WHY PEOPLE FAIL OR SUCCEED

 “Character is the real foundation of all worthwhile success.”

~John Hays Hammond

Why do people fail in business and in life?

The answer is simply the lack of good characters- what Myles Munroe of blessed memory referred to as the quality of moral force.  Character is doing the right thing even when nobody is looking.

Attitude is everything in life. There is an attitude for failure, so also there is an attitude for success in life.  The attitudes of failure are gossip, lying, pride, laziness, gluttony, over indulgence. The list continues. While the attitudes of success are humility, integrity, hard work, forbearing, self control, respect, honesty, responsibility, fairness and so does the list goes on.

In essence, if you desire success in life or in business, you must choose your attitudes correctly. Your character defines you and how far you can go in 

TIME!

How important is time to you? What do you spend your time on?   There is a general axiom that says "Time waits for no man".  Successful entrepreneurs and businesses men invest their time wisely in things and activities that enhance their ventures and businesses. More importantly, they account for every time they spend each day to ensure they have judiciously used their most priceless possession - TIME. Successful people have not time to waste. Every second of the day is priceless.

To be a successful entrepreneur, watch what you spend your time on. Make sure to use your time, invest and focus on the goals and targets you have set for yourself. The time people waste on watching tv, playing video games, chatting with friends and playing around with their mobile phones etc can be properly channelled to more meaningful gains. To determine whether you will be successful in life, observe what you spend your 24 hours on. That way, if your are truthful enough to yourself, you will know where your life is heading to.

To begin a new leaf in managing your time to successful ends, start by at least spending 2 hours of your day on your goals and then gradually increase the time from 2 to 3 to 4 to 5 to 5 hours a day. By the time you know it, you are close to achieving your goals and would be happy knowing how you use and spend your time.

Invest your time in your future. You can be better!

~Don Nwokedi

ATTITUDE

ATTITUDE

Everything depends on attitude!

Napoleon Hill, one of the richest man of his days in wealth and wisdom- a great entrepreneur made this beautiful remark, "Our attitude shapes our future". After decades of this assertions, research has proven that everything including one's success, achievement as well as failures depends greatly on ATTITUDE- behaviour and opinion towards people and things. To make it simple,  attitude is good or bad and good attitude beget good life while bad attitude beget bad life and leads to suffering.

 Right/good attitude is important to any entrepreneur and anyone who seeks  success in life and business. To be able to have your own business and manage it successfully, for instance, you must have the attitude of saving. Ability to save money or resources and channel it to greater purpose requires much discipline- an attitude lacking in many young people today and the reason a lot of people are poor. 

An entrepreneur's attitude to his staff, customers and clients determines  how successful his ventures will be. Clients will always seek out business that care about their needs and feelings and patronize them so also your staff will take their jobs and roles seriously when they are given a sense of belonging and ownership of the venture.

Your attitude they say determines your altitude in life. keep the right attitudes. Jettison any attitude that does not go well with eople and your business. Learn discipline and apply them in your life and the sky will be your starting point.

SIMPLE STEPS ON HOW TO BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR (START & OWN YOUR BUSINESS)

Many people have wondered if they can ever make it in the business world. Some even think they can never be able to do or own a business- they simply don't know how to. Some think they can never own a business since they can never get the capital (money) to start up one. Well, anything is POSSIBLE if you believe.

 Here are a few steps on how to start and own a business.

1. IDENTIFY A NEED. Think of a need. Any good business must first and all solve a need. Ask yourself, what need do people feel around your environment? What is that thing people stress so much to have access to in your area that you can make it easy for them to reach. The person who started tying ice water in simple nylon bags saw the need for people to have access to chilled water especially during hot season and make it readily available anywhere. That's how pure (sachet) water business was born. Today sachet water business has generated employment for countless number of people.

2. PLAN. Start a plan on paper on how you can solve the need you have identified. Your plans should include more research on the need you have identified. You can begin by asking questions to get more insight. Never be afraid to ask questions.  Get information on what it will take you to provide the services or goods that will solve the identified need(s), what it will cost, and what strategy you will employ to make your business a reality. Be elaborate on your research and make sure to write them down for reference to assist you in finally making decisions.

