Many years ago Henry Armstrong, a young pianist and composer from boston, set down a melody that had been running through his head for days. It was beautifula nd had a lot of rhythm.
For seven years he sent the song to music publishing firms, but they all turned it down.
He hired a lyric Richard Gerard, who came up with -You're the flower of my heart,- sweet Rosalee, but Armstrong still couldnot find a publisher who was interested .
Then one day while walking down the street, Armstrong and Gerard saw a poster advertisin g a concert by Adeline Patti, a popular Italian singer. On impulsethey decided to name their song after her. Their new title was a bit keithy, so they reduced it to the simple phrase - sweet Adeline. Armstrong' s song became the most famous barbershop quartet ballad of all time.
I wonder what the world would've lookedlike if great men and women who contribute d to the developmen t of the society had given up. Just take a little time and reflect on it. Imagine what would've been without carsor if it was made for the rich only.
Exactly what it was meant to be until Henry Ford said no. Imagine what it would've been if man was not to travel byair. Maybe it will take months to get to the far east. And what would you say about the home appliances that bring comfort to you and I.
One can't stop thanking God for these men.
And do you know something my dear reader, these men and women are just asgunman as you and I. It then means that we are capable of doing even greater things.
All things I said. The question then is, how many have you done? How many are you doing? And how many will you be remembered with? So many questions begging for answers.
One thing is for certain, ideas and intentions will never cease. Man will always come up with something new. Why shouldn't it be you? Most of these new thingsneed not be new after all.
And that's were creativity comes in. Just alittle addition or subtractio n to an alreadyexi sting intention and you come out with something different.
I remember Lance Armstrong a world class bicyclist diagnosed with terminal cancer. When most people would have given up hope. Armstrong never thought about death, but trained while undergoing treatment.
And so in 1999, three years after he was told he only had six months to live, Lance Armstrong won the glamorous tour de France. Experts' Verdict you will say. They are humans after all. Aren't they?
The Moral of the Story: never giveup irrespecti ve of the circumstan ce until you achieve your dream. Never. The key is in your hands! Use it!
Stay Motivated!
Friday, 25 November 2011
How to find what you love to do(2)
People think you have to travel around the world, experience new things, etc to find what you love to do. No. You just have to sitdown and decide. The answer is already within you. You just have to dig it up and avoid procrastinating. Your brain has absorbed all sorts of information and experiences and it has the answer ready to be unraveled.
Just let it out.
Be honest. Have you actually sat down by yourself with no distractions, with your sole focus on asking yourself what you love to do without picking up your cellphone, surfing the net, watching TV, chatting on AIM, listening to your favorite song, playing solitaire or minesweeper, checking your email, returning a call, getting a drink of water, going to the bathroom, looking at the clock, reading a magazine article, I could go on and on but you get the point. I’m going to goout on a limb and say you haven’tfor the sole purpose of you reading this article. Why is that?
Fear of what the answer will be ifyou ask yourself what you love todo.
The answer is: I don’t know.
But that is exactly why you MUST find out. You’re avoiding the question because you know the answer is you don’t know, but that’s ok. Admitting you don’t know is perfectly fine. There’s nothing wrong with it. You’re way ahead of a ton of other people who learn to quiet the voice within that asks the question of “What do I love to do?”
And let’s say you’re one of the few people who actually specifically know what they love to do. The next thought that popsin their head is “Oh, I can’t make any money off of that.” The seed that was planted never grew.
I hate vague answers. I want clear, logical, definitive answers to questions.
So let’s do this.
Step 1: You WILL find the answer. No doubt.
You will find the answer. You will find it. No doubt.
Approach the question with this mentality and you are sure to findit. How long will it take? It doesn’tmatter. Bottom line, you will find the answer.
By doing this, you automatically instill an anti quitting mechanism within yourself, because you know you will find the answer. If you know what you want to do, then you will do it.
For example, if you know you want to arrive in New York, you’ll find ways to get there. You’ll hop a train, bus, or plane going to New York and will arrive in New York.
