BEING INTENTIONAL

Click on the link below to listen to the audio podcast of BEING INTENTIONAL:

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8xMzA1NTE1MC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/ODZjZjljZGUtOTNlZC00NTA0LTg2ZjAtYmY0NzgxNjZiZDhi?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwig59nGktvwAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ

TRANSCRIPT

Sometimes, life throws thistles at us. Sometimes our life becomes mechanical, following daily routines and schedules that become a culture. Often times than not, we are stock in these routines. It is sometimes difficult to pull out of this situation. Some of these routines are positive, but most of the time, they are negative and unhealthy routines that affect us negatively. These end up forming habits.

We must realize that to emerge as winners over our internal battles, we must intentionally choose to win in spite of the negative circumstances around and within us.

To be intentional means to be deliberate in the choices we make. Being intentional means having the ability to see specific results in the future that if you achieve them will make things bigger and better for yourself, business and those around you.

Being intentional means having the ability to make deliberate choices about the food we eat, cloths we wear, kind of job we work, school to attend, man/woman to marry and our life style in general. In the bible, God said “… I have set before you life and death ….” (Apologies to non-Christians). There is no room for being confused. Confusion comes as a result of indecision and indecision comes as a result of a weak resolve.

Being intentional means having clarity of purpose. It also means taking specific actions on our thoughts and feelings that are important to us. The life of intentionality entails not leaving anything to chance while hoping for the best to happen.

It takes being intentional to get out of a bad routine, habit, relationship, business partnership, etc. the saying goes that “we do not control the thoughts that crosses our mind, but we can determine what thought stays”. Intentionality involves taking cognizance of the process. You have to walk the ropes, work the talk and follow the process. The holy bible says “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame”. Intentional living focuses more on the process (journey) than the outcome. The choices we make everyday defines us and ultimately brings a sense of purpose and satisfaction.

STEPS ON BEING INTENTIONAL

People often say they didn’t have a choice on a particular matter. The truth is we always have a choice. For every choice, there is a consequence whether good or bad. Becoming intentional about our choices has a lot to do with our personality. You ask yourself the following questions; who are you? What do you want? Are your steps aligned with your thoughts?

1.    Know who you are: your identity is found in your purpose. Why you were created. Even the smallest and most insignificant thing created by God contributes to balancing the ecosystem. You were created for a reason and you have a purpose. everyone was born to create a balance in life. The choices you make are imbedded in your identity. Life isn’t lived in a vacuum. Self-identity brings self-awareness. When you are aware of who you are, you become intentional about the choices you make. Who are you? To identify yourself, you need to take a deep meditation and inward assessment of yourself. You are not who you are because of your actions, but you are who you are because of your thought which leads to your actions. You can’t find yourself in engaging in extracurricular activities, you find yourself when you look inward. Who are you?

2.   Know what you want: what you want is always tied to your purpose. What are your values, goals, priorities, etc. why do you get up from bed every morning. What do you do that makes you feel alive? Know what you want and go for it. What you want is a product of who you are.

3.     Align your actions with your thoughts: if you think you are a failure, you will most likely fail. If you think you are going to die, you will most likely die sooner. If you think you are sick, you will most likely fall sick. Man is a product of his thought pattern. For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Its impossible for you to walk in contradiction with your thought. You may fake or cover it up for a while, but soon enough, your actions will align with your thought. Your actions tell the rest of the world what your thoughts are. Your actions are a bye-product of your thought pattern. The mind is a free way, you can’t control what comes in, but you can control what stays; for what stays produces what you do.

 

Watch your thoughts, they become your actions, watch your actions, they become your behaviour. Watch your behaviour, they become your habit. Watch your habit, they affect and impact your destiny.

 

Don’t leave things to chance and assumptions hoping that they would fix themselves. The reason you are still confused is because you have decided to be indecisive.

 

The man who wins isn’t the man with all the resources, the man who wins is the man who is intentional. Intentionality is a function of the mind.

