Motivational Monday With Dan: The Story Of The Chinese Bamboo Tree
Welcome to a wonderful week. Perhaps, you are thinking the ninth month is almost over and you are yet to achieve your goals. Perhaps, you are getting worried, frustrated and discouraged because you haven’t realized much this year?
I don’t know if you’ve heard this story about the Chinese Bamboo Tree before now but this is one of those stories that is really instructive. When I heard this amazing story for the first time, I was astonished! This is how the Chinese bamboo grows. When the seed of the Chinese Bamboo is planted, watered and nurtured, for years it doesn’t outwardly grow as much as an inch. Nothing happens for the first year. There’s no sign of growth. The same thing happens in the second year. There is no growth above the soil. And same for the third year. The tree is carefully watered and fertilized each year, but nothing shows. No growth. No anything. No results for 4 long years!
Can you imagine yourself doing the same things every day, not having any evidence that your efforts are having any effect? You’re waiting for results, not seeing any evidence of progress. But guess what? In the fifth year, something awesome happens. After five years of fertilizing and watering have passed, the Chinese bamboo tree suddenly sprouts and grows 80 feet tall in just 5 weeks! But think for a moment, does the Chinese Bamboo tree really grow 80 feet in six weeks? Did the Chinese Bamboo tree lie dormant for four years only to grow exponentially in the fifth? Or, was the little tree growing underground, developing a root system strong enough to support its potential for outward growth in the fifth year and beyond?
The bamboo was growing underground the whole time – without visible evidence, but it was growing. Had the tree not developed a strong unseen foundation it could not have sustained its life as it grew. The same principle is true us in life. As long as we Keep trying and don’t quit; as long as we keep watering and fertilizing our dreams, just like the Chinese Bamboo tree, it will come to fruition. It may take weeks. It may take months. It may even take years, but eventually, the roots will take hold and your Chinese bamboo tree will grow. And when it does come alive, it will grow in remarkable ways. All of us have a Chinese Bamboo Tree within; that is waiting to break forth. So, have faith. Be patient. Be persistent. Continue to press forward. #Motivational Monday #Don’t Quit #Dan Ekoko
Read MoreMotivational Monday With Dan: Preparing For The New Week.
Welcome to a brand new week. It’s a wonderful week. Great opportunities awaits you. However, an important part of preparing for the New Week so that you can maximize it to the fullest is to review the past week. Over the years, entrepreneurship has been a truly amazing journey and a life-changing adventure and experience. One secret that has been beneficial in my adventure as an entrepreneur is that I always look behind and ask myself, ‘What did I do wrong yesterday?’ ‘What wrong choice did I make yesterday?’ and ‘What I’m I doing right today?’
To have a better future, you must learn from the past, apply what you learned and hope for a better tomorrow. One key lesson I learned early in life is that successful people and successful entrepreneurs are always learning! And they learn especially from mistakes and from the past. I always advice younger people to make reflection a daily, weekly and monthly habit. It’s important to reflect on every day’s activity, on what we’ve been doing right, and what isn’t working. Personally, I reflect on every aspect of my life, and from this habit of reflection, I am able to plan, refocus, and continuously improve. I learned many lessons last week and I know I still have lots more to learn in the weeks ahead. What about you? Did you learn anything?
Today is a perfect time to look back and reflect on what you did last week – your successes and failures; your mistakes, your choices and decisions; what you did right and what you did wrong, the risks you took and didn’t take; the door you opened and failed to open; the opportunities you maximized and the ones you didn’t.
Here are some useful questions to reflect on:
What did I learn?
What did I accomplish?
What would I have done differently?
What were the most significant events of the past week?
What did I do right?
What do I feel especially good about?
What was my greatest contribution?
What were my biggest challenges/difficulties?
What am I particularly grateful for?
The future would always start in the present, what we do today starts what we will be in the future. Learn from the past. But don’t live in the past. Enjoy the now. A great week full of opportunities to grow and succeed is ahead. So, make it count. Be enthusiastic and positive. Rise up every day, and see sunshine in each day. The difference between a good week and a bad week is your attitude. Your attitude will determine the outcome of the week. Do have a splendid week. To your success!
#Motivational Monday #Dan Ekoko
Dan Ekoko: My Message To Young Nigerians
Democracy is the system of government by the people in which supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents or representatives under a free electoral system. Democracy may be a word familiar to many, but it is a concept still misunderstood, misused and abused especially in this part of the world. Today May 29th is ‘Democracy day’ ~ a day set aside to mark the restoration of democracy to Nigeria. Current events in our nation leave one with little or nothing to celebrate. However, in the midst of all the happenings, I still have hope and believe in Nigeria. I believe in the youths of this nation; the next generation of Nigerians who carry within them the seed of a better, greater and greener Nigeria.
