Law of Intentionality (The 15 Invaluable laws of growth)

The first chapter of the book is about the law of intentionality. Growth does not just happen.
In this chapter, John recanted a life transforming encounter with Curt Kampmeier.
Mr Kampmeier asked him one question that will change his life.
"Do you have a plan for your personal growth?"
While John was pondering on what this thought provoking questions he stumbled on eight misconceptions about growth that may be holding people back from being as intentional as they needed to be about personal development.

"This man's question long ago changed my life! Seeing Curt was one of the best Christmas gifts I've ever received. Why? Because personal growth changed my life. since my meeting with Curt back in 1974, I've planned it into my life, reading books, listening to great teachers, and developing measurable goals and plans to make it happen. I believe the consistent disciple of growth has made it possible for me to add value to people and achieve many of my goals. I believe it can be the same for you. And I'd like to help you as Curt helped me", 

John Maxwell

Don't let these misconceptions stop you from intentionally growing

• The Assumption Gap: many assumed that growth is automatic. It is not. The mind does not grow as the body does, you must be intentional about the process. No one improves by  accident. You must take complete ownership of your growth process because no body will do it for you. You can't pay some one to do you push ups. 
• The Time Gap: I will relate a riddle John's Dad always told them. "Five frogs are sitting on a log. Four decided to jump off. How many are left?" I would like you to share your answer with me. I will give the right answer after the first 50 persons have answered. 
• The Mistake Gap: Many don't grow because they are afraid to make mistakes. Is fear stopping you?
• The Inspiration Gap: When you only do what is necessary when you feel like it then you are not ready for growth.

Check out the last four hindrances to your growth as you read through the pages of this great book.

Growth doesn't just happen-not for me, not for you, not for anybody. You have to go after it.

The 15 invaluable laws of growth (about the author and book)

John Calvin Maxwell (born 1947) is an American author, speaker, and pastor who has written over seventy books, primarily focused on leadership. His books have sold millions of copies, with some on the New York Times Best Seller List.I first came across this wonderful man's material during my national youth service in 2012. I served at Akwa Ibom state and I was privileged to make use of the Ibom E-library, built by Senator Godswill Akpabio, a true visionary leader. Since my first encounter with the 21 irrefutable laws of leadership, John Maxwell has become one of my mentors in communication and leadership.    

He is the founder of INJOY, Maximum Impact, The John Maxwell Team, ISS and EQUIP(an international leadership development organization working to help leaders maximize their potential). EQUIP is involved with leaders from more than 173 nations with a mission of seeing effective Christian leaders fulfill the Great Commission in every nation. Each year he speaks to leaders of diverse organizations, such as Fortune 100 companies, foreign governments, the National Football League, the US Military at West point, and the United Nations.

I believe John Maxwell is the right man to write a book such as this. 

John Maxwell has been passionate about personal development for over fifty years. Now, for the first time, he shares everything he has garnered about developing yourself so that you have the best chance of becoming the person you were created to be. He does it in the John Maxwell way:

• THE LAW OF THE MIRROR: You must see value in yourself to add value to yourself
• THE LAW OF AWARENESS: YOU must know yourself to grow yourself
• THE LAW OF CONTRIBUTION: Developing yourself enables you to develop others
• THE LAW OF MODELING: Its hard to improve when you have no one but yourself to follow

This book will help you become a lifelong learner (the aim of this blog) whose potential keeps increasing and never gets used up.

INJOY

7 Personality Traits of a Great Leader

If you want to be a leader who attracts quality people, the key is to become a person of quality yourself. Leadership is the ability to attract someone to the gifts, skills and opportunities you offer as an owner, as a manager, as a parent. Jim Rohn calls leadership the great challenge of l

What’s important in leadership is refining your skills. All great leaders keep working on themselves until they become effective. Here’s how:

1. Learn to be strong but not impolite. It is an extra step you must take to become a powerful, capable leader with a wide range of reach. Some people mistake rudeness for strength. It's not even a good substitute.

