Mind Your Speech

As I go out every morning, I pass through a wall with the words " mind your speech " boldly written on it. In fact, I look forward to seeing those words every morning. Those words act as a gentle reminder that our words really matter.
Crazy things happen everyday. Sometimes you might be at fault. At other times, the other person might be at fault. Sometimes, you might argue and fight , but in the midst of all that, remember to mind your speech. Remember to curb the words you use. This is because a word that has left your mouth, cannot be retrieved. It can't! It's a one way thing. You might try to apologise, but the word has already been said.
In the midst of arguments, you might hear derogatory words and demeaning sentences like;  you'll never amount to anything, I regret the day we met, you're a fool, I hate you and it will never be well with you. These words do not really sound nice. We should try and avoid them please. Our words rather should speak of positivity, comfort, encouragement, love, hope and even provide solutions.
Lastly, broken bones and bruises might heal but the words remain. They kind of have a lasting effect that might some how be internalised in people's heart. Come 2017, I would really love everyone to "mind their speech" . Watch your words . I like the way Bible puts it : My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry ( James 1:19 NIV) .

Have a great Christmas celebration and a fruitful new year in advance and remember to...Mind Your Speech.

Signing out
Gpland

My year : how far and how well?

This has been an interesting year. Someone once said, " growing up is a scam " ** smiles **. This year, I actually got a good feel of what that statement means. Away from school and all the little pecks that comes with being a student, this is indeed a different ball game!  From submitting applications to getting no replies and getting rejections. From submitting proposals and feeling so excited, to getting no replies, it's being an interesting year. From being so hopeful and sure that this might just be it, to becoming so disappointed, 2016 has being an interesting year with so much lessons in it.

For a start, personal development can be so much fun. I read some really good books( some of which include; No Excuses** love this one **, Attitude is Everything,10 day MBA, Good to Great, Rich dad's increase your financial IQ, Think and Grow Rich, The Rules of Management ), that really impacted positively in my life. Personal development can be so much fun trust me [ for next year, you might want to really consider it].


One thing I picked up this year is making progress. This is an important attribute to really achieving success. The best part about progress is that it can be made no matter where you find yourself and no matter the condition you might be. A conscious effort is however required. One way of making progress is investing in personal development. Is there something you always wanted to learn? Why not give it a shot? Is there something you want to get more information on? Common, have a shot at it! No matter how advanced and sophisticated you think you are, there's always something new to learn. There's always an additional layer to be added when it comes to personal development . Listen to messages, invest in books ( finance, sales, management, leadership and other fields that might interest you). You will be surprised at how much you will learn from investing in personal development.

It pays to take out some time to invest in yourself. So come 2017 , you might want to add this to " my to do list ". It works like magic! Remember, after all these and that ...you must take action if you really want to make progress! Personal Development, strife for more. Push for much more and take action!


From Our Story...Your Story and every member of our team, we are wishing you all a great week ahead and Christmas celebration.

Compliments of the season ...much love!

Gpland
xoxo

That essential ingredient : Desire

There's an absolute need for desire and passion and drive if you must succeed! That is one of the other lessons I learnt this year.  

Desire...that hunger, drive and passion for something can be really life changing. Sometimes, money isn't the problem. Lack of a definite purpose and a clear picture of what one wants to achieve can be really disturbing. I have seen several persons with the means to do, still complain about what they want to do. On closer examination, you see that money isn't the issue but a clear purpose of what the person wants is.  

With a desire, comes the drive to make something happen. The mind becomes restless as  the head starts to really move literally and the brain begins to work. This is the defining moment! The mind begins to address " the How ". The mind begins to think of a way to make it happen and to debunk everything that might seem like an obstacle. 

That real hunger pushes one to move. You begin to find the necessary pieces of information and begin to put bits and pieces together. It leads to a forward build up process kind of. With relevant pieces of information at your disposal, the chances of succeeding are not far fetched. Success is really close! 

