In Jesus' amazing parable of talents, the last guy who didn't invest his talent but buried it and was later cast into the outer darkness characterized by gnashing of teeth, did so out of fear, the fear of failing his "hard" master who "gathered where he hadn't sowed and reaped where he hadn't planted." Those who often fail in life do so, not because they're in dearth of talents but because fear and self-doubt often precludes them from using what they have. Fear is worse than cancer, but the good news is that it can be dealt with. These three tips will show you how.

📌UTILIZE THE FORCE THAT COMES WITH DESIRE.

The dangerous thing about fear is that it stops you from taking actions that have the potential of changing your life, thereby making you miss life-transforming opportunities. Fear is a force; it's an energy that holds one back, limiting like friction. To overcome this force, you need a higher force, something to propel you where the force of fear tries to hold you back. Fortunately, you can get that propelling force from desire.

While fear makes people not to do things they should do, desire stimulate people into action. In fact, if desire is so strong it can make you go the extra mile; it would make you do things ordinary people wouldn't dare do. When fear shows you reasonable, plausible reasons why you shouldn't take that step, focus on the sweet benefits that you can get if you do it. Fear says, "If you invest that money, you just might go broke and become a grace-to-grass laughingstock." Desire says, "No, you're getting it all wrong, Fear. If you let him do it, he's gonna make enough money to take Mom on that vacation he's been promising her."

Fear says, "You think anyone's gonna buy what you're selling? You'd better not even say a word about it before everyone has a field day with your inability to sell just one of your products."
Desire says, "C'mon, think about all you can do with all that money from your sales. There're many things you can buy, many places you can go."

Desire, AKA ambition, makes people do the unthinkable. Use it to beat your fears.

📌 ROLE MODELS

Robert Kiyosaki, impassioned strategic financial educator, wrote that the importance of having role models is that they make it look easy. You should surround yourself with superstars you want to be like and let them motivate you not to settle for less. It's a good thing that many of the world legends we have never started as giants. Most of them come from nothing-to-write-home-about backgrounds, and their lives are often beautiful, inspiring stories that tell of a grim struggle against limitations such as poverty, racism, marginalization, molestation etc which culminate into a rise into affluence and influence. Don't just listen to those stories; drink them in and allow them sink in until you believe you can also make something out of your life.

Role models help us put our fears behind and aim for the best. They're like voices calling us to join them in the heights they now stand in.

📌STOP OVERTHINKING

Fear thrives on logic; it shows you a thousand and one reasons why you shouldn't do it. The more you think it, the more you'll find reasons not to do it. The more you reason it out, the more sense it makes and the more your fears are justified. There's only one course open to you: stop overthinking; JUST DO IT.

What other ways can you think of handling fear? Boy, I'd love to hear them, cos I've got my own fears too.
Rooting for you.
J. Ebute (Penwielder)
#Penwielder #ContentWriter #GhostWriter #PersonalDevelopmentEnthusiast #SuccessAdvocate

The world knows Lionel Messi for his uncommon wizardry on the football pitch. I doubt that's about the only thing he can do very well. There are certainly many other things he can do, but that's what we know him best for and that's what we love him the most for. Mention soccer and his name will inevitably crop on.

Michael Jackson, though late, is still known chiefly for his musical prowess.

Oprah Winfrey is celebrated for her expertise in attention arbitrage. One appearance on her show have been known to make people "blow."

Our very own Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is known all around the world for her pen and her adroit use of words.

The world reckons with Robert Kiyosaki for his ability to provoke to life people's financial genius and spur them into establishing for themselves a life of financial security.

It knows Og Mandino for his knack for making men believe in themselves and how that faith can push them to go the extra mile to achieve success in any undertaking.

It identifies with Ben Carson for his miracle-working hands that have given a fresh lease of life to hapless children once condemned by other experts to death. It applauds him for his daring confidence in trying surgical procedures others wouldn't dare and for his inspiring life that have left a huge impact on so many people in all walks of life.

The list stretches on and on. The world doesn't need to know us for many things. All we need do is unearth that peculiar grace, that unique skill that proves to be our Midas Touch, focus with laser-beam intensity on fine-tuning and polishing the skill, and then using it to serve our world.

It's time to stop playing trial-and-error, time to stop dispersing our efforts about, time to stop tasting every new venture we hear about. Find your Midas Touch, and give your whole attention, time, efforts and resources to building.

Here's to your success.
J. Ebute (Penwielder).
#Penwielder #ContentWriter #GhostWriter #PersonalDevelopmentEnthusiast #SuccessAdvocate #PsychologyBuff

I don't know if we learned this intentionally or it's just one of those natural traits that manage to work their way into our lives, but it's something we do all the time as students and we do it so unconsciously that it seems natural in itself.

You walk to the notice board or however it is you access your result as a student. There beside your name, it says you scored an "A". Your friend caught your robust grin and asked if you were smiling because you passed. The wideness of your grin seemed to multiply at least threefolds as you smugly replied, "Yeah, man. I got an 'A'."

