Category Archives: Career Development

Career Development, Personal development

Failure to success stories.

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ABRAHAM LINCOLN

… lost his job at 23; lost his bid for state legislature; at 26, his wife died; he lost again trying to become the Speaker in the Illinois House of Assembly; at 39, he failed in the bid to become commissioner in DC; 10 years later, he was defeated in his quest to become US Senator… Yet, in 1946, he became a member of the House of Reps and in 1861, the occupant of White House.

ALBERT EINSTEIN

… at age 16, he failed an exam that prevented his entrance into the Swiss Federal Polytechnic, Zurich; his dad, at his death, almost pronounced him a failure; after graduation, which he struggled to get, he wandered for a while not knowing what to do with his life, yet he gave us the theory of relativity, did a lot in Physics and Mathematics and finally was a Nobel Prize recipient.

COLONEL SANDERS

… the motel and restaurant he owned, in 1939, got burnt within four months of being established; started another business but had to sell it in 1942, during the war and also gave up his marriage five years later; in 1955, due to a change in an Interstate route. he lost his restaurant again.

Down the line, his restaurant idea was rejected by over a thousand restaurants and accepted by one. And that was enough to start the global KFC we know.

OPRAH WINFREY

… Her organization fired her for not severing her emotions and that way led to a global brand.

What more can I say?

Dare to live. Dare to act. Dare to make mistakes.

No one lives life thinking.

Africa and the Future of Work, Career Development

Africa and the Future of Work | Employment is not guaranteed anymore.

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What a feeling and negative chill I had a few days ago. I was at home when I heard my neighbor, working at one of the malls in Nigeria saying that a friend of hers had a job offer to work with a bank. She accepted it. But prior to this pandemic, she rejected all the places they posted her to.

Finally, when it was time to resume work where she agreed on, the pandemic struck. We don’t know yet if she has the job.

Another scenario happened when I went to eat after work on Thursday.

At the restaurant, I heard a customer talking with the food vendor that her sister working in a mall is kind of happy that her job is secure.

While others are crying that they are losing their jobs, she is so relaxed and enjoying herself.

Now, this is retail work that’s not exciting for a normal person and here is someone happy she has hers.

Related:

Thirdly, I saw this online:

… on thecable.ng. I was shocked, but then, it’s a huge and deep teacher.

What’s the lesson?

No industry is safe and employment is not guaranteed anymore.

I know there are industries like food industry and health industry that look recession proof. Yet, it’s not a guarantee as sure as 100% any more.

Anyone can lose his or her job at any time. The economy is not suffering. The effects of our behavior are what the economy is revealing.

So, some will suffer while some enjoy.

Life’s not fair someone will say. But that’s the world you’re in.

Your saving grace as an employee?

You should be your number one investment. Invest in yourself. Find the solution you can offer and be a master at it.

Then, be aware of the trends in that field. Serve with your eyes open. Don’t be blind. I’ll say it this way:

Master your craft and master the trends.

With this, you can scale through some of the most difficult times coming our way.

We still hope and pray that things get easier, as employees, after this covid-19 experience. Until then, I’ll leave you with Jim Rohn’s words:

Don’t wish it were easier. Wish you were better.

Career Development, Personal development

How to use deadlines to achieve personal targets.

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… deadlines get jobs done.

Cahit Kargi

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll notice that I’m not the SEO trapped guy trying to get everyone to read his blog. No. I won’t do that.

Using SEO is good, but at the detriment of servicing my audience, I’d drop it.

For today, we’ll look at how to use deadline to help us achieve our goals and targets.

In the office, we have a recurrent training that occurs every Thursday for our students.

This means that, whether I am well or not, that training must occur. And because of that, we are forced to create our content sometimes before the term starts.

However, for a while, we were not able to do that. We create a week or two weeks before the training. That wasn’t fair, but there’s a lesson to it.

My blog posting has also taught me the same lesson as it relates to our goals.

Prior to now, I blogged on Mondays and Fridays. Those days are tensed for me. I have a scheduler. It’s made me more productive. So whenever an idea comes, I flesh it out and then schedule it.

Now, because I know I must upload on Mondays and Fridays, I am always open to ideas and writing frequently.

For a while, I’ve not missed a day. Just a few days I blew it. And recently, I started everyday blogging. That alone has changed my mindset.

Completely.

And I see my writing goals coming to fruition, especially with the release of my first eBook. I was wowed when I did it.

All thanks to, amongst other things, the deadline restriction that has helped me grow.

Maybe, you can try it too.

Set deadlines for the things you want to do. You might have a goal, but setting a deadline for the little steps, will make the goal to be fulfilled faster than you planned.

I know people who are against deadlines. However, I think when you start out in something you don’t have a habit for, you need deadlines, otherwise you’ll be shooting yourself in the foot.

More coming in.

Don’t forget to sign up for the SmartPhone Graphic Designing 101 Course is coming up this weekend.

And keep making progress in this lockdown.

Remember to share and let me get your comment on what you feel about today’s post.

