The 4 Money Don’ts and How to Save Yourself by Saving.

I have been a victim of this so many times its almost ridiculous. Ok so I figured out early that being cash rich doesn't mean always having cash to spend whenever you wanted to. I always thought being able to buy what you want when you wanted it was the way to go. The only thing was I didn't quite understand how to keep the habit going. I’m not talking about being ostentatious but I believe in being able to buy what you need and even want whenever you need and want it. If you can’t do that, you’re broke and it doesn't matter how much you make.

Let me explain. 

The List

Ok, so this is a piece I wrote a while ago in remembrance of my Aunt. She was my guardian throughout secondary school and was fondly called Aunty Bundle! I credit my love of books, research, and curiosity to learn and improve to her. I still can't help laughing at how boarding school in Nigeria was back then. It's still such a poignant piece and I keep learning from it each time I read it. I hope you will too! 

It was the end of mid-term break and I was ready to take back lots of wonderful goodies to boarding school as was the norm, at least before now.

I stood slightly behind the chair in which she sat, her huge and imposing structure well contained in her favourite chair. It was the one just by the front door with a view of the balcony full of beautiful greens and the road just beyond that. I stood to her left wondering what I was doing there and why my box of provisions wasn’t already packed and ready for me to leave in a few days. She held in her hand what appeared to be my provisions list and I was still perplexed as to the reason for my presence. Then it began:

5 Reasons Why Women Will Never Be Taken Seriously

A lot of women don't like me very much. That's just a fact. It's because I speak it as I see it and women don't really like to hear the truth. I mean we say we want to hear it but we really don't. We just want you to agree with us. 

If we don't find ways around these self-sabotaging behaviours, no one will take us seriously: 

9 Life Lessons from the Australian Open

Ok. So I've been away for a little bit. This is coming a little late but I hope it was worth the wait. These were 9 things that stood out to me during the just concluded Australian Open 2012. They are all points to consider in life or business or both! 

Ok, ok, it’s coming late because I just recovered from jumping and doing cartwheels while screaming Nole! Nole! Nole! during and after the men's finals! (wink) 

Enjoy! 

1. That you are losing doesn't mean you should look like a loser. Sabine Lisicki always looked like she was in a comfortable lead even when she wasn't; tough but doable. Keep a good attitude even when you are behind, even if you lose you will come out stronger. Sabine lost but she gained the admiration of all and was the star of the match for me. 

2. That you are number one doesn't mean you've won the game. Sam Stosur left in the first round even when the chips were in her favour against her relatively unknown opponent. 

3. That if you don't play by the rules, your points don't count. So don't worry if you see people making progress through dubious means. Anyone can score a point but the only ones that decide if you win or lose are those that count. 

4. That every player makes unforced errors no matter how long you practice or how good a hitter you are. The important thing is not to whine about the errors and make sure you focus on putting in more winners. You win when you get more winners in than errors and not by not making any errors at all. 

5. Never ever, ever give up. The game isn't over until it ends. That you lose the first set doesn't mean you will lose the match; as long as you don't go around looking like all is lost. Get over it and keep going! 

6. Don't kill your instruments a la Marcos Baghdatis. It’s not the racket's fault you didn't get the points in. Everyone has a bad spell on the court; don't let your emotional breakdown be more memorable than the match. Even if you want to put it behind you, be sure there are people who won't let you forget. 

7. Go into the court ready to give it everything you've got, even if your opponent is a huge, muscular, fierce looking female like Serena Williams. Size isn't the point, the strength of your spirit is. Trust that your skill and preparation will get you through, even if the situation doesn't seem to show that. 

8. That consistency is key. That you produce 4 straight aces to win a service game is fantastic. Just be sure you can produce the aces under pressure when you are 2 sets down. If not, it’s just a flash in the pan. It makes you a good ace producer, not a good player. 

9. That the birth of a child is not the end of your career. It could actually mark the most exciting time of your life. Ask Kim Clijsters. Yea, there goes your ace excuse (excuse the pun). 

No be curse o, na true!

Ok so this is a mini rant. To who it may concern (including me!)

If you failed in the pure water business, you see your neighbour selling Coke and proceed to empty your storehouse and fill it up with Coke. You haven’t asked the most important question. Why did the pure water business fail into the first place? One would argue that everyone drinks Coke, Coke sells, Coke is a strong brand. Well what about water? We all need to drink it don’t we? In that case you cannot tell me that the product was the problem. So what went wrong? You most definitely will not succeed in this business either, except by some divine intervention you decide to look at your process one step at a time and objectively pick out what your weaknesses were. If not, prepare to close shop! No be curse o, na true!

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=721  

You can call your frozen fish company Alleluia! Fisheries, or your garri mill, Success Is Mine Mills. If your fish are below par, rotten or of questionable quality in any way and your garri is half dried and full of stones, you are going down! The only people that will buy stuff from you are those who feel one thing –pity! Please I beg of you, don’t hinge the success of your product on your name alone. Look at the names that currently rock the world, Apple, Virgin, Trump! Does that give you a clue? The brand makes the name what it is, not the other way round. No be curse o, na true! (Let me state that I have nothing against these names and they are entirely fictional and were not intended to vilify any company or business in any way. These were purely for illustration purposes)

If you complain that your thighs are fat, your tummy is round, your feet smell, your arms are flabby and you haven’t done anything consistently over time to change it. Please save us the drama. You don’t really want slimmer thighs, a flat tummy, sweet smelling feet or toned arms. If you did, you would have got it by now. Forget the evil genes we all blame before we've done 10 reps of sit ups. You don't have it because you don't want it. If you don’t believe me picture how you methodically planned to buy those red stilettos even though you knew there was no kobo in your pocket. You didn’t have all it took to get it but that didn’t stop you did it? But because you didn’t have Nike trainers, joggers that matched and a pretty headband, you can’t be caught dead in scraggy gym wear and you therefore couldn’t go to the gym. Exactly! No be curse o, na true!