Change of scenario. Today wasn't your lucky day. What you saw against your name made your face fell and a little bit of anger was added to your emotion. When your friend asked why you weren't so excited, you hissed and said, "The man gave me 'C' now."

This attitude isn't peculiar to students actually. It's part of human nature to always take full glory and credit for anything done well. And it's also part of human nature to cook up excuses to explain away a failure or average performance– as a matter of fact, the human mind is excellent in forming excuses.

Sadly enough, this attitude follows us in our understanding and perception of success. When a man succeeds in any undertaking, he resents it when people suggest that he was merely lucky, because luck takes away from him the chance to glory in his success. But when he fails, he'll come up with many logical reasons to explain why it wasn't his fault that he failed.

I want us to see another side of this same coin. It's natural for us to look at the highly successful people amongst us, shrug and conclude, "Dude was just lucky." We do that in an attempt to make ourselves feel good. It's a way of saying, "He really didn't do anything special." Because we don't want to face the one big question that really matters: "Why not me?"

But if the same person had failed, we'd pounce on him mercilessly and "put it to him" like expert prosecutors of the law that it was his fault he'd failed. We won't sympathize with any excuse he brings to the table. As far as we're concerned, he didn't play his cards well and should answer to it. How funny the human nature is! We want credit for our own success, but we explain away other people's success as the result of good fortune. Again, we find excuses for our failures and yet don't pay attention to the excuses of others if they fail.

The bottom line is we do this just to feel good. We don't want other people's successes oppressing and intimidating us. But the bane of it is that when you start to make light people's achievements and discard it as the result of luck, you'll start to believe it and when you start to believe it, it'll soon form a mindset that will sit deeply rooted in your subconscious. And no man can rise above the thoughts buried in his subconscious. Those thoughts will rule him. Indeed, they are the power that will make or mar his life.

When you start to believe and accept that success is just a function of luck, it immediately blocks your subconscious and prevent it from thinking creatively and the faculty of your will becomes deadened too. You become a passive puppet, waiting, wishing, hoping and praying for your own lucky day to break forth.

But when you understand that while there's the uncanny influence of the force of fate on our lives, success doesn't entirely depend on fortune, it'll activate your subconscious mind, strengthen your creative faculty and your will becomes all the stronger to achieve your goals. You begin to ask yourself, "Well, if he did it, why can't I? Does he have two heads? Does God play favorites?" Immediately, you become responsible for your own destiny and become intentional with this.

But he who wants to feel good temporarily and settle for mediocrity will scoff and say, "Whatever will be, will be." Such a man folds his hands and wait and hope for luck to fix things up.

Let's celebrate successful people.

Let's love success.

And let's strive for success...

For success is a doing word.

Yours truly,
J. Ebute.
#Penwielder #ContentWriter #GhostWriter #SuccessAdvocate #PersonalDevelopmentEnthusiast #PsychologyBuff

Exactly, boss.

Before the guardians of the dear cliches lynch me, indulge me as I set out to explain my headline. Two biblical stories will help me achieve that.

An old, faithful priest of God woke up one morning to be confronted with a prophecy from the lips of his protege. "God has sworn to utterly wipe out your entire family line because you have failed as a father in bringing your sons to order. They have desecrated the sacred office of priesthood to which you've been called."

What did Eli, recipient of the bitter words of judgement, do in response to the pronouncement? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Man said, "He's the Lord; let Him do as He pleases."

A king, one of the most irreverent and wicked in the history of Israel, was also confronted with a prophecy of doom from the lips of God's fiery messenger, Prophet Elijah. On hearing the direful pronouncement, Ahab became sad, tore his clothes and put on sackcloth. What was the outcome? God had to resend Elijah back to him. "I've spoken and I can't change my word, but because you repented in sincerity, all I've pronounced against you won't happen in your time. It'll happen in your son's time."

Is God unfair? He let a terribly wicked king off the hook, but punished a priest whose only offence was in not reining his sons. Nope, God responded to them based on their own reactions. Eli, the priest, did nothing and the prophecy against him stayed. Ahab went all out to show his repentance, and the ordinance against him was delayed.

Isn't it the same way life treats us? To which school do you belong? The school of Eli, "The Que Sera Que Sera Gang– Whatever will be will be."? Those who have no fighting spirit at all; they submit to whatever is their lot in life, make no attempts, put no efforts and all they do is whine and complain about the injustice of life. They hold a grudge against Fate, seeing the successful as merely being lucky, and they're contented with whatever estates they occupy.

Or do you belong to the school of Ahab, the cake-eaters who still manage to keep their cakes? Those who understand that prophecies themselves are not set in stone and destinies too can be influenced by ambition, determination and unrelenting actions.

Picture life as one mean big bully. It feeds on your fear and thrives on your cowering attitude. Allow it, and it'll boss you around. But when you stop being a sissy and fight back, you might find out that inside that tough veneer is one coward trying not to show its weakness. In the final analysis, life gives us as output what we've first given as input. Life honors courageous fighters and enjoys bullying fearful, cringing folks.