Stay safe.

Career Development, Personal development

Should I leave my job because I don’t have a WHY?

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Our book review, Start With Why by Simon Sinek, showed us the importance of having a WHY in our work or career life.

Yet, we know that not many persons have have discovered their WHY.

Now, the question is this: Should I leave my job because I don’t have a why?

Well, my answer is no.

You don’t have to. Not yet, at least.

Someone might tell you to leave but please don’t.

Related:

I’m in a Job that does not Really use my Skills. What Should I Do?

As an employee, instead of leaving, start the process of discovering your WHY.

This pandemic lockdown can be a time gift that you can use for that journey. Begin the process.

You might want to see Simon’s two books: Start With WHY and Find Your WHY. Or better still, listen to these videos:

and

Let the process start. Remember this quote from yesterday:

Finding WHY is a process of discovery not invention.

While you go through the process, keep giving your best to that job.

Career Development, Personal development

Difference Between Vision and Ambition.

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If we follow English language semantics we’ll not get the juice out of this.

Ask a child about his dream. And most will tell you what they want to get, where they want to go to and money they want to acquire and all these so called personal acquisitions.

Are they wrong?

I go for them. You go for them too.

But have you seen that no man gets bigger by fighting for himself. No man.

Find a course you want to dedicate your life to. Get a job in that sphere. Then keep moving.

Will it be smooth? No. Will it be worth it? Sure, if you persist and learn on the way.

Most employees don’t start with why. We don’t start with a vision. We start with our tummy. Our hunger. Our needs and end there.

The problem is not where we start but where do we go from there.

Finally, I like the words of an African Bishop on this:

Ambition is not an absolutely wrong word. Ambition is a strong and necessary companion of vision.

It takes ambition to drive vision. Why? Because ambition is a strong desire to achieve results or attain a height.

Without ambition vision will go to sleep. It is the fire place of vision. It takes ambition to fire vision to action.

If you like, call it zeal. Do not discard ambition. Life is dormant without it. It is described as a cherished desire.

It is backup to vision. Genuine ambition never competes with vision. It doesn’t run parallel to vision.

Bishop David Abioye:

Thus, use ambition to pursue the vision. I’ll recommend Simon Sinek’s Start With Why.

I think I can do a summary on his two books tomorrow during my Friday book review.

Career Development, Personal development

Surviving Post-Corona: Should I quit my job or not?

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A tough question indeed.

I am a football fan. I’ve been locked outside the house for going to see matches 😀. What a life!

Can you remember the match between AC Milan and Liverpool? In 2005? UEFA Champions League Final match?

What a terrible match.

Wikipedia puts it this way:

Milan were regarded as favourites before the match and took the lead within the first minute through captain Paolo Maldini. Milan striker Hernán Crespo added two more goals before half-time to make it 3–0. In the second half Liverpool launched a comeback and scored three goals in a dramatic six-minute spell to level the scores at 3–3, with goals from Steven Gerrard, Vladimír Šmicer and Xabi Alonso.

The scores remained the same during extra time, and a penalty shoot-out was required to decide the champions. The score was 3–2 to Liverpool when Andriy Shevchenko’s penalty was saved by Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek. Thus Liverpool won their fifth European Cup, were awarded the trophy permanently, and claimed a multiple-winner badge.

Liverpool’s comeback gave rise to the final being known as the Miracle of Istanbul, and is regarded as one of the greatest finals in the history of the tournament.”

That night was hot for me. I learnt something about life.

To quit is a choice.

Now, you’re not playing against AC Milan. In fact, football has been shut down for a while now.

You’re playing against the economy and your job. You’re an employee and you can see work going in no direction. Covid-19 has startled everyone.

Are you thinking of quitting? Do you think it’s time? Is there something you always wanted to do and you’ve not been able to?

Can I ask you this even before you decide to quit or not: what is your vision?

I feel this is even the most important question to ask.

Where are you going to?

The persons who will be scared the most in this period are those who don’t have a vision for their lives. (Remember, a vision is different from ambition.)

I’ll write about the difference between vision and ambition tomorrow.

As an employee, don’t just quit your job. And don’t just stay. Have a why for quitting or staying.

Career Development, Personal development

Surviving Post-Covid-19: Start learning about your customer

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Have you heard it that the customer pays the bills, not your company or your boss?

If you don’t understand my view of this you’ll think I’m suggesting you be disloyal to your organization. But that’s far from the truth.

The reason I write is to help employees, who love their field or industry to create a personal brand in that industry.

If you love it, then you’ll give your best to it. Right? Including your organization.

Let’s see Anita’s life.

She works with a bank. She’s a cashier. She’s been doing this for about five years. After a while, she had a particular problem that her customers kept on complaining about. Being a loyal staff, she explained to her superior after each encounter with another customer.

However, it seemed as though no one was listening. Suddenly, she surfs the internet and sees that there is a service that can be built to help solve this problem. (This happened after she asked to find a solution to this problem.)