If you don’t have the cash, you’ll borrow it, or get a job and save up, or get a job as a flight attendant to get there for free. It doesn’t matter how long it will take or what you need to do because you know you’re going to New York.
All your actions onward from the decision that you want to arrive in New York will revolve around getting to New York.
Read that last sentence again.
All your actions onward from the decision that you want to arrive in New York will revolve around getting to New York.
Finding what you love to do = Deciding to arrive in New York.
Step 2: Make a list of your skills and interests in two columns and WRITE THEM DOWN (I’ll explain why you must write things down later):
I’ve taken the liberty of creating adocument you can print so you can easily fill in the blanks. You can download it here . KEY is to WRITE THESE DOWN!! I cannot emphasize this enough. Don’t think you can do it all in your head. WRITE IT DOWN .
When I mean by skills is any skill. It could be an intangible skill. Empty your clip here, list EVERY skill you have. It could be programming, making web pages, talking, listening, persuading people, typing, flirting, analyzing, giving speeches, making things easy to understand, whistling, blowing bubbles with your spit, it could be anything. Don’t be bashful. Listeverything you perceive your skills to be.
On your other column, lists your interests and don’t be shy here aswell. List EVERY interest you couldpossibly think of. Spiders, shoes, hair, makeup, basketball, tennis, thinking of ideas, babysitting, walking, hiking, fireworks, helping people, making fun of people, fishing, tai chi, karate, seashells, seaweed, can openers, anything goes. Yes, I did say can openers. Your interests can also include subjects you are knowledgeable about as well. Computers, economics, biology, baskebtall plays, football plays, magic tricks, etc.
To help you write down more interests, think of what you were interested in at your previous jobs and write them down. Also, think of what you were NOT interested in your previous jobs and write the exact opposite.
Asking yourself the following questions may shed light as to what skills and interests you possess.
If you went in a bookstore, whichsection do you naturally gravitate toward? Ask friends for any skills and interests they see in you. You’ll be surprised at how much insight they have on you that you’ve never thought of before.
What do you spend most of your time doing? What do you look forward to doing? Go back and think of your accomplishments asa child. What kind of skills and interests revolved around your accomplishments?
Just let it out.
Be honest. Have you actually sat down by yourself with no distractions, with your sole focus on asking yourself what you love to do without picking up your cellphone, surfing the net, watching TV, chatting on AIM, listening to your favorite song, playing solitaire or minesweeper, checking your email, returning a call, getting a drink of water, going to the bathroom, looking at the clock, reading a magazine article, I could go on and on but you get the point. I’m going to goout on a limb and say you haven’tfor the sole purpose of you reading this article. Why is that?
Fear of what the answer will be ifyou ask yourself what you love todo.
The answer is: I don’t know.
But that is exactly why you MUST find out. You’re avoiding the question because you know the answer is you don’t know, but that’s ok. Admitting you don’t know is perfectly fine. There’s nothing wrong with it. You’re way ahead of a ton of other people who learn to quiet the voice within that asks the question of “What do I love to do?”
And let’s say you’re one of the few people who actually specifically know what they love to do. The next thought that popsin their head is “Oh, I can’t make any money off of that.” The seed that was planted never grew.
I hate vague answers. I want clear, logical, definitive answers to questions.
So let’s do this.
Step 1: You WILL find the answer. No doubt.
You will find the answer. You will find it. No doubt.
Approach the question with this mentality and you are sure to findit. How long will it take? It doesn’tmatter. Bottom line, you will find the answer.
By doing this, you automatically instill an anti quitting mechanism within yourself, because you know you will find the answer. If you know what you want to do, then you will do it.
For example, if you know you want to arrive in New York, you’ll find ways to get there. You’ll hop a train, bus, or plane going to New York and will arrive in New York.
If you don’t have the cash, you’ll borrow it, or get a job and save up, or get a job as a flight attendant to get there for free. It doesn’t matter how long it will take or what you need to do because you know you’re going to New York.
All your actions onward from the decision that you want to arrive in New York will revolve around getting to New York.
