Monday 22 June 2015

AWAKE THE SLEEPING GIANT IN YOU

There are so many sleeping potentials in us that we can really awake. As I have always averred, knowledge(both of yourself & things around you) can generate ideas. How do you get knowledge? Go for it.
After acquiring knowledge, then what?
You must activate your knowledge by putting it to work. Exercising your knowledge is as important as going for knowledge. A dormant knowledge is not better than ignorance. Putting knowledge to work requires you yielding yourself to practice, learning from mistakes while trying to solve problems. Problems are hidden solutions that can be unveiled.
Practice is nothing more than preparation for outstanding potential maximization. I failed not because I didn't know what to do, but because there was a loophole in my preparation. Abraham Lincoln will advice that, when given ten hours to cut down a tree, it is wise to devote your first six hours sharpening your axe. Nothing beats preparation.
To be relevant and useful to the society you must activate your knowledge by putting it to work.

DETERMINATION BIRTHS POSSIBILITIES

I subscribe to the school of thought that, determination births possibilities. The mountain top is for the few who are ready to take the first, second and the rest bold steps to the top undermining the challenges that attracts giving up. Determination activates focus, enthusiasm and confidence in you. It caused Thomas Edison to invent the electric bulb after many failures which he described as the processes needed to make it work. What about Abraham Lincoln who failed in eight elections before he became the 16th President of United States? Or have you forgotten Oprah Winfrey? Hey, I am not trying to feed you with these biographies for writing sake but to let you know that you have no reason to give up. If you fall nine times, rise up ten times. Be dogged about that you so desire. With passion, determination can be built and with purpose, passion can be generated. I enjoin you this day to stay driven in purpose and shine bright like diamond in the realm of greatness.

Thursday 14 May 2015

LIFE—MOTIVATIONAL POEM


If someone made you smile, shows them yours.

If someone helped you out, thank them.

If you're loving life, be grateful.

If you hate life, become patient

If you open a book, read it.

If you go to school, learn something.

If you fall, get back up.

If you ask for help, gain wisdom.

If you're in recovery, keep the faith.

If you fail, try again.

If you go to church, praise the Lord.

If you care about someone, let them know.

If you’re in a struggle, keep pushing forward.

If you're holding a grudge, let it go.

If you’re living in the past, plan for your future.

If your friends are negative, get new ones.

If the friends are positive, learn from them.

If you're saying you will do it tomorrow, do it today.


Brian Fulginiti
Author

Sunday 10 May 2015

WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?

Photo Credit: Dawn Rawlins 
Whatever be your action in life, you're actively creating a future. Did I just say that? Oh, yes, I said it. Your action, be it good or bad, conscious or unconscious, you are progressively creating a future. What this implies is that, all your action in life counts. The fascinating aspect of all you do is that, there's always a result called FUTURE. This can also be referred to as the cause and effect of life.

History and science have proven that, your thought determines your actions. The way you think determines the way you respond to things happening around you. Those responses determine your emotions. Your emotions determine your actions, and your actions determine your results. The future is in fact, the result of your daily thoughts. The pathway to your future is fashioned by what you think and how you respond to what you think.
So what are you thinking?

A man named Napoleon Hill once said, WHATEVER the mind of a man can conceive and believe it can achieve”. This is one of Hill’s hallmark expressions. If you are sensitive enough, you will understand that Hill was talking about ANYTHING imaginable (not selected things) that the mind conceives and believe is attainable. This is tantamount to the famously well-known “garbage in garbage out” principle of a functioning computer system. The mind operates on information of thoughts fed into it. Whatever information thought that goes in informs you and forms you. What goes in makes an immense difference. It is now left for you to choose what you permit in.

Man is a product of thought. You cannot rise above the level of your thinking. What you think, you manifest and become. It has been said that, you attract thoughts, people, and experiences which are congruent with how you think and feel about yourself. If you want good health, perfect job, the right life partner, wealth, success, you must develop a self image that is compatible with these very thoughts, namely good health, perfect job, right life partner, wealth and success. Herbert Harris was not wrong when he said that, “your thought is the foundation of your life experiences. These experiences begin with your self- image, the thoughts you have about yourself”.

I want you to begin to see yourself as a bullet in a gun, the trigger as your actions and the hand that pulls the trigger as your thought. For the bullet to actualize any purpose, it requires a pull on the trigger which is the thought that generates the action that sends the bullet out on a mission. Whatever be your thought, there’s always an outcome. This outcome depends on what your thought is. It may either be positive or negative. So I ask again, what are you thinking?

