Are you one of the unbelievers that rate a G-Wagon’s off-road prowess over the Range Rover’s? Watch this Top Gear video of the 2013 Range Rover HSE eat up a monstrous military all terrain remotely controlled vehicle at the Nevada Automotive Test Centre. Beauty’s got some beast in her too.
Enjoy!
I have changed jobs at least 5 times in my lifetime. Not all the places I have worked at have been pleasant. In fact, I’m back working at the place where I felt the most bitter and had the strongest desire to leave. Why did I return? The conditions changed. Never say never. I ensured I kept respect for my colleagues and management all through and after my transition to the next job. My network of friends and ex-bosses also helped in understanding the opportunities that presented themselves to me and the “new” work environment I would be returning to. What I am saying here is, never allow sour grapes burn your bridges, because you never know…
Here is a transcript of a Facebook post from an ex-colleague who got the short end of the stick. This was his public rant on the last day of his tour.
Enjoy it!
SAN
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8 days notice, then I get told, stay positive, the motivation to start over needs to come from the inside, don’t be negative…Well here is my reply….Thank you for setting my career back by at least 7 years, no increase for 5 years they say, possibly no promotion in next 5 years, 15 years with them as loyal as can be, and this is how I am treated….lol what a joke…I will be looking out for some company out there that will appreciate someone that does not kiss an ass to get where he wants to be, but rather works for it. Yes I hope you see this you fat fuck, this is directed at you. This is me being the guy you thought I was, the impostor, the outcast, the one that does not network, but prefers to work his job instead of kissing somebody’s ass, and making others look bad so you can succeed!!! Everybody knows it, everybody is talking about it, no one has the balls to say it…I have nothing more to gain here by working here, so I’m leaving this place disappointed in a lot of people, disappointed in the company, yet going to miss the good ones.
Smitty signing off from Nigeria …hoping that my path would never cross those two faced asses again!!!
Smitty signing off from Nigeria …hoping that my path would never cross those two faced asses again!!!
I recently read an excerpt from this book on Dr. Pat Utomi’s Facebook wall, and I just could not get enough. I found it to be full of profound truths and really practical lessons. I have placed an order for one copy. Until I read and digest all the 52 secrets in this book I cannot actually do a “book review”. So I’ll leave you with a summary from the author himself, lifted off the page of Regenesys Business School where he is the chairman.
Enjoy these 5 secrets!
SAN
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Delayed gratification
Delayed gratification is the act of postponing a reward or satisfaction. Research has shown that successful people have the ability to delay short-term reward for long-term gain. Professor Walter Mischel from Columbia University conducted experiments to assess the ability of four-year-old children to delay gratification. Children were given one marshmallow and told that they would get an additional one if they did not eat it within 15 minutes. Tracer studies, conducted later on, showed that those children who were able to delay gratification were more successful in school, business and life.
Indeed, self-discipline and an ability to wait are vitally important qualities that determine long-term success in both our business and personal lives. Saving money, university studies, sacrifices at work and in the family – these are all examples of delayed gratification. The greatest leaders, strategists and businessmen had this quality – they have all been able to sacrifice short-term pleasures for long-term goals. Nelson Mandela, Warren Buffet and Mahatma Gandhi are some great examples from recent times. Let your greatest gratification be delayed gratification. Awaken your potential knowing that the power of delayed gratification is within you.
Sacrifice
Success in life comes through sacrifices – not merely one or two, but many. Sacrifice is the ability to give up a personal need for a more important organisational priority or a greater societal cause. Every time we make a sacrifice, we earn credits that accumulate and repay our investment multiple times in the future. The evidence can be seen in the lives of Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Mandela and every other truly great leader. Unsuccessful people are not capable of making sacrifices. They are self-centred – driven by fear and greed. They have a mentality of poverty and entitlement – they think that their organisations always owe them something. As employees, they are cynical, always complaining, assigning blame, and poisoning others.
Sacrifice requires the courage to give up short-term pleasure for long-term success – and to be different from the majority. Sacrifice requires compassion, a proactive attitude, and a spiritual wisdom that recognises the transitory nature of worldly pleasures. Look at great business leaders: how many lonely extra miles did they run? How many sleepless nights, late hours and working weekends did they endure? How many family sacrifices did they make and how many other sacrifices did they make which no one ever noticed? In life, in order to go up you have to give up. If you are rich, give your wealth and if you are poor give your heart. Awaken your potential, knowing that the power of sacrifice is within you.
Altruism
Altruistic actions lead to success. All great leaders were altruists – they worked genuinely for the well-being of others. And they became great because of others. Altruism is about selfless behaviour, benevolence, generosity and compassion in action. True altruism is when the motivation for helping others comes out of one’s own heart – and not because of an expectation that a favour will be returned. True altruism is anonymous. Selfish behaviour is driven by negative energy and leads to contraction, narrow-mindedness and misery.
Altruistic behaviour generates positive energy and leads to freedom, expansion and happiness. Good actions create good reactions and bad actions create bad reactions – this is a law of the Universe. According to Steven Covey, our life progresses from dependence to independence and finally to interdependence. As we mature, we realise that everything in this Universe is interdependent.
