If You Want To Be Rich And Happy, Don't Go To School

Looking at that title, you might think I am anti- education, some might even go further to call me Boko Haram, well, obviously not, as a teacher, I preach education as a requirement for success in life. However I have realized that today on the average, the more you go to school, the less chance you have to be financially independent. The problem is not the educational institution as a body, but the content, philosophy and mindset it creates in us, which cages us and makes it difficult for us to think outside the box. Regrettably, our school system only prepares us for the labor market to work as employees. Lets face it, the bitter truth is, if you remain an employee, you can never be rich (whether you work in Chevron or Zenith bank or community secondary school). How can you say you are rich when someone controls your time (remember that whosoever controls your time controls your life), when you resume and when you should have lunch! The truth is, if you remain an employee, you will never be rich. Brian Tracy said, "half of the American graduates work for people who didn't finish high school".

Why is it that people without certificates tend to attain financial freedom while our Masters and Ph.D holders remain poor. I will give a scenario, some years back, Dangote cement published a vacancy for truck drivers, among those who applied where 600 graduates and 9 Ph.D holders. One of the Ph.D holders was interviewed and he said he had passion for driving trucks! Its quite funny, but this is what our schools have turned us into, we rather seek for a job (no matter how small it is) rather than look for an opportunity to attain financial freedom. Robert Kiyosaki, one of the best financial experts around said, " the world has moved on, the industrial age where certificates were required has passed, we are now in the information age". This simply means, we are in the age where we should seek information, process it and sell it. The more information we sell, the more money in our pocket.

Our schools have failed us because it has not been able to equip us with skills to survive in this present times. The jobs we are been prepared for are no where to be found, not only in Nigeria but all over the world. Downsizing, mergers and acquisitions, retrenchments, retirements are an everyday occurrence, its only a matter of time before one of them catches up with you.

The only way out of the rat race is stepping out boldly, face your fears and become an entrepreneur. There are opportunities out there. I always say, being poor is not lack of money, but it is Passing Over Opportunities Repeatedly. If you really want to be rich and happy, forget schooling, forget certificates, forget salary (Something always low and reduces you), find an opportunity, develop yourself, build a business and enjoy financial freedom.

For ideas and existing opportunities to build yourself a business, send me a message through my contact page. God bless you.

That Giant Within You

Do you know you have a giant within you?, giants are figures which no ordinary man can resist. They are strong and big with a lot of confidence. Goliath (which means giant) of Gath exhibited these qualities when he faced the children of Israel. He was so confident in his size and fighting skills that he didn't want to bother the Philistine army int a bloody fight, instead he felt a one-on-one duel should settle it. (I remember the battle between Hector and Achilles in Troy). Goliath must have scanned through the Israelite army on the other hill and saw that there was no one in the Israelite army who is as big as he is, that is, there was not a single giant in sight in the camp of the Hebrew children. So why not, he thought, I am the biggest guy around, let me play mind games here so we can easily defeat them. Then he started working on morale of the Israelite army for 40 days.

The most visible and stricking character of a giant is his confidence. Giants are full of it, they are so full of it that normal people tremble and fear in their presence. What give you your greatest confidence in life is knowing the size of your giant. Is you giant your wealth, degree, beauty, connections? These giants are not big enough to help you, they will easily fail just like Goliath did. The only reliable giant is Jesus. He never fails, no problem is too great or small before him. Every other giant stand defeated before him. Every other giant in this world combined are powerless before him. The bible says;

"greater is the giant within you than those in the world" ....I John 4:4 (paraphrased)

David had this giant within him and was "scaringly" full of confidence, imagine what he did;
"when Goliath started forward, David ran towards him" 1 Sam 17:48. What Confidence! A small boy with a stone running towards a giant with a sword! Well, you know how that story ended. The good new is that we can all face life with this sort of confidence and faith in Jesus the great giant within us. Have you got this giant? If not, do so right now before you come across a giant. May God continually bless you.

Making Money in the 21st Century

One of the greatest questions among youths and young people today is "how do I make money". Every one needs money no matter how religious you are. However not every one will make money. The greatest obstacle to making money is our mindset. We believe in our certificates and follow the advice of our poor dad (according to Robert Kiyosaki) who says " go to school, get good grades graduate and find a nice job". This does us no good as it only puts us in the rat race and we keep working for things we cannot have. Its time for the Nigerian youth to come out of their comfort zone and do something for themselves and gain financial intelligence. This is not the time to shift blames on the president and governors or the economy, you are responsible for the outcome of your life. What you are today is the result of the choices you made yesterday and what you will be tomorrow will depend on the choices you will make today. Make a decision to your financial freedom, learn from the experts, get out of your comfort zone, be determined, be dogged and in due time you shall reap the reward.

