What Will Happen To You When You Lose, Quit Or Retire From Your Job?

Written by Inalegwu E. Gabriel


In the world today, “Job Security” is the word most people say with the belief that it makes them look good. However, statistics have shown that 90% of such persons end up unfulfilled and broke at the age of 65.

For the purpose of this article, I would like to give you a little exercise and should you accept to do it, you will come to the conclusion that I and a few others have arrived at.

Take a sheet of paper and walk through your neighborhood; knock on every door you find. When the occupant answers, briefly introduce yourself and kindly ask him/her this question;
"How much do you want to be worth by age 65?"

What are you doing at this point in your life to increase your income?
When the blank stare gets awkward, say thanks and move on to the next house. By the time you are done with this exercise, you will realize that by nature people hardly live up to their full potential.

Goals are what makes the difference between the haves and the have nots. Goals are the key ingredient in actualizing a full and satisfactory life. In the words of a famous writer, goals are “The steady and progressive realization of a worthy idea”. You will be amazed at how few the people who set goals are but a lot of people think they have goals when in truth, they are just wishful thinkers.

“I will make a lot of money” is not a goal.
“I will make X amount of money by Y date and I will do Z to make said amount” is a goal.
A goal is definite, has a deadline and action to back it up.

Now with regards to Jobs and how people give up their dreams to help others live theirs, it is easy to understand that when you are not working on your goals, you are helping someone else actualize his/hers.

There are so many people today who work solely for the sake of “Security” but in truth, it is jeopardizing not to work on your own goals.

It is more difficult to work on your goals when you spend more time working for someone else and this is the main reason why individuals who become successful despite having worked a job, are few.

These persons, spurred on by their goals, make the extra effort of not resting when they get home after work; they work on their goals alongside their jobs; they persevere and no matter how tough their jobs are, they find a way to put in some time in creating their future every day.

Now I do not mean to put down working at a job because some few persons become very successful while working on a paid job, however, on close observation you will discover that such persons had goals and their successes fell into their plans.

The successful ones work with a bigger picture in mind as opposed to the small minded individuals who do not see past a job and then wonder why their life ends up in shambles years later. When you have goals which span from a few days to a few years, you do not spend your idle time doing meaningless things; you spend every extra second you get working on your future mentally or physically.

The major difference between the successful and the unsuccessful ones though is that the successful ones take massive actions while the unsuccessful ones are sitting on their heads overthinking everything and taking action when it is too late.

In summary, you should ask yourself why you have a job. If it is just because you want security alone, then I can guarantee you that you will never be financially independent. But if that job is simply a source of capital for your business or the job is an avenue for learning a new skill, then I congratulate you because you will definitely be successful if you keep at it. And if that job is where your heart is, then the easiest way to excel is to go the extra mile. Do more than you are paid for and someday you will be paid for more than you do.

Musings Of A Young Nigerian

Written by Sule Anthony

I believe in this country, Nigeria.
I believe in our people, in our culture and in our struggles.
I believe that that which binds us is greater than all which seek to tear us apart.

I believe that our collective passion for excellence far outweighs the mediocrity which dominates in our Government.

I believe that the strongholds of our Youth lie in politics, the classrooms, the fields, the factories and the incubation rooms that will birth the futures that we seek.

I believe my generation is not lazy.
I believe we are not evil.
I believe we do not just desire to carry guns or wield machetes or belong in societies and fraternities which are all alien to our true selves. We are high-energy Beings and when we find not the fields to dispense our energies, we do so on ourselves.

I believe every one of us owes a responsibility to this generation, this Youth.
First, family. Then our Churches.

I believe Churches should pay tax. Tax in cash? No; tax in responsibilities.

The tax of a good school.
The tax of a good community clinic.
The tax of good pipe-borne water,
Taxes worth just a minute percent of what they get, to better the communities where they are located.

I believe the future holds a lot for us. But I also know it holds calamity, genocide, rampage, segregation, unprecedented looting and avoidable deaths.

