Category: Success Unplugged

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Self-Confidence: Quenching the Fire of Distrust

Self-confidence

Self-confidence is akin to the water that extinguishes the fire of distrust. Distrust is another element of the 3-D factors (or the 3 Fatal Ds) I mentioned in my book ‘The Threshold of Life’. Apart from discouragement, and distraction, distrust is another threat to success.

Distrust -Meaning

Distrust is the feeling that someone or something cannot be trusted or relied upon. It means to treat someone or something with a lack of confidence or with suspicion. It is the opposite of trust and the third factor you must deal with to have a successful and fulfilling life. Among the people you will come across not everyone will believe in you or your dreams. Distrust is a killer of dreams. It suppresses ideas and abilities. 

In the atmosphere of trust people tend to discover their talents easily. Novel ideas and abilities are unraveled where trust thrives best. A little dose of trust is a potent prescription for success. Trust is healthy for fulfillment. People are always happy when they are surrounded by people who believe in them or their abilities. On the other hand, distrust places an embargo on ideas and talents and limits the tendency to find fulfillment in life.

Beyond Reasonable Doubt

It is like a man to doubt the reliability of any idea until they are proven otherwise. The initial response to ideas from people is that of resentment. If you are a marketer you will understand better. You may have heard people say ‘I don’t buy the idea’. For people to buy your idea you must sell it to them, and for you to sell it to them you must ignore their initial resentment and convince them beyond every reasonable doubt.

People around you may not believe in you or your abilities, but you must believe in yourself. And to do that you must have self-confidence. Understand that not everybody will want to see you succeed in life, so you must be confident enough to believe that you can succeed in the pursuit of greatness no matter the challenge. And for you to do that you must believe in yourself. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe did say, “Just trust yourself, then you will know how to live”.

Self-Confidence the Way Forward

Hence, the best way to deal with the challenge of distrust and succeed in life is to trust in yourself. I know of a young man who had lofty dreams. He told people around him about these dreams. Many of those things as far as people were concerned were unimaginable and farfetched judging from his status then. Many did not believe him, they thought he was insane, and they virulently attacked him. But he did not give up and was able to achieve his dreams. Why? He believed in himself. He was confident, and he achieved his dreams.

Yes, people may not believe in you, it is very normal because not everybody will believe in you. Anyway, it is their own opinion; but don’t be so timid as to allow the opinion of others to affect your pursuit of happiness negatively. Others may not share in your dream but hold onto your dream. However, you have an obligation if you must overcome the challenge of distrust, you must have confidence within you. Believe in yourself, and hold onto your dreams. If it is necessary shut every antagonist out of your life, and close your ears to their virulent outbursts. 

Conclusion

Finally, self-confidence makes your journey to success an easy ride. It helps you ignore and overcome criticism. You don’t let people’s opinions influence your decisions or actions in life when you have self-confidence.  It will not only help you to overcome distrust but also help you overcome the challenge of discouragement and distraction.  Hence, with self-confidence as a person that knows your onions, you will stay focused and not be distracted in the face of distractions, and discouraging situations.

Get my book ‘The Threshold of Life‘ and read more about the topic.

Tune in for more exciting blog posts. Till then imagine, believe, and dare the impossible!

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Stay Focused: How to Guard Against Distractions.

To guard against the challenge of distraction you must stay focused. Staying focused is a premium attitude you must cultivate to deal with the negative effects of distraction. It is one of the 3-D Factors I mentioned in my book “The Threshold of Life”. Like discouragement, distraction is a fatal phenomenon and a threat to success. Distraction is anything that is not your intention. Whatever is not part of your vision or goal is a distraction. To get rid of distraction you must stay focused.

Take for instance, if your goal is to float a world-class IT firm and you have made the necessary arrangements for the takeoff. However, along the line, you purchased a car instead, not out of necessity but in luxury. That car is a distraction because it will affect the take-off of that IT firm which is your original goal. Similarly, anything that does not contribute to your advancement in life is a distraction to your success. Distraction is to lose focus. However, to succeed and be happy you must be focused-minded. The best option is to stay focused.