Presently, our nation is experiencing a season of economic downturn. Our survival and eventual outcome will be determined by our response, our attitude, speech and our thoughts. I read a book some years back by Robert H. Schuller titled, ‘Tough Times Don’t Last, But Tough People Do.’ Indeed, tough times and economic downturns don’t last; rather tough, determined and praying people do. Lupytha Hermin said, “When Life Gives You Something That Makes You Feel Afraid, That’s When Life Gives You A Chance To Be Brave.” The current tough times, difficulties and uncertainties in our nation is an opportunity to shine like a million stars. As we mark 2016 Democracy Day and look forward to our National Day on October 1st, this is the time to be brave. This is the time to rise up and challenge the status quo. I urge young Nigerians to take their destinies in their hand. Seize the moment and lead the change you want to see in technology, agriculture, health, education, aviation, entertainment, sports, politics, religion etc.
*This Is The Hour We’ve Been Waiting For.
*This Is The Time We’ve Been Waiting For.
*We Are The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For.
Happy Democracy Day! God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Shake It Off And Take A Step Up!
Thinking about the economic turmoil in our nation presently: N145 new fuel price, high cost of foodstuffs, non-availability of forex, erratic power supply etc. one word comes to mind: ‘Resilience’. The dictionary define resilience in two ways:
*As the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress.
*As the ability to recover from setbacks, adapt well to change or misfortune, and keep going in the face of adversity.
In the midst of the current Nigerian ‘crisis’ and challenges, a positive mindset and resilience is required. Resilience is the foundational key to not only surviving, but thriving. The Donkey in the pit is a very popular story. One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried pitifully for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do for his poor donkey. Finally he decided it was probably impossible and the animal was old and the well was dry anyway, so it just wasn’t worth it to try and retrieve the donkey. So the farmer asked his neighbors to help him fill in the well and bury the donkey. They all grabbed shovels and began to toss dirt into the well. The donkey immediately realized what was happening, and he began to bray horribly. A few shovel loads of dirt later, the farmer looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit the donkey’s back, the donkey would shake it off and step on top of it. As the neighbors and the farmer continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he continued to shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon the donkey shook off the last shovel full of dirt, took a step up, and walked right out of the well and trotted off!
The present condition and crisis in our nation require us like the resilient donkey to shake off the dirt & take a step up. Personally, with the grace and mercy of God, I was able to shake off a lot of things in my life like humble beginnings and poverty. ‘SHAKING IT OFF’ is one of the lessons I learnt earlier in life. I urge you to do same. From time to time, we get knocked down. From time to time, life is going to shovel dirt on you – yes all kinds of dirt. However, what would determine your fate is your attitude. What happens to us in life isn’t nearly as important as how we react. You can turn every adversity into a stepping stone. Just like the donkey, the way to get out of the deepest well or conquer the biggest challenge is never by stopping or giving up but by shaking off and taking a step up. Finally, in the midst of the economic tough times in Nigeria; you can choose to let it define you, confine you, outshine you or you can choose to shake it off and take a step up!
Read MoreLeadership Lessons From Mother Girraffe & Her Baby
As leaders and would-be leaders, wildlife is replete with valuable lessons if we take the time to observe and ponder. Here’s a story of how the mother Giraffe teaches the Baby Giraffe the art of survival in the face of predators. Baby giraffes learn a very important lesson early in life. The birth of a baby giraffe is quite an earth-shaking event. A baby giraffe falls 10 feet from its mother’s womb and usually lands on its back.
Within seconds it rolls over and tucks its legs under its body. From this position it considers the world for the first time and shakes off the last vestiges of the birthing fluid from its eyes and ears. The baby giraffe shrivels up and lies still, too weak to move. The mother giraffe lovingly lowers her neck to kiss the baby giraffe. And then something incredible happens. The mother giraffe lifts her long leg and kicks the baby giraffe, sending it flying up in the air and tumbling down on the ground. The kick rudely introduces the newborn giraffe to the reality of life.
As the baby lies curled up, the mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a quick look. The mother giraffe position herself directly over her calf. She waits for about a minute, and then swings her long, pendulous leg outward and kicks her baby again, so that it is sent sprawling head over heels. When it doesn’t get up, the violent process is repeated over and over again. Finally, the calf stands for the first time on its wobbly legs. Glad to see the baby standing on its own feet, the mother giraffe comes over and does the most amazing thing. She kicks it off its feet again. The baby giraffe falls one more time, but now quickly recovers and stands up. The mother giraffe is delighted. She knows that her baby has learnt an important life and survival lesson.
