Nigerians? - Be Very Careful
Today, history was made. We successfully closed a business deal that will become the biggest business in a particular industry in Africa. I have, by God’s grace been able to close a business deal to be an exclusive business partner for a high profile business for the entirety of Africa. About two months ago, the same deal was closed for almost all of West Africa, but in the course of the last two days in the UAE, we have the whole Africa covered. I’m still steaming from the movie of the secret that I watched, but I can understand the dynamics of our chemistry working, somehow I believe that things have worked so easily because the laws of the universe were in alignment, and God was in control.
In the course of the meeting however, something stood out for me, and made me feel bad about my homeland. I had a meeting with two German guys, we had to move to a number of places so I could see their factory and their sales offices. We moved in between my apartment and their offices and back, so they could drop me off, while they attended another meeting and later come back to pick me. It took almost two hours to come back in their Ford Explorer to pick me up. When they came, we chatted and laughed as we had somehow gotten our chemistry and flowed well together. In the course of our chit chat, they relayed to me an incident that happened in their last meeting. They wanted to close the meeting quickly so they told the person ( a Dubai Citizen), that they had to go back to the hotel to meet with their partners from Nigeria. The person they were meeting, blurted out almost instinctively - “Nigerians? - Be Very Careful!” That’s painful, and really heart renting. (more…)
This post was read by 840 people until now.2 Lessons from UAE
I just finished a post I had written since yesterday night, and in one click of a button I have lost it all. It’s painful, very painful. I hope I’ll get time to write it again - it’s titled, “Your Job: How much Longer?”. I’ll write it again as soon as I am motivated to.
I however had 3 posts on my mind, and I guess this one will be the first of the three to make it to the eye of the public.
This is not my first or second time in the UAE, I’ve been here, it’s almost like a second home now, but every time I come here, it really pushes my thinking buttons. These guys are advancing regularly and are set to beat every country in the world in development and advancement. I’ve been opportuned this time around to move around a few of the emirates, Sharjah, Fujerah, Dubai, I’ll be heading for Ajman and Abu Dhabi in the next few days as well. So far, I look around and see the beauty, the splendor and the commitment to excellence, and I ask myself, what do these people have that we don’t have? (more…)
This post was read by 690 people until now.Did You Bury It?
Oh thank God, alas, the note on Google on my site was removed today. My website has been declared harmless once again by Google. It’s been a really long night, but it’s over now, thankfully. A little research I did revealed that it was a flaw on the version of word press that I was using that a popular hacker exploited. He’s been doing it online, so guess my website just moved one more level up in global recognition. For all who stayed with me through the trails, thank you again.
There is a good old bible story that is arguably one of the most popular, it’s called the parable of talents. I’ll be using this as my case study for this particular article, and for the next one as well. The first article we’ll be looking at this together at face value, then the next one, we’ll go deeper into the roots of the parable. It promises to be an exciting journey. The one question I want to ring through your mind as we go through however is, “did you bury it?”
There are two categories of people, the traders and the bury-ers, all of humanity fall somewhere in between this divide, as bury-ers or as traders. So are you a trader or a burier? Are you trading or burying? Well, before you go on into analyzing yourself on the wrong indexes, let’s plunge into this study together first. (more…)
This post was read by 792 people until now.Where are you?-4
It’s taking long to conclude this article, but I believe that this should be the concluding article. We’ve been trying to help each other find where we are in our life journeys. You can read the first 3 episodes (lol) to get clarity on where we have been in this journey of achievement.
We’ve been using the life of Joseph as case study for the landmarks in the life of an achiever. We have moved from his place of birth in Padanaram, to the Pit, to Potiphar’s house to Prison. Now Joseph is about to make a transition from the Prison to the Palace.
The palace is synonymous to opportunity. Being in the Palace doesn’t make you the Pharaoh or Prime Minister, anymore than getting an opportunity makes you a millionaire. What we do in the Palace, like what we do with opportunities is what will make our journey pinnacle at the right place. Joseph was able to make that transition. Read how. (more…)
This post was read by 16955 people until now.Where are You? -3
This article is a continuation of Where are you? - 2. I recommend strongly that you read the first two series on this so that you can understand the journey ahead of where I’ll be starting today. So far we have used the story of Joseph as a case study to understand the cardinal points in the journey of every achiever. We’ve talked about the progression of Joseph through the 6P’s in his life.
We have moved with Joseph from Padanaram (the plain ground), a place where all men seem equal, the place where Joseph learnt, and experienced the joy of being decorated with many colours. We moved with him to the Pit, a temporary place of seeming demotion, a place of waiting without control of the period of waiting, a place where as it were your fate is being determined by others, an interview waiting room of some sort. We moved with him to Potiphar’s house, a place very much unlike home, the place of starting small and finishing strong, the career place, the place of growth and responsibility, a place of learning by doing, a place that can be mistaken for the palace, also a place of testing. We have in our journey with Joseph moved with him through all these phases, and just witnessed a swift turn of events as the man Joseph is wrongly accused and heads for the next P of his life, the prison! Read on (more…)
This post was read by 33615 people until now.Unlimited!