Read that last sentence again.
All your actions onward from the decision that you want to arrive in New York will revolve around getting to New York.
Finding what you love to do = Deciding to arrive in New York.
Step 2: Make a list of your skills and interests in two columns and WRITE THEM DOWN (I’ll explain why you must write things down later):
I’ve taken the liberty of creating adocument you can print so you can easily fill in the blanks. You can download it here . KEY is to WRITE THESE DOWN!! I cannot emphasize this enough. Don’t think you can do it all in your head. WRITE IT DOWN .
When I mean by skills is any skill. It could be an intangible skill. Empty your clip here, list EVERY skill you have. It could be programming, making web pages, talking, listening, persuading people, typing, flirting, analyzing, giving speeches, making things easy to understand, whistling, blowing bubbles with your spit, it could be anything. Don’t be bashful. Listeverything you perceive your skills to be.
On your other column, lists your interests and don’t be shy here aswell. List EVERY interest you couldpossibly think of. Spiders, shoes, hair, makeup, basketball, tennis, thinking of ideas, babysitting, walking, hiking, fireworks, helping people, making fun of people, fishing, tai chi, karate, seashells, seaweed, can openers, anything goes. Yes, I did say can openers. Your interests can also include subjects you are knowledgeable about as well. Computers, economics, biology, baskebtall plays, football plays, magic tricks, etc.
To help you write down more interests, think of what you were interested in at your previous jobs and write them down. Also, think of what you were NOT interested in your previous jobs and write the exact opposite.
Asking yourself the following questions may shed light as to what skills and interests you possess.
If you went in a bookstore, whichsection do you naturally gravitate toward? Ask friends for any skills and interests they see in you. You’ll be surprised at how much insight they have on you that you’ve never thought of before.
What do you spend most of your time doing? What do you look forward to doing? Go back and think of your accomplishments asa child. What kind of skills and interests revolved around your accomplishments?
How to find what you love to do(1)
How to Find What You Love to Do
By: Brian Kim - July 17, 2006.
This article was inspired by Steve Jobs’ commencement speech at Stanford University. In it, he says the advice we’ve all heard a thousand times:
“You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” - Steve Jobs
Well then, the question naturally arises:
How do you find what you love todo? It’s such a big question.
What absolutely boils my blood is that we hear we should be doing what we love to do all the time, but there’s not any step by step advice out there on how to find what you love to do. The advice that is out there helps to a certain degree, but it’s just a bunch of pieces thrown together with no coherent logical structure or order.
A perfect example is this. In orderto find your passion, we are told to ask ourselves: “What would you do if you had a million dollars(tax free)?”
The typical answer ensues: “Well gee, I would put it in an account that yields high interest and live off the interest each year. Then I would move to Hawaii, buy a house, sip margaritas all day, playvideo games, go to the beach, swim, travel around the world, taste all the cuisines, read the books, play the sports, and on and on and on.”
Does this really help? Not really. Sure, you figured out what your lazy butt likes to do, but it doesn’treally answer the question that’s hidden, which is “How do I make money doing what I love to do?
What's the result? People working in jobs they hate, feelingtrapped because they can’t quit as they rely on that sole source ofincome to finance a lifestyle tailored to escape their grim reality, drifting aimlessly in life, in short, leading lives of quiet desperation, as so eloquently put by Henry David Thoreau.
Why don’t they just quit their jobsand pursue what they love to do you ask?
Two Reasons.
Reason #1: They don’t know what they love to do.
Reason #2: Fear. They’ve got a lifestyle to uphold, bills to pay for, families to take care of, fear of nosteady source of income, fear of what other people might think orsay about them, etc. Fear. Conquer indecision in Reason#1 and ACT, and you will most definitely conquer all fear in Reason #2.
The very fact that you are seekingto find what you love to do (by the very fact you came across thisarticle and started reading it) is a BIG step believe it or not. Many people in their lifetime avoid or do not even seek to find the answer to that question. They hear the question in their head but have become extremely adeptat silencing it.
It is extremely important to answer the question on how to find what you love to do.