Today we live in a capitalist economy where you can only make money legitimately by selling something (either goods or service or both). May I ask, what value are you giving? You have no excuse to attain financial freedom, someone said, you can't make excuses and make money at the same time. I recommend you join a marketing company today, invest in yourself, build for the future, the sky is only your starting point.

Would you like to join a network marketing business today? Write me through my contact page.

Simplest Way To Own A Website

Are you in need of showcasing your products or service to the entire world? Do you need to attract more customers for your business? If the answer is Yes, then its time you owned your own website.

I would quickly take you through the three (3) easy steps you must take to get a website up and running.

And what's even better is there is no web design or technical experience needed unless you really want to learn the basics of HTML, CSS, PHP, etc

1. Reserve Your Domain Name (e.g oluwaseun.com)

Think of your domain name as your website's home address. Take your time on this step because whatever you choose will represent your brand.

Also, try to choose a name that is short enough so you can get matching usernames for Twitter, YouTube and other Social Media accounts. Branding is everything -- don't rush this step!

2. Select Your Web Hosting Company

The web host is the company that houses your site and provides you with space to create web pages, any scripts you can install (forums, shopping carts, blogging, etc.), email addresses, security and so much more.

3. Start Building!Hosting companies can overwhelm you with their features, but the majority of them offer the same services. Always start with the cheapest monthly plan because upgrading later is very easy.  Click here to register with one of the best hosting companies I know . They have a great package. 

How you create your site will depend on the kind you want to make. For example, if you want to create a blog, you can take advantage of the built-in templates that come with the blogging (WordPress) platform.

No coding experience is necessary. All you do is search for the theme you want to use, activate it, make your customizations and your website is ready to go.

If you don't want to use WordPress, you can build using a more manual method or web design software like Dreamweaver. For help on building a website, write me through my contact page.

Static HTML vs. Dynamic Websites

There are basically two kinds of websites you can create.

1) Static HTML (Content is uploaded and displayed "as is")

2) Dynamic (WordPress, Joomla, Blogger, etc.) Dynamic means information is pulled from a database so you can display your website content by date, category, etc. Think blogs.

Static HTML sites are not that popular these days. In order to create them, you have to learn HTML, use templates or buy some kind of software like Dreamweaver, Artisteer, etc.

In 2004, WordPress revolutionized the way we build websites because there is no software to buy. You simply install the WordPress script from your web host, launch the admin panel, choose a theme design and begin writing your content.

Because WordPress is dynamic, you can add functionality very easily using plugins. These are scripts (many of them are free) that you install to help you do so many things (collect visitor feedback, build surveys, add social media icons, and more.)

No longer do you have to spend time uploading complicated scripts just to add shopping carts, comments, and all other kinds of functionality to your website.

Start Early

 I love them that love me and those that seek me early shall find me....Prov 8:17. One of the major reasons why we have ordinary result in what we do is because we didn't start early enough, we didn't take responsibility for our lives early enough. look back at your life, your childhood and teenage years, what did you learn during your high school days. How serious and responsible were you then. if you could roll back the hands of time, would you do things differently, would it be a slight change or a total overhaul? Did you have a dream you pursued? did you follow instructions or were you headstrong and full of pride? Many of us didn't have the privilege of learning the basic life values back then, no wonder our country is in chaos.

People who discover what they want from life early have a greater chance of achieving success. God loves things to be done early, no wonder he arose from death very early in the morning. Life only starts when you choose a particular path you want to follow. What path have you decided to follow? If you can't answer that question, you have not started at all. Hurry up, start now, time is ticking away, it waits for no man.

Joseph and david started taking responsibilities as a teenager. One of my most respected men of God Bishop David Oyedepo once said that while he was in school, he read 58 African writers series books because he knew he would one day address crowds, he was only 15years old. Pastor Christian Oyakilome was said to have 2 big boxes of christian books and one small box of school books, no wonder they are taking Nigeria and Africa by storm. Kenneth E Hagin started his ministry at age 22. In sports, Tiger Woods started playing golf at age 4, at 17 he had won all competitions Golf could offer. Andrea Agasi got his first tennis racket on his first birthday, no wonder he proved almost unbeatable during his prime.

The earliest time to start taking responsibility for your future is now, whether you are ten, teenager, middle age or elderly.Don't allow yourself get distracted, stay focused and you will enjoy the fruits of your labour.