Be intentional about your choices

Be intentional about your job

Be intentional about your relationships (business, friendships, marriage, etc.)

Be intentional about your habits

Be intentional about helping other people

Be intentional about your attitude towards other people

 To live a more productive and happy lifestyle, be intentional....

6 PRACTICAL WAYS OF DEALING WITH FAILURE

Oxford online dictionary defines failure as Lack of success. So in the above definition, the absence of success is termed “Failure”. It is the state of failing at something. Failure can actually be a source of motivation and inspiration, but people haven’t realised that yet. In this particular publication, we shall be looking at ways we can deal with failure. There are several ways that failure can be dealt with, below are a few ways;

1. See failure as a learning point: When you fail, rather than dwell in self-pity, view your failure as a source of knowledge and learning. As an individual, I have failed in business and in relationships. But rather than dwell in self-pity and forming a pity party, I learnt from my failures ways of how not to fail the next time I try. If you don’t find out why and how you failed, you might not be able to find out how not to fail in your next venture.

·      2. Accepting your emotional state: Sometimes it is okay to feel vulnerable to your emotions. It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to feel sad when you fail at something; it could be a task at the office, a contract or a partnership you had invested so much in, it could be a relationship you had put in so much effort in, etc.

Do not lie to yourself about how you feel. Acknowledge your pains, hurt, sadness & frustration, and accept it. This will help you heal faster and motivate you to seek for ways never to fail again. In 2017, a friend of mine connected me with a gentle man from the Northern part of Nigeria. This man needed Tipper trucks that will transport raw materials for cement production from Lagos to Kogi state. Now this business would have changed me forever as that particular business was intended to last for 2 years. They needed about 100 Tipper trucks for this job. I put in a lot of effort in making sure I get good trucks to deliver on the job. I put in so much effort and hard work to ensure the success of the contract. I was so fortunate to find trucks that were sound enough to do the job. But the contract failed because the client wasn’t willing to pay the required amount that was quoted for the job. They wanted to pay an amount far lesser. That failed contract demoralised me and I felt really devastated. I thought of the resources I had invested in travelling and other connections I had made for the job. I thought of the profit I would have made at the end of the job. I struggled with the emotional trauma for a long time, because I didn’t want to accept the emotions I felt, I wanted to mask my emotions, so people would not know how I felt. I healed faster after I opened myself up to my emotions

It is more devastating and dangerous to lie to yourself about how you feel and the current state of your emotions when you fail at something.

So go ahead and accept your emotions, allow yourself to feel bad for some time, know the emotion you feel and allow yourself to experience it. That failure and emotion will motivate and inspire you to work harder and smarter.

·       3. Avoid unhealthy practise: People try to hide their pain when they fail at something. You might hear them say stuff like “I didn’t really want it anyway” after they had tried something and failed or “she wasn’t really the girl I wanted” after he must have tried to woo her and she turned him down. But trying to hide the pain won’t make it go away. Trying to distract yourself by adopting some unhealthy lifestyles such as smoking, gluttony, drugs and even drinking will only worsen your situation by further deteriorating your health rather than heal your pain. You don’t have to jeopardise your health simply because you failed at something. You must bear in mind that failure is temporary, but developing an unhealthy habit can have a lasting devastating effect on you.

·        4.  Adopt some healthy habits instead: When you fail at a thing, some of the healthy practises you can adopt to help you deal with the failure includes;

Calling a friend: This actually goes a long way in helping people deal with stress, anxiety and failure. There is a popular cliché ‘a problem shared, is a problem solved’. This has actually helped me a lot in dealing with certain difficult issues. When you discuss your failure with a close friend, you free yourself of your frustrations and worries.

