Fela Durotoye; success Story and biography

Adetokunbo Olufela Durotoye is a business consultant, speaker and leadership expert. He is the Chief Executive Officer of GEMSTONE GROUP; a leadership development institution. A non-governmental organization with a distinct mandate to raise a generation of leaders that are empowered and motivated to operate with Nation excellence.

Fela durotoye; a business consultant, leadership expert and motivational speaker. How did Fela durotoye make it?

Just like you and I, Fela durotoye has gone through hard times. Life is a journey that everyone must travel, it is filled with ups and downs and some inevitable pains. Fela Durotoye is a man of vision that values growth. His success and achievements started from somewhere.

He once shared this as a post on his Instagram page. He shared a powerful throwback photo from when he and his wife walked down the aisle in 2001. He made it clear that their beginning wasn't a smooth sail.

The post says; our wedding (2001), we had 40 guests attending for obvious reasons. I got married to my wife(Tara Durotoye) in 2001, living in a one-room in Lagos. I was 30 years old and had started my firm V.I.P CONSULTING from my room; where I had a bed(covering a hole in my rug), a wastebasket and a chair.

My wife(Tara Durotoye) had to go to her parent's house every day to take a bath because she couldn't use our community toilet and bathroom. And that is where our dreams began(a one-room apartment).

We've been through so much and have come so far solely by the grace of God and a determined work ethic.

So wherever you might be in your life today, even if your life seems as bleak as this wedding picture of ours, know that God hasn't even gotten started with you. God bless you.

Fela Durotoye once works as a financial analyst at Ventures & Trusts Limited in 1992. He was the head of the customer service department at Phillips Consulting Limited in 1998. Fela started his firm; V.I.P Consulting Limited in the year 2000 which soon became notable in customer and human management in Nigeria. The firm was restructured and switched from a consulting firm to a social enterprise called Visible Impact Limited(V.I.L).

Fela Durotoye facilitates and speaks at management and leadership retreats across, within and outside Nigeria.

With a determined work ethic, Fela durotoye was able to position himself for greatness. In 2018, Fela Durotoye gave a speech to over 200 entrepreneurs at the inaugural Nigerian American Business Forum in Tampa Florida, where he shared the podium with Nigerian Stock Exchange chairman Abimbola Ogunbanjo, Media pioneer Biodun Shobanjo, former governor Peter Obi, senior senator Mohammed Shaaba Lafiagi, senator Ben Murray-Bruce, and technologist Ade Olufeko.

INTERESTING PART OF FELA DUROTOYE'S STORY

In December 2009, Fela Durotoye endorsed the urban renewal project tagged "Mushin Makeover". The project involved Bankole Wellington(popularly known as Banky W), Alibaba, Kate Henshaw, Omoni Oboli, Teju Babyface, Sound Sultan(late), TY Bello, Dj Jimmy Jatt, Omawunmi, Denrele, Dele Momodu, Tosin Bucknor, Stella Damasus, Tee A, Segun Dangote, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu among others, painting and calling for volunteers who can donate paints for the project. Young professionals donated free paint and were on hand to paint.

Fela Durotoye mobilized over 2,000 volunteers to paint 296 houses across 7 streets of the Mushin suburb of Lagos at no charge to the owners and residents of the buildings. In the course of the Mushin Makeover project, over 100 unemployed youths were trained by Berger Paints PLC in ‘The Art & Technique of Painting’. The youths went on to earn a living as painters as a result of the Mushin Makeover project led by Fela Durotoye.

HIS POLITICAL AMBITION

On February 22, 2018, he made his intention to run for the presidency in the 2019 Nigerian general election under the political party Alliance for New Nigeria. A coalition of 11 aspirants under the umbrella of the Presidential Aspirants Coming Together (PACT) unanimously elected Fela Durotoye as their consensus candidate. On Saturday, September 29, 2018, he emerged as the presidential candidate of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) for the 2019 general elections.

While contesting for office, Fela said "it is not easy to run for office", but added that, "the best way to serve his nation's interest is to do so from the nation's highest office". After several months, he chose Khadijah Abdullahi-Iya to be his running mate(vice-president). She has been a successful social entrepreneur.

BIOGRAPHY OF FELA DUROTOYE

NAME: Adetokunboh Olufela Durotoye

PLACE OF BIRTH: Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

DATE OF BIRTH: 12th May 1971

PARENT: Layiwola and Adeline Durotoye, both professors at the University of Ibadan.

EDUCATION: He attended Awolowo University of Ife Staff Children's School (1974 to 1981) and graduated to Moremi High School (1981 to 1986). Fela Durotoye proceeded to earn his Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science with Economics, as well as a master's degree in Business Administration (M.B.A) at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He is an alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government Executive Education program of Harvard University.