Set Your Eyes On the Mark

The best way to get rid of distractions and stay focused is to set your eyes on the mark. Don’t let your eyes off the mark. Focus on your target or goals, and avoid trivialities.

And Jesus said unto him, no man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God, (Luke 9:62).

Staying focused means only one thing, it means you are ready for business. Until you are focused you are a misfit to success. If you intend to succeed in life you must stay focused. Let your mind be in that pursuit if you dare to be successful. And let your soul flow into that pursuit. Set your eyes on your goals and everything will fall into place.

One Step at a Time

To stay focused you have to take a step at a time. Do one thing at a time. It is a distraction to do everything or to be everywhere at the same time. Trying to achieve different goals at the same time is also a distraction. It makes you lose focus. However, you must set your goals in bits. Achieve your goals one after another. Where one goal ends is where another goal begins.

 In wartime, a man was charged to keep custody of a prisoner of war, and while he was busy doing other things the prisoner escaped. Consequentially, he was punished severely for his mistake. Lesson, to be everywhere is to be nowhere. Don’t be so engrossed with trivialities as to allow an opportunity for success to slip out of your hands. Be focused; give your whole mind to your pursuit if you dare to succeed

Be Strategic

In staying focused you have to be strategic to know what is important and what is not. By being strategic your ability to discern between priorities and trivialities must be brought to bear. Priorities are our most important goals whereas trivialities are the least important ones. To live a successful life we must focus on achieving our most important goals that will optimally benefit us.

In pursuing success, you will have many goals simultaneously begging your attention. But any goal that is not your intention is trivial and does not deserve your attention. Give your priorities the much-needed attention. Do not divert your attention and energy to trivialities no matter how appealing or attractive they may look, that is a distraction.

Danger of Distraction

Let’s look at a case study that captures the essence of distraction and why it is important to stay focused. A ruler approached Jesus to come and heal her sick daughter. The daughter was twelve years old. On his way to the ruler’s house, a woman who had been plagued with the issue of blood came from behind and touched the helm of Jesus’ garment. The woman has suffered this sickness for twelve years as well. A twelve-year-old sick girl, and a twelve-year-old sickness. One was a priority, and the other a triviality. Both of them were seeking the attention of Christ.

Healing of the ruler’s daughter was a priority because Christ intended to heal her. On the other hand, the woman’s healing was a distraction even though it was good. It was the woman’s intention through her faith. Within the moment of that distraction, news came that the sick girl had died. Now imagine if Christ did not have healing power it would have cost the little girl’s life. Distraction is a fatal phenomenon, it is dangerous and deadly. Do everything to stay focused. Avoid distraction.

Understand that on the road to success, you will encounter many challenges begging for your attention simultaneously. However, any challenge that is not your intention does not deserve your attention. Do not divert your attention and energy to unimportant issues no matter how appealing or attractive they may look, that is a distraction.

Unfortunately, many have lost the opportunities to improve their lives and have a fulfilling life because of distractions. Be wise to guard your happiness and future with utmost carefulness. Stay focused and avoid distractions in your pursuit of fulfillment.

Get my book ‘The Threshold of Life‘ and read more about the topic.

Tune in for more exciting blog posts. Till then imagine, believe, and dare the impossible!

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3 Powerful Elements of Self-Encouragement.

Self-confidence

Self-encouragement is your guard against the challenge of discouragement. Cultivating this powerful attitude will help you to mitigate the issue of lack of enthusiasm, and loss of passion. Self-encouragement is about encouraging yourself in discouraging situations. Encouraging yourself empowers you, making you enthusiastic and passionate about achieving your goals. In one of my books “The Threshold of Life,” I mentioned discouragement as one of the 3-D factors (3Fatal Ds). Discouragement can be anyone or anything that does not motivate or spur you to success in life. It is a threat to success that you must deal with if you need a successful and fulfilling life. Sources of discouragement may include;

Circumstances of Life

Circumstances of life may be a discouragement to your success. These are situations or things that prevent you from becoming successful. Don’t allow your present challenges to discourage you from achieving your aim in life. Rather put them behind you and forge ahead. You must bury your past and present failures and face your future. Be excited, and have a burning passion for achieving your goals. It is only in doing so that you can succeed and find fulfillment. Don’t let circumstances around you dampen your can-do spirit and quench the passion to achieve. Many are easily discouraged by what they see or what happens around them. Self-encouragement is the answer when discouraging circumstances surround you

People

People around you can also be a source of discouragement to you. Most of the time, we are discouraged by what others say. One anonymous quote says; ‘One of the worst things you can do is to listen to those whose only words are words of discouragement or words like ‘I told you that you couldn’t do it’.