To which of the schools do you belong?

#Penwielder
#ContentWriter
#GhostWriter
#PersonalDevelopmentEnthusiast
#SuccessAdvocate
#PsychologyBuff

Let's play a little maths. It's nothing complex, so you can gladly put away whatever phobia you have for numbers.

It's supposed to be one of those "word problems" but because I know how people hate that aspect of mathematics especially, I'll brighten it with a little imagination. Let's dive into it.

Santa Claus– let's assume he's real and he has a special influence on our destinies and can make anyone of us "blow" when he deems fit. But Santa doesn't do this arbitrarily so that people don't label him as partial or unfair. So what he does is that he asks us all to come with balls of a certain color unique to each person. These balls are then juggled around in a big bag, and from time to time Santa reaches out and pick a ball. Fortunate are you when it's your color of ball that's picked.

Let's make this more specific. Let's assume there are four persons Santa has his eyes on. We can call them A, B, C and D. A has 6 balls in the bag, B has 2, C has 1 and D 3. Santa is going to pick only one ball. Who has the highest chance of being picked? (Mathematics has a topic like this and it's called probability.) Of course, A has the highest chance– 50% chance or 0.5.

However, that notwithstanding, it's possible that C which has the least chance might just be the lucky winner. It's just a game of chance.

Now, I daresay life can be like that– very unpredictable. The never-serious, irresponsible guy that everyone looks down on and expect to end a nonentity, goes into a casino one day and becomes a millionaire overnight. Or of all people in the world, the only daughter and heiress of a stinkingly rich man, falls in love and decides he's the only one she's going to get married to. Damn, but that's just how unpredictable life can be.

While my illustration and examples are wild, I only intend to paint the mysterious dealings of life. By getting serious with life and becoming more intentional, it's just like throwing more balls into Santa's bag. What that does for you is increase your chances of success. But never forget how unfair life can seem to be. Do not focus on who is making it in life more quickly and getting plenty of luck– you'll only wear yourself out. (This reminds me of King Solomon's deep philosophical musings in his treatise, "Ecclesiastes" which brought him to the conclusion that it's all vanity and life is so meaningless and incomprehensible.)

What you should focus instead on is how to get more of your balls into the bag to increase your chances. And when next you think of quitting, play this imagination game with me, for sooner your bold, intentional steps towards achieving your goal will reach that number that it'll become inevitable that your color is selected.

I'll like to hear your opinion on this. Do you find my analysis reasonable and helpful?

#Penwielder
#ContentWriter
#GhostWriter
#PersonalDevelopmentEnthusiast
#SuccessAddict
#PhilosophyBuff

What is honey to bees anyways?
Food?
Egested waste product?
Or metabolic waste product?
I think I had better stopped here lest it feels like I'm diving into the not-always-welcoming waters of biology.
Actually, honey is a way bees store food for themselves against "rainy days". Their chief source of nutrition being the juicy nectar of flowers, they're not always sure of finding fresh, blooming flowers at every time of the year, hence the need to improvise with honey. So when their fears of running out of nectar-rich flowers eventually become a reality, they then feast on the honey they'd been able to produce and preserve beforehand. Pretty smart little creatures, right?

How in God's name do those creatures produce that amazingly sweet, dark-brown juice which I can bet is already making someone's mouth water?
Simple. From the nectar of flowers. The answer is simple, but the process is not quite simple. It involves a chain of processes that require the skillful intervention of enzymes at some point.

Now this is what this post is all about. How is it that bees are about the only insects that produce honey when they are not the only ones that visit flowers and enjoy their nectar? Remember, the chief raw material for honey production is nectar. Why don't butterflies, ants and beetles which also enjoy their fair share of nectar also produce honey?

It's simple. When bees visit flowers, their purpose is well- defined. They go with the aim of not only temporarily enjoying the nectar but to also keep some for the future in the form of honey. But other insect pollinators don't reason the same way. They enjoy the nectar for the moment and that's all.

Life operates on the same principle. We all were sent down here, but what we get out of life will never be the same. Why? It depends on how we choose to play the game of life. If we approach life with intentionality and map out our goals, aims and purposes, we'll sooner find ourselves making our own honey. But if we lack well-defined plans but only submit with meekness to whatever life choose to bring to us, we'll be at the mercy of fate.

It's not enough to be alive. There's a need to have a plan on how to navigate through life and make bold steps in implementing the plan.

I'm not so sure of how well I have articulated my thoughts. Help me by telling me just ONE thing you picked from this post.

Till I write you again,
J. Ebute (Penwielder)

Interested to improve your selling abilities, send me a message on WhatsApp via this number: 09063099867

This is going to be quite long, but I promise you you won't regret the time you commit in reading to the end.

I'll never forget my first meeting point with Dan Brown. It was through his amazing novel, "Angels and Demons."