Fela Durotoye attended the High Impact Leadership for a better society program at the Yale University, he is also a certified leadership coach of the John Maxwell Team. In 2015, Fela completed the executive seminar program on strategy, innovation and governance at the Lagos Business school. This was followed by the supernumerary police training program at the Nigerian Police training college where he passed out with a distinction.

FAMILY LIFE: He married Tara Fela-Durotoye. Fela and Tara Durotoye are blessed with three children.

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Having a best friend

Short stories with lessons; Things to look out for in someone you want to take as a friend

Once upon a time, two friends were walking through the desert. At some point of the journey, they argued and one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand;

“Today my best friend slapped me in the face.”

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone;

“Today my best friend saved my life.”

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him;

“After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?”

The other friend replied;

“When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”

Lessons from the story

1. Don’t value the things you have in your life. But value who you have in your life.

2. One who offends you today can be a helper tomorrow. Learn to forgive!

There are great benefits to good relationships. And if an individual has a good friend, such being is fortunate. Not all friends are true friends, you will agree with me after reading the meaning of friendship below. Now, what is friendship?

Friendship is a state of enduring affection, esteem, intimacy, and trust between mostly two people or more people at times.

Friendships play an important role in healthy human development and adjustment throughout human life.

Friendship is a dyadic relationship because it involves a series of interactions between two individuals known to each other. It is not mandatory because two individuals may choose to or not to form a friendship with each other. There are no formal duties or legal obligations to one another, anything done for the other always come from free will and is not obligatory.

A genuine friendship is the one in which both individuals has about the same amount of power or authority in the relationship, unlike parent-child relationships. one of the primary goals and reasons of friendship is companionship.

Don't mix it up, friendship is different from peer groups, cliques or acquaintanceships.

Children tend to define friendships in terms of interactions, such as “we play together.” That is called playmates and not friends. They frequently develop emotional and affective functions in their interactions with their playmates which make them choose them as friends.

More so, unilateral friendships, in which only one child of a pair nominates the other as a friend, are quite common in early childhood. To be factual, about half of nominated preschool friendships are unilateral.

People tend to select friends based on some criteria when they become an adult, unlike when they were a child. 

However, what are the things to look out for in someone you wish to go into friendship with.

THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN SOMEONE YOU WANT TO TAKE AS A FRIEND

Since there are three main types of friendship which are:

Friendships of pleasure

Friendship of utility and

Friendship of virtue.

It is very important to be careful when choosing a friend even more than you do when picking beans. That is why you should know the things you should look out for in someone you want to take as your friend:

It can be hard to recognize when a friend is weak in some areas, it is always possible to improve both yourself and your friend as you carry on with each other.

Below are the things you should look out for in someone you want to take as a friend:

1. A compassionate individual

Being compassionate is when an individual can be empathetic and genuinely there for another on a daily basis and during times of need. Anyone you wish to become friends with must possess this value.

To be compassionate means to be able to recognize the suffering of others and then take action to help. The person you wish to take as your friend must show kindness and must be able to encourage you if need be. 

2. A Trustworthy individual

If you don't trust a fellow, don't bother going into a friendship with him/her. Being able to have trust and confidence in your friend is one of the most important prerequisites of a strong relationship because true friendship means you can count on one another. A trustworthy friend is the one you can talk to about a personal issue you are facing, knowing that what is said will stay between the two of you and that they will not judge you or the circumstance, and will not go about using the information against you.

3. A honest individual

You should go into friendship with an individual who is open and plain. Honesty is required for you to build a strong and successful friendship with anyone because, at the end of the day, people are usually more hurt when the truth is concealed than by the truth itself, whatever it may be. The individual who is consistent with what they say and what they do.

4. Individual that is ready to bring value to the table

Friendship can be energy-draining when the one you call a friend always come to you, take your things, eat your food and then disappear again. I am not referring to material things alone, it cut across materials, intellectual, financial and even spiritual. Another thing that you must take into consideration is the kind of person such individual is, can he/she inspire or help you in one way or the other?

If all he/she only discuss with you are movies, reality shows, issues of other people and all other unproductive things, you need to stay far away from such individual.

Make friends only with someone who challenges you to do more, not someone who only hails you of your past glories.

5. Someone who is independent

 It is not advisable to go into friendship with someone who always needs the company of a friend. If such individual always needs constant attention from you, you may not be able to cope with each other. Both of you should be able to live independent of each other.

Friendship is totally different from choking yourself. Friends should give themselves some privacy to avoid troubles.