You must be careful; don’t let people around you discourage you from undertaking or embarking on a course that brings you happiness and satisfaction. Anyone even your loved ones and friends can be a source of discouragement.

 In 1997, I was having some crises and came to the point that the only option was to change base. I felt a strong urge to relocate. Immediately, I made up my mind and decided to talk it over with someone very close to me who instead of encouraging me ended up discouraging me the more. I became more discouraged than I was before then. I was determined so I decided to embark on that journey. That decision has paid off, and now looking back at time I am grateful to God for such a wonderful decision. Self-encouragement was the key. I encouraged myself. Always encourage yourself even if nobody does.

From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter; get thee behind me, Satan… (Matthew 16:21, 22, 23). 

 What was Peter doing? He was discouraging Christ from embarking on a course of glory. Peter felt he loved Christ so much and wanted to protect him from impending harm and dangers. The same thing happens to us at times. Your loved ones may think they are protecting you from risks, heartbreaks, failures, and disappointments, but often they become overprotective, and end up discouraging you.

Most parents are guilty of this one offense. To them, their children must not suffer or go through what they went through. You better be careful as this is not good for your children. It will erode their self-confidence and deny them of their happiness at last. This is a bad trend. Don’t deny them the freedom to explore and discover themselves. Parents should give their children the opportunity to express their potential.

Three Steps to Self-Encouragement

Self-encouragement is a cocktail of three powerful elements namely;

Courage

Courage is the key word when it comes to self-encouragement.  We are discouraged when there is no courage or willpower left in us. So to encourage ourselves we must garner courage. One important attribute of courage is that it will always break through no matter the stern challenge. And according to Walt Disney, ‘All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them’.

You can encourage, motivate, and spur yourself to success if you are bold and courageous.

Foresight

The best way to deal with discouragement is to have foresight. You will develop an attitude of self-encouragement and learn to encourage yourself when you begin to look beyond the present and look at the future. Foresight is the ability to see what is likely to happen in the future and take appropriate actions. We can deduce that the concept of foresight is a fusion of three important elements of success namely; vision, judgmental prowess, and action. Hence, with foresight you can see your future; and take bold steps to actualize your goals in life by making daring decisions that will have far-reaching effects. These are long-range decisions that will lead to an incredible quest for success.

Foresight can help you imagine and paint a fascinating picture of your life in the future. It will help you become who you imagine or foresee. So if you see a picture of a future that holds a lot of happiness for you, pursue it. This becomes a goal or an aim in life. Tenaciously hold to your goals. You will find fulfillment if you can achieve your them.

Determination

Determination is the key to a successful life. Your self-encouragement must culminate in determination. Encourage yourself to the extent you are determined to succeed no matter the challenge. See yourself as unstoppable, and invincible in the face of challenges. With this element of self-encouragement, you will create the self-awareness of the need to succeed.

Determination has an element of discipline. You must discipline yourself to persevere and endure challenges. Through determination, you will understand that tough times don’t last but tough people do. And see your challenges as stepping stones to greatness not stumbling blocks or obstacles. Tell yourself, ‘I must succeed in life, I will not quit because of challenges’. This is self-encouragement. You have just encouraged yourself, be determined to make it real.

Conclusion

Finally, the ante dote that will prevent you from becoming a casualty of discouragement is self-encouragement. In tough times encourage yourself, even if no one does. Don’t let people and circumstances discourage you. To cultivate this attitude you must be bold and courageous, have foresight, and be determined. Above all, we should encourage ourselves in God.

Get my book ‘The Threshold of Life‘ and read more about the topic.

Tune in for more exciting blog posts. Till then imagine, believe, and dare the impossible!