From my experiences of life, I have come to understand that greatness is attracted to the man who thinks positive. You cannot be thinking negative and expect positive things to happen to you. It doesn’t work like that. The Holy book made us to understand that, as a man thinks, so is he (Proverbs 23:7). It pays to be positively minded.

Lastly, there is no better time than now, to flee from the cocoon of your comfort zone and ignite the unusual greatness in you. If you must witness a great future, you must be positively & actively involved in creating such a future. Guide you thoughts with all diligence for out of it spring forth the experiences of life.



Sunday 3 May 2015

Choose Your Friends Wisely

There's this popular saying that goes thus, “show me your friend and I will tell you who you are". This statement is 100% true... You know why??? Chicken does not fly with Eagles even though they are of the same family. They are not classmates.

Discipline begins with the calibre of friends you mingle with. Your friends are indeed a reflection of who you are and what you seek to achieve in life. Like beget like. The kind of friends you keep has the power to either catapult you to your destiny or lead you to destruction. One of the easiest ways to achieve success/greatness in life is to associate with people who are aiming what you are aiming or those who have already achieved it (Role Model). When you dwell in the company of great men, you begin to think and act like a great man which makes it easier for you to become great.

Permit me to say that, your friends are your closest information bank. What information does is to inform you and at the same time form you. What kind of information bank are you keeping?

It was Henry Ford that said “ My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me".
Choose your friends wisely.

Friday 1 May 2015

THE UNCOMMON RESOURCES

Life is more than just sitting down, stretching hands and legs doing nothing. Not too long ago, I was critically examining how humans have been orchestrated by the great power of Almighty; in mind and body. In that aura, something out of ordinary was dropped in my subconscious. This is unusual, I said to myself. Fortunately, I was at the acme of alertness and as such, I got hold of it. Times without number, I have heard people speak about vast resources of nations in diverse scope. You hear things like the natural resources, mineral resources, and agricultural resources (all these resources are common resources), to mention but the few, which amplifies the economic value of a nation. There are resources inherent in each and every individual of which man has remained insensitive to. They are enormous than mere perception can behold, gigantic that imaginations cannot comprehend. These resources are peculiar and uncommon. Uncommon in that, man has not been able to recognize it and effectively exploit it. These uncommon resources are known as “mind resources” which can also be referred to as “the gold mine of the mind”.

Mind resources, are the giant in a man. The mind resources are the greatest asset of man. They are innate and unlimited. It is the seed planted in every man regardless of the race and gender which is expected of man to harvest and manifest. But today, how many persons are really harvesting and manifesting it? It will interest you to know that those who have discovered this gold mine of the mind can only mine not more than 25% of it in their life time. Even at that, as little as 1% of these resources exploited make a big difference. These uncommon resources effectively tapped into are gateway to effectively utilize and maximize the common resources. The problem the society is facing today is not necessarily in the exploitation of these common resources but the exploitation of the uncommon resources.

However, it should be noted that, when you are living your dream, you are exploiting your uncommon resources. When you are fulfilling your God given purpose, you are exploiting your uncommon resources. When you are being creative and maximizing your potentials, you are exploiting your uncommon resources. When you are always trying your best possible to alter the status quo of the society for a better living, you are exploiting your uncommon resources. These categories of persons are great asset to the society, the nation and the world at large. One of the purposes of existence is to fully exploit these resources of the mind and manifest it.

The first step towards exploiting these uncommon resources is self discovery. In our society today, we have many youths who don’t really know themselves but claim to know themselves. This reminds me of the words of a great philosopher named Socrate; “Man know thyself”. He is not foolish to have said such. He saw what was imperceptible to the ordinary man in his days which is now a reality in the 21st century. Knowing yourself is a genuine knowledge (in the wisdom of Socrate). Self discovery is awareness of purpose and the assurance that you can be all you can be. There’s a lot about you that you lack knowledge of. The earlier you accept this fact and begin to seek yourself out the better. When you have discovered yourself, you are invariably telling yourself that you believe yourself and recognize the rare deposit in you, and that you are ready to exploit it. A self discovered man is a purpose driven man. That’s why; you have to discover yourself to become uncommon and extraordinary. It takes an uncommon man to exploit uncommon resources.