You must be able to reciprocate all these qualities, meaning that you must possess them as well. You cannot want good and refuse to be good. Be ready to be what you expect from people. Wishing you the best of luck!

REASONS WH YOU NEED A GOOD FRIEND 

1. Emotional Support: A best friend is someone you simply connect with in ways that others can’t understand. They get you without you having to fully explain yourself or a situation. More than that, you know they are there for you, even if you are half a world apart.
2. Self-Esteem Boost. If you have someone in your life who thinks you are important, who wants your opinion and values your company, makes you feel wanted. Such friends company will boost your self-esteem and your level of self-worth.
3. Reliability. These are the friends you can rely on through thick and thin. When the going gets tough they will be by your side. They are there with a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, or to join you on any adventure.
4. Safety. A good friend will notice if you are suddenly acting unusual or if something isn’t quite right. And that can save you from the unknown.
5. Loyalty. Having the confidence to trust another person completely is a wonderful thing. A good friend will always have your back; they will be honest with you just as it was pointed out in the qualities a good friend must possess.
6. Trust. You can count on these friends to be open, honest and loyal. They will keep shared confidences to themselves, and will not speak negatively about you to others. You can trust that this friend will be there when they say they will
7. Fun. Good friends will always spark up fun times and make you feel out of this world. Fun contribute to a healthy lifestyle because you will be able to ease out stress and other forms of troubles.

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REV. SAM ADEYEMI'S SUCCESS STORY

The success story of Reverend Sam Adeyemi is an inspiring and interesting one. This is how he narrated his story:

“I can still remember clearly, I felt like my ministry was stagnated and things were not moving for me. So I decided to pray. I remember that day in April 1994, my wife and I went to Lekki beach, fasting and to pray. I was praying, asking God about the next level, where do I go from here?” God spoke to me and asked me to continue with the prayer and fasting. After days, He said I should stop the fasting but go ahead with the prayer and I obeyed."

“Sometime in July that year, the Lord spoke to me clearly one morning that He was going to take me to the next level of ministry, to teach Biblical success principles. He said I would not be able to do the things He wanted me to do in my former pastorate, because He was asking me to teach success on radio, television, tapes, publications and seminars. In addition, I was to establish a church that would help people discover and release their potentials. I got the vision for Success Power International and Daystar Christian Centre on the same day. I remember I called a group of people, just a few friends and shared the vision with them."

“I started first on radio. Later, I began to talk to a few people about the church aspect of the vision. On November 18, 1995, Daystar Christian Centre was inaugurated. The inauguration was an interesting period in that we didn’t have the required resources and we could not afford the type of accommodation we were getting. Hotels, banquet halls or some duplexes were between N200,000 and N250,000 per annum and they wanted us to pay for two years."

“We were about taking one small place on the street we lived, then we stopped because we had serious doubt in our heart. Eventually, the inauguration was held at Eko Chinese Restaurant on Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, on the fourth floor."

“Interestingly, I was carrying along my radio audience, telling them about the transition of my life. We had quite a large crowd that day. Long after that, it became a bit tough to pay the bills. I was on radio, paying N7,000 every week for the 15 minutes broadcast and then we were paying N13,000 per week for the use of the restaurant. Then, the radio station doubled the rate for the broadcast and we couldn’t cope. We took broadcast off Raypower  to OGBC2. We needed some breathing space, so we could keep on the church. However, we couldn’t afford to pay for the restaurant too regularly. I remember clearly, the day I got to church in the morning and met my workers outside. They told me they had not been allowed into the hall. I went in and spoke to the manager, who was playing games with his friends in the hall we were supposed to use for our service. I told him to let us run the service and pay him afterwards with the offering but he declined."

“Eventually, we reached a compromise. Our service was between 9 and 11am, but said he would take his money at 10am. I felt once we had started the service, he won’t be able to stop us. Ten minutes to 10am, an usher came with a message that a man was threatening to shut down the generating set. Rather than take offerings at the end of the service, I took over and took the offerings and quickly paid him. After three months, we knew we had to move. We then moved to Coker Village, Alausa, Lagos which was mistaken for the one in Iganmu area of Lagos. When people wanted to come to our church in taxies, they took them somewhere else in Lagos. It was so remote. It was a dirty environment. Each time I went to church, it was muddy all around and people sharing the building with us would sometimes play loud music during our service and we would plead with them to stop."

"I dreamt one Saturday morning that we moved into a new location. I saw us dedicating a building. I saw Bishop Oyedepo and his wife planting a tree in the place. It had fresh leaves and while he pronounced blessings, I saw people rush to that location. There was a large crowd within a few minutes and then we were through with the occasion."