Without the desire, you live everything to chance! The challenge becomes so huge. You probably freak out and every other thing like making a plan, getting the required pieces of information and generally making progress comes to a halt. This subsequently leads to failing and probably throwing in the towel.  Come 2017, you might want to add this to what you want to achieve. Desire just has to be in the mix alongside a plan and a will to do.

Come 2017, no excuses! Let there be that drive and a willing spirit and body to make things happen. Let's take action!

Wishing you a blissful year ahead.  

Signing out 

Gpland

  

Making a real difference in someone's life

Making a real difference in someone's life can be fulfilling. It really is! It is like a fundamental of human existence. So, what stops us from actually helping another? Money is a right guess I suppose. You probably would have heard something like this "I don't have money, else I would helped. I'm so sorry  or so sorry, I don't have any money blah blah... Yes, money, money, money which can be a valid excuse and we have to find ways round this .

However, helping someone and making a real difference in someone's life doesn't necessarily involve money (at least at first). It must not be money in fact! Sometimes, listening to someone talk and understanding what's going on with the person can be life changing. What might seem so complicated at first might actually become easier with proper understanding and communication. Sometimes, people just need listening ears. Atimes, they need someone to actually help them plan and think it through. Sometimes, people need someone to cheer them up, encourage them and probably give them hope. Sometimes, what people need is a friend, a friend that really cares!  

Back to the money issue. Sometimes, all we need to actually help someone in need is a willing heart. I
heard a true life story that touched me a lot. So, this lady wants to learn a trade. She has the heart and the will but no money to take the next step. She had told several persons about it, but most just listened without any interest of helping. Finally, she told a friend. This particular friend didn't have the money but had the heart to help. The friend had to tell another person with the means and convinced the person to actually help out. Yes, help came finally! 

Now, that is making a real difference  in someone's life. Whenever the friend thinks of how she got to finally acquire her skill, her friend comes to mind. Again, making a real difference in people's life doesn't necessarily have to be money. A willing heart, a kind gesture or even a listening ear can make all the difference. 

Thank God is Friday! Remember to impact positively and make a real difference in someone's life today!   

Happy weekend 

Signing out 

Gpland 

What is love : my take on the subject matter

Undoubtedly, there are loads and loads of beautiful woman all over the world. Personally, I don't think that there's a thing as "the most beautiful woman in the world" . Every single lady / woman is in fact beautiful! Perhaps, the only difference is just in the level of available resources to obviously showcase the beauty *smiles*

Back to the matter - what is love? There is no general consensus as to what love is. From religious to secular settings, there are slight differences on what love is. Some have said love is beautiful, love is caring and gentle. The definition is endless! No matter how differing these definitions can be, there's no denying that the feeling that comes with love can be just awesome. It can be " mushy mushy " ( in my friends voice) *smiles*. Perhaps, this has made some people to say that love is wicked especially when they've been disappointed by a loved one...so sad!

There's this unique thing about love and being in love with someone. The physical and emotional expressions sometimes might fail to fully express this. However, everyone is special and everyone has something that really motivates them. When you're in love with someone, may be the person has some kind of effect on you and it is from that effect that my definition will stem from.

These effects can vary. It can be excitement in your inner self. It can be some form of motivation that pushes you to stretch yourself. It can be just laughing so hard! It can be intellectual connectivity and imaginations. It can be anything really! However, If we take every other physical thing aside  ( beauty , accomplishment and money primarily) and smash them to the ground, what motivates you to keep hanging on, holding on, believing in that person and adoring that person is probably love.

That intrinsic "individualised" feeling that remains if every other thing falls apart is probably love. It is probably something real even though intangible that you can relate with and just can't get enough of. Hmmm...now that's love * smiles *

But as I said, it's just my take on the subject. What do you think love is? Please share and let's all get a different perspective of what love is.