Taking a long walk: Sometimes a long walk helps free your mind of things that bothers you; especially when you had just failed in something. My friend Charlie takes a long walk whenever he experiences failure in something or going through anxiety issues. He says ‘long walks help me develop different perspectives about life and when I engage long walks during crisis periods in my life, I see my worries differently’. Long walks don’t only help clear your mind, it is also a great exercise for your body.

Meditations: This is a powerful mind exercise that helps heal pains even faster. It allows you to connect with your inner self and get to the root of your soul. During meditations, you develop a new sense of confidence and faith that you can actually succeed. You also reflect on past successes and you are able to develop a new perspective about life. It improves your self-esteem, self-worth, and confidence. There are audios you can download online to help you with your meditations.

Hang out with children, pets, and close-friends: This works very well for animal and children lovers. You can go to a park and watch children play; you can take your dog or cat to a park to play. The idea is to engage you in healthy practises. If you don’t discover some healthy practises and lifestyle, you may not be able to desist from the negative ones that you indulge in.

·     5. The belief system: A lot of factors and elements could have been responsible for your failure; poor preparation, government policy or regulations, last minute disappointment by an investor/partner, or some unforeseen circumstances such as an accident, or death of a loved one. When people fail, they usually start developing some irrational belief about failure. Such belief as “I’m a bad person, that was why I failed”, “Nobody will like or accept me because I failed, and if you are from Africa you might attribute your failure to some diabolical and fetish belief that you are suffering from some ancestral curse from your village. Such thoughts are negative and would only hold you back from trying again and even succeeding. This kind of belief and thinking will further reduce your self-esteem and confidence. The lack of confidence and low self-esteem result in some negative behavioural pattern which would include; hatred, envy, jealousy, violence, depression, and even suicide. The Holy bible says when the righteous falls seven times, he will surely rise again.

You must understand that failing is part of the process and develop positive attitudes and belief towards life in order to succeed. Consciously develop the ‘I can do’ mentality. Give your positive reinforcements of encouraging yourself to learn from your failure and mistakes. Challenge yourself to try again. Yes! There is always a next time.

Listen to inspiring music, audio books and videos, read books like the bible, and other inspirational literatures by Brian Tracy, John Maxwell, John Mason, Steve Jobs, Richard Templar, Robert Kiyosaki, etc. change your circle of negative and myopic friends. They will only point out your inadequacies and the wrong in the world. Associate with people that will help you see possibilities around you and even help you achieve them.

You will start succeeding when you start changing your belief system.

·      6. Take responsibility for your failure and move on with the lessons learnt: Failure is the beginning of a new chapter. When you fail, it is important to accept a certain amount of responsibility for your failure. Acknowledge that you are partly the cause of your failure and take responsibility for it. It’s okay to blame external forces and other people when you fail, but you must also realise that part of the failure was your fault. Whenever you think of your failure, think of explanations as to why you failed rather than excuses. Find out the reasons why you failed and ask the question “how can I do it better the next time?” Failure is a great teacher if you are open to learning. Seek for ways to do things differently and ensure you don’t repeat your mistakes. Like Thomas Edison, Walt Disney, Benson Igboejesi who failed several times in business and a host of others who failed in different areas of profession. Find out what they did differently that bounced them back, and apply some of their methods where it is applicable to your own situation. Use the information you have gathered from your failure and your study of why you failed and create a workable plan. Apostle Paul said “…… I press towards the mark …..” he didn’t remain in his failure; he created a plan and followed it until it worked out. Just like a baby doesn’t just start running in a day. The child first learns to sit before trying to crawl. When it’s time for the child to crawl, he tries and falls down severally before he stands. And that child keeps trying until he stands, walks and also runs. The child never gives up or in. He keeps trying until he achieves his objectives. So you must continue to strive, push and pursue, no matter how many times you fail.

Sometimes, what causes us to fail is our fear for something. If you must succeed, you must identify your greatest fear, and face it. Step out of your comfort zone. Faith is not the absence of fear. Do not stay in your comfort zone and expect to succeed or have a breakthrough. All those who ever succeeded, took steps of faith out of their comfort zone. Failure is part of the process. Don’t die there in that negative circumstance. Seek for help from experts and professionals in that field, create a plan and jump right back in. you will succeed if you try again.