"When I woke up, I knew it was a vision from God. I asked God how do we turn this into reality. He asked for three weeks of prayer and fasting. We obeyed. Few days before the end of the fast, we saw, ‘To Let’ on a warehouse on 71, Oregun Road (now Kudirat Abiola Way). That was how we got our present church office."

MORE ABOUT THE SUCCESS OF REV. SAM ADEYEMI, the founder of Daystar Christian Centre which is located at Ikosi Road, Lagos.

The ministry started five services within a short period when it first started. Fellowship exploded, attendance increased, financial resources also increased astronomically. The church is now worth over 2 billion Naira. Its core strength lies in leadership development and training.

What really shot the ministry into limelight was Success Power, an outstanding motivational programme on radio and television. The messages are tailored to mold and influence attitudes and perception with a view to enhancing productivity. It has followership of an average of five million. There are three categories of partners. The Royal Class are partners who make a minimum contribution of N200 monthly. The Gold Class make a monthly contribution of N2,000. The Corporate Class is for organizations and they contribute N20,000 monthly. This is different from the donations made by individuals and corporate citizens. The Success Power Ministry brings in an average of 10 million Naira every month.

He also has another ministry(Daystar Academy). This is the resource development school of the church. The school has five levels and each addresses different needs and purposes. The levels are graduated from 100 to 500. The school runs in session of five weeks and holiday for three weeks each. The directorate is headed by John Afolabi. The ministry is largely responsible for training role models. They equally run discipleship programmes. Due to the large number of students, the school nets in excess of 200 million Naira per annum.

Also, The Real Women Foundation is a registered non-governmental organization dedicated to supporting the emotional, spiritual and physical needs of specific women and children groups. The ministry provides rehabilitation facilities for women and children with a history of abuse and neglect. The ministry spends as much as 20 million Naira per annum on the needy.

Furthermore, Pneuma Publishing Limited is an information resource management company duly registered by the ministry in 1995 under the Corporate Acts Commission of Nigeria. It was pioneered by the Managing Director, Pastor (Mrs.) Nike Adeyemi. The business was established just for the passion for books and information. She started by selling local and foreign books that had aided her growth and development while growing up. This, she did, within the living room, through encouragement from her husband, Rev. Sam Adeyemi, who later wrote the book, Start With What You Have. Then, a shop was acquired simultaneously as Sam Adeyemi’s published books and audio messages which later became best sellers. Pneuma Publishing House became the sole publisher of Adeyemi’s books which rakes in a monthly income of 10 million Naira.

The ministry is also blessed with Daystar Leadership Academy which is a leadership/management development school. It was established in January 2002. The school runs the basic and advance certificate courses in leadership. The school has turned out over 6,000 graduates since inception. It has a reputation of equipping CEOs, entrepreneurs, employees of various cadre, students, etc. The ministry is worth 100 million Naira.

Apart from the above, he also run another viable ministry (Daystar Children Centre formerly known as Daystar Daycare). It was founded as a non-profit organization in September 2001. The motive was to help busy mothers care for their children during the day in a comfortable, spiritual environment filled with love. The ministry is worth 10 million Naira.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

Reverend Samuel Adesanya Adeyemi was born on February 3rd, 1967 in Yagba Kogi state, Nigeria. Pastor Adeyemi is from Odo-Ere, Yagba-West Local Government Area in Kogi State.

Pastor Sam Adeyemi started as a Pastor at the Rhema Chapel in Kwara State with his younger brother, Victor Adeyemi. He rose to the position of Director of Pastoral Care, an appointment he received from Rev. George Adegboye. He was later made the Minister in Charge before he was posted to the church’s branch in Lagos state.

Eventually, he started his church(Daystar Christian Center), which is committed to “raising role models.” It began on November 18, 1995 at the Eko Chinese hotel on Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos.

Pastor Adeyemi’s ministry goes beyond the church as he is also a best selling author, host of the motivational program called ‘Success Power'. He is the president of Success Power International, a Non-Governmental Organisation and head of Daystar Leadership Academy.

He is a Principal Consultant at Forbes.com. His area of focus is Executive Coaching, Leadership, and Business Growth. He brands himself as Sam Adeyemi GLC Inc. a Leadership Consultant firm located at 2002 Summit Blvd NE, Atlanta, GA 30319, USA. And he has worked with firms such as FirstBank and Rainoil.

His mentor is Bishop David Oyedepo of the Living Faith church, also known as Winner’s Chapel.

Pastor Adeyemi is married to Mrs. Nike Adeyemi. Like her husband, she is in charge of many organizations including ‘The Real Woman Foundation’ founded in 2001. 