In case you don't know who Dan Brown is, he's a bestselling American author who has sold over 200 million copies of his books. If you don't know anything about bookselling, you may not appreciate how gigantic this feat is.

When I read "Angels and Demons", I was literally blown away. The book was rich. It had mystery, suspense, thriller, romance, but above all, what stood out for me most was that the book was not only entertaining but "HIGHLY" educating. It had loads of history– there were so many interesting world historical events I learnt from that book. Furthermore, Dan Brown approached the universal, age-old subject of science and religion that has always been a battle of contention, with masterly dexterity and expertise. I exaggerate not when I say it's one of the best books I ever read.

But then, when I began to do my research on Dan Brown, something amazing struck me. He never started out as a bestseller. As a matter of fact, he had published SEVERAL books that were nothing short of commercial disasters, including the epic "Angels and Demons" that impressed me with mammoth impact.

Damn! How can a book that good, that rich, that excellent, not have sold at it's original release? I was shocked. But then came light. Writing a good book and selling it are two very different things. As Robert Kiyosaki will say, "it's called bestselling author and not 'bestwriting author."

Obviously, Dan Brown realized this too and went to do his homework. He so mastered the art of selling that he dumbfounded the literal world when he sold over 250,000 copies of his book "Da Vinci code" in ONE day. You heard me right. 24 hours! It's an unheard record, and Amazon said it's the best first-day adult fiction book it has ever sold and in fact with many pre-orders. It's a record that follows that of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series.

I can assure you Dan Brown wasn't merely lucky in achieving that feat. Here's what he did. He built a six-year hype and anticipation around the book before it's official release. You can now understand why he's sold 200 million copies of his book. "Da Vinci code" alone has now sold over 80 million copies and has been made into a movie.

I guess you can now see what the must-have skill I talked about in my title is. It's simply selling. You might be very skilful and polished, but you won't attract people if you don't know how to sell yourself. You can have the best products and services but if you can't sell them, you're on your own. If "Angels and Demons" as epic as it was didn't sell initially, stop kidding yourself that having a good product is sufficient. You must learn to sell; it's non-negotiable.

And selling is not about luck. It has a formula. Let Prof. Emmanuel Akpe, a renowned and veteran copywriter show you how.
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A man can never rise above the thoughts and beliefs registered in his mind. Our convictions and persuasions play a huge role to a very large extent in shaping the outcomes of our lives. This is why we must be extremely careful with our minds and the things we allow into them, for they have a way of making or marring us.

If there's anything that has the propensity for influencing our thought patterns, behaviors and convictions, it's our environment. A great deal of the beliefs settled in our minds are the products of the inputs we've received from our environment.

And when I talk of environment, I'm not referring to the inanimate structures and topographical features that constitute your place of dwelling. Environment goes beyond geography and physical tangibility. It's the people we're surrounded by that make up the environment I refer to here. Family, friends, peers, local community are those we should be picturing here.

The utterances of our environment are not vocal; they're communicated via certain values and beliefs everyone within the influence of that environment knows and accepts subconsciously.

Your environment gives you the benchmark with which you measure your life.

It tells you what height is possible for you to reach and what height is beyond your reach.

It sets the boundary of the things you should attempt and the ones you should never dare.

It whispers to your ears the class you are, and shows you those above your class.

The utterances of our environment are many, and we all know them deeply in our hearts.

What has your environment been whispering to you? What are the sayings it fills your ears with? It's time to revisit the orientations you borrowed from your environment, and sift through them. The good and healthy things can remain, but the unhealthy barriers and limitations it places on the horizons of our minds must be done away it. For it's flight time and you cannot afford to be encumbered by these weights.

This is not another principle to be greeted with a casual nod of the head. You know why? Because AS A MAN THINKETH IN HIS HEART, SO HE IS.

Rooting for you,
J. Ebute (Penwielder)

A prophet is not without honour, but in his hometown. Why? Just the simple reason of "see finish." Why should anyone listen to the carpenter's son they all watched growing up and running around the streets with the other children?

But it's also possible for a prophet to be without honour even outside his hometown. A fearful prospect! The man is indeed a prophet, but no one sees him as such.

Both cases are the product of one and the same phenomenon. Let me give it a name with ten letters. PERCEPTION.

Both the guys that are familiar with the prophet and the ones that are not, will honour him only according to how they SEE him. Some will see a mountebank and treat him as such, others will see a man genuinely called and will take off their clothes for the prophet to walk upon.

Alright. This isn't about a prophet. It's about you. Whatever it is you are or whatever thing you hands have found to do, your success and failure depends on the perception of the people you're dealing with. These people can be your customers or investors if you're into business, your employer(s) as an employee, your fans as a celebrity, your readers as a writer, your patronizers as a specialist in any field etc.

This is just to remind you that how the people with whom you have to do in your business or career perceive you and pay you their respect, money or attention, doesn't depend on luck or chance but to a great extent on the IMAGE you're presenting to them.