Will a Nation kill all of its youths?
But that's what it's doing when it devotes more to Security than to Education.

For youths today will demand excellence. They watch TVs. They have smart phones. They know what's obtainable out there and their schools don't look like it can give it to them.
They step out and try to make a way for themselves.
And then...

My heart bleeds. I am concerned.
This is a stream of consciousness; a ramble. And in the end, a tossing of a pebble in an ocean.
The ripple impact is next to none, but there will be a ripple- however small.

15 Scientifically Proven Ways To Work Smarter

Yes, so many people work hard and long, others pretend to do so too. Ultimately, what matters at the end of the day is the productivity of whatever we indulge ourselves in.

Here, John Rampton gives us a clue as to how we can improve our productivity in our businesses and places of work.

1. Track Your Time

Time tracking will boost your productivity by allowing you to see how much time you've spent on a task. The task may be invoicing or emailing, the tracking will be done the same. You will also know how much time you have wasted.
Have you counted all the times you've checked your phone when you receive a notification?

Click on the link below to read the full post...15 Ways To Work Smarter

A Wrong Perspective

"I heard that those people that registered last year have been collecting thirty thousand naira every month and they're not doing anything. That is what motivated me to also come and register..."

I overheard the above comment from a lady in a cyber cafe. She went to register for the N-power program and was discussing with the computer operator. I happened not to pay attention when I first heard it - for I was pretty busy at the time - but afterwards, the thought of that statement creeped up and I'm moved to ask Nigerian youths, "What is your motivation?"

We are fond of criticizing others but we seldom pay attention to our own attitudes. Our mentality should be geared towards productivity. We should be driven by excellence and not cheap gratifications.

The Japanese live by a principle called 'Kaizen' which connotes continual improvement. It means an average Japanese is not satisfied with his/her achievement but strives daily to improve upon it. It a principle worthy of emulation by the entire human race. You shouldn't be happy that people are rewarded for mediocrity; that is true patriotism for country, that is true love for humanity.

My boss is fond of saying; "our people pretend to be working and the government is pretending to pay the people". Could that be true?

Wherever you find yourself, give out your very best and let excellence be your drive. Money, power and fame can be thrilling, but they add no real value to your personality.

Once again I beseech the Nigerian youth, enough of the entertainment, enough of the 'flexing' and 'living life's. Our ship is sinking and all hands ought to be on deck to stabilize her. Do something positive to improve yourself, do something to save your country.

God bless Nigeria.

FUT Minna Crisis, A Sensible Or Senseless Show?

Priscilla wore a white lace gown, red head tie and red shoes on her way to attend a dinner function. Her car broke down earlier during the day and had been sent for repairs so she opted to board an 'okada' from her residence to the express where she can board a taxi to the Le Meridien where the dinner was scheduled to take place.

En-route the expressway, a Golf 3 wagon travelling in her opposite direction sunk its front tyres in a pot hole which sent the accumulated murky waters flying two metres above ground level in every direction. Pricilla's immaculate gown caught some as did the okada man who now stopped and parked his bike.

Priscilla was justifiably enraged, her outfit which had cost her seventy-five minutes of preparation was in a mess and in her rage she took out her Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and smashed it on a nearby stone...

Stupid of her right? Yes indeed and that's exactly what some students of FUT Minna recently demonstrated during the recent crisis that occured at Bosso Campus of the Citadel of Learning when they set the institution's clinic ablaze.

According to stories, a student collapsed while playing football in the school's field and was rushed to the school's clinic and instead of the nurses there to respond proactively to the emergency situation, demanded that the clinic card of the collapsed student be presented before treatment commenced. This led to the death of the young man as his card wasn't made available on time.The justifiably enraged students went irate and started destroying some facilities including setting the clinic on fire.

My grievance with these students is simply the fact that they were unable to properly channel their grievance. The action of these students clearly show that some of us are yet to understand that government/public facilities belong to us. That school clinic that was burnt was their property to begin with. Setting fire to it is like setting fire to your own house!