Do not ignore the God factor. God is the source of strength and wisdom for a comeback when you fail. Paul declared and said “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength”. You have got to believe and put your faith in God.

ELIMINATING COMPETITION

Business involve the activities of planning, directing, conceptualizing, strategizing and controlling people, things and events to achieve organizational goals and maximize profit. If the business must grow, it must overcome challenges. Some of those challenges come from competitors. Any business that must survive in this 21st century must deal with competition. It is almost impossible for anyone to claim novelty of a particular idea. Whatever idea it is, someone is either doing it or is also thinking in this line as you. Competitors are the people that motivate you do better in your services. Without competition, most businesses would not treat their customers nice, not improve on the quality of their products and services and they would not improve their way of doing business. Business is more fun and interesting with the presence of competition. Every business wants to operate at the blue ocean where there are little or no competitions at all. To operate at the blue sea, you must have squashed all your competitors.

Elimination of competition is one aspect of business that give CEOs much concern. They always asked where did this competitor come from? Why can't they just leave us alone? Why are they stealing our idea?

To subdue or eliminate competition, you can apply the following practical ways;

1.     ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR PRESENCE; The sooner you realize that you are not in the race alone, the better for you. No business empire is safe from competition, you must know that everyone wants to be successful and people are not just folding their arms and doing nothing. Successful businesses identify and analyse their competitions before they commence operations. The fact that you can't see them today, doesn't mean they don't exist. They do! Its a matter of time, they will surface.

2.     IDENTIFY THEM; Consciously seek out those who are in the same business with you. Who are they? What do they offer? How are they offering it? What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses? How many percent of the market are they controlling? At what price are they offering? Etc. Also identify other products that can serve as substitute to your own. Know thy enemy! 

3.     FORTIFY YOUR BRAND; The corporate world is a battle ground. Everyone is in it for the profit. Conduct a SWOT analysis of your organization. Find the loop holes. Carry out simulations to find whether your strategies actually works. Find the weak links and seal them up. Develop yourself and your staff for aggressive take over. Improve on the quality of your products/services, if possible, repackage your product, develop an excellent customer relations. Also cover legal loop holes. Fortification strengthens all areas of your business. 

4.   LAUNCH AN AGGRESSIVE TAKE OVER; Launch a full scale promotional campaign and sales strategy of your improved products and services with the intention of regaining back your market. Show no mercy to your competition. Do not hold back any strategy when launching a full scale marketing communication.

5.     EVALUATE RESULTS AND RELAUNCH; Your competitors are just as desperate as you are to dominate and control the market. So expect them to come at you with force. Anticipate retaliation and have a strategic counter attack plan. Evaluate the results of your previous strategies and be sure you are not making mistakes. Its a continuous circle that must not end if that business must continue.

Thank you very much for reading this article, if you loved it, simply go the comment section and drop a comment.

WINNING ATTITUDE; THE POWER OF BEING PROACTIVE

Photocredit - Truelancer.com

Henry David Thoreau wrote ‘I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor’

It takes the conscious endeavor of an individual to achieve success amidst harsh economic situation, poor family background, poor governmental policies and bad leadership.

Productivity in any field requires being proactive. Proactivity, according to dictionary.com means ‘Serving to prepare for, intervene in or control an unexpected occurrence or situation especially a negative or difficult one’. Simply put, it means taking active steps in turning a bad, negative situation to a positive and favourable one. Always remember that your mind is your greatest asset and your most important resources. If you lose it, you’ve lost it.