Destroy That Mental Barrier

Have you heard of Roger Banister? He was the first athlete to run the mile in less than four minutes. In doing so, he not only broke the four minutes barrier, but also taught us all a valuable lesson. Back in the1950's, the world record was 4:mins 1.4 seconds held by one Swedish guy Ginder Haegg. The record stood for several years since it was set in 1945. Athletes, experts and even doctors argued that the human body was biologically incapable of running the mile in less than four minutes. Then came Roger Bannister on May 6 1954 doing the impossible, he broke the 4 minute barrier when he completed a race in 3 minutes 59.4 seonds. His rival, Charles Landy had thrice run the mile in less than 4 mins 2 sec without breaking the 4 minutes mark. The four minutes barrier was like a wall, Landy had once said, but guess what? just 56 days after Bannister broke that "wall", Landy ran the mile in 3 mins 57.9 seconds. In 1957, 16 athletes around the world ran the mile in under 4 minutes. THE 4 MINUTE MENTAL BARRIER WAS TRULY SHATTERED.

What really happened? Did coaches get smarter and teach the athlete new technique? Did running shoes get more sophisticated? Did the body suddenly get stronger? NO. The 4 minute barrier it turned out was not a physiological one - just a mental one! As Rogger Bannister explained later, it seemed illogical that you could run a mile in 4 minutes and a bit, but not break the 4 minutes. His mind refused to accept that barrier, that made the difference. 

Bannister breaking a mental barrier

Once that mental barrier was broken by Bannister, every one believed it could be done! and once the belief changed, the rest was easy. It is important to understand that our achievement in life are limited not by what we can do, but by what we think we can do. More than ability, it is our attitude that makes the difference. As Henry Ford said " if you think you can, or you think you can't, you are a right". You will probably find your mind constantly grappling with two competing thoughts, I can't! and I can! How do you ensure the "I can" wins. Simple, feed it and consciously make it grow stronger. While you are at it, starve the "I can't" and ensure it grows smaller and weaker. You won't always find a Bannister to break the mental barrier in your life. You need to do it yourself. Once you start feeding the "I can"thought, you will achieve more than you ever thought was possible.

Wish you a great week!

You Are The Architect Of Your Own Life

According as his divine power hath given us all things that pertains to life and godliness ...2Pet1:3. If you asked me, this is one of the most inspirational statements made in the bible. What God is simply trying to say is, child, this is your bag of tools, that is cement and sand, make concrete, those are iron rods, I have made blocks available, just go ahead and start building, if you need any other material, I will provide them for you. Wow! Everything you need for your reality is in your ability!

Many people complain about their lives, they say, why was I born in this house, why wasn't I born in Europe or America (I must confess I once thought this way). I see people blame the government for their woes. If only they knew that all they would ever need is within them. It is time to stop giving excuses, it is time to rise up and start building the life of your  choice. History is saturated with people who grew up facing adversity and yet still built a great life despite all odds going against them. I'll like to mention a few;

Albert Eintein was termed a dullard, unteachable (not different from a person suffering from Down's syndrome), yet we all know him as one of the greatest scientist of our time. His quantum theory is still relevant today.

Glen Cunningham was an American Athlete in the 1930s. When he was eight, he got involved in a fire accident which took his elder brother and severely burnt his legs. Doctors tried to amputate his legs but he wouldn't let them, so the doctors concluded he would never be able to walk normally. A man of faith and positive attitude, he soon using those legs to run. 

In the 1932 Olympics he took 4th place in the 1500 m, and in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, he took silver in the 1500 meters.In 1934, he set the world record for the mile run at 4:06.8, which stood for three years.In 1936, he set the world record in the 800 m run.In 1938, he set a world record in the indoor mile run of 4:04.4. He retired from competition in 1940. (Roger Bannister was the first to break the four-minute mile, in 1954.).

Booker T Washington, an African- American born during the time slave trade was still in vogue, he became one of the leading voice of former slaves and their descendants who were oppressed and disenfranchised. He gave speeches and became nationally famous. He became adviser to the presidents of the US between 1890 and 1915.

Every one has the power to build a great life, no matter what you may be facing presently. All the materials needed are available. There is only one problem. That problem is you! We seek help, fortunately, the only help we can get is at the end of our own arm. We are too lazy and impatient to build a great life, instead we run after wealth. Lets kill the demon called laziness and impatience. Lets start now, whether you are a student, a youth or middle aged, though no one can go back and make a brand new start, you can start now and make a brand new ending.