Newton's third law of motion, the famous law of cause and effect, plays here. Image projected equals perception created in people's minds. When you project yourself as sophisticated and show you know your onions, you'd be treated as an expert. But when you act like someone just rising through the ranks, people might treat you as second-class or an afterthought.

This may sound like smokescreen, but that's just how the world works. It's not enough to have substance; there's a need to build a corresponding excellent image so you can attract men to your doorsteps. Packaging works!

The thing is if you don't present yourself well, you stand the risk of losing the attention that befits the value you're carrying. And similarly, if you project an image that's not in keeping with the substance buried in you, you can be sure that you'd soon be found out. So, don't just concentrate on creating a good public image, make sure you have the right stuff too. A man of quality substance and a strong public reputation is always a force to reckon with.

Here's to your unstoppable success🥂

©J. Ebute (Penwielder)

A popular American billionaire_ my cerebrum has recalcitrantly refused to retrieve his name_ was once asked in an interview what he would do if he were to suddenly lose all his wealth. His reply did to me what an enormous amount of current would do to anyone that forgot his body was a conductor and went ahead to directly handle a naked, electric wire. It might have just the same effect on you.

He answered and said, (I intentionally use the biblical tone to convey the seriousness and weight of his words) "Give me five years, and I will build it back again."

Did you hear that? Pride? Arrogance? Excess presumptuousness? Nah, I think confidence is a more suitable word.

If you're a Bible scholar like me, that heavy utterance immediately reminded you of the episode between Jesus and the religious authorities of His time. When they dared ask Him for a sign to validate His earlier zealous purge, His reply left them dazed. "Destroy this temple in three days, and I will raise it up again." I don't blame them for looking at Jesus as though He were a nutcase, because even His disciples wondered how He was going to succeed in building what took forty-six years to build in just three days.

I didn't share that episode with you to impress you of my knowledge in the scriptures (even though some people may not find anything impressive about it); on the contrary, I wanted to prove to you that certain utterances that communicate self-confidence and assertiveness suffer the proclivity of being labelled as proud, audacious arrogance and insane defiance.

Back to the statement. That billionaire knows what he's talking about. He said he will rebuild his fortune worth billions of dollars in FIVE years. This contains a powerful lesson. I don't know if you can see it already.

What brings money to you is what you have inside of you. There's something that attracts money like magnet and it's not external. It's very much internal. What separates the billionaires from the rest of us is simply that they've discovered the joker in their pack, their Midas Touch, and boy, how they use it unreservedly, unashamedly and tirelessly to attract tons of money into their pockets.

Don't ever fall prey to the fallacy that wealth creation totally depends on luck and chance. Like the plethora of formula we have been blessed with in mathematics, wealth creation can be controlled, learnt, mastered, duplicated and taught to others.

This piece isn't about specifics. It was written to challenge you to dust your sleeping mats, mats upon which you have slept and embraced mediocrity, and awake from your slumber. The billionaires we have didn't become so because they were lucky or God's favorites. No, there's something they know, something they have and something they're doing. These things are not totally shrouded mysteries and secrets.

Wealth creation is all about exchange. The world is one big market, and it's the value you have to offer that determines how much you go back home with. It's time to begin the best kind of building you can ever do: self-building. Build value and knowledge into yourself so that men cannot resist the substance nested in you, and for which cause they will reward you with the one language we all understand_ money.

You will also need grit and 'ruggedity', for the path is no easy part. Which is why few are they that are found on it.

Here's to your success.

I might be a good writer, but I'm completely not psychical. Therefore, the only way I can know your thoughts concerning this piece is when you react and comment. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you'll do this.

©J. Ebute (Penwielder)

Story time👇

A king once invited all his male subjects to a banquet. There was only one prerequisite he laid down for all who desired to attend: that they each show up with a bottle of wine which would be mixed together to form a powerful potpourri.

Somewhere in the kingdom, a man and his wife's conversation came to focus on the king's feast due for the next day.

"I would have loved to go to the king's feast", the man said, his tone blatantly wistful.

"And what's stopping you from attending?" his wife queried in a voice fraught with curiosity.

"Because I can't afford a wine, and the king has clearly said every attendee must come with one."

Looking away from his morose countenance, the woman's eyes blazing with mischief, it was obvious a clever idea was cooking up in her mind. A minute or two later, she was giving vent to the idea. "You'll go to the banquet", she declared emphatically as though issuing an order. At his raised eyebrows smacking of interrogation and confusion, she explained, "You're aren't the only one who's going for the feast and hundreds of people will show up with a bottle of wine. What makes you think if you go with water in the guise of wine, anyone will notice? One bottle of water can never be noticed in so much wine."

The gloom that had hung over him was immediately dispelled as he listened to his wife. Her words made plenty of sense. The following day saw him sauntering to the banquet, armed with a bottle of water looking indistinguishable from wine. All smiles, he emptied his bottle of its content into the large pot that had been kept in front of the palatial court for that purpose.