Have a lovely week ahead!
With Love
Gpland
xoxo

Skill vs Education

Something interesting happened this week. I visited someone and we all got talking. Their daughter is just 16 years old and wants to go to the university. That's a a typical age (15 -17 years) for most Nigerian students to be done with secondary schools and progress to the University. Then I asked, " what if she takes a year out to learn any skill of her choice?"

 I suggested hair stylist and added that she could add make up, manicure and pedicure to her port folio to make her some sort of all rounded skilled lady. I also suggested that she could go on to learn how to make wigs if she's feeling very excited about it. Well, she could go on to learn any entrepreneurial skill (especially in this Buhari regime...lolz ).

Well, the parents disagreed insisting she goes to school when others are going...Hmmm. Staying away from school for some time might reduce her motivation to study and mental alertness they said. Which is fair enough.

I went ahead to cite different examples of how she could easily pay off her bills from the skill she has acquired while in school and she could go on to transform her skill set into a full blown business. Again, they disagreed. Someone even said, " when you give birth to your children, train them that way so they can get a skill" ...in a sarcastic manner of course and we all laughed. But that's very typical of some people.

By default ( due to the educational system here) , when Nigerian students are done with secondary school ( taking myself as an example and plenty of my friends and people I've met) , they don't have any entrepreneurial skill. Aside from the regular maths, english and the likes, most usually do not have any skill.

There are loads of skills to choose from ; photography, graphic designs, bead making, tailoring, electronics repair, plumbing, carpentry and baking . The list is endless! Acquiring a skill helps create opportunities for one . As a student for example, you can easily get customers from your department  and faculty members. You can easily monetise from the skill and advance your skill set as you progress. You can also transform it to a business ( very important) and can easily create another stream of income for yourself aside from your education.

Taking a year out can be a great way to bridge the gap and acquire a skill. Some might argue that you can acquire a skill while in school. That's a great idea. However, school work can be overwhelming and combining the learning of a skill with school might not go down well. But if you can, why not? Please give it a shot! Yes, learning a skill doesn't mean you won't go to school ( just for clarity)    *smiles*

Alternatively, the summer holidays are a great time to acquire a skill. Each summer  holiday is about 8 weeks long. Parents and children can maximise it to get the best. Combining summer school and skill acquisition isn't a bad idea after all * smiles *

Well, it's just me thinking. What do you think guys (as parents and future parents) ? Skill acquisition and education can go hand in hand as against the regular education that most of us had.

Have a great weekend.

Gpland
xoxo

The Mysterious Perfect Lady

Intellectual connectivity for me  is super romantic. When we talk, it's just wow! Imagine trying  to get a particular radio station. When you finally do, the sound is clear and it feels just perfect! That's exactly how I feel when our intellects are rhythmic and match up, in sync or even complementary! It's super cool!  

I love intelligent conversations *smiles *. We talk of the future with a  positive attitude , businesses with bright ideas coming almost by the second. I mean brilliant beautiful ideas that can make anyone marvel. We talk of a life together, starting small but having the big picture in mind. We talk of practical steps to make these things happen. Things we can do make it happen, I mean practical things to do! Men, this makes me light up!

We believe in ourselves. We believe we are great people and we can achieve our dreams. We support each other to push ourselves just a little bit more. This is just too romantic please!  May be, I have already found her or is it just pure fantasy? Still wondering though. She speaks to my soul, my mind and makes me reason. There's an accompanying joy that comes with all of these of course! This is just too romantic please!  

I would like to be happily married with children. But marriage for me shouldn't be about just having children, having someone manage your home and the very cliché expectations. No doubt, those things and expectations are good . After all, we all want to be loved and cared for. However, I know that there's a higher purpose for marriage.There is! Finding this higher purpose can be revolutionary. Again, it's just me in my fantasy world.

Well, let's raise the bar especially for ourselves. Let's keep an open mind. Never forget to dream and push,   keep pushing to make your dreams come true!

Have a great week ahead!

With love
Gpland