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How to Leverage Collaborative Culture as a Market Advantage

collaborative culture

Cultivating a collaborative culture has both business and market advantages. It is a strategic organizational culture. It helps to promote excellence in today’s dynamic and competitive business landscape. This culture permeates throughout the ranks and files of any organization. This post will examine how group members can achieve organizational goals through collaboration. We will also examine the organization’s culture of effective collaboration. And how it can ultimately lead to a significant business and market advantage.

The collaborative culture is a new and emerging driver of success. Through the collaborative culture, individuals get the opportunity to bring to the table innovative and creative ideas. These are ideas that will enable business growth. It allows them to contribute their unique perspectives by fostering a workplace environment built on collaboration.

Building a Collaborative Culture

Fostering a collaborative culture is not a one-time event. It is a process that requires time. Some key steps organizations can take to achieve this include;

Commitment: Building a collaborative culture requires commitment from leaders of organizations. Leaders must be vocal advocates for collaboration. They must create a framework for collaborative behaviors. They must also have clear expectations for open communication and teamwork.

Communication: Communication is a must. Effective communication is the pillar of the collaborative culture. Hence, Organizations should invest in training programs. These programs must enhance communication skills and encourage active listening.

Building Synergy across Departments: Create opportunities for cross-functional collaboration by organizing team-building exercises. There is a need to encourage interdepartmental communication

Elements of Collaborative Culture

There are three elements of the collaborative culture. These are the unique features of collaborative culture. They indicate what the organization stands to gain by imbibing the culture of effective collaboration. These three elements are the tripod of the collaborative culture. They include;

Empowerment

Empowerment is at the heart of the collaborative culture. The collaborative culture encourages empowerment. Empowerment entails moving away from rigid hierarchies. It fosters an ownership mentality among employees. One way to achieve this empowerment is by creating an enabling environment. A space where everyone feels authorized to express their opinions freely without restrictions. It empowers them to contribute their unique perspectives towards organizational goals. They feel trusted to make decisions, and take initiative.

The more empowered group members are the more open and engaged they become. That is an advantage of empowerment. They will be more committed to achieving organizational goals and business growth. This will reflect in the kind of ideas they contribute. They will also churn out innovative and creative ideas. And make quality and informed decisions that promote excellence. Empowerment gives the employees the autonomy to determine the “how” within a defined framework. This allows them to leverage their expertise and find creative solutions. Empowerment fosters a culture of excellence.

Teamwork (Teaming)

The culture of effective collaboration requires a teamwork mindset among group members. The highlight of a collaborative culture is that it encourages diversity of thought and backgrounds. In other words, it encourages diversity and inclusion which promotes productivity. Succinctly put, the more collaborative the team is the more productive it becomes.

This is in line with what I have termed ‘Selective Association’. As an organization, you have to be selective when choosing your team. In addition, if you work in any organization. You will understand that you and your co-workers are carefully selected to associate with one another. The aim is to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization. Moreover, when you agree to work with an organization you believe in its philosophy. The vision, mission statement, and core values. In other words, you and other staff are bound by the collaborative culture – to work together to achieve the organization’s goal.

The collaborative culture helps individual members to respect and value diversity. The differing ways of thinking, communication, and decision-making while working as a team. It helps to build synergy among team members. This synergy leads to a deeper comprehension of problems. It can also help in generating innovative ideas for more effective solutions. Through this culture team members can anticipate and take the right measures to address conflict among them. At the root of effective teaming, there must be trust and respect. Team members need to feel comfortable sharing ideas. Even, if they differ from the established norm.

Respect for Opinion

Respect for opinion is an important element of the collaborative culture. By respect for opinion, I mean respect for voice. And voice in this regard means building a safe environment. An environment where everyone feels that what they say is valued and respected. In such a situation everyone feels comfortable expressing their perspective. Even when such an idea is not implemented. This is because they are appreciated and their opinions matter. In the collaborative culture, every voice matters.

It has regard for team members’ opinions by explicitly including all team members in discussions no matter their rank. This is achieved by regularly soliciting and sampling team members’ opinions and ideas. As a show of respect for these opinions effort is made to factor them in the organization’s decision-making process. Employees become more engaged and contribute their best work when they feel their voices are heard and valued. Hence, by doing this organizations will reap the benefits of inclusion. Moreover, when every team member’s voice matters it can lead to faster issue resolution and improved operational efficiency.