Why does the mother giraffe do this? She wants it to remember how to get up. In the wild; lions, leopards, hyenas, leopards, and wild hunting dogs enjoy young giraffe meat. Unless the baby giraffe quickly learns to stand on its feet, run and stay with the herd – it will have no chance of survival. Like life, leadership is a journey which requires years and years of learning, practice, training, hard work and commitment to become an effective leader. It is a journey filled with several knock downs, challenges and obstacles, turns and twists; victories and defeats; successes and failures.
As it is said, “A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor.” The hallmark of leadership is not in groaning or complaining because you have been knocked down. What sets a leader apart from the rest of the pack is not staying down but in getting back up. Nelson Mandela once said, “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” As you grow and progress in your leadership journey, expect to be knocked down, learn lessons while you are down, and then get back up and get on with it. Have A Pleasant Week!
Read MoreThe ‘Ant Philosophy’
The ‘ANT PHILOSOPHY’ is worth pondering as we go forward into the month and the rest of the year.
Ants are amazing creatures. They are smarter than you think. Ants are known to be the smartest species of insects with about 250,000 brain cells. Although, the ant is small in size, it’s extraordinarily wise. Heard of the Ant Philosophy? American entrepreneur and personal development legend, Jim Rohn inspired millions of people with what he called the “Ant Philosophy”. The ‘Ant Philosophy’ outlines simple principles that we can all learn from the attitude and lifestyle of these remarkable insects.
FIRST ANT PHILOSOPHY: ANTS NEVER QUIT
Ants know that they want, and they go after it. Ants follow what is called an “ant trail.” They don’t get lost as long as they follow the line. They don’t give up on their goal. They confront their obstacles until they achieve their desired outcome.
SECOND ANT PHILOSOPHY: ANTS THINK WINTER ALL SUMMER.
Good times (when things seem easier, goals are being achieved and the sun always seems to be shining) don’t last forever. Ants instinctively understand this. So they gather and store food for the times when winter comes and food is scarce. When things are going well for us, we should be planning for the times when things could go wrong. As Mike Murdock said, “The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.” Prepare for the future every day.
THIRD ANT PHILOSOPHY: ANTS THINK SUMMER ALL WINTER.
During the winter, ants think “this too shall pass.” They know winter never lasts forever and eventually summer will return again. Seasons follow the same order – always. Bad and unpleasant times always end, and summer (time when things will get better) is coming!
FOURTH ANT PHILOSOPHY: ANTS DO ALL THEY CAN.
And here’s the last part of the ant philosophy. Jim Rohn asks a question, “How much does an ant gather during summer to prepare for winter?” The answer is: ALL THAT HE POSSIBLY CAN!
As we begin a new day remember: “The time will come when winter will ask you what you were doing all summer.” ― Henry Clay. So like the ant:
Never give up.
Always look ahead.
Always stay positive.
Do- all-you-possibly-can.
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How To Reach Your New Year Goals
It’s the first Monday of the New Year and it’s the perfect time to start planning, thinking, and setting goals to achieve your best year yet. To avoid making 2016 another extension of your experiences in 2015, then you must have goals and develop action plans to reach the goals. It is important to set specific goals for each of the seven human development areas: physical, social, mental, spiritual, financial, family and career development.
Below are 6 tips on setting goal setting that could help make 2016 your best year yet:
Tip #1: Set small goals
Break down your big goals into smaller ones. The bigger a goal looks, the more it creates fear. The smaller the goal the easier it is to achieve.
Tip #2 Keep it S.M.A.R.T
Ensure your goals are S.M.A.R.T, which is an acronym for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.
Tip #3 Write It Down
Writing your goals down will not only ring a bell on what you are to achieve but will also help you to track your progress in the execution of the goals.
Tip #3 Tell Someone
Once you have set your goals and ensured that they are SMART, tell someone about it. You can involve your family and friends in helping you stay on track toward achievement of your goals.
Tip #4 Stay Persistent, Don’t Give Up
Working towards your goals will come with challenges, difficulties and frustration. So you need to persevere, encourage yourself and stay persistent. Whatever your biggest dreams and desires are for 2016; STAY PERSISTENT. You can write this words of Ralph Marston and paste it where you can always see it: “Soft water wears away the hardest stone, not by sheer force but by relentless persistence.”
