Don't Merely Grow Old, Grow Up.

"Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional," declared Chili Davis. To Maya Angelou, "Most people don't grow up. Most people age. They find parking spaces, honour their credit cards, get married, have children, and call that maturity. What that is, is aging." Today, let's reflect on growing up rather than merely growing old. Do you know that while growing old is outside your control, growing up is a choice? Often, we see flashes of birthday celebrations and hear drums of birthday ecstasy. Some persons have taken birthday issue so high that they have quarrelled with loved ones or done away with relationships with persons who forgot or missed to recognize their birthdays. A question is, when one celebrates birthday, what does one really celebrate? The years in one's life or the life in one's years? While one has no control over growing old - in fact, one can't choose not to grow old - growing up is a conscious act and must be done intentionally. Maya Angelou shared his thought: "I am convinced that most people do not grow up... We marry and dare to have children and call that growing up. I think what we do is mostly grow old. We carry accumulation of years in our bodies, and on our faces, but generally our real selves, the children inside, are innocent and shy as magnolias." While it's okay to live long, it's more important to live a life of value and impact, to optimally develop your capacity, to make the best of what you have, to maximize your abilities and to actively drive the actualization of your potentials. So, enhance your capacity to determinedly grow up. Recognize, as Oprah Winfrey noted, "We can't become what we need to be by remaining what we are." Be alert, as E. E. Cummings said, "It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are." Therefore, challenge yourself to grow up - improve your reasoning, refine how you speak, enhance your problem solving skills, build your network, grow your ability to positively impact others, increase your level of maturity, widen your sphere of influence, challenge yourself to be better, fly at higher altitude, focus on what matters, etc. Listen to Jennifer Elisabehe's challenge: "Stop trying to be less of who you are. Let this time in your life cut you open and drain all of the things that are holding you back." Always remember Brandon Stanton's words: "Just because you're an adult doesn't mean you're grown up. Growing up means being patient, holding your temper, cutting out the self-pity, and quitting with the righteous indignation." As you step out today, consciously take steps to grow up. While it's fine to celebrate every new day under the sun, focus more on celebrating your growing up. In all you do, always remember Lois Bujoup's thought: "Growing up, I have discovered over time, is rather like housework: never finished."

Give What You Want to Receive.

"The universe works in mysterious ways, often paradoxically. When you give compassion, you are open to it. When you give love, love comes to you. When you give money or material possessions, your wealth increases. Whatever the focus of your generosity, the underlying assumption is abundance: there is plenty for everyone." These were the words of Nicole Urdang. Today, let's reflect on giving what you want to receive. Do you know that what you give is what you receive? Invariably, to get what you desire, give that to others. In the words of Tony Fahkry, "Giving out what you most want, comes back to you better than you imagine." Nicole Urdang captured it this way: "When you let go of possessions and money, when you bravely open your heart to love, when you bestow a kind word or smile on someone, you open unseen portals for goodness, compassion, and prosperity to flow to you... When you can really let go and assume the universe provides, you can deeply relax. This doesn’t happen overnight. It requires a big leap of faith and a lot of practice." Kahlil Gibran shared an experience: "I slept, and I dreamed that life is all joy. I woke, and I saw that life is all service. I served, and I saw that service is joy.” Emphasizing the value of what we give, Arthur Ashe noted, "From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.” So, enhance your capacity to give what you want to receive. In a world where everyone blames somebody for not doing even what anybody can do, nobody may be free from the adverse consequences of inaction. Wait no longer; take a step: give what you want to receive. Know, as Fahkry said, "It is a universal law that you reap what you sow. Moreover, you are a reflection of your predominant thoughts, beliefs, words, and actions. You are what you think about and receive according to your predominant thoughts." Let your actions attract your passion. Rather than wait and complain, do what will usher in what you desire. Nicole Urdang cited a typical example: "When you feel lonely, go out into the world and smile at someone, call a friend who may also be flying solo, or write a loving note, text, or email. Again, by giving what you seek, you change your energy." Therefore, if you want more love, give out an abundance of love. If you want more people to care about you, spend more time showing people you care. As you step out today, be conscious that "Like attracts like." Whatever you want in your life, focus on giving that to others. Always remember Zig Ziglar's note: "You can have everything you want in life if you will just help other people get what they want.”

Failure is an Instrument of Success.