I have come to understand that, what the ignition does for a car, that’s exactly what self discovery do to a man. It sets ablaze mediocrity and comfort zone, and triggers man to maximize his potentials. You don’t need to be a gold miner to be able to excavate these uncommon resources. The most important tool in this mission is self discovery. Self discovery to these uncommon resources can be likened to “force” in Newton’s first law of motion which states that, “an object will continue to be in its state of rest unless acted upon by an external force”. Self discovery brings you to your purpose. Researches have shown that, unpleasant situations/challenges most times reveal a man to himself. What this implies is that, there’s a greater you in any situation you find yourself. Why not take advantage of those challenges rather than cry out your eyes? Challenges have the power to shape a man’s future and discern his destiny.

Effectively exploited mind resources, breeds creativity and idea that creates a better world. Did you know that, seminars, empowerment programs, skill up programs, name it, featured in assorted forms, are all working towards achieving the same purpose? That purpose is, “how these uncommon resources can be exploited in toto”. Big organizations/companies are looking out for people who can exploit their uncommon resources and also motivate others to do same. It was John F. Kennedy that said, “Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resources”. The world will become a better place to live in, if and only if these resources are astutely exploited. Some of the challenges we are encountering today as individual and as a nation are actually the result of unexploited resources of the mind. Majority of those persons with unexploited resources are can of warm to development. How I wish they could discover themselves and realize that their mind is a fundamental resources.

Furthermore, there are people who have tapped into their mind resources and are emitting impact in the world today. This sect of people ends up changing the world. Bill gate of Microsoft is a concrete example. He has been able to tap into his uncommon resources and still tapping into it. Today, his idea and creativity is making a better world. What about the young and vibrant CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg? They are the fathers of information age because they understood the power of their innate resources. I can’t stop appreciating these rare breed of humans. Maybe you are thinking you are still very young to irk your life with societal challenges. Have you forgotten Malala Yousfzai who won a Noble Peace Prize for her “heroic struggle” for girls’ right to an education at 17years of age? There’s greatness without limit in you.

Finally, your mind resources require a do-it-yourself approach. Not even your closest ally can exploit these resources on your behalf. You have to take responsibility. Don’t be that man who has barrels of crude oil deposit in his garden and still leaving a critical poverty life. It is an abuse to creativity, innovation and development not to exploit these rare deposits in you.

There are great resources in you-Discover them.
You have a gold mine in your mind- Exploit it.
Never forget that you are an uncommon breed with uncommon resources.


ACHA HARRISON



Saturday 25 April 2015

The PAST Has Done Its PART, Arise o FUTURE!

Oh my past!
Unusual greetings I bring to you.

See how time flies
It seems like yesterday
The future unfolding itself slowly but surely
Yesterday’s lessons learnt now fine tuning pathway for continued existence.

Still in the world of uncertainty
Knowing not what holds of the future
Yet, you have sufficiently armed me to the teeth for this brave new world.

Alas, you are not bed roses as it seems
But, you have gently polished away my rough edges
And bit by bit you have well-built a relationship between my future and I.

Oh my past!
I’m not lazy in the brain to have forgotten your great maxim of achievement;
“Come what may, never give up on your dreams"
I’m confident to voice out that, it has kept me striving higher and higher.


These great lessons shall not end at this time
The world and generations to come must guzzle from this pot of uncommon wisdom
Letting them know they can be all they can be.

Acha Harrison




Saturday 18 April 2015

OH SOUTH AFRICANS, WE ARE ALL AFRICANS

Oh South Africans!
When did you dream up black on black racism?
When did you start unleashing this animalistic brutality on us?
When did you instigate another dimension of racial discrimination amongst us?
When did your African brothers become inferior to you?

Oh South Africans!
Are Africans now foreigners in Africa?
Where is the black brotherhood we have always cherished?

Oh South Africans!
How long shall we continue with this tradition of harming ourselves?
How long shall we continue to live with scars of hatred?
How long shall we continue to war ourselves?

Oh South Africans!
Why have you accepted to inch towards breaking apart Africa/Africans?
Why have you chosen to bring back what we have fought against in sweat and blood many years ago?
Why have you decided to give us another pain in the neck?

Oh South Africans!
We knew you to be the pride of Africa in terms of brotherhood
Africans least expected this barbaric act from you
You have brought ignominy upon black brotherhood.

Africa Oh Africans!
Violence is not the solution
Let’s say no to Afrophobia/Xenophobia
We are all Africans.

Acha Harrison





Thursday 16 April 2015

Nigerian Youths: The Hope Of Nigeria

The political affairs in Nigeria today, has really blindfolded us and feed us with myopic view of the thousand youths with youthful blood running in their veins fleeing this country daily in search of greener pastures. For too long, we have been so attached and highly sensitive to political matters and have left the salient issues unattended to.