You must decide what destination to steer your life in. Otherwise, you leave yourself wide open for others to direct your life, as well as at the mercy of the winds and storms of life. If you know where your destination is, the rest is easy.
You will find once you know what you want to do, all uncertainty and burden will be lifted off your shoulders and you will have clear vision as to what your journey is and that journey will truly be joyful.
By the time you finish reading this article, I sincerely hope you experience that.
What about how to make money doing what you love?
The question of how to monetizedoing what you love is certainly avalid one. There are bills to pay, stomachs to feed, families to support, etc.
Don’t worry about that for now. That will be covered later in this article.
First things first, you’ve got to find what you love to do.
Why is it so hard to find what you love to do?
The answer is:
It’s not hard at all.
You read right.
It’s not hard at all.
Then why are so many people having difficulty finding what they love to do?
Because they’ve never truly asked themselves.
What amazes me is that there seems to be a stigma attached to spending time with oneself. You have to constantly be doing something, whether it’s going to the game, drinking beer with the buddies, going to that hot party or club downtown, etc. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with doing all that, but I suspect the vast majority of people who engage in this “I have to be doing something every minute because I can’t be by myself” mentality are just putting up a front to show people how satisfying and fulfilling their life is, when in reality, it’s just the opposite. The irony here is that spending time with oneself is EXACTLY what you should be doing to lead a satisfying and fulfilling life.
By: Brian Kim - July 17, 2006.
This article was inspired by Steve Jobs’ commencement speech at Stanford University. In it, he says the advice we’ve all heard a thousand times:
“You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” - Steve Jobs
Well then, the question naturally arises:
How do you find what you love todo? It’s such a big question.
What absolutely boils my blood is that we hear we should be doing what we love to do all the time, but there’s not any step by step advice out there on how to find what you love to do. The advice that is out there helps to a certain degree, but it’s just a bunch of pieces thrown together with no coherent logical structure or order.
A perfect example is this. In orderto find your passion, we are told to ask ourselves: “What would you do if you had a million dollars(tax free)?”
The typical answer ensues: “Well gee, I would put it in an account that yields high interest and live off the interest each year. Then I would move to Hawaii, buy a house, sip margaritas all day, playvideo games, go to the beach, swim, travel around the world, taste all the cuisines, read the books, play the sports, and on and on and on.”
Does this really help? Not really. Sure, you figured out what your lazy butt likes to do, but it doesn’treally answer the question that’s hidden, which is “How do I make money doing what I love to do?
What's the result? People working in jobs they hate, feelingtrapped because they can’t quit as they rely on that sole source ofincome to finance a lifestyle tailored to escape their grim reality, drifting aimlessly in life, in short, leading lives of quiet desperation, as so eloquently put by Henry David Thoreau.
Why don’t they just quit their jobsand pursue what they love to do you ask?
Two Reasons.
Reason #1: They don’t know what they love to do.
Reason #2: Fear. They’ve got a lifestyle to uphold, bills to pay for, families to take care of, fear of nosteady source of income, fear of what other people might think orsay about them, etc. Fear. Conquer indecision in Reason#1 and ACT, and you will most definitely conquer all fear in Reason #2.
The very fact that you are seekingto find what you love to do (by the very fact you came across thisarticle and started reading it) is a BIG step believe it or not. Many people in their lifetime avoid or do not even seek to find the answer to that question. They hear the question in their head but have become extremely adeptat silencing it.
It is extremely important to answer the question on how to find what you love to do.
You must decide what destination to steer your life in. Otherwise, you leave yourself wide open for others to direct your life, as well as at the mercy of the winds and storms of life. If you know where your destination is, the rest is easy.
You will find once you know what you want to do, all uncertainty and burden will be lifted off your shoulders and you will have clear vision as to what your journey is and that journey will truly be joyful.
By the time you finish reading this article, I sincerely hope you experience that.
What about how to make money doing what you love?
The question of how to monetizedoing what you love is certainly avalid one. There are bills to pay, stomachs to feed, families to support, etc.