3. TAKE ACTION (decide). When you have your plans laid out after a thorough research on the need you intend to solve (the business), make a decision to act on your plans and discipline yourself to follow them through. You may meet challenges on the way but never quite. Quitters never win and winners never quit. Do not be in a haste to see progress. Progress should be slow but steady. Start with small wins. For instance, if you need to start your business with N5000 but you don’t have the money. Don’t be quick to throw the idea away, rather think of how you can raise the N5000 over a period of time. You can give yourself say, one month, a year or more to raise such funds by committing yourself to doing something that will earn you the money gradually till you reach your target.

4. SEEK HELP. As longs as you show yourself a responsible, determined and honest person (traits you need to succeed in the business world), do not be afraid to ask for help. It can be from friends, family members or organisations. Seek avenues that will aid you in reaching your goals. Use the internet where it’s possible to get information on people or organisation that might be willing to offer any kind of help in the areas of business you seek to venture. Use every legitimate avenue to actualize your dreams. Never be shy and never give up!

5. THINK BIG. START SMALL. Earlier I stated you should focus on small wins. It is important not to think that you must start big, rather think big and start small. Your idea may be a multi-million naira earner, but you can start with a few hundred nairas to get to your target. Many businesses today started small and then went on to expand. You must not start in a big way (mistakes many entrepreneur wanna-be make) learn to start from the scratch, one step at a time while focusing on other growth strategies.

6. NEVER QUIT. Don’t give up in the face of challenges or mistakes that may cost your goals a great deal. Many small businesses never survive beyond five years, research has shown. Those that survive are those that refused to give in to challenges and circumstances. Thomas Edison was asked why it took him 10,000 trials to invent a lightbulb, he said he only found 10,000 ways of making it happen. So, no matter how many times your new business is faced with challenges, learn to be strong and not give up. Challenges are part of the ingredients to the success of any business. They give you the required experience to survive the unknown.

Have a wonderful time in your journey to becoming your own boss.

You can be better!

10 SIMPLE STEPS TO FINANCIAL BREAK THROUGH AND FREEDOM

1.   Begin with taking the decision to succeed and break free from poverty and joblessness. You must decide. If it has to be, it's up to you.

2. Set goals. Determine what you can do to break free from poverty. It must be legal and must serve people's needs. Make it a goal then to satisfy that need people feel around you.

3. Plan. Have a plan. Write it down. Don't be afraid if you don't know where or how to start. Just keep a pen and paper around. Continue to think and believe in your goals...surely your instinct will pull through.

4. Be Confident. Trust your gut instincts. Be proud. Be bold. Even the most successful people were once naive. But be strong and keep your head high. Believe in yourself by believing in your goals.

5. Believe. If you don't believe in what you want to do, how then can you convince anyone of your idea, goals, or intentions? Your success begins with you BELIEVING!

6. Be Fearless! Fear is the greatest killer of destiny. Never be afraid, even to fail. Failure itself its part of the plan to your greatness and success. Every successful person today once had failure knocking at their doors. Expect failure but NEVER embrace it.  Keep standing...just as you would stand up whenever you trip and fall. Never give in to failure when mistakes hits you. Move on!

7. Learn to trust. When you meet the right people, you will know. Learn to trust people in your life. Make good friends, abandon the one's who poison your mind with negative energy and words. Learn to also trust yourself first. Do a SWOT (Strenght. Weakness. Opportunity. Threats) analysis of yourself and always be sincere. Never lie to yourself no matter the situation. Be real!

8. Ask. Never be afraid to ask for help as long as you are sincere about your needs. Every successful person today was once helped by someone and many still get help today. Never be shy to ask for help when you need it, but don't ever abuse the privilege.

9. Give up? No way! Your age doesn't count. It is immaterial how old you are. You can be and achieve whatever you focus your mind on. Your mind will always be younger than your body. Age should never be a barrier to your dreams. Don't give up!

10. Act! If you don't act on your dreams, plans and goals you are like a lion without a heart. Acting on your plans is all that makes the difference. If you want change, you must act for it to come. Take action today and all will be well.!


Thanks and have a fulfilled week!

SET YOUR MIND ON YOUR GOALS

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up, your problems or your goals?