Tip #5 Track Your Progress
Keep a record. It is important to track your progress weekly, monthly, quarterly etc. Take time to review your goals – write out what worked, what didn’t, why it didn’t and how you can do better. Keeping track of your progress will help you know how far you have gone since you started.
Tip #6 Celebrate
Finally, celebrate. Yes, whenever you reach a goal – celebrate it! Remember to thank those that helped you achieve it too. Then go back to the goals that are yet to be accomplished.
You can use these tips on goal-setting to create an amazing 2016. Above all, try to keep your goals SMART: S – Specific, M – Measurable or Meaningful, A – Action-Oriented, R – Relevant or Rewarding, T – Time-bound.
Read MoreDare Oladipupo Shares On Keys To Successful Entrepreneurship
An emerging Business and Human Resource Catalyst; Mr. Dare Oladipupo, was the speaker at Salimo-Wits youth Leadership training held at the Events Place Ajah, Lagos on Saturday 12th December, 2015. The speaker commenced his presentation by conducting a 10 minute entrepreneurship IQ test for the participants to give them in-sight into the qualities of an entrepreneur. He described entrepreneurship as “Living few years of your life like most people won’t so you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.”
According to him, “Capital is not always about money.” He defined capital as that force that raises the productivity of labour, increases outcome and creates wealth. He stressed that energy, passion, knowledge and skill, time, effort, resilience, creativity and innovation as well as networks and connections are key requirements to becoming a successful entrepreneur. He said, “Creativity is the root of entrepreneurship. Creativity is an attitude. It is the thin line that demarcates those that succeed as entrepreneurs and those that don’t.”
Mr. Dare Oladipupo charged the participants to persevere and to think outside the box. He rounded-off his talk with this statement: “No Capital and No Collateral. No Problem. Start with what you have.” The participants won recharge cards, free books and other gifts as they answered questions on Leadership and Nigeria during the ‘Leadership Game’ session. Finally, the December edition of the Salimo-Wits Youth Leadership training was rounded-off with rendition of the club anthem and group photographs.
Read MoreA Different Kind Of Leader
Last weekend they were opening parliament and there was a state dinner planned for all guests that was going to cost about 300m. President Magulufi cut the budget to 25m and ordered that the rest be taken to buy hospital beds for Muhimbili they got 300 beds and mattresses and 600 bed sheets from that money. On 23rd Nov 2015 he announced that there will be no official ceremonies for Independence Day on 9th December, the money is to be used for more pressing issues and the day should instead be spent cleaning up our environment.
On Saturday 21st nov 2015 a group of 50 people were about to set off for a tour of commonwealth countries (don’t know for what) but President Magulufi cut that list down to 4 people, saving government 600m in tickets, accommodation and per diems No more foreign travel, embassies will take care; if it’s necessary to go, special permission must be sought from him or Chief Secretary No more 1st class and business class travel for all officials except President, Vice, and Prime Minister.
No more workshops and seminars in expensive hotels when their so many ministry board rooms available. President Magulufi asked how come engineers are given V8s when a pick-up is more suitable for their jobs. No more sitting allowances, how the hell are you paid allowance for a job which you have a monthly salary; that also applies to MP’s. President Magulufi has literally pressed the reset button; returning Tanzania to default factory settings, because that was the TZ Nyerere left us with.
On the day after he was brought to power, in the morning as State House officials were showing him round he decided to take a walk to ministry of finance, told them to get their act together, asked why some employees weren’t in office (ever since then the traffic jam in mornings has become worse) and ordered TRA to scrap all tax exemptions, everyone must pay taxes especially the big guys President Magulufi went to Muhimbili Hospital unannounced and walked thru the worst parts that they keep hiding from important visitors he fired the director, fired the hospital board and ordered that all machines that weren’t working (so that people go to private hospitals owned by some doctors) to be repaired within 2 weeks otherwise he fires even the new director; the machines were repaired in 3 days.
Finally, last week when going to officially open parliament President Magulufi didn’t go by plane, drove the whole 600km from Dar to Dodoma. President Magulufi has reduced the size of the presidential convoy, even reduced the size of presidential delegation that travels with him President Magulufi chose a Prime Minister we haven’t heard of before, a guy with reputation for hard work and no corruption all the big guys we expected could be PM have been let wondering what hit them.
His motto is: Hapa Kazi Tu = “HERE, ALL WE DO IS WORK/ SERVE!” After President Magulufi visited Ministry of finance and Muhimbii Hospital without announcing it is said the port (most corrupt, delaying, thieving officials) were all of a sudden the most efficient place. No loads are missing, things are done quickly and that habit of forcing for a bribe so that your container is released is no more. Oh, they say when he was confirmed as winner people started congratulating him and wanting to bring gifts to his place he turned them back, saying he will receive all congrats over the phone, nobody should visit him. All individuals/firms that bought state companies that were privatized but haven’t done anything (20yrs later) are to either revive the industries immediately or hand them back to the government.