They met while he was a pastor at Rhema church. Their union is blessed with three lovely children.

Pastor Sam Adeyemi authored the following books:

• The Second Revolution
• Sex Straight Talk
• Nigeria of My Dream
• Wonders of Imagination
• Think and Succeed
• Success Is Who You Are
• Start With What You Have
• Generation Z+
• Success Guaranteed By The Blood Covenant
• The Super Achievers’ Breakfast
• Ideas Rule the World
• Lead: Proving Principles to Multiply your Success at Any Level
• The Parable of Dollars: Proven Strategies for your Financial Success
• The Real Money

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Answers to questions on how to develop, create and see value around you.

The aspect of life this question and answer section covers are self-discovery and improvement, finance, business, career, and relationship.

The answers are solutions that are easy to follow. Books that carry the solution are recommendations to some questions. I am sure you will find this piece very interesting.

These are questions from real people, their names were exempted for confidential reasons.

Wondering where the questions came from? These are questions from people during the question and answer section with Sam Adeyemi on Facebook, consultation sections and so on. Most of the answers are provided by sam Adeyemi and some by Peter Oyebode with other amazing personalities. Take what you need and apply the answers where applicable.

Your personal questions can be directed to Peter Oyebode

QUESTION: How do I build consistency in learning a new skill?

ANSWER: Do something daily in that area for 30mins - 1 hour.

QUESTION: How can I make savings?

ANSWER: Avoid debts and start a side hustle.

QUESTION: I thought of venturing into pure water distribution from factory to homes. But I am lost about how to develop a clientele base without losing them to the factory?

ANSWER: Why not start by looking for clientele first. Start with some research. Go out and ask if people even want this service. No guesswork. Take the uncertainty out.

QUESTION: I trade forex and crypto but recently I ran into financial dept, it got so bad that I could barely afford to feed. How do I get out of this precarious moment?

ANSWER: Investing is risky, maybe slow down a little.

QUESTION: I really need to know how I can be able to meditate more and remember whatever I read?

ANSWER: Read one chapter a day and memorise one verse. Start slow. Write it on a stick now and look at it every morning too. Until it sticks.

QUESTION: I have a passion for the sales and production of organic       products but my parents did not agree. How can I persuade my parent to learn it?

ANSWER: You come to an agreement with them. Your parents are probably fearful of something they do not understand. Show them the benefits and possibilities and show them your plans on paper.

QUESTION: The happenings in the country landed me in so many business debts that... Seriously it's getting into my head...my creditors are on my neck and I'm stuck...don't know what next to do seriously.

ANSWER: Speak to all your creditors. Work out a payment plan with them. Don't take any more loans.

QUESTION: I want to venture into the business of poultry farming but the recent bird flu attack made me scared. What can I do sir?

ANSWER: Speak to someone in that business currently, get some advice. You could call poultry investment companies and ask questions.

QUESTION: When you have foresight, ideas and encouraging values and could see it will breakthrough, but you are not just propelled, or internally no vibes to start up, sir how could one overcome this?

ANSWER: Set your goals, look at them every day. Ask yourself what am I doing right now or is what am doing right now moving me towards my goal. Be honest with yourself. If you are waiting for vibes you may never start anything tangible. Don't let fear or excuses dominate your mind. Break down your goals into daily achievable tasks daily. All the best.

QUESTION: I am running a startup company. A thrift business.

How do I get investors to expand our services?

ANSWER: Collaborate with someone or partner with someone. Investors have to see that your business is doing well with huge potential. If investors can't see this, they will not be interested. Make sure your business records and systems are excellent. Networking is important too. You might need to do some online research here.

QUESTION: What is the system to developing the value within myself?

ANSWER: Identify your strengths. Speak to people around you, let them give you feedback. Take time with yourself and write down what you love doing, what you want, set your goals and go for it. Seeing value in yourself starts from within. Self-esteem is highly important. Discard anything eating at your self-esteem.

QUESTION: How can I go into developing without having any skill?

ANSWER: Learn a skill. Use Youtube, it's free.

QUESTION: In a bid to keep making myself valuable, I've taken and still taking more courses. I'm currently running a PhD program but I still feel like my value is not visible enough. I sometimes feel like a cornered/hidden asset. How do I market myself and make people see more of this value, and at the same time get good income from this?

ANSWER: In a need to become a valuable person in society, you have to solve problems. Attend to the problem of your society. Dangote is popular only because he is attending to the needs of Nigerians and the other countries in the world. Analyze the needs of your society then strategically find ways to meet them.

I believe you have a lot of potentials in you that might solve people's problems. Apart from acquiring educational knowledge, the practical aspect of you should be felt by the society. That is what matters in the world.

