Personal Effectiveness

Employment & Business Opportunities

2009-03-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

Looking for employment or business opportunities? This is for you! A gathering of skilled employees, recruitment agencies, companies with vacancies to fill, and business people. Event details are as follows:

Target Audience
-Professionals who have just moved to Nigeria and are looking for employment or business opportunites
-Professionals working in Nigeria and looking for other sources of income
-Other job seekers

The workshop entails:
-Advertisement of job vacancies by companies
-Free registration with recruitment companies
-Discussion of Nigeria working environment
-Repackaging your CV and yourself to fit into Nigeria's working environment
-Discussion of business opportunities
-Networking
-Lunch

Date: Friday, 3 April, 2009

Time: 10 am to 2 pm

Venue: Aquatic Hotels, Toyin Street, Ikeja, Lagos

Registration fee has been subsidized to N2,000 only. This covers feeding and workshop materials.

To register please send a mail to recruitment@purssion.com and you will receive payment details. Employees should also send in their CVs.

How many 'NOs' can you handle?

2009-02-17T05:55:00.000-08:00

You had your plans well laid out. You have decided to take the first step. And right on the first or second step, or even on the umpteenth one, someone somewhere decided your answer is ‘No’. No, we don’t need your services. No, we don’t need your product. No, we cannot sponsor your program. No, we don’t have vacancies. No, you’re not pregnant. No, I can’t marry you. No, we cannot help you! Quo Vadis? Where do you go from there? Go right back and try again!

Be unstoppable! I assure you it’s not the easiest thing to be, but the best thing to be when rejection stares you in the face.

Try not to take it personal. It’s not because you are not good enough. Fine there may be one or two things you need to change, get to work and change them. Keep your eyes on your destination.

Don’t stop trying. A woman was interviewed on TV one or two weeks ago. She started a new business producing ‘grinded rice’. I don’t remember what name she called it. But I remember that I was told that when she tried to introduce it to supermarkets they just kept turning her back. She went to the same supermarket about ten (10) times, such that the Manager had to ask her if there was something wrong with her head. Eventually he reluctantly agreed to display just two (2) items of her products. Before the week ran out he was looking for her for more products. What if she had given up on the first or second try?

Stories abound. Abraham Lincon, okay that was a long time ago right? What of Barack Obama?

How many ‘NOs’ can you really handle?

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again…then your success will appear! ('Teacher's Manual' (1840) by American educator Thomas H. Palmer)

My brother calls it ‘stick-to-it-ism’, or ‘die-harded-ness’.

Of course I agree that there is a time to hold on and a time to let go. But many times we do let go when we ought to just hold on. May God give us the wisdom to know the difference, so we don’t let go just at the breaking of day.

Analysis Paralysis?

2009-01-13T02:57:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

As you set your goals and plan how to achieve them, beware of Analysis Paralysis.

I realised sometimes ago that there are some goals i have had for a long time, in fact for too long. I am yet to take any real action towards achieveing them. All i have done about them so far is plan plan and plan again. One business plan after another, one task schedule after another, until i almost lost all the excitement about these goals. That is a typical example of the syndrome called Analysis Paralysis. That is, the goal setter practically analyses the goals to death.

Its good to plan. Its very good to count the cost before embarking on a project. But at the same time, you need to be able to identify the point at which you will take the first action step. Beware of 'ever planning and never doing'!

Analysis Paralysis is mainly a result of fear, many times in disguise. Fear of making a mistake, fear of failure, fear of success, a pitiful and unnecessary attempt at perfection, etc

Plan as best as you can, but realise that since you are not infinite, it is unlikely that your plan will be perfect. Realise that corrections and adjustments can be made along the way. Start implementing your plans.

I hereby toast to your success and fulfillment in 2009! Cheers!

