’t comprehend this act of kindness, as he could as well have demanded I pay but knowing I don’t have any other cash at hand, he gave me that bottle of water…FOR FREE.

I don’t wish to bore you any further with the long hectic day I had but this act of kindness got me thinking and made a stressful day for me a great one.

Here are my lesson take away:

1. Giving money is not the only way to show kindness.

2. To show an act of kindness costs nothing.

3. A drop of kindness daily can heal the world of its so many ills.

4. Never look down on anyone because what goes around comes around.

5. Work hard for your money but don’t make the struggle for money make you less human.

I’d like to read from you. What do you think?

 

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Future, Motivation, Uncategorized

50 Positive Thinking Quotes

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Be Motivated

I found these quotes motivating enough. Enjoy them as motivation capsules.

 “Life has many ways of testing a person’s will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once.” – Paulo Coelho

“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it.”  – Edith Wharton

“With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.” – Dr. Wayne W Dyer

“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.” – Norman Vincent Peale

“Hate. It has caused a lot of problems in this world but has not solved one yet.” – Maya Angelou

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle

“An attitude of positive expectation is the mark of the superior personality.”  – Brian Tracy

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill

“If you can dream it, then you can achieve it. You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.” – Zig Ziglar

“The only place where your dream becomes impossible is in your own thinking.” – Robert H Schuller

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” – Anais Nin

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” –Douglas Adams

“Learning is a gift. Even when pain is your teacher.” – Maya Watson

“I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened” – Mark Twain

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” –Buddha

“Hope is a waking dream.” – Aristotle

“The past has no power over the present moment.” – Eckhart Tolle

“Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same.” – Francesca Reigler

“I do believe we’re all connected. I do believe in positive energy. I do believe in the power of prayer. I do believe in putting good out into the world. And I believe in taking care of each other.” – Harvey Fierstein

“If you want light to come into your life, you need to stand where it is shining.” – Guy Finley

“Today is a new beginning, a chance to turn your failures into achievements & your sorrows into so goods. No room for excuses.” – Joel Brown

“Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more.” – Tony Robbins

“We are all here for some special reason. Stop being a prisoner of your past. Become the architect of your future.” – Robin Sharma

“If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” – Henry Ford

“No matter what the situation, remind yourself “I have a choice.” – Deepak Chopra

“All you can change is yourself, but sometimes that changes everything!” – Gary W Goldstein

“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” – Confucius

“If we’re growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone.” – John C Maxwell

“Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.” – Mary Tyler Moore

“I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.” – Muhammad Ali

“We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves.” – Swami Vivekananda

“The difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use them.” – Unknown

“If someone tells you, “You can’t” they really mean, “I can’t.” – Sean Stephenson

“There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.” – W. Clement Stone

“Whatever you want to do, do it now. There are only so many tomorrows.” – Michael Landon

“When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion.” – Abraham Lincoln

“The difference in winning and losing is most often…not quitting.” – Walt Disney

“You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream.” – C.S Lewis

“All things are difficult before they are easy.” – Thomas Fuller

“Success is falling nine times and getting up ten.” – Jon Bon Jovi

“Happiness, like unhappiness, is a proactive choice.” – Stephen Covey

“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.” – Kurt Vonnegut

“You must make a decision that you are going to move on. It wont happen automatically. You will have to rise up and say, ‘I don’t care how hard this is, I don’t care how disappointed I am, I’m not going to let this get the best of me. I’m moving on with my life.” – Joel Osteen

“The next time you feel slightly uncomfortable with the pressure in your life, remember no pressure, no diamonds. Pressure is a part of success.” – Eric Thomas

“When the world pushes you to your knees, you’re in the perfect position to pray.” – Rumi

“If you can change your mind, you can change your life.” – William James

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” –Viktor Frankl

“Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.” – John Barrymore

“The best way to gain self-confidence is to do what you are afraid to do.” – Unknown

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Future, Income, Skills

Multiple Skills for the 21st Century

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21stCentSkills

Multiple Skills for the 21st Century

Written by Jim Rohn

I believe that in the 21st century it is so important to have multiple skills. But what I also find is that if you have an entrepreneurial business (or plan to in the future), you can gain the needed skills for the future while you create your income now.

Here’s my short list for on-the-job training, so that you can learn while you earn.

Sales

I began my journey with sales, which, of course, dynamically changed my life at age 25. The first year I multiplied my income by five. Being raised in farm country, I knew how to milk cows, but it didn’t pay well. Sales altered the course of my life, where I learned to present a valid product in the marketplace, talk about its virtues and get somebody to say “Yes.” Then give them good service.

Recruiting

Then came recruiting, how to expand my business and build an organization. We have all heard the question, is it better to have one person selling a $1,000 or have 100 people selling $10? If you ask me, I’ll take the 100 at $10. Once mastered, recruiting, the ability to multiply your efforts, is one of life’s and leadership’s greatest time-management resources.

Organizing

Then I learned organizing. Keeping your own schedule can be difficult at times, but now you have to balance multiple tasks and people to get maximum results. You will find that the payoff is massive once you have tapped into the synergy and momentum of group dynamics and teamwork.

Promotion

Next is promotion. First it’s the spring campaign and then the fall campaign, and then it’s this month’s objective’s campaign. You never know when it’s going to click for someone to want or need to buy from you or be a part of what you are doing, so having the offer or the special or the contest going when they’re ready can make all the difference.

Recognition

Then it’s the recognition. Some people work harder for recognition than they do for money. It’s the chance to belong. It’s getting people to do something that, ordinarily on their own, they wouldn’t think of doing. They could, but they don’t think of it. You come along with a little promotion for this month or this quarter and everything changes for them, and I found that paid big money.

Communication

Then I learned communication. How to do the training, how to do the teaching, and probably the greatest gift of all is learning how to inspire with words. Inspire people to see themselves better than they are with all of those gifts, all of those skills. Be the voice that tells them they have made a wise decision and here’s why.

Now, I believe with just this little short list I’ve given you, you’ll be equipped. We’ve all watched what has happened the last 15 years. The guy had one skill; the company downsizes. His division is eliminated and since he only had one skill, now he is vulnerable. He’s wandering around saying, “Oh my, the last few years I should have taken some classes that would have taught me a couple of more things and I wouldn’t be here in this vulnerable position.”

So my admonition: Learn some multiple skills, or should we say, backup skills for the 21st century, and no better place to learn them than in what you’re already doing now.

Jim Rohn, America’s Foremost Business Philosopher, reprinted with permission from Jim Rohn International © 2012. As a world-renowned author and success expert, Jim Rohn touched millions of lives during his 46-year career as a motivational speaker and messenger of positive life change. For more information on Jim and his popular personal achievement resources or to subscribe to the weekly Jim Rohn Newsletter, visit www.JimRohn.com

 

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