Write out what you like doing, display your knowledge in a practical sense. Also, do some research on the challenges people are facing today, look for the one you have a solution for and make it available for people to see.

From there you will begin to see yourself impacting others. Of course, your impact will definitely bring income to you.

QUESTION: As an entrepreneur, I ought to be dispensing value always by putting out valuable content. 

How do I strike a balance between giving out free value and selling valuable content?

Also, how does one become highly sought after in his niche/field of specialisation?

ANSWER: The essence of giving free value is to attract a certain type of audience in your niche.

According to the law of reciprocity, if you give, expect to receive.

Your goal should be to give more value and build your audience, then you can monetize your audience by selling a product.

QUESTION: I am a business lady, and I have a restaurant in Abuja. My dad died and I stopped. I am now in Lagos working to save up money to start again, WHENEVER I HAVE THE MONEY, SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN. IF THE MONEY DIDN'T FINISH, THE PROBLEM PROBLEM WON'T GO. I AM TIRED. What will I do because I am so so tired of everything?

ANSWER: I think you already created a myth and pattern in your head and you need to lose it. That problem is exactly the way you see it.

Go again and clear off the myth. That is when you have money to start again.

QUESTION: I am a teacher in a school preparing to go for my masters, I heard of adding value, upgrading and so on.

How do I add value and upgrade myself spiritually, financially and otherwise?

ANSWER: To add value to yourself is simply to add knowledge to yourself. Be loaded and that is how you will be needed.

The value you are to add here is for you to solve problems with the knowledge you have acquired academically. For example, if you are teaching English in school, you can start by letting people know the importance of good communication. Not everybody knows how to communicate effectively. You can teach people what it takes to become a good public speaker. Write it as an ebook and sell it.

QUESTION: I am currently an apprentice at a fashion house and just graduated(2020). I am looking for how to raise capital and gain entrepreneurial skills. Any advice?

ANSWER: Go and work under someone. Get paid for your services, safe or join a cooperative, after six months you will be granted a loan to start up your business.

QUESTION: How can u discover my talent and develop it?

ANSWER: Read, 'NOW DISCOVER YOUR STRENGHTS' By Marcus Buckingham

QUESTION: What about marriage issues?

ANSWER: Read books on marriage, I recommend

• MEN ARE MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS By John Gray
• THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES By Gary Chapman
• SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE By Stephen Covey

QUESTION: How can I develop and monetize my gift of counselling and life mentoring?

ANSWER: Get some video testimonials from people you have helped. Use social media to offer free content daily to people and YouTube too. Build a following. Start building your email list, give something for email addresses. Improve your online presence and network with people in that space. Start doing something. You can open an online counselling platform. Do some research too on how this is done.

QUESTION: How can I multiply my values, sir?

ANSWER: Grow. You need to learn new skills or improve the skills you already have to the highest possible level.

QUESTION: How can one be successful as a man?

ANSWER: To be successful as a man, you need to;

• Be responsible
• Get a vision
• Be disciplined

QUESTION: How can one build a good relationship with his partner and also with God?

ANSWER: To have a good relationship with partner and God;    

• Always seek first to be understandable
• Then express yourself to be understood
• And always find a third alternative when there is a difference in a stand.

QUESTION: How can I control my mindset?

ANSWER: Watch your circle of friends, the songs you listen to, the books you read, the television programs you watch and people you listen to.

QUESTION: Is it possible to start a business with capital as low as thirty thousand?

ANSWER: Yes, you can start with very little. Look at your skills and monetize them. Test the market, see if people want your services. Go for it.

QUESTION: I have in mind to start a business but am always afraid of failing. What can I do?

ANSWER: You need a right mindset to succeed in business. Business is built, it is not an investment where you put your money and go to sleep, wait for your ROI every month. Business requires your attention, develop yourself more around your business, give it time while you get better and also get a mentor that will guide you. A lot of persons don't see the need for mentorship but ask those that are successful today, they will tell you who their mentor is.

QUESTION: I just got admission to school and my mum that is willing to sponsor my education has passed on since last year. What can I do about this since there is no helper again and education really matters to me?

ANSWER: First of all, calm yourself down. Find a skill and learn, start your own, save money and pursue your education.

QUESTION: How do I relate with people, I mean having a long-lasting relationship with people?

For example, I don't have any special friends, I see everyone like "they are human beings" "don't trust them"

ANSWER: Maybe you have been hurt by someone you trusted. But this feeling will go off if you start associating yourself with people that share the same vision as you and work with them to achieve a common goal. You will form friendships from there.