But then, what better means would these bitter students have utilized in conveying their message? It's possible that if they had not done what they did, maybe we wouldn't have heard of this inhuman act perpetrated by those whose profession is ideally supposed to be the preservation of life - I don't even know how to describe the rationale of these people; paper over life! - As though if the guy were not a student he would have been left to die just like that.

Honestly speaking, the action of the nurses was barbaric, and the posthumous action of the students was out of place. FUT Minna students are brilliant, and i would have expected these students to have thought of a better way of 'making their statement', there's always a better way. I would strongly advice both parties to go back and evaluate their love for neighbour and country. 

Both acts are but a fragment of what's actually damaging our country today. If we continue to nurse a non-patriotic attitude and lack love for one another, then every dream of a better future for our nation is but a fantasy.

God Bless Nigeria.   

One Wrong Thing We Normally Consider Before Marriage

Whenever i hear men or women, boys or girls saying things like;

"She must be a Muslim", "He must be an Anglican", "She must be a virgin", "He must not drink alcohol", "She must have this or he must possess that", conditional criteria that people make when it comes to selecting a life partner makes me wonder if such people know a thing about love or if it simply doesn't matter to them.

I am not trying to say that we humans don't have our individual tastes and all that, certainly not, for God Himself has already configured us to be attracted to certain unique qualities so as to strike a balance in creation as well as to fulfill His divine purpose.

However, many people do not understand their 'build' and go about making preposterous conditions that must be satisfied by the opposite sex before giving out their hearts to the successful candidate. Well,  like the Italians would say; "they've not been hit by the thunderbolt".

What is this 'thunderbolt'?   It's actually a trice when a guy sees a lady - and probably vice-versa - and he momentarily loses all reasoning ability with his heart skipping one or many beats, and the guy feels like he's travelling through space.

This feeling is completely different from infatuation. Some term it "love at first sight", your heart connects to another even when you're yet to know his/her name, not to mention her origin and character and the likes. In my humble opinion, i think this is how love is meant to be.

And that is what it is. 

In true love, there's no reason. You simply can't tell or explain why you love him/her, for the feeling is coming from a place where you yourself have never been, and when you feel this way towards a person, you seldom notice any fault or mistake of theirs and even when you do, it's easy to forgive. Imagine a couple sharing that kind of love!

This can be likened to the kind of love that our Heavenly Father feels towards us. It doesn't make sense when one carnally tries to behold the idea that an all righteous, holy and just God can freely and lovingly provide air for an all dangerous, wicked and heartless murderer.

Worthy of note however, is the fact that this kind of love cannot be understood even by those wielding it, let alone by those surrounding them. Which is why it makes me sick to see a father or mother or uncle or aunt or brother or sister or just anybody trying to discredit another person's love! Especially when the reasons are based on racial, ethnic, traditional, religious, material or any other trivial differences aside spiritual reasons/revelations. 

This is appalling and selfish.

I mention spiritual reasons here as an exemption because even as we may not like to acknowledge that fact, there are dark forces on earth, capable of misleading an individual to having such feelings which is unreal. Such a victim is in need of deliverance and if you happen to be sensitive enough to discern this evil, informing the victim may not be useful as your prayers for his/her ear might be temporarily 'blocked'. Hence the need for us as individuals to be prayerful enough to guard against such situations.

A piece of advice to those of us still writing lists and books of criteria to be met by your 'ideal' life partner, just imagine this scenario;

Imagine a decent black guy who doesn't drink that much, maybe a habitual two bottles of beer every weekend, having a long list to be satisfied by his ideal bride. He patiently searches for say three years to find this perfect girl and eventually discovers a lady who passes all of his requirements in distinction and having on the top of her own list, "He mustn't drink at all" or somewhere in the middle, "He must be fair"...

Don't be selfish writing any list, God knows you best and he wants the best for you too. Put your trust in Him, be prayerful and love freely. All your 'requirements' for a happy home will definitely be met.

God Bless Nigeria.