Anita gets home that night. Carries her research and decides to quit her job in four months. In those four months, 50% of her salary was dedicated to registering a business and creating a website to run the business.

What do you think about this?

Well, not all employers will like this. But I tell you the truth, a wise one will allow Anita do her thing and even consult her to teach her colleagues the same thing.

Or in another situation… The covid-19 situation. Some persons have been sacked. Now that’s not my pain. My pain is that most employees don’t know their customer. So as they leave the company, they go looking for jobs again.

What happened to the five years you spent there?

What is wrong with your reasoning?

You get the gist?

We have fully entered the customer economy. Help your organization serve the customers, also open your eyes and brain to know them.

Africa and the Future of Work, Career Development

Africa and the Future of Work | What if you need a career transition?

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Jobs are going.

Covid-19 is slamming businesses down.

The economy is crying.

What will you do?

Do you think you need career transition? If you do, how are you going to go about it?

I’ve got you covered. I don’t have that expertise yet. However, I know where you can get it from.

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  1. Why Grit Is So Important For Career Transitions And How To Get It
  2. Embrace The Fear Of Career Transition
  3. What Professional Sports Can Teach Us About Career Transitions
  4. How A Forced Career Transition Can Take You To The Next Level
  5. Crush Career Transitions, In Just Ten Minutes A Week
  6. Five Benefits Of Enlisting Help During A Career Transition
  7. Three Things To Consider When Making A Late Career Transition
  8. What You Need To Do Before Making A Major Career Transition

Read. Enjoy and remember to stay safe.

Career Development, Personal branding

Five Stages of Pursuing Passion

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I find it hard using SEO to make all my writings. Humans are not machines. We have emotions. So sometimes I prefer to write from my heart.

If Google wants to list it, fine. If not, I just know this will help someone.

When you begin to pursue your passion, you’ll go through crazy processes that will make you feel like a fool.

Yes, like a fool.

I’ve been there and that’s why I want to share the five stages I’ve started but still going through all again and again.

AWARENESS

This is when it dawns on you that this is what you love to do… that this is what you are called to do. It’s so lovely but with mixed feelings too. Sometimes you cry.

If you’re a person of faith like me, you’d have cried during your prayer time. I have and still do.

That awareness is the aha moment. Incomparable.

But after this, comes the stage of… 😀

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MADNESS

Didn’t find any better word to use. I’m sorry. Do you know how a pregnant woman feels sometimes?

At madness, you’re restless. Nothing makes sense.

I can remember several times, I sleep so early and wake up very early. My mind saturated by this thing. When will I have time to spend with teenagers?

When? 😰

CALMNESS (POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE)

Calmness occurs either ways – positive or negative.

Negative occurs when you get tired and you just feel like this is not possible again. You give up. You just feel stupid and as though it’s not worthwhile.

No one understands what you’re saying. No one supports you.

Maybe, hunger on you 😀! No job and you’re pursuing passion? It’s terrible.

The positive happens when you calm down. Meditate on the journey. Begin to see what it will cost you if you keep on this journey.

The positive side is for the patient guy.

ASSIGNMENT OR PRUDENCE

Work begins here.

And the first is…

  • Personal Development

Buy books. Read. Listen to tapes. Download and watch videos. Seminars. Webinars. Follow the pros on twitter. Listen to them.

  • Service

You must serve the persons you are sent to and the person who is already doing what you want to do. I had to do this. It was fun and tough.

Let me share this story:

I was living with my aunt and then her son, my cousin, told me one day that his school was in need of a tutor – ICT tutor. I was excited.

Why?

I’d finally get to be with teens always.

So I went to the school. I met with the principal. He looked at me and was like, “I can’t pay you. We don’t have the money”.

I still went ahead to teach.

I can’t describe to you what that moment was like for me. Almost every night, I cried. I couldn’t wait to resume school. I couldn’t wait to see these kids.

The second is that I had to attend the graduation ceremony of a school in order to meet with my current boss. And I’ve been with him for about four years now learning how to coach teens.

The experience?

Immeasurable!

  • Personal Trial and Error

You begin to take personal projects too that will expand your capacity. You can write books. Organize events. Do something beyond you.

Take risk.

No going back.

Just forward and upward.

GREATNESS

It is given. You don’t take it.

Now there is greatness on the inside and that on the outside. I’m talking about the one on the outside.

It’s given, not taken.

Your work will speak for you. Your service will speak for you.

At this point, people begin to know you as a master in that sphere of life.

SIGNIFICANCE

After greatness, if you don’t stop, you enter the realm of significance.

Here, you’re not just a leader in your industry, other industries recognize your wisdom and capacity.

And most importantly, you begin to give back. That is one major sign of this stage.

It is for givers, not receivers.

A lot has happened so you want to share your journey with others.

At what level are you at in your pursuit of your passion?

If you don’t relent, you’ll receive the crown. Trust me, you will. For the stages, remember, it’s cyclic. It goes round and comes round.

Stay true to your passion. No matter what.