QUESTION: I discovered I have so many creative ideas both in and out of my field but I don't know how to go develop the ideas outside my field, how to sell these ideas or invest in them?

ANSWER: Do some research on how ideas work. There are tons of books on the topic. You can check out;

1. 8th Habit by Stephen Covey
2. 360-degree leader by John Maxwell 
   
   
   

Or you check out Richard Branson, Warren Bemmis or Peter Drucker's books. There are so many management, leadership and business books out there.

Before deciding to purchase or read any book, make sure the said author has results in that particular aspect of life.

QUESTION: I started off with sciences, when I got admission into the school of nursing, my admission was sold. I got angry and change my course to business administration. I finished feeling very empty, I went ahead to do postgraduate in education because I discovered I enjoyed teaching, wrote the teachers exam and passed but all the jobs I am getting can barely feed me. I am at a crossroads of what I should do, what is the way out?

ANSWER: You made it clear that you enjoyed teaching, you need to keep the passion burning and with time you will find a better teaching job.

Keep doing your best and think of ways to start a business around education.

You can add a side business also to meet your financial needs, look around you, find what people need most am start selling them.

QUESTION: I am having a big challenge keeping my business going in my absence. I am not afraid of delegating but people don't deliver as much value as I would if I was present. So I am afraid of leaving the business to run itself. What can I do to solve this problem?

ANSWER: Read the 8th Habit by Stephen Covey.

QUESTION: I love counselling, motivating, advising etc, either on a career path, marital issues or any other topics. Also, I can teach(preach), I derive joy in doing them but I don't know how to go about these gifts. What exactly am I called to do on earth and how can I develop it?

ANSWER: Since you seem to be able to identify your strengths, then all you simply have to do now is express them. There are great individuals in these fields, listen to their tapes or read their books and do something that taps from your strengths for a minimum of an hour a day and watch yourself grow tremendously.

You can channel your purpose into public speaking and writing. You can use your Facebook page or group to deliver your content.

QUESTION: Why do we have more young writers committing suicide while the older writers are breathing the struggle?

ANSWER: Most of them started writing because they were told they can earn from it.

Not for the love of it or passion. Older writers kill boredom, and depression through writing, the writing was a healing to their aching heart, but to the present-day writers, it plunges them to loneliness and eventually suicide because it was to them a craft and it must pay. The squabbles are all the fall out of fail expectations.

QUESTION: What is the most important thing you think a man or woman should achieve or should have before seeing himself/herself ready for marriage?

ANSWER: Knowing what God created you to be, so as to find someone whose purpose and dreams align with yours.

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The Road To Success

8 Steps To Become Successful

The Road To Success; Don't walk it in this way

Short stories with lessons - How to become successful

When I was very young, I love to practice some funny stuff. There was a day I closed my eyes and started walking to see how possible it is to cope without eyes.

It is fun, and I was enjoying it.

After about 6 to 8 steps, I quickly opened my eyes to see if I am still on the right track. Then I closed my eyes again to explore the BLIND WORLD a little bit further.

As the saying goes; "a dog that will go astray will never hear the whistle of the hunter". Although, my ancestors have whispered in my ear that "stop this thing you are doing, you young boy", but I refused and disobeyed. 

As you can guess, after another 6 to 8 steps, I hit my forehead with the wall " GBOOOS!"

Lesson from the story

1.Find your vision before setting out on your success journey.

2.Don't allow ignorance to blindfold you

3.Take advice from superior minds

HOW TO BECOME SUCCESSFUL

Success isn't about big houses, expensive cars, or any other material things. You are not created just to go to school, get good grades, get good jobs, marry a wife/husband, give birth to kids, build houses, buy huge cars, get old, retire and die. NO! True success is all about the lives you impacted,  the ability to give to the less privileged, and the legacy you left even after you are gone. Success is about pursuing things that actually make a lasting difference.

You can become successful in any area of calling, but to achieve that, you must take action. No single factor guarantees achievement to one person but prevents it for another. When you focus on your goals, take steps and have a little faith in yourself, you can achieve noteworthy success.

All great men who made history had something in common which made them attain great height, and these are the major things listed and explained below:

STEPS TO BECOME SUCCESSFUL

1. Discover Your Vision

Vision is the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom, It can be termed as 'far-sightedness.' Your vision defines who you want to be, what you want to be known for and the set of accomplishments you aim for. Your vision helps define the goals by giving you a framework to evaluate those goals.

Vision simplifies life and it controls your choices. Once you know where you are going, you also automatically know the road that won't take you there. This will make you focus on the most important things. Vision should be your source of motivation and that is why it is an important step for you to be successful in life.