When all the guests had arrived, the feast officially kicked off with a brief opening charge by the chief host, the king. His own separate glass of wine in his hands, he had the people served with the wine they had all brought and mixed together. After a succinct but skillful toast, he asked everyone to go ahead and take their wine, which they readily obliged to. They were, as a matter of fact, all eager to partake of the unique, delightful potpourri_a first time experience.

The manner in which they all started gulping was the same manner they stopped in unison. Unmistakable shock was written on their faces. What they were drinking tasted nothing like wine; it was that unmistakable insipid taste of water.

Lesson: sometimes when you're scheming and making plans, do not forget that others might just have the same plans in mind as well. Also, we should be responsible for our own actions. We shouldn't bother ourselves with how others are going to act or what decisions they're going to take; just focus on doing the good that is meet for you to do.

PS: I'm not the source of the aforementioned story. I only retold it in my own words.

Let me share with you a secret that can literally change your life if well appreciated and applied.

I know you want to make the most out of your life. I know you want a life of excellence. But there's a difference between WANTING and HAVING. And those that succeed in this severely competitive game of life are those that have learnt to bridge the two. They know how to convert their wants to tangible realities.

Follow me please. This is so going to bless you.

When it comes to relating with people, you've got to realize that on the average, men are selfish. You might want to read that again.

The implication of this is that people will only give you their time, attention, money or love when there's some sort of returns for them. Call me a cynic, but it's the simple truth. "I scratch your back, you scratch mine" is an all-time working formula in the real world.

So how does this affect you?

If you want to be rich, ask yourself how do I make people get money out of their pockets to give me. People like Mark Sugarbag are so good at this.

If you want to be a celebrity, you have to EARN the people's adoration.

But this isn't something you need to be scared about. You know why? You've got something in you. In this trade-by-barter system of life we were born into, no one, I mean no single person, was born without something to bring to the table. You know your problem? You think this is just another motivational speech. Well, those who realize that they weren't born empty and have begun to trade what they have for what they want, will continue to get ahead of you while you wallow in the stench of your self_doubt.

I don't know what lies the devil has told you about yourself or what mirages those bad experiences has made you believe, but you aren't empty. They have told you what a nonentity you are and will always amount to, but you need to ask yourself if they were the ones who created you.

If you're still interested in rising to the top of the ladder of life, you need to sit down and begin the process of unearthing those treasures in you. (Note❗No one can perform this exercise for you; you alone can do it.) And when you're done identifying the jokers in your pack, it's time to trade them for what you want.

Here's to your unstoppable success.

Do not joke with this timeless principle of life 👇👇

Wheresoever the carcasses are, there the vultures will be gathered.

This principle is what separates the John Doe's from the well-known.

There's nothing that has the ability of announcing itself like results. Tangible, irrefutable results are very loud. They cannot hide themselves; they always betray their presence.

In any field of human endeavor, there will always be the big shots and the small fries. And the in-between too, of course. In most cases, the difference lies in this principle.

It's only in our school systems that we are graded and rewarded based on what we seem to know as judged by an examination. In the real world, no one cares how well you can perform in an examination. The emphasis, on the contrary, is strictly on what you can bring to the table. When it comes to practical life, there's only one language men listen to and understand, only one currency we trade with: RESULTS AND SOLUTIONS.

In this crazy world of hectic competition for people's attention and money, what sets you apart from the crowd is your ability to solve people's problems and give them palpable results. There are so many problems in the world and men are begging for solution. Give them solution, and watch the vultures gather around the carcasses of your evident results.

Happy new month.

Rooting for you,
J. Ebute (Penwielder)

You possibly have heard this fable, but let me share it all the same so we can glean one or two lessons from it.

The cat used to be an animal that resided in the jungle like every other wild beast. One day, it was attacked by a fox. However, it was rescued by the elephant. The cat, which had always been harassed and hounded by the fox came to the conclusion that the elephant must be the most powerful animal in the jungle. And it made its decision: thenceforth, it began to move with the elephant, following it wherever it went to.

Shortly after the birth of this commensalism, the elephant was unfortunate to get into a fight with a lion. The fearless creature, after a long tussle, was finally able to send the elephant on the famed journey of no return. Amazed that its excellent hero which it had always perceived as invincible had now met a superior, the cat renounced its loyalty to its dead savior and swore a new pact with this new almighty beast: the lion.

Time reeled by, and it came to pass that during a hunting expedition, a hunter's bullet found its way into the chest of the lion, killing it immediately. Our dear cat realizes that it had now found a greater-than-the-lion, and of course, another contract of loyalty was established. And so the cat followed the man to his village where he lived with him till date because it is yet to find a creature greater than man on the earth.

Lesson from the cat: we shouldn't be like the cat. We shouldn't profess loyalty with just our lips. When our heroes and role models fall, that isn't the time to betray by wagging our tongues and gloating. It's time to prove our loyalty by giving them the support they need.

Lesson from the elephant and lion: The average man is selfish; he is only loyal to what's benefitting him. Call me a cynic if you like, but on the average, men are more concerned about what's in it for them than allegiance. I'm not telling you to start preaching to people to stop being "treacherous"; I'm saying realize this is how the world works and use it to your advantage.