To Read or Not to Read: A Question of Personal Consequence

2009-01-13T02:54:00.000-08:00

I've traveled the world twice over,
Met the famous; saints and sinners,
Poets and artists, kings and queens,
Old stars and hopeful beginners,
I've been where no-one's been before,
Learned secrets from writers and cooks
All with one library ticket
To the wonderful world of books. ~ Anonymous ~

Your reading habit (or lack of it) has a direct and significant impact on your personal effectiveness.
People perish for lack of knowledge – The Bible

Do you know what it takes to achieve fulfillment in life?
What does it take to have a happy marriage?
How can you excel in business?
What does it take to raise a child that would be great?
Do you know how to control your emotions so they don’t stop you?
What do you know? Do you know what you need to know?

You can find answers in books, magazines, articles on the internet, newspapers, ebooks, etc.

It is cheaper to learn from other people’s experiences than to learn from your own mistakes. – Folakemi Fadahunsi

Listening for Personal Effectiveness

2009-01-13T02:50:00.000-08:00

Why do you have 2 ears and 1 mouth? So you can listen twice as much as you speak…

To listen well is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well…

It is the province of knowledge to speak and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen. Small men monopolise the talking, great men monopolise the listening.

Do you believe in God? Prove it…Listen to Him
One of the surest ways to success in life is to know exactly what the Creator is saying about your life. Listen to God. I’ll leave it at that.

Listen to yourself
Doubt yourself and you doubt everything you see. Judge yourself and you see judges everywhere. But if you listen to the sound of your own voice, you can rise above doubt and judgment. And you can see forever.

Listen to your spouse
I strongly believe that if you truly listen to your wife, husband, or whoever you are in an intimate relationship with, you stand a better chance, of not just making things work but enjoying your relationship. Listen without any prejudice or preconceived ideas of what your partner is about to say. Listen with rapt attention. Most times we hear, but we don’t listen. When you truly listen, you understand what you have heard, and you respond appropriately. The first duty of love is to listen

Listen to your children
A rebellious attitude can be nipped in the bud when we truly listen to the first signals, in their words, and attitudes. Trust and inspiration are developed during heart to heart communication

Listen to your boss/supervisor at work…
When you pay close attention and listen carefully, you increase your chances of success at work. You minimize the likelihood of doing the wrong things. You improve your chances of meeting or even exceeding your employer’s expectations. Listening can improve your chances of demonstrating superior initiative, showing proactivity when it is required. This is simply because if you’ve been listening closely to your boss, after a while you can predict what he would like you to do. Well done is better than well said.

Listen to people that are worth hearing

Listening takes practice, just like any other skill. Here are a few tips to help you along:
• Maintain eye contact with the person you’re listening to
• Focus on the information being passed across not on the mode of delivery
• Avoid preempting the speaker, listen to what he is saying not what you think he wants to say
• Ask questions to clarify your understanding
• Finish listening before you decide on what to say. Don’t spend the listening time planning your response
• Let the speaker finish talking before you respond, avoid interrupting, if possible
• When there's nothing to say, say nothing

Wisdom is the reward for a lifetime of listening ... when you'd have preferred to talk.

Enjoying the 'Little Things' of Life - Part 1

2009-01-13T02:47:00.000-08:00

Smile…Flash. Flash. I just took your picture, I hope you smiled.

Calm down. Relax. Life is to be enjoyed. Enjoy every minute, every second, everyday. The little things of life, may not be so little after all, millions of people all over the world will do anything to trade place with you.

I enjoy food. If you usually have very busy schedules, then you probably find yourself skipping meals or rushing through your meals. For once, relax and enjoy that meal. Chew it well, savour the taste in your mouth.

I enjoy sleep. Deliberately get some extra minutes/hours of sleep once in a while. When you’re sleeping, sleep. I don’t know how its possible, but its like some people’s mind don’t really shut down when they’re sleeping. They close their eyes and yet their minds continue planning, and scheming. Enough. Play some music and just sleep.

I enjoy gists, well as long as I’m the one doing most of the listening and not most of the talking. That’s why I’m open to the idea of inviting friends over for a small party for any small reason. We eat, gist, take pictures and just relax.