Don’t worry about that for now. That will be covered later in this article.
First things first, you’ve got to find what you love to do.
Why is it so hard to find what you love to do?
The answer is:
It’s not hard at all.
You read right.
It’s not hard at all.
Then why are so many people having difficulty finding what they love to do?
Because they’ve never truly asked themselves.
What amazes me is that there seems to be a stigma attached to spending time with oneself. You have to constantly be doing something, whether it’s going to the game, drinking beer with the buddies, going to that hot party or club downtown, etc. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with doing all that, but I suspect the vast majority of people who engage in this “I have to be doing something every minute because I can’t be by myself” mentality are just putting up a front to show people how satisfying and fulfilling their life is, when in reality, it’s just the opposite. The irony here is that spending time with oneself is EXACTLY what you should be doing to lead a satisfying and fulfilling life.
My experience so far in OAU
In the middle of a tight schedule, a thought pops up in my head about what to write and i just decided to write on my experience as it has been for the past eight to nine months on OAU campus. My experience as i tell it could be totally different from what another with the same experiences will say. It's just a matter of interpretations of events.
To start with, i had never had any pre university experience before i came to school, i had not lived far from my family and not so long away from them. My whole life was centered around home,church and the Relief Club. I didn't really know how the outside world worked. I knew it wasn't all rossy as some expect but it has come out to be much more complex than i earlier thought.
During this short while on the campus i have experienced things that i know i wouldn't have gotten if i was at home or elsewhere. I have met different personalities ,seen diverse attitudes and thought patterns and become acquinted with great people who will be greater tomorrow. I have been subjected to pressures that i have desired to be put into since 3 years ago when i finished secondary school. I remember back then how i used to write Jamb to the point of almost getting frustrated with myself,life and God. My classmates were getting admitted and moving higher in their academics but it wasn't so for me. Sometimes i even cried and went into intense sessions of thinking. But all that is part of the past now because the present does not look a bit like that period.
Lectures,tests and exam. That's the cycle of things here. You can avoid going for the first but you dare not miss the second and third for they determine your g.p.a(grade point average). I have noticed, g.p is the highest source of motivation amongst students. Though there is fellowship to attend most students will still prefer to focus on building their g.p to attending to any religious activity. Even boyfriend/girlfriend relationships suffer during exams.
Living with my roommates is another issue on its own. I have had good and bad times with these great guys. I have learnt lessons from them that i might not have learnt reading a thousand books on people relations. I have learnt the value of sharing and love with them,patience and trust also. They are people that have contributed one way or another to my being the kind of person that i am now. They have been my family since my admission on campus. I thank God for the opportunity to know them.
Freedom is another thing i have acquired each time i left home and made for school. Freedom to do and be anything i want to when i need to. Sounds great? Yeah,that's how i feel each time i enter the school gates. I have tried using that freedom constructively to the best of my knowledge but there are times that i abuse it,with time. Unnecessary chatting and joking,excessive movie watching among other trivial things have been what i have been doing rubbishing my freedom and wasting time. Though i read books(academic and inspirational),attend classes and special programmes, i have still not been using the best of my freedom and time on the campus.
So,y'all that are aspiring to get into school,this just a glimpse into what school life is about and for everyone else,hope you enjoyed my write up. Till some other time again, am out!
To start with, i had never had any pre university experience before i came to school, i had not lived far from my family and not so long away from them. My whole life was centered around home,church and the Relief Club. I didn't really know how the outside world worked. I knew it wasn't all rossy as some expect but it has come out to be much more complex than i earlier thought.
During this short while on the campus i have experienced things that i know i wouldn't have gotten if i was at home or elsewhere. I have met different personalities ,seen diverse attitudes and thought patterns and become acquinted with great people who will be greater tomorrow. I have been subjected to pressures that i have desired to be put into since 3 years ago when i finished secondary school. I remember back then how i used to write Jamb to the point of almost getting frustrated with myself,life and God. My classmates were getting admitted and moving higher in their academics but it wasn't so for me. Sometimes i even cried and went into intense sessions of thinking. But all that is part of the past now because the present does not look a bit like that period.