Decide that you are going to start each day thinking about your goals, your dreams and your positive possibilities. As soon as you wake up in the morning, start throwing out those nagging doubts and worries. Concentrate, instead, on the things you have decided to accomplish in your life. Whatever you think about long enough and intently enough will become a reality for you. That is because your thoughts direct your actions from moment to moment and day to day.

If you spend a lot of time thinking about your problems, they will grow bigger and stronger. Is that what you want? Of course not. Instead, focus on your goals. Keep them in the forefront of your mind from the moment your wake up, throughout the morning, the afternoon, the evening, until you go to bed at night. Your thoughts are yours. They are completely under your control. So you might as well use them to benefit you. Because, what you think about, you bring about. You have GREATNESS within you!

Renew Your Mind and Blossom

Would you like to be happy, successful, fulfilled, rich, remembered as a hero? I bet you would and i am telling you now that it is VERY POSSIBLE for you to become and actualize all those dreams you have for yourself. You don’t have to envy anyone. You can become even better and greater than the person you envy by understanding one simple principle about who you are. I know some of you would be in doubt already, and asking, how is this possible given my circumstances? My parents are poor, I didn't have an education, I don't have money to start a business, my family is against my career, I don't have good friends I can trust and share my ideas and feelings with, am no good for anything, am blind, am deaf am dumb am this am that and the excuses keeps heaping up.

Pic by Don

The reason why people fail to actualize and achieve the dreams and goals they desire in life is because of SELF DOUBT- the one single phenomena that has led many to die horrible deaths and take to the graveyard all the great things they could have given to life and to the world. Now let me share one truth with you, and this truth is the only secret to success in life. It is the only truth to self-actualization and the secret to being happy and having all that you desire. Here it goes: Ephesians 4:23 "..and be renewed in the spirit of your mind."

Everything you are today or will be tomorrow begins and ends in your mind! Let me give you a definition of what mind is before I try to explain why and how you need to renew the spirit of your mind to become what you desire or aspire in life.

Mind: (1) the element or complex of elements in an individual that feels, perceives, thinks, wills, and especially reasons.

(2) The conscious mental events and capabilities in an organism.

 Following the above definition by Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it is possible to conclude that your existence and purpose as well as your achievements are all embedded in your mind. Your mind is the you in you without which you are not you. If you take a closer look to understand the first and second definition of the mind, you will come to the realization that without your mind, you cannot feel, perceive, think, will or reason. Without your mind, you are simply not living or alive. You are unconscious. So, for you to want to be rich, successful, and happy is in the first place your ability to use your mind. So if you can feel to want to be happy and think about it, you can as well through the same mind create those things you desire to make you happy and successful in life.

Now, if you are not happy with your life or who you are now, it’s simply because your mind is telling you something differently and you are not in control of it. You have only allowed it to sway as the wind without a destination or control. Maybe you have allowed someone else to control your mind for you but now is the time for you to take over your mind and steer it in the direction you want. This is the process of renewing your mind. Take charge and control your mind by feeding it those things that you want by believing in yourself that you have the power to create your circumstances and not allow anyone do it for you. By understanding that you can, through your mind control your external environment gives you unlimited powers and sets you on the path of actualizing all your dreams.

The bible was written many years ago, this secret has been there in the open but many have not been able to come to terms with it. Many people today are born and raised with a mindset. Some have been told they can never be better, they can never read, that they can never be rich because their family will always be poor since their great grandfather was poor, or think for themselves, that they are incapable to do things other people do because of   their biological makeup, but history has proven this to be wrong... some people has been told that they can never survive a particular ailment or disease, but by the renewing of their mind and believing a different report they have surmounted all challenges and have doomed those who said they cannot be better, survive or think.

You need to get away from that mindset that you have followed and allowed to control you for many years of your life and begin a new thought process that will usher in a cleansing of your mind. First, you need to know that earth, this place we all are, does not belong to any one but to all of us and that earth's resources both the visible and invisible ones are available for us to tap into, use and control to our benefit and glory of the creator. No one came to earth with anything. Those who have achieved one thing or the other are those who early enough understood the secret of the mind and were disciplined to control it and use it to pursue their dreams to a logical conclusion. 

Renew your mind and blossom. Begin another journey of your life, change your circumstances, and decide your destiny by simply being in control of your mind - what you feed it and what you allow it to feed on.

Have a wonderful journey in your new endeavour!