I enjoy laughter. People that know me well know how I giggle…

I love my life, you need to love yours too. The fact that there are so many things you would love to change is not good enough reason to be unhappy. You’re cheating yourself if you’re not enjoying your good life. You don’t have what you want yet, and then you’re making yourself unhappy, that’s double cheating.

When you wake up in the morning, embrace your day. Embrace all the ‘tasks’ that come with the day, but not only that, embrace all the ‘joys’ as well.

Your life is good. Enjoy it.

Am I Too Serious?

2009-01-13T02:44:00.000-08:00

It is only over-serious people who don’t have a social life that are bothered with boring issues like planning their lives. Right? That is so UNTRUE!

What will be will be; I will just live my life whichever way it comes and hope for the best. Whatever happens to me is my destiny. A suicidal lie!

So you want to lay hold on the power of journaling, what do you intend to write in the journal? Your goals and plans of course! And when you have goals and plans for key areas of your life you have a Life Plan.

Life planning is not something that over serious people do. It is something that wealthy and accomplished people did to move them from penury and obscurity to wealth and significance. It is something they keep doing to keep them on the right track and sustain them till their last breath. It does not exclude an individual from having a social life and enjoying themselves. Rather it ensures that they set their priorities right. It definitely is not the only thing that you need to do, but it is a good first step in the right direction.

So have you got yourself a small book to be used as a journal? Write something in it, everyday, as often as possible. The more you write the easier it will become. That singular decision can differentiate you from the average man within the next few months.

The Power of Journaling

2009-01-13T02:39:00.000-08:00

‘Focus and Acceleration’; that’s how I describe the power of journaling. For this purpose I would define Journaling as ‘writing down your goals, and your plans on how to achieve them’.

What journaling would do for you? It would help you to focus and give you speed.

Focus
The successful man is the average man, focused.Writing down your goals and plans for your life is the first step in transforming your dreams into reality. Popular goal achievers have recommended that you don’t just write them down at the beginning of the year, but daily, if possible. People that write down their goals once a year achieve a lot. People that write them down often, or better still daily, simply excel in achievement. Journaling gives you access to the power of Focus. You simply become unstoppable. All your latent and active skills swing into action. You find yourself thinking about your goals more often and looking out for opportunities to pursue them. This is not a story, I have seen it in action, and in fact I see this in real life every single blessed day! If it’s that simple why are you not doing it? (Let’s find something to blame, ignorance or laziness? Neither is a good excuse.)

Acceleration
Brian Tracy describes journaling as stepping on the accelerator of your life. Does it sound too good to be true? I see it at work daily! He made a Ten (10) year plan, wrote it down in his journal, and revisited it every quarter, meditated on it, made plans and made changes where and when required. In Five (5) years almost all (if not all) the goals have been achieved. He writes one (1) year goals on the white board in his room at the beginning of each year, by the end of the second or third quarter of the year they are all done. It is called ‘Acceleration’.If it’s that simple why are you not doing it?

Will it always be a dream?

2008-10-10T04:40:00.001-07:00

Its okay to dream, but its not okay if it remains a dream all your life. (Quotable quote right?)

Whats the use if its only going to be a dream? Okay so you dream that by the time you’re 50, or even earlier, you want to have ‘financial freedom’; (if you believe in it). And you also dream that you’ll retire and you’ll still be able to afford anything you want.

You dream that your life will not just be all about work, you and your family. You want to reach out to orphans or widows, under-privileged children, special children, or disabled or unemployed people. Or yours is to write a book, start an NGO, build a business empire, whatever. What’s the use if it’s only ‘fantasy’? In my opinion, a dream not pursued is simply fantasy, its dreams that are pursued that lead to fulfillment

Alright, I’m sure you get my point. Let’s keep it simple and real. You owe it to yourself, not only to dream big but also to act promptly. That’s what Personal Effectiveness is all about; taking your life beyond the ordinary and average. He was born, he went to school, he got a job, he got married and had kids, and then he died. VERY BORING! That’s the story of the average person, and for many that’s a lot of achievement, especially in a third world country. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for life, education, work, marriage, children, and old age. But if truly I believe that I can do a whole lot more, then why not?