Lectures,tests and exam. That's the cycle of things here. You can avoid going for the first but you dare not miss the second and third for they determine your g.p.a(grade point average). I have noticed, g.p is the highest source of motivation amongst students. Though there is fellowship to attend most students will still prefer to focus on building their g.p to attending to any religious activity. Even boyfriend/girlfriend relationships suffer during exams.
Living with my roommates is another issue on its own. I have had good and bad times with these great guys. I have learnt lessons from them that i might not have learnt reading a thousand books on people relations. I have learnt the value of sharing and love with them,patience and trust also. They are people that have contributed one way or another to my being the kind of person that i am now. They have been my family since my admission on campus. I thank God for the opportunity to know them.
Freedom is another thing i have acquired each time i left home and made for school. Freedom to do and be anything i want to when i need to. Sounds great? Yeah,that's how i feel each time i enter the school gates. I have tried using that freedom constructively to the best of my knowledge but there are times that i abuse it,with time. Unnecessary chatting and joking,excessive movie watching among other trivial things have been what i have been doing rubbishing my freedom and wasting time. Though i read books(academic and inspirational),attend classes and special programmes, i have still not been using the best of my freedom and time on the campus.
So,y'all that are aspiring to get into school,this just a glimpse into what school life is about and for everyone else,hope you enjoyed my write up. Till some other time again, am out!
Saturday, 12 November 2011
Keep moving!
Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle...when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.
Friday, 11 November 2011
What's your obsession?
Great question! There are obsessions of many sorts nowadays especially with young people-cars,girls,sports,clothes,books,academia,spirituality... But one things for sure,some obsessions are stronger and more important than some others. Another thing is that obsessions are different in terms of being beneficial to you and others. Everyone has obsessions of some sort but not every obsession is useful. Obsessions of certain people have changed the course of history. Whether they benefited other people or not they made things different for human beings. Lets take two examples. German dictator Adolf Hitler was passionate about a communist system of goverment. He passionatly hated the jews and blacks and saw to it that he eradicated as many as he could while he breathed. He had a burning passion for world domination(like pinky and the brain). The other example of passionate leadership is Mahatma Ghandi of India. This man fought to death to see his countrymen free of colonialism of the British. He put all he had into it. He could have chosen a lifestyle of pleasure but he decided to sell his life to his one burning desire-his country's deliverance. This now leaves you with the question again 'what's your obsession?'. You know you have it there,but a lot of situations have put off the fire or rather you allowed them to put it out. But you didn't put it there in the first place... God did! So get back to Him for a rekindling. So many people found theirs and used it to benefit the world,which was why it was put there in the first place. Discover this passion by looking inwards and looking upwards. Then you'll know what it is and change the course of history,if not of the world,then of the people around you.
The rich's conspiracy(1)
Yes,we have known from time on that there is usually a conspiracy behind things happening in the world:assassinations,wars,terrorist attacks,poor education etc.these and many more are the conspiracies existing in the world.but there is one particular thing that intrigues me,which is the illitracy and ignorance people display when it comes to issues about finance.they could be academic geniouses but when it came to the subject of money,they become morons.this is common in most societies.this i tell you a'int no coincedence.the root of all this starts from the rich planning to make the rest of the society ignorant about the rules of money so they can make all they can from it.there is a rule called the 90-10 rule which says that only 10% of the population controls 90% of the wealth while 90% of the rest of the people share the meagre 10% left.that leaves you with the question:are you going to be a part of the 10% that gets the lion share or a part of the 90% that struggles for the remaining 10%?think about that carefully...
All 'bout me!
Hello there!you might be wondering what you're are doing here,or you might have intentionally found your way here,all the same,i say welcome to my world.this blog is a derivative of me,my idea child and i would like you to enjoy my world with me as i take you through the mountains,valleys,pastures,rivers,sunshines...of my life.the blog contains everyday thoughts,observations,ideas and desires.do have a great time here while you stay!
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