To continue to bask in your customers' loyalty as a business owner or in your fans' adulation as a celebrity, you have to do everything possible not to be sidelined like the elephant or the lion.

J. Ebute (Penwielder)

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The largest minnow can still never stand up to the whoppers.

Can you relate with that🖕🖕?

Be not dismayed if you answered no, cos you will at the end of this rich journey.

I know how unbearable the feeling of intimidation can be. And this is exactly what you get when you wander from your class to mingle with those obviously way better than you. The more they speak, the more you're shown how little you know. The more they do, the more your weakness is buttressed.

It feels good to walk among those you obviously surpass. Ah, when they hear your words, their applause will boom in your ears like a cannon, and how good that makes you feel. Yea, it's always satisfying to be at the giving end of the intimidation. Pepper them, you say.

Let's shake some tables.

Life is not all about feeling good. To win in the game of life, you need to learn how to do the right thing even if it doesn't feel good. Back to association. Wisdom has proven that it profits more to associate with people better than you than when you temporarily enjoy the company of your contemporaries who see you as an idol.

While those higher than you will continue to push you to aim higher and do more, you will naturally fall to complacency and mediocrity when you allow yourself to enjoy the praises of your fellow mediocrities.

It's time to change gear. Don't just feel intimidated in the company of your superiors; allow them make you dissatisfied with your present position. And let that dissatisfaction nudge you on to becoming the best version of yourself.

I hope you can now see that the biggest minnow can still never stand up to the whoopers?

If you got value, it wouldn't hurt you to let me know, you know?

Cheers to your unstoppable victory.

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The human soul is made up of three compartments: the mind, the emotion and the will.

The mind is that part of our souls that's generally responsible for our mental performances. It is the centre of our thoughts, intellect and knowledge.

The emotions deals with our feelings. They're so many kinds of feelings, and like colors, they express themselves in various shades.

The will is the most important part of our souls because it governs our decisions and choices. It's practically responsible for the actions we take.

Practically, because we are beings of passion and desire, we are most of the time being ruled by our emotions. It's not that we don't know we ought to do, the necessities that become us and the duties expected of us. But we often act based on our emotions. We pray less because we FEEL guilty before God and not necessarily because God rejects us.

It's not that we're bereft of ideas, but fear and self-doubt incapacitates us. It's not that we don't know or comprehend the unpredictability of life, but when fate strikes us a blow, we seem to forget what we know as we wallow in sorrow and drown in grief. Sometimes, for no particular reason, we find ourselves depressed. We're so vulnerable to mood swings.

We start the year with full fervor, we start a project with rich zeal, but as time goes by, our passion dissipates. Becoming dispirited, we faint and give up. Oh, the highs and lows of our emotions. They're as unstable as the tumultuous waves of the sea. And yet, most of us allow ourselves to be led by them.

The blind can't lead the blind or both would end up in a ditch. If we allow our wavering emotions to lead us, we shouldn't expect to live anything short of an unsteady life. It is important we learn how to utilize the decision making power of our will to perform our expected responsibilities regardless of how we feel. We must become masters of our emotions, bringing our feelings in subjection to the knowledge in our minds and by the unbendable power of our will.

Henceforth, do not allow the unpredictable high and low of your emotions hold you down. Learn to master your emotions and not to be mastered by them.

Yours truly,
J. Ebute (Penwielder).

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In our quest to make the most out of our lives and live to our fullest potentials, there're a number of stumbling blocks on our paths we must watch out for and get rid of. In this content, I'll be sharing two of them.

♦️ The "Too High" Tendency

We're often told to dream and think big and never to limit ourselves when it comes to our imaginations and goals. But when it comes to our daily goals and tasks, we must be careful not to swing to the high side. There's nothing that kills our morale and punctures our determination like an overly high goal. When our goals become too unrealistic and the tasks we set ourselves become too high, we are bound to develop cold feet or give up along the way.

What makes us set too high goals and consequently strenuous undertakings is simply excessive zeal. This is exactly like the rocky soil in the parable of the sower told by Jesus. Such a man heard the word and was extremely joyful about what he had heard, but the word didn't really sink deep and grow in his heart. Which was why when persecution on account of the word came, he broke faith and fell. We allow our emotions get the better of us and we start to make wonderful, profound commitments that are too high, and after the burden of the load we had placed on ourselves begin to tell on us, we quickly give up. In most cases, we don't even get to start in the first place because we're overwhelmed by the expectations we have set for ourselves.

The cure for this is to realize that consistency pays better than intensity. It's not always a matter of how much and how fast, but how well. Never forget that slow and steady wins the race. It's better to be slow and finish than to be cheetah-fast and unable to finish.

♦️The "Too Many" Tendency.