Get Up!!!

Just a l'il something to get you revved up and stay fighting. It's hard but it's worth it!!

About to give up.....Sigh...

I'm tired....
Nothing seems to be working....
It's like trying to squeeze water out of a rock....
I can't, I just cant.....
There's no point.....
I'll never get it done....
I just don't have what it takes....
Who would hire me anyway?...
Why won't anyone help me?....
Am I cursed?....
It's no good....
I'll probably be horrible at it....

Please feel free to add as many downers as you can to grow the chain of pity party favourites. The worst thing you can do to yourself is to walk around thinking the world owes you something at every turn. 

Africans Are Lazy!!! ......No?.....Prove it!

Taking a little break from our Home Businesses Series to share this eye-opening article. I know many of us have thought about this once or twice but were never able to fully articulate an answer to the question........What is wrong with Africans? With all the resources, natural and human, all the options, the good of the land in many respects and nothing to show for it.

No one has articulated this as well as this writer who boldly called all of us, yes, ALL of us, lazy! Just read it and you'll see why we need to start thinking differently to get different results!!

http://mindofmalaka.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/you-lazy-intellectual-african-scum/

It can be easy trying unthink decades of thoughts, stories and perceptions that have been passed down to us either knowingly or unknowingly by those who went before us. But think about it, if we were so smart and all knowing, why do we always feel like we always end up with the short end of the stick. We rely way too much on what was said, or done and we don't want to find out things for ourselves. I can't explain anymore than Will Smith's character in the 'Pursuit of Happyness'.



So don't just sit there sulking.....If you want it, go ahead and get it!!!

Somebody Lied....

It's a new year! Welcome to 2012!!! 

Ok so I spent the best part of last year on research, fact finding and searching out solutions. This year is going to be great! Trust me....Welcome, Welcome, Welcome!!!!

I was listening to Ice Prince's track 'Somebody Lied' and I was struck with the bug to put this down. Enjoy!

Somebody lied.

They said all we needed to do was study hard, get a good job, get married, have a family, make tons of money, retire and die.

Somebody lied. They said all you needed to succeed was hard work and a tenacious spirit. No one said anything about sitting down to think of what you are good at and doing it, even if it didn’t fall under Engineering, Medicine or Law.

Image source:<p><a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2741">Image: 89studio / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p>

Somebody lied. They said that making a 1^st class would open all doors and solve all problems. No one said anything about actually having to be good at the job and remaining relevant, 1^st class or not.

Somebody lied. They said you were more likely to have a successful marriage if you loved to cook, clean and wear an apron all day. No one said anything about making the most of your own gifts; even if they weren’t all and about onions and egusi.

Somebody lied. They said all you needed to become a millionaire was to start up a small business. No one said anything about the Mallam at the gate who has been a CEO for 30 years and still lives in the wooden hut.

Somebody lied. They said graduates from Nigeria were among the best in the world. No one said anything about the fact that what we pat our backs for at 25, our counterparts elsewhere already knew at 16.

Somebody lied. They said advertising was the key to making a killing in business. No one said anything about thinking up an exceptional product that people would want in the first place.

Somebody lied. They said if you pretended to be rich long enough, you eventually would. No one said anything about making sure you were actually doing something to make the money in between. Wearing Brazilian hair and Jimmy Choo heels doesn’t make you rich. It makes you a broke chic in Brazilian hair and designer shoes. That’s even worse.

Somebody lied. They said the only way to show you had made it was to build a humongous mansion and drive the biggest cars. No one said anything about keeping up appearances. That costs twice as much and many never survive it.

Somebody lied. They said the hardest working, most intelligent people made the most out of life. No one said anything about actually having a plan.

Somebody lied. They said all you needed to do was be nice and pretty and scout around for Mr Right. No one said anything about getting about the reason you were put on earth in the first place

Image source <p><a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2280">Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p>

Somebody lied. They said all you needed to do was find a rich husband, cross your legs and enjoy the ride. No one said anything about no one wanting a liability, not even the oil rich sheikhs.

Somebody lied. They said a bird in hand was worth two in the bush. No one said anything about making sure the bird was free of the flu and was worth holding in the first place. If it wasn’t, then you would have lost both the bird in hand and the ones in the bush.

Somebody lied. They said if you fail, try, try, and try again. No one said anything about that being a sign that you are trying hard in the wrong thing. If results aren’t coming by working one way, try another.

Somebody lied. They said half a loaf of bread is better than none. No one said anything about actually working hard to get the other half of the loaf rather than settling for the half you managed to get and be bitter the rest of your life. Its either you get the full loaf, or go hungry; some handouts are better left alone.

Image source: <p><a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1152">Image: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p>

Somebody lied.

They said all you had to do was do what your predecessors did, like what they liked and believe what they believed. No one said anything about finding out the truth for yourself. What do YOU value? What do YOU consider important? That’s a clue to what you are really about. Don’t wake up 20 years from now shaking your head saying....somebody lied.