When I think about we humans, I often marvel. We are the greatest wonders of this planet. There is no known feat that human beings have not achieved. We have climbed the highest mountains, swam through unbelievable waters, conquered space and tamed the wildest beasts. Man has gained mastery over the water ways, man dictates the scope of burning fire. Man is a wonder and a bundle of potentials. In the current state of world conquest, and the finding of many answers, think about it - The only thing that man has not achieved, is what he has not set his eyes on as an goal.
In a world where the life span of science fiction is shrinking to less than 5yrs, as men are making what was fiction a few years ago reality today. In a world where the speed of translation of thought to deed is in nanoseconds, one thing is very clear - the human being is made unlimited by design, but empowered with the ability to create her own limits.
Think about your life? Why are you where you are doing what you are doing and no more? Answer this question, is this the best that you can be? Is this the full you? Or are you more than this? I’m sure you agree with me that there is more to you than were you are right now, and that you have more to offer than you currently are. You are where you are, because of the limitations you have put on yourself. Don’t feel all alone, it’s perfectly normal. You have the ability however to remove the cap off your capabilities and take of the lid off your limitations. Here are simple and practical steps you can use to restore yourself to default factory settings. You were made to live without limits! (more…)
This post was read by 10195 people until now.Secrets to Success - 2
“Guard your heart with all diligence for out of it, proceed the issues that govern life” - Proverbs 4:23
“In the end, we will remember, not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends” - Marthin Luther King Jr.
It might shock you to know, but research has revealed that in any area of professional development, focusing on the skill itself accounts for less than 30% of what will make you grow or develop. In fact, a school of thought I have come to find interesting and fascinating says that the combination of learned skill, knowledge and other intellectual factors account for just 15% of the actual skill’s development, the other 85% are accounted for by things you and I an unconscious of. Let’s call them unconscious factors.
To take a more practical approach, let’s look at a skill like presentation skills, or writing skills. If you wanted to develop these skills today, you would focus on reading about these skills, that would be called gaining knowledge, you would talk about learning by doing, practicing, forming habits, that would be called learned skill. You would also look at some other intellectual factors like learning by teaching others, going for a course, passing an exam e.t.c. Right? All that will account for only 15% of what you need to do to develop that skill. If that is all you have ever done today, you can only imagine the potentials you have to further develop yourself. 85% of what is responsible for your development are things within your subconscious mind. The factors mostly responsible for your success, are internal. You’ll need to align them properly to succeed. (more…)
This post was read by 6420 people until now.The Future is Now!
Three days I was on the Island - Victoria Island, and I met one of the coordinators of the Future Nigeria Awards. He recognized me for having won the award before, and informed me that he and a colleague of his were talking about me lately, and wondering what I was up to now? He also asked if my friends were professionals and that I should tell them about the Future Awards and get them nominating the right people. Back then, I had won “The Professional of the Year” category of the Future Award for 2006, and in the same year, had decided to resign from paid employment and become an entrepreneur.
Nominations for the Future Nigeria Awards will be closing on the 11th of November, 2007 and this year’s edition would be organized with the authentication of the Federal Ministry of Education. The silence is the only reason why truth goes unheard, lack of expression of light is the only reason darkness goes unchecked, if you think you know someone in any of these categories that should be nominated, go ahead and nominate them, this is the only way to ensure that we are pushing forward the right people. It should get more competititive each year as better and better people compete for each of the categories. You can do so here. (more…)
This post was read by 19231 people until now.Is Success Easy?
Once upon a time, there was a very rich king who had a very beautiful daughter. This daughter was so beautiful that she was the desire of every prince for hundreds of kilometers, the toast of the rich, and the dream of the poor. The princess was so lovely and well mannered she was simply out of this world.
The king knew that finding true love for his daughter would be a problem, so he decided to set up a competition to decide who would marry his only daughter and consequently reign as king after him. He decided to fill his big swimming pool with 40 hungry crocodiles. He set a day for the competition and informed all the choice men around town, that the man who would have his daughter’s hand in marriage is one that would be courageous enough to swim through the pool of crocodiles, come out alive at the other end, and be the first to do the same.
The crowd of aspiring and choice young men piled in front of the house of the king… (more…)
This post was read by 51731 people until now.Dubai 002 - Vision
One of the things that has continued to marvel me about Dubai, is how it has made use of nationals of other countries to sell properties that do not currently exist. Yeah, you read that right, many developers and property brokers in Dubai, make a living by selling properties that do not currently exist.
If you go around town like I do… like a hunting dog looking for the next rabbit..lol, you are likely to see opportunities all over Dubai. Everywhere you turn, there is a signpost about business and investment opportunities, and curiosity always gets the better side of me, so I ask. One scene that never ceases to amaze me is the one I’m about to describe now, it would have been fantastic, if it happened just once, but over and over again with different people? It’s awesome. (more…)
This post was read by 35101 people until now.