The Dream Manager

2008-09-22T02:28:00.000-07:00

The book, The Dream Manager, was written by Matthew Kelly. In summary its all about identifying/defining your dreams, and taking steps to achieve them., He also introduced the Dream Manager Program, which is all about groups of people who share their dreams with one another and assist one another to achieve them.Lets have something like that here.

Step 1: Write down the dreams you'll like to achieve before the end of this year(or a later time if you wish)

Step 2: Post them on this blog

Step 3: Post some of the things you think you need to do to achieve them

Step 4: Identify which ones you need help with, and post them hereWe will all look through and see how we can help one another.

We will all review the goals at year end and of course sometimes later also.

Please help our friend!

2008-07-02T08:27:00.001-07:00

WHO IS AKINOLA AKINYEMI

Akinola Akinyemi is a 34yr old Computer Graphic Artist who attended the following schools

Education:
Maryhill Convent School, Ibadan
Federal Government College,Warri
St. Patricks Grammar School,Ibadan
Federal Polytechnic Ede,Osun State
Computer Powerhouse International, Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos.

He worked as a Director on the Board of Technology Global Limited, a Prepress Sales and Servicing Company in Surulere Lagos until 3years ago when he was diagnosed with Renal Failure.

He has since been on dialysis costing between N44, 000.00 – N60, 000.00 every week depending on the requirements for the week. This excludes medication and blood transfusion which he needs from time to time.

He needs a kidney transplant, which will cost between =N=5 to =N=7M for him to bounce back to a normal life and he covets your assistance.

*Don’t be surprised I am sending this mail. I am usually touched by plights like this and unfortunately, Akinola happens to be a young family friend. It is not a bad situation entirely since there are numerous people that have gone through similar challenges and come out hale and hearty. It only becomes a bad situation if you hold back your widow’s mite.

Should you want to chat with him, you can reach him on 08022504935 or send a mail to him at Akinola_akinyemi@yahoo.com. He is also on face book for those of us that have a facebook account. If you are touched by this, please help or forward to anyone who may be able to help. I can collect on his behalf cheques written in his name (Akinyemi Akinola Olufisayo) or you may credit his Oceanic Bank ESA a/c no 0181701700027

Regards

Employable People's Forum

2008-06-27T02:07:00.000-07:00

It is no longer news that there is a high level of unemployment in Nigeria. The irony right now is the fact there are so many vacancies in many companies also. So, what exactly is the problem? Why is it so difficult for job seekers to find jobs, and at the same time it is difficult for employers to fill their vacant positions? We want to use this medium to achieve the following:

Discover the reasons why employable people are finding it hard to find jobs
Discover the reasons why employers are finding it difficult to fill vacant positions
Develop strategies to bridge the gap between potential employees and employers
Help job seekers to find the right jobs, free of charge
Help interested unemployed people to start their own businesses free of charge
Help employed people who are unhappy with their jobs to find out why and make necessary adjustments
Provide a forum for volunteers (i.e. employed people and business owners) to participate towards achieveing the above objectives

To be a part of this simply send a mail to purposemanager@gmail.com or post a comment using the format below. Remember to indicate your interests, i.e. are you a job seeker, an employer, an employed person seeking improvement, or a volunteer. Please use the following format:

Name:

Gender:

Discipline: (e.g. Accounting, Law, Banking, Investment, Medicine, None Yet, etc)

Highest level of education: (e.g. B. Sc., B.A., HND, OND, Masters, PHD, Professional Qualification, etc)

Date of Birth:

Category: (e.g. Job Seeker, Employer, Employee Seeking Improvement, Volunteer)

What would you like to do?: (e.g start a business, find a job, train unemployed people, counsel people, invest in a business, employ people, etc)

What are your priorities?