It hurts me most seeing the hope of our great country flee our motherland for a better life which they believe they can source abroad. We are fleeing our home hoping to see it better when we return; what an act of superficial mindedness void of future for our nation. Indeed, the mighty has fallen.

There’s no doubt that we are facing problems and challenges in our nation state today but what problem is worst than absconding from these problems and challenges? The spirit of fleeing our motherland for no just cause has so much eaten deep into us as we are ever ready to undertake uncalculated risks through several mountains, deserts and rivers undermining the consequences. This solution that most youths resort to is causing us more destruction than the actual challenges. It will shock you to know that, our parents support it, the government support it indirectly, and even the educated youths are also advocates of this pain in the neck. I kept asking myself this; is it actually the lack of knowledge that’s causing our people to perish or lack of its proper application?

As I am drafting this article, many youths are on their way out of the country and many are making plans and setting strategies to ebb the country. Thousands have lost their lives trekking abroad through the Sahara desert and thousands have also lost their lives sailing through the sea. Still, the number of youths embarking on this suicidal exodus is on geometric progression. If I may ask, is it that our destiny is programmed to function only abroad? What about the talents and skills we got? The truth is, our desperation for the unknown is really leading us to doom. It is high time we began to rethink and induce a paradigm shift as a nation. Nigeria is our home and we are the hope of Nigeria.

In my childhood days, I was told that Nigeria is one of the most blessed nations in the world. And also that, Nigeria is the giant of Africa. As I grew up, I began to understand the truth in that which I was told many years ago. I have being asking myself these salient questions right from the very day I began to get the glimpse of the country I live in. And I am still asking, is Nigeria still one of the most blessed countries in the world? Or were we blessed by God and suffering from the curse of men? Are we still the giant of Africa we used to be? Undeniably, there’s a burden that need to be lifted.

Nigeria is not just a blessed nation in terms of natural resources, cultural heritage, agricultural resources, and stable climate but also, her youths are blessed with talents and ideas beyond measure (history vindicates this fact). The challenges we are facing today as youths, is that, we lack value for our talents and skills and the passion is not there to uphold us motivated. I believe we can begin to address this first and foremost through reorientation and enlightenment.

Imagine the outcome years from now, if the youth whose population encompasses about 80% of the entire Nigerian population, acquires knowledge and skills in relevant fields coupled with their individual special talents and unquenchable passion and putting it to work. It is becoming more obvious than ever that, planting the greener pasture we rummage around for abroad is very possible here in Nigeria, but it requires the collective and active effort of Nigerians.

The last time I checked, humans were still teleogical being (purpose driven) and Nigerian youths are not an exception to that; we have a dream and purpose to bring alive. Are you still asking yourself, what is my purpose in life? If you don’t know your purpose in life as a youth, I urge you to realize that one reason for your existence on earth is to find it.

I have not given up on Nigeria, and I know, Nigeria has not given up on me either. It is time to arise as vibrant youths and initiate a turning point that will gradually build the Nigeria of our dream. I humbly enjoin every youth of this great nation both home and abroad to do same. The future of Nigeria is still bright. Collectively, let us build our motherland.

God bless Nigerian youths.
God bless Nigeria.
God bless Africa


ACHA HARRISON

Saturday 11 April 2015

THE LITTLE BUT BIG DIFFERENCE

If you can't make a BIG DIFFERENCE
Make a LITTLE DIFFERENCE in a BIG WAY

If you can't impact MILLION LIVES
Impact A LIFE
It makes A MILLION DIFFERENCE

If you can't cause CHANGE in the WORLD
Cause a CHANGE in your FAMILY
It does make A HUGE DIFFERENCE in the WORLD

If you can't FLY
Don't undermine your RUNNING abilities
It makes A GREAT DIFFERENCE.

If you can't WIN SOULS
Win A SOUL
It does make A DIFFERENCE in God's kingdom.

If you can't be A LIGHT to the world
You can illuminate A LIFE that does
It really makes A DIFFERENCE.

If you can't cause others SMILE
Cause yourself SMILE
It does make A DIFFERENCE to the next person.

If you can't take ONE GIANT STEP
Take a series of LITTLE STEPS
It makes A BIG DIFFERENCE.

If life posses as A MARATHON
See it as SERIES OF SPRINTS
Indeed, it makes ALOT OF DIFFERENCE.

THE LITTLE DIFFERENCE WE MAKE TODAY
IS THE POTENTIAL BIG DIFFERENCE OF TOMORROW.