Discovering your vision is a step you must not skip. You need to have the map of where

you want to be if you want to be successful, that 'map'  is your vision.

2. Belief In Yourself

Only what you believe is allowed to happen. Positive things are not exempted. And if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will. You need the right mindset to do so. You have to believe that you can do it to take the right steps toward the desired aim or plan. There are some qualities you need as an individual to position yourself for greatness in your area of calling, do not neglect the right attitudes which you need to travel your life journey successfully.

If you don't believe in your abilities you can never be successful in anything you lay your hands on. You may have been asking yourself within your mind that how can I be successful, or someone has come to you asking the question "what are the steps to become successful?" You should be aware that believing in yourself is one important factor that determines how far you can go.

3. Set Goals

Goal setting is the process of taking active steps to accomplish your desired result. Goal setting involves the development of an action plan created to motivate and guide a person or group toward a goal. Hence, setting goals means that an individual or group has committed thought, emotion, and attitude towards attaining the goal. In doing so, the goal setter has defined a desired future state which differs from their current state, thus organizing a mismatch which in turn stimulates future actions.

There are different types of goal setting, ranging from personal development goals, business goals, academic goals and other aspects of life. The bigger the goals, the more effort you will need to put forth to achieve those goals. However, do not forget the rules for goal setting which is SMARTA. The meaning of that acronym is stated below

S-SPECIFIC

M-MEASURABLE

A-ACHIEVABLE

R-REALISTIC

T-TIME BOUND

A- ALIGNMENT

Goal setting is one of the key elements of attaining noteworthy success. It is an elaborate topic that needs to be studied if you want to set achievable goals.

4. Be Disciplined

Discipline doesn't mean punishment or making ourselves do something we don’t want to. Discipline is what you may not like doing, but have the opportunity to do to get the results you would like to have.

You need the discipline to keep yourself moving forward and as well towards the life, you want to live during those times that don’t seem to be producing immediate results. Without discipline, successful life is not attainable.

Discipline is needed to back up goal-setting to accomplish the aims and objectives.

5. Develop Persistence

I am very sure that this is not the first time you will hear this statement "winners never quit", right?

You can't be aspiring to become successful and then you are afraid of failure. All successful men you see today have one or more times fail in one thing or the other, but they never give up on their dreams and that is why you see them winning today. Persistence is another thing you must have as an individual to become successful. If you try and fail, try again and again and again until you accomplish what you desired.

There are several real examples you and I know of very well, remember Abraham Lincoln, a one-time American president who tried several times before he won the elections as a president of the United States. Another man I won't do without mentioning is Thomas Edison who failed at several attempts when he was trying to create the light bulb we use today. If he did not persist, will he make it a reality? absolutely no!

6. Have Courage

You have to get courage, you need it to scale through the moments of fear of failure or danger. There are several risks you must be willing to take with the courage to get what you want. You need the courage to act outwardly on what you see inwardly. If you fail to do so you will end up regretting that you didn't take a bold step toward your desire. An how do you face challenges of life that may want you to quit due to fear? at that moment, you have to focus on your ability and not your weakness, if the I CANT mentality has overshadowed your ability, then you will not be able to take bold steps.

Courageous people are not concerned about the time it would take them to get what they want. What they are always concerned about is how to carry out their plan and other necessary things that must be put in place to give the result they want.

7. Live A Life Of Influence

If you ever want to be successful in life, you must strive to be a guide to others. If you can develop other people then you are truly a successful man or woman. Don't just build yourself and stay satisfied, build others as well and you will see your result multiplying rapidly.

What is influence?

Influence is the capacity to affect the character, development, or behaviour of someone or something, or the effect itself. This key step of becoming successful that I  mentioned is about the positive ones. I am not talking about the negative influences that have corrupted our society today such as people who train armed robbers, kidnappers and so many other negative businesses out there. Ensure the Impact you are trying to make is a positive one, because that is another key way of becoming truly successful.

If you notice the first statement in this write-up which says; Success isn't about big houses, expensive cars, or any other material things. Success is about the lives you impacted. Success is about pursuing things that actually make a lasting difference.

8. Obey Your Creator

Who is your creator?

God right?

You need to commit yourself to your creator and listen to his voice. He knows the plan he has for your life and he alone can direct you to the right path. If you disobey Gods command, your success is not a solid one even if you ever made It. He has given us a book full of promises and commandments. The reason God gave some commandments to us is due to his love for humanity, he wants us to live in peace and comfort. If you study the holy book very well, you will discover that God intends to make us come to him and enjoy the beauty of his love. And if anyone obeys him, such a person will receive God's grace to scale through life hurdles.

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