In the previous article, we talked about the power of the mind; I am sure we learnt a few ways on how to develop our minds to achieve results. The mind is the most powerful weapon that can be used to overcome even spirit forces. Now continuing this series, we shall talk about another very important aspect of the attitude that winners carry with them where ever they go. That’s the attitude of being proactive. Every leader that ever made a difference in the world, name them; Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr., Nelson Mandela, Sir Winston Church Hill, Margaret Archer and even Jesus; they were all proactive when it comes to leading people and becoming relevant in their sphere of contact. We can go on mentioning world leaders who stood up for something in the midst of steep opposition and adversity, how about those employees in their work places who nobody takes note of, yet they contribute immensely to the success of the organization.

‘We are not our feelings. We are not our moods. We are not even our thoughts….’ Stephen R. Covey. The fact that we see ourselves in a certain way doesn’t mean that’s how we are; it just means we have been conditioned to think that way. Stephen R. Covey calls it conditions and conditioning and he has grouped them into three different categories;

•         Genetic determinism; Your grandparents did it to you
•         Physic determinism; Your parents did it to you while nurturing you
•   Environmental determinism; Your boss, spouse, team member, government policies and regulations, economic situation, classmates etc or someone or something in your environment did it to you.

A majority of us have based our success and happiness on these social mirrors

In the previous article, I talked about building you mind’s capacity through constant learning and meditation exercises. To be proactive means to be in charge of your mind. ‘The first and best victory is to conquer self’ Plato. To conquer self means to be in total control of your mind. To achieve personal victory, you need self awareness just like Viktor Frankl. Stephen Covey had this write about Frankl

 ‘Frankl was a psychiatrist and a Jew. He was imprisoned in the death camps of Nazi Germany, where he experienced things that were so repugnant to our sense of decency that we shudder to even repeat them. His parents, his brother and his wife died in the camps or were sent to the gas ovens. Except for his sister, his entire family perished. Frankl himself suffered torture and innumerable indignities, never knowing from one moment to the next if his path would lead to the ovens or he would be among the “SAVED” who would remove the bodies or shovel out the ashes  of those so fated.

One day, naked and alone in a small room, he began to become aware of what he later called “The last of the human freedoms”. The freedom his Nazi captors could not take away. They could control his entire environment, they could do what they wanted to his body, but Viktor Frankl was a self aware being who could look as an observer at his very involvement. His basic identity was intact. He could decide within himself how all of this was going to affect him. Between what happened to him or the stimulus and his response to it, was his freedom or power to choose that response. In the midst of his experiences, Frankl would project himself into a different circumstances, such as lecturing to his students after his release from the death camps. He would describe himself in the classroom, in his mind’s eye and give the lessons he was learning during his torture’.

The strength of proactivity lies in you knowing that No one can hurt you without your consent. Having a clear understanding of your strengths and weaknesses are key elements that help you achieve ‘Self Awareness’

PROACTIVE LANGUAGE

The Language of proactive people is absolutely fixed on positivity. Failure in a certain task or project is usually a lesson for them to improve and get better at what they do. Failure isn’t an option for them although they may face certain setbacks and limitations in their quest to achieve their objectives.

Reactive people go towards the negative and blame everyone else but themselves about the negative circumstances and outcomes of their lives; their lifestyle, emotional/psychological state and everything else that goes wrong. They are often times ‘IRRESPONSIBLE’ and always very defensive; so you get to hear statements and comments such as;

•          ‘Its not my fault and there is nothing I can do about it’
•          ‘That’s just the way I am and I can’t change it’.
•      'This is how everyone else is doing it. It can't be done differently'

Reactive people lack the creative power to generate the positive energy that can help them come out of a bad situation.

Just like Viktor Fankl, between the stimulus and your response is a very strong and powerful determining element ‘CHOICE’. You cannot control some of the negative circumstances around you such as the family into which you were born, the environment where you were raised, the standard of education you receive. But you have the power to choose your response to these negative circumstances.

The quality of our life is dependent on the choices we make daily; the choice of food, outfits, where we go, the circle of friends we keep, the type of movies we watch, the type of relationships e keep etc. No wonder the bible says ‘Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the of life’.