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts," so declared Winston Churchill. In Albert Einstein's words, "Failure is success in progress." Today, let's reflect on failure as an instrument of success. Do you know that failing in something is not the reason for you not succeeding? According to Ekaterina Walter, "It seems that failure tends to be more public than success. Or at least that’s what we perceive it to be. We fret it, we try to avoid it, and we question ourselves every time we have unconventional ideas. But the simple truth is – no great success was ever achieved without failure. It may be one epic failure. Or a series of failures – such as Edison's 10,000 attempts to create a light bulb or Dyson’s 5,126 attempts to invent a bagless vacuum cleaner. But, whether we like it or not, failure is a necessary stepping stone to achieving our dreams." The implication is that failure is not necessarily a problem. Rather, the issue is what you do with failure. John Wooden noted that "Failure isn’t fatal, but failure to change might be." George Clooney added, "The only failure is not to try." Robert Kennedy noted that “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” Despite this, many don't dare to try anything they suspect they may fail. Paulo Coelho confirmed this when he said, "There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” Coco Chanel, therefore, noted that "Success is most often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.” So, enhance your capacity to utilize failure as an instrument of success. As much as nobody deliberately desires failure, know, as Bill Gates did, "It's fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure." Ken Robinson thus counselled, "If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” The implication is that you should not see failure as a road block to success but as an instrument to enhance success. Gena Showalter, therefore, entreated, “Giving up is the only sure way to fail.” That might have been why Chris Bradford noted that "There is no failure except in no longer trying.” Denis Waitley counselled, "Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” Therefore, consider reframing what is considered as failure to enable failure work for, rather than against you. Learn from Thomas Edison, who declared, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” As you step out today, don't let failure fail you. Utilize what has not worked as expected as a learning opportunity to enhance your success. If you feel discouraged, let Winston Churchill note encourage you: "Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”

The Rich Uncle

VERY HARD TO BE MAN!

 When you succeed to sleep after a tough day, you do not want to wake up when you think about the mountain of problems that you have to solve.

Nobody will service you for nothing, every favor you will receive, will fall from your hard work.

Your well-being is not the priority of anyone, and everybody does not care about what you feel inside.

Most of the time, you will be alone to face adversity, lost in your thoughts, full of rage, pain and depression.

Every day is a new combat with its challenges, its pressures and numerous demands to be satisfied.

Women do not care about your pain; your peers do not worry about your suffering. You have to fight alone to make it out.

Society does not care about what a man thinks and feels, she is more misandrist.

You value depends on what you have already accomplished or depends on what you will accomplish. It is in function of this that people will give you respect.

It is hard to be man, sometimes you blame yourself harshly, you want to be far away from yourself.

Your responsibilities are very voluminous and scary, you do not have enough strong shoulders for all this, but you have no one to turn to.

You feel the need the need to cry, but the idea that society will see you as a weak man, a crybaby, a weakling, even makes you more scared.

The truth is that your tears do not signify anything to anyone, on the contrary it will be used by your enemies, to better weaken you.

While people think that everything is going splendid for you, at the bottom yourself is a slow death.

This ode to men, is destined to censor and comfort, because I am one of them and I know what we are subjected to everyday. Men endure innumerable sufferings, but society, has no sympathy for our pain.

When you are born a man, you are made to suffer your whole life. Knowing that no one will come to your rescue, is demoralizing, you will always be alone against all odds...

Women are funny to me

 Women are funny to me.

1- He is the one who lost you, but you are the one crying everywhere.

2- He will never find another woman like you, but you are the one supervising his every move and gesture, secretly wishing for a reconciliation.

3- You are very beautiful woman who cannot lack guys, but you are unable to digest your separation.

4- You do not have anything to reproach yourself,you are right all the way,but why do want to justify yourself so much?

5- You say you are a woman of value, a woman of substance, but why are so hurt, when a man who did not deserve you, decide to breakup with you?

Can a woman of value lack serious suitors?

What killed the Frog 🐸

 Put a frog in a vessel of water and start heating the water.

 As the temperature of the water rises, the frog is able to adjust its body temperature accordingly.

 The frog keeps on adjusting with increase in temperature...

 Just when the water is about to reach boiling point, the frog is not able to adjust anymore...

 At that point the frog decides to jump out...

 The frog tries to jump but is unable to do so, because it has lost all its strength in adjusting with the rising water temperature...

 Very soon the frog dies.

 What killed the frog?

 Many of us would say the boiling water...

 But the truth is what killed the frog was its own inability to decide when it had to jump out.

 We all need to adjust with people and situations, but we need to be sure when we need to adjust and when we need to confront/face.

 There are times when we need to face the situation and take the appropriate action...

 If we allow people to exploit us physically, mentally, emotionally or financially, they will continue to do so...

 We have to decide when to jump.

 Let us jump while we still have the strength.

 Think on It !!