While the "too high" tendency focuses on overwhelming and fear-inciting magnitude in terms of the size of our self-assigned tasks, the "too many" tendency focuses on number. It's you that want to be a fashion designer, and it's the same you that wants to take catering lessons. You started learning skill A, and you didn't get to finish that because you then saw how lucrative skill B was and opted for it instead. You commit yourself to too many things and you set too many engagements for yourself. The result is that you lose on both sides; you get neither of the two.

The cause of this is illusion and distraction. When you hear that the gold is now in XYZ, you leave where you're and abandon what you're doing for XYZ. Distractions from all corner dazzle you and get your attention.

The antidote is focus. You need to have a single eye. Know what you want and be intentional about the direction you want to take in life. And when you've decided on what to do, go all out to build yourself in it. Become the best in it; gain mastery there. Remember: Jack of all trades, master of none. What you're looking for in Canada might just be where you are. There're many people that have done incredibly well in areas where people turned away from because they didn't see any good prospects there. All you need is the clear understanding of where you're aiming for and a well defined strategy of how to get there. With focus and determination, those goals can be smashed.

Rooting for you,
J. Ebute (Penwielder)

Can you begin to imagine what it feels like for a God that demonstrated the highest form of love when He gave His only begotten son, to be set against a man? A God that forgave us when we were literally at enmity with Him, and were scarcely pertubed about it?

What could have made such a loving and forgiving God turn His holy face from a king He Himself chose for His people?

God does not do things arbitrarily; there are always righteous motivations for His actions.

Find out why God, Our Holy and loving Father, went all out to destroy King Saul, so you can also avoid falling into such an error 👇👇 (The e-book is hundred percent free.)

https://eu.docworkspace.com/d/sIES9x8GQAczHuJ8G?sa=e1&st=0

G for gracias.

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The universe we find ourselves in is governed by laws. And it's the fact that these laws are unbreakable that helps to sustain order and prevent chaos. I like to demonstrate with examples.

It's a natural law that opposites attract each other. Negative charges attract positive charges; the North Pole of a magnet attracts the South Pole. Gravity is another example. If you throw a stone upwards, it will eventually fall. This isn't a guesswork; it is a fact that's been guaranteed by the immutability of a natural law. The day the law of gravity is broken, we'll find ourselves floating in the air.

It's a foolhardy thing for anyone to attempt to break a natural law. It'll only amount to futility, a complete waste of time and energy, like a man seriously boxing the air or chasing after the wind. One of the natural laws we unconsciously try to outsmart or manoeuvre is that a labourer is worthy of his wages. It's the husbandman that's always the first partaker of the fruits.

In this life, there're things that precedes others, and the force of nature will never allow that the natural order be tampered with. Rainfall is always preceded by the gathering of water in the skies. It's the abundance of water up there that eventually culminates into rainfall.

Similarly, reaping and harvest are ALWAYS preceded by sowing. Wages are reserved only for labourers. It's only those that have sowed that have the right to reap; it's only those that have laboured that have the right to their wages. This is a natural law. Input before output.

As a young man or woman, you're now in your sowing season. Oh, sow now that you may reap tomorrow. God cannot be mocked; a man can only reap what he has sowed. Sow into yourself; sow for the future.

A man who tries to reap success, excellence and mastery when he hasn't sowed knowledge, diligence, patience, consistency and discipline is only fooling himself. Receiving is always preceded by giving, and earning by labour.

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. (Psalms 126: 5-6)

J. Ebute (Penwielder)

1 John 4:16 gives a very profound revelation. It states emphatically that God is love. It doesn't just say that God has love; it tells us clearly that God Himself is love. What a beautiful revelation! The nature of God is a nature of love.

We all know that love is beyond emotions and soulful romance. Love is spiritual; it is of the heart. Just like we can't specifically and perfectly define what life actually is but can only do so based on those characteristics that life manifests itself in, so it is with love. We can only know love by its fruits. 1Cor. 13 is one passage of scripture that did great justice in telling us the properties of love. One of those properties stated is that love keeps no record of wrong or it forgives (Vs 5).

Therefore, we should expect God who is the perfect epitome of love to display all the characteristics of love including forgiveness. But sometimes, it appears as though God doesn't act in love. For instance, looking at the life of King Saul, the first king of Israel, we notice how pathetically his life ended because God rejected him. The man was so helpless and confused when he faced the Philistines in the final battle of his life. He kept consulting God and seeking His face, but God won't listen to him. At the end, he and his sons perished in battle.

Now, the question is why would a God, Who scriptures declares as love, choose not to forgive a helpless man calling on Him for help? Why didn't He just forgive Saul? Love is supposed to forgive, but why didn't God, Who is love personified, forgive?

But there's an answer to this. There's always an answer for everything God does, for He is holy, above and without sin, and remains love personified. God indeed is love, but that doesn't mean He doesn't respect His principles or suffers those who act against His will.

I discussed more on this in my very short and simple e-book titled "The Error of King Saul: When a God called Love Goes All Out to Destroy a Man." It's a book I believe will bless you. It's absolutely FREE. Check comment section for link.

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