Environmental Education Is Key to Solving Our Waste Problem

By 

Olumide Idowu

@OlumideIDOWU

We live in rapidly evolving societies, so why doesn't our environmental sensitization adapt/conform to these changes?’’

Williams S. Anarfi explains - environmental education is becoming increasingly important as our lives, cities and priorities change. As our cities become more congested and busy, knowledge of the impact we each have on our surroundings becomes more and more crucial. Equally important however, is our understanding of how we can contribute to protecting the environment around us.

Africa is on the verge of losing its essence and beauty to different forms of degradation especially waste pollution’’. This is dope; I think you should start your article with this statement. As we become more urbanized and the spending power of the average African rises, more goods will be consumed leading to even more waste. “The volume of waste generated on our continent is expected to double in the coming years as the size and population of its cities explode.” John Paul.

Apart from the dirty and unsightly look that heaps of wastes are giving to several cities across Africa, poor waste management is closely related to, and largely responsible for, the outbreak of diseases. In addition to its undesirable effects, the mismanagement of our waste has a long-term effect on the handling of Africa’s natural resources in the future. Recycling items like kitchen waste, paper, plastic and metals helps reduce the pollution in our environment.

The enforcement of proper waste management has a strong impact on job creation in Africa. Organizations like Recycle Points Nigeria, Wecyclers, WASCO, EnviroWaste, WasteMan are one of the few organizations in Africa that are contributing to more job creations and ultimately promoting a more sustainable global environment.

Apparently, more efficient and sustainable approaches to waste management need to be adopted. To ensure this, we need to shift emphasis towards a more localized/community based system, make use of low tech/ low energy systems and most importantly ensure waste minimization. This approach is widely practiced all over the world and very few African companies like afore mentioned have adopted these methods.

1. Waste Minimization is an approach that aims to reduce the production of waste through education and the adoption of improved production processes and less wasteful practices.
2. Recycling means to separate certain materials within the waste stream and reprocess them. Currently, the recycling of many materials is not financially viable.
3. Waste processing is the treatment and recovery (use) of materials or energy from waste through thermal, chemical, or biological means.

A waste management system is a combination of several stages in the flow of materials within a given society. All waste management systems goes through the mining stage, processing, production and consumption stages which involves the final treatment and disposal. I believe that the ultimate goal of waste management efforts should be waste minimization, however, waste processing and waste recycling play an important role in improving production processes and in dealing with ‘waste’ in a manner that is more environmentally and economically beneficial.

For us to make this happen we need to improve the educational sectors in Africa There is an urgent need for us to do more advocate for both young and old. But you know what ­- The standard of education in many parts of our continent has deteriorated terribly. Poor access to quality education at all levels – from basic primary education to university – is another serious and nagging problem across Africa.

The poor quality of government education and low investment in the education sector has put youths in a state of crisis in many African countries.

Because many Africans understand that education is one of the few bridges out of poverty, millions of poor families on the continent are desperate to find good schools for their children. However, the existing schools and training facilities are unaffordable for many people and are not even enough to cater to the needs of Africa’s large and rapidly growing population.

How do we make education more attractive? Does anyone understand why education is crucial for Africa’s growth? Should we introduce free education for all or shall we demand a fee from those that can afford it?

I invite you to be part of the solution to the waste management problem in Africa and to help and encourage others. We need to endeavor/strive for sustainable education and proper waste management for all - together we all can make a difference in our different communities.

Thank You.

Olumide Idowu is the Team Lead, 

Climate Wednesday. 

He can be contacted on 

Twitter via @OlumideIDOWU

ME, A MARKETER?