Culled from The New Vision Media.
Read MoreEnough of excuses, Please
EXCUSES do not get things done. Those at the helm of the nation’s affair must begin to realise this by now. Six months after, there should be signs of the so much trumpeted change or a positive approach towards that direction. People are becoming weary of promises and excuses, they want to see action.
A couple of days ago, I received a mail from Mr. Dan Ekoko, President of the Salimo-wits foundation, an NGO that is silently impacting lives in Nigeria through youth leadership initiatives, wealth empowerment and positive health advancement. Mr. Ekoko has this to say about the present situation in the country: “It’s time to call Mr. President to change his negative talk about Nigeria.
Yes, we have had bad leadership at all levels of government in the past.
Yes, corruption has been around with us a while.
Yes, infrastructures are in bad shape, need refurbishment renewal and additions to our road, rails, ports, etc.
What we need more than ever to stem the current situation of these problems is not talking endlessly about them but speaking out the measures that his administration wants to adopt to change how government business will be managed going forward.” I agree with him absolutely.
The cry and lamentation of the present leadership is beginning to weigh everyone down. It is as if they were unaware of the challenges facing the nation before deciding to delve in. Almost everyone agrees that there was misrule during the sixteen years of PDP’s rule and that accounted for why they performed woefully in the last election. The APC government therefore, is assumed to be a corrective one. They did leave us with the impression during the campaigns that, they already have the formula to steer the nation’s sinking ship on course, so, why the whining now?
Our obsession with the performance of the immediate past government will not allow us move forward. Whatever happened, has happened. The previous leadership did not do well, that is why they were voted out. We must forget about the past and move forward. If anyone has done anything against the law, the normal process of investigation and trial should be followed but we must move forward.
It is important for our president to know that no amount of foreign trips and lobbying will change the situation of this country, it is only the people- Nigerians- that can make it happen. He will succeed if he genuinely carries the people along and not through instruments of coercion or condemnation. The president went to India and portrayed the country as a corrupt nation and in reacting to the barrage of criticisms that visited the President’s action, his spokesman Mr. Femi Adesina claimed that the President must tell Nigerians the truth, but, telling Nigerians the truth is different from creating a wrong perception. Anytime there is a gaffe on the President’s part, like he did in India, his spokesmen always come out to drive it home and picture it as reality, nay the truth. No man or group is a repository of wisdom, any man can make mistake and we must accept it when such a situation occur. The best thing to do under such circumstances is to be quiet. It is not every allegation that we respond to, like they say, silence is sometimes golden.
Nigeria is a peculiar country, with a peculiar people and peculiar challenges. What most people see about Nigerians are perceptions, which are very different from reality. What the president did in India was to reinforce that perception. You do not go to India to say that your country is corrupt – as the Indians are not better off in that area.
The reality is that Nigerians are perceived as a corrupt people, which fact is not validated by the statistics of criminal convictions from our law courts. The reality on ground is that Nigeria is a giant nation, with its full potentials waiting to be harnessed. The reality on ground is that Nigerians are intelligent and hard working people, who can be the best in every profession all over the world.
It is also true that Nigerians are very hospitable and friendly people, warm to strangers irrespective of race or creed. It is also true that the greatest challenge facing the country is leadership. A leader that will integrate the various ethnic/tribal groups into one united whole, with a common goal and purpose.
The reality is that we have not been able to achieve this goal because of the failure of leadership. It is a reality that Nigeria needs a focussed and intelligent leadership, one that will look beyond party, ethnic and religious lines for solution, that will not see victory as a winner take all affair or an opportunity to suppress the opposition, one that will not take revenge on those who did not vote for him.
It is a reality that Nigeria needs a leader that will understand our peculiar differences and approach the solution from that direction. The reality is that Nigeria can rise again and take its rightful place in the comity of nations, that is why our focus now must be on building and not destroying or pulling down.
You do not build by condemning everything your predecessor had done. Government is a continuum, start from where the previous government stopped. Where they have done well, you continue on that path. You also proffer or implement corrective measures in any area they have erred. That is how government operates. It is not the part of government to whine and complain, that role is for the people and they exercise their rights during elections. So, let us see real action and no more excuses, please.
Mr. Sunny Ikhioya is a commentator on National Issues.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/11/enough-of-excuses-please/