2008-06-26T05:37:00.000-07:00

What is most important to you in life? In other words, what is your highest priority in life?When you ask people this question, you get various very 'noble' or sometimes surprising answers. In my opinion you can know a person's priorities by checking a few things. Now i may not be able to zero this down to just one thing but if i take a look at a month in your life and see the things you spend most of your time doing, i look at your bank statement and see what you spend your money on, i think i can pretty much mention a few things that are very important to you in life. Whether consciously or unconsciously you have priorities, you selected them yourself or you allowed situation, circumstances or other people (like your boss or parents) to select them for you. Look at it this way, some people say 'time is money', some say 'time is life', whether these sayings are true or not is a topic for another discussion. The real question that you are yet to answer is this: What are your priorities in life? Keep this in mind, if you dont consciously select your priorities you cannot truly achieve your purpose in life.

Free Personal Coaching

2008-06-25T02:39:00.001-07:00

You are invited to take advantage of 1 month Free Personal Coaching towards achieving your personal goals and objectives. This service includes:

Free access to personal coaching via email and telephone on any of your goals and objectives
Free tools, resources and training materials for achieving your personal goals
Free ebook on goal setting and achievement
Free Information on Knowledge packages that would assist/help you to achieve clarity and focus in achieveing your objectives

This is only available for a limited time and only for people that are very serious about achieveing their goals. The offer is for 10 people only! So if you're not serious about this please do not apply.
Remember we have very limited spaces, and its for serious people who are ready to follow instructions towards achieving their goals.
If you are sure you are ready to move to your next level of success in any area of your life, simply click on comments at the end of this post or send an email to purposemanager@gmail.com. Its as simple as that! See you on board.

Fast Food Fast Money

2008-06-23T09:32:00.000-07:00

We live in a very busy world, everything happens fast or is expected to happen fast. Fast food, fast ATM services, fast tracked careers, fast life in short. And of course the average Nigerian, especially Lagosians also expect to make money fast. It is evident all around us, especially when you log in to the internet, you see things like fast cash, make money fast etc. I am definitely not opposed to having things easy, but only as long as it is clean and genuine. In your bid to excel in your life and be the best that you can be, which is what this blog is all about, you owe yourself a duty of preserving your values. As you think about Fast and Easy, also remember Honesty and Integrity.

Post Your Concerns & Questions

2008-06-23T05:59:00.000-07:00

From time to time i get mails in my inbox from friends and relatives sharing their plans, concerns, questions, etc. At times looking for answers, other times simply looking for support, encouragement or resources to help in achieving personal goals. You can get the help you need right here. Simply post your questions, thoughts, concerns, plans, etc You may just be a comment away from your answers/solutions.

Purpose Challenge

2008-06-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

I read an article some years ago, it should be close to 8 years now. It was all about the peculiarities of being in one twenties. I guess the article pretty much describes many people living and working in Lagos, even up to mid thirties or even early forties. Its all about a time in life when you ask so many question about life and purpose. ''Why am i here? What do i want to achieve in life? Why do i work so hard? Why do i leave my house at 5am and return at 10pm? What is this all about? What do i want to achieve in life?'' Can anyone identify with some or any of these questions. If you have found your answers, lucky you! Didi i just say 'lucky'? No i dont think its luck at all. I think it takes deliberate conscious effort to live a purposeful and fulfilling life. Here's your chance to lend someone a helping hand. With the benefit of hindsight, what step did you take to get 'there'?

Lagos Nigeria Working Ladies

2008-06-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

If you are a lady and you are working in Lagos Nigeria, whether self employed or working with a company, you are extraordinary! It doesn't matter if you are single or married, working in Lagos can be very challenging. Finding a job in the midst of so much competition, excelling and becoming a high flier, and still maintaining a balance in your life. I hesitate to use the term 'work-life balance', because some people argue that it is difficult to draw the line between your work and your life. But that is a discussion for another time. The question i want to ask you is: How do you manage to juggle it all? What are your survival tactics? Please share with us here. So many ladies out there need to hear about what you do to achieve great results. What's your secret formular? By responding to this post you are lending a helping hand (or even a life saver) to a certain lady out there....