Marketing is an everyday affair as long as human life is concerned. Everyone sells something to someone. You are either selling to your parents the person you want to become after college or you are selling a fun activity to your peers or a guy trying to win a girls love and affection or trying to sell a brilliant idea to the board members of your organization or making a sales presentation to potential investors. Whichever form it takes, whether formal or informal, an item is sold (goods or services). Now a lot people think marketing and sales is rocket science and so, some have built this giant image about marketing in their mind. These and lots more have left some thinking that some people where born to be marketers while others are not.

To help you build confidence in yourself and also have a breakthrough in your marketing career, here are a few tips which I believe would set you up on your journey as a marketer.    

1. Know yourself; Ever heard of the phrase ‘Oh man, know thy self’? Self awareness is one of the key factors in making success in your career as a marketer. Know your strength and weaknesses, know what motivates and inspires you to succeed. You cannot achieve success as a marketer with your confidence nose diving
2. Know your organization; A broad understanding of the source of your products/services is a major determining factor in your success as a marketer. Carry out a SWOT analysis of your organization. And know the direction in which your employer is leading the organization. This information will arm you for your customers, because sometimes, customers want to test your knowledge about your organization.
3. Know your product; You do not need a soothsayer to tell you that a full understanding of your product/services increases your confidence in actually selling that particular item. Every product has characteristics and behavior. As a marketer, you must understand these various features and characteristics in order to make sales
4. Know your competition; who has a similar product like yours? Whose product can serve as a substitute to yours? Whose product is of the same quality as yours? Know what your competition is doing, how they are doing it, with what resources are they doing it and why are they succeeding over you. Then device means to eliminate competition and gain more market shares
5. Know your market and your customer; This is one of the most important aspect of marketing; who is buying your product/services, what is their lifestyle, what is their spending power, what are their values, customs and traditions that you need to respect. Take your time to study them and familiarize yourself with them.

A proper and effective market segmentation will help you position yourself, gain market control, increase sales and increase your profit. As a marketer, you cannot stop doing market segmentation because the market is very dynamic and ever changing. You must proactively develop and innovate new ways to stay above your competition, involve your customers in the sales process and maintain your relevance in the market.

In conclusion, everyone is a marketer, whether great or small, old or young, male or female including you. If anyone can succeed in marketing, you can.

LESSONS AN INDIAN BOY TAUGHT ME

I have read books and practised leadership from my teenage years, but this little boy inspires a different level of leadership in me. His determination to make a difference in a system that cared less and a society that was characterized by selfishness, nonchalance, mediocrity and greed inspires in me the need to take the lead in effecting positive change.

CLICK ON THE LINK TO WATCH VIDEO

 https://youtu.be/GPeeZ6viNgY?si=_UBRLM-DF-jYxzRH

THERE WAS A PROBLEM;

Things weren’t working as normal and no one seemed to care about it; Do you work in an organization where things aren’t going smoothly as it should, do you come from a family that seem to be careless about certain things they should take rather seriously, or you live in a society that has accepted the life of mediocrity? If you find yourself in such a system as I have, you would notice that people aren’t usually very happy about the situation they have found themselves, but they can’t do anything or so they would think. But this boy is someone you would call a maverick (one who sees things differently from others). What did he do?

• He saw the situation and was exasperated by it
• He analyzed the situation and identified the root cause of the problem 
• He didn’t complain, whine, lament or turn a blind eye (which was the major problem) to the problem like the others in the same area
• He asked himself the most important question under the circumstance, ‘What can I do to solve the problem?

THE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM;

People respond differently to problems and situations around them; some complain bitterly, others blame the government, the weather, the system, their family background, the economic situation or any other external factor not realizing that the major challenge is not the external forces but the internal weaknesses that we accept as our reality. The bitter truth is that, things are meant to go wrong; people change, government and organizational policies fail, systems that may have lasted for decades fall apart. Rather than sit back and wait and look for whom to blame and criticize, we can be proactive enough to do what this little boy did. He focused his attention on finding a solution to the problem. The only answer that made sense to him was ‘I can move this tree out of the way’. What a stupid thing to do right?