Conclusion

In all this, we can conclude that the collaborative culture has both business and market advantages. Therefore, organizations can leverage it to create an inclusive environment. That inspires teams, encourages creativity and innovation, and cultivates a productive business culture that promotes growth.  Indeed, it is a gateway to success for any organization. It helps them understand customer needs and preferences better; respond quickly to changes in the market or customer demands, and also create a stronger organization brand appeal that attracts top talent. So it is recommended for any organization that envisages growth and success.

Get my book ‘The Threshold of Life‘ and read more about the topic.

Imagine, believe, dare the impossible

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Self-Evaluation: An Essential Capacity Building Skill.

how to heal from depression

Self-evaluation is an essential success skill that you must develop. According to Socrates ‘an unexamined life is not worth living’. You can agree with me that an unsuccessful life is an unworthy life. So Self-evaluation allows us to have a self-retrospection or self-examination. It is a critical part of any developmental process, whether in business, self-development, academic or scientific research, etc. There is a need for self-evaluation in everything we do. Always conduct a routine check on your progress from time to time.

 Identify what you have done well and celebrate your achievement. Ask yourself what you have done right and consolidate on them. These are your strengths; you must capitalize on them to achieve your goals in life. Also, ask yourself what you have not done well and make some amendments. These are your weaknesses and if you don’t make amendments they may undermine your effort in the pursuit of fulfillment. A proper evaluation of your mind is essential, and once you notice any bug in the process you must fix it.

From the preceding paragraph, we can see that self-evaluation benefits us in two major ways. First, it helps us discover ourselves and second, it helps in capacity building.

Self-Evaluation Gateway to Self-Discovery

Self-evaluation is a gateway to Self-discovery. It helps you discover who you are. By self-discovery I mean the journey of the inward through the path of knowledge to unravel the real you in you. It is an inquiry or an insight into your very nature and character. Moreover, it allows you to assess or examine your life, as Socrates opined “An unexamined life is not worth living”.

Until you discover yourself you cannot live life to its fullest. Self-discovery also helps you to know your self-worth and to unlock your hidden potential. You must look inward to discover your strength, passion, and talents, and harness them for maximum impact in life. That is why it is called self-assessment.

Self-evaluation helps in Capacity building

Evaluating your life will help you in capacity building. Capacity building is one of the things that will help you to find fulfillment in life. Capacity building in this regard is our ability to develop new problem-solving skills and techniques over time. We can handle challenges and hiccups to achieve set goals and objectives. It is all about improvisation in handling tasks or responsibilities to achieve a desired result. It is therefore an imperative of happiness and satisfaction in life.

Capacity building is the process by which individuals and organizations obtain, improve, and retain the skills, knowledge, tools, equipment, and other resources they need to do their jobs competently or to a greater capacity. There is one basic fact I want us to glean from the above definition. And that is capacity building just like self-evaluation is a process. It is not a one-off thing, rather it happens over time.

The Tripod of Capacity Building

There are three keywords that I want us to take note of in the above definition. They are acquisition, improvisation, and retention. The trio defines the process of capacity building. In the process, we acquire new knowledge, skills, techniques, tools, and other resources to help us solve problems. Secondly, we can improvise on whatever we have acquired each time we solve a problem, and then we can retain our improvised skills and techniques for future challenges.

This we can only do when we learn to evaluate our lives. Self-evaluation is a process which we must undertake from time to time. It is an essential part of the capacity-building process. The process cannot be complete without evaluating your progress so far. Self evaluation helps you to be in charge of the process. It is helpful for a detailed assessment or analysis of any area of life in the pursuit of fulfillment. It gives you an in-depth knowledge of your life and helps you to be more accountable for every responsibility you take for success and fulfillment in life.

Conclusion

Self-evaluation is akin to debugging in software programming where one can identify errors and fix them for the code to work when it is run. Hence, by evaluating your life you will always know where your boat of life is headed. Hence, for you not to drift away with the waves of failure and unfulfillment, you must carry out periodic checks of your life.

Tune in for more exciting blog posts. Till then imagine, believe, and dare the impossible!