We realise that our happiness depends on the people around us and we exist because of others – we realise the great wisdom of Ubuntu. When we are gone, we will not be remembered by what we had but by what we gave and how many human lives we touched. The divide between the rich and poor is greater than ever before. Therefore, as individuals, business and government, we must do much more for the poor and vulnerable. Choose a person, project or community you want to help and serve them selflessly. Only through action can we create long-term collective prosperity and peace.
Choose to live in the light of altruism instead of the darkness of selfishness. Awaken your potential knowing that altruism is within you.
Struggle
There is no great person on this earth who achieved greatness without struggle. Sir Richard Branson, Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey and all the world’s great CEOs, warriors, scientists and politicians had to struggle to achieve their success in life. Each had to withstand suffering, risk and pain. Success in life has to be earned and deserved. It has to be won in life’s daily battlefields by conquering fear, uncertainty and temptation; by remaining true to one’s mission and by staying on the road less travelled; by sacrificing short-term pleasures for long-term goals; by persevering and enduring hardship; and by inspiring others and enduring hardship; and by inspiring others along the way.
Struggle is the essence of life, so do not try to escape it. Welcome struggle as an opportunity to develop, and your challenges will cease to be hardships. Only through constant struggle can we continually learn, change and develop. Only through struggle can we conquer our fears, achieve freedom and extend our boundaries of possibility. Let struggle be your way of life. Fight bravely. Love fiercely. And history will remember your legacy.
Proactiveness
Proactiveness breeds success. Proactive people get up, act and solve problems while reactive people do nothing but complain, whine and moan. Proactive people are solution focused while reactive people are problem focused. Proactive people see opportunities while reactive people see difficulties. Proactive people create while reactive people destroy. Proactive people are special human beings – they talk little and do a lot, they are driven by a higher cause and not by ego, power and money. They lead by example, they walk the talk and they are true role models – quietly admired by their followers. Proactive people thrive on a positive energy generates more positive energy. One rotten potato spoils the whole bag. Where reactive people poison their colleagues with negativity, proactive people inspire, enthuse and excite the people around them.
Smell the roses and appreciate their beauty instead of focusing on the thorns. See the half-glass of water as half-full instead of half-empty. Take control of your future – do not give your power away. Stop complaining and blaming others, take responsibility, get up and act. Change your life and you will change the world around you. If we all do it, our world will be a better place in which to live. Be proactive, progressive and professional. Be productive, prompt and proper. Be profound, prosperous and prominent. Awaken your potential by choosing to be proactive.
It inspires me to think that you may embark on a journey of self-actualisation. Even more inspiring is the thought that, once you achieve success, you may choose the path of serving humanity. May you awaken your potential, knowing that everything you need to succeed is within you.
Dr Marko Saravanja
A friend of mine posted the inspiration for this topic on Facebook and it just cracked me up. It also reminded me of the several cases of lynching I got from my mom while growing up. I can never forget once when I was so heady over an issue and a simple instruction would not do. After the usual slaps, as demonstrated by Bolaji’s mom in the post below, my mom then proceeded to beat me with the stem of a bunch of plantains! lol. That kinda straightened me out for a couple of weeks.
So do you hit your kids now and then? I have just one child. A 3 year old boy. He is so independent and stubborn that you sometimes want to lock him up in the garage and go to sleep! I remember once I smacked him so hard that even I cried afterwards. My wife has still not forgiven me. Don’t get me wrong, I rarely ever hit my son, but he got me to my wits end on that particular episode.
Do you smack your kids? Or would you rather spare the rod? What works for you? So, what is the worst thing that frustration from your children’s misbehavior has made you do? 
Enjoy Bolaji’s post below.
Status Update
By Mobolaji Idowu
In continuation of my analysis on Yoruba moms and their various child Rebooting methods this is a contribution from my childhood friend Olumide Iluyomade(this guy dey write i beg ) :
This reminds me, ….there is a particular move that is reserved for Moms and Nigerian women trained in the ‘Shaolin style’ of Ondo town. It is a 6 combination move which is only applied in the most extreme situations – it is a lethal combination of slaps which include Ifoti, Igbati, Igbarun, Ifakun, Abara and Igbaju oloyi. It must be carried out in this order with vicious, swift and deadly accuracy!
The first 3 slaps – Ifoti, Igbati and Igbarun which occur in quick succession, are designed to immediately immobilize victims and freeze any thoughts of escape. Then with quick follow-up, the Ifakun will cause you to crouch forward in agony, as if in preparation for the next volley (like a crouching tiger). Subsequently, she delivers breath-taking Abara to the backside (which will cause victim to straighten-up from the crouching position and spin round!). In finality, she will finish you off with a blinding and stupefying ‘Igbaju oloyi’ – causing a temporal loss of balance, vision, memory and appetite!!
The 6-combination ‘Shaolin style’ slaps has been known to cause extreme reactions! It is credited for many of the unexplained ‘A’ grades in school but sadly, it is also responsible for a fair number of run-away incidences! Many Nigerian house maids have been known to renounce and denounce witchcraft and return to the village on the merit of this combination of slaps! Playing football or soccer inside the house and breaking a fair number of Mom’s expensive chinaware is very ill-advised, especially when your Mom is schooled in the art of ‘Shaolin style’ combination slaps!
Square Pegs and Round Holes 
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