2. Learn to be kind but not weak.We must not mistake weakness for kindness. Kindness isn't weak. Kindness is a certain type of strength. We must be kind enough to tell someone the truth. We must be kind enough and considerate enough to lay it on the line. We must be kind enough to tell it like it is and not deal in delusion.

3. Learn to be bold but not a bully.It takes boldness to win the day. To build your influence, you've got to walk in front of your group. You've got to be willing to take the first arrow, tackle the first problem, discover the first sign of trouble. Like the farmer, if you want any rewards at harvest time, you have got to be bold and face the weeds and the rain and the bugs straight on. You've got to seize the moment.

4. Learn to be humble but not timid.You can't get to the high life by being timid. Some people mistake timidity for humility. But humility is a virtue; timidity is a disease. It's an affliction. It can be cured, but it is a problem. Humility is almost a God-like word—a sense of awe, a sense of wonder, an awareness of the human soul and spirit, an understanding that there is something unique about the human drama versus the rest of life. Humility is a grasp of the distance between us and the stars, yet having the feeling that we're part of the stars.

5. Learn to be proud but not arrogant. It takes pride to build your ambitions. It takes pride in your community. It takes pride in a cause, in accomplishment. But the key to becoming a good leader is to be proud without being arrogant. Do you know the worst kind of arrogance? Arrogance from ignorance. It's intolerable. If someone is smart and arrogant, we can tolerate that. But if someone is ignorant and arrogant, that's just too much to take.

6. Learn to develop humor without folly.In leadership, we learn that it's OK to be witty but not silly; fun but not foolish.

7. Learn to deal in realities.Deal in truth. Save yourself the agony of delusion. Just accept life as it is—the whole drama of life. It's fascinating.

Life is unique. Leadership is unique. The skills that work well for one leader may not work at all for another. However, the fundamental skills of leadership can be adopted to work well for just about everyone: at work, in the community and at home.

3 excellent parenting tips that will transform your life

These three parenting tips will revolutionize your life and help you train up kids that can impact their world and bring joy to you.

1)  Work on your self                                                                                                         

 what do you mean by work on yourself, you may ask. What I mean is work on your self. You are your kid's first teacher, mentor, friend and leader. You don't expect to raise excellent kids while you are still struggling. You teach what you know but you reproduce who you are. Look all around you and you will see children behaving just like their parents. You don't have to be perfect but you must understand your weaknesses, try to overcome them and also help you children avoid them. Children are always watching even when you think they are not. You must teach them in the school of example because they will lean in no other. To lead outstanding kids tomorrow you must start leading yourself today.

2)  Self-governance                                                                                                          

When children are infants and toddlers it is always exciting to do every thing for them. But most parents don't know when to call it a day on this stage of their responsibility. A time comes when you can not do every thing  for them any more. Every body at some point must make decisions for themselves no matter what their parents did. If you don't want to have a grown up baby, you have to start early to teach them to take responsibility for their actions. Also for those parents that have grown up children, you have to be aware of you limits before you will be tagged a limited liability parent. Enjoy the different stages of life

3)   Communicate                                                                                                             

Talk to your children, Ask about their hopes, dreams, fears. Talk to them about their day, their friends and teachers. Communicate with them in play and in serious discussion. Did I hear you say serious discussion. Yes that's what I said. Children have brains too you know, they can reason too. Try correcting with words and see them change if they see that it is love motivated. Get talking with them before someone else gets them talking.

Can we have a positive change

We are living in the era of change. The government of the day came into power with the promise of changing our lives. Almost one year in to their tenor, we haven't seen the reality of the change we were promised. In all sectors of the country folks are complaining about the harsh reality we are facing as a nation. If we will be sincere with ourselves we will agree that this is what we all expected. People can not perform beyond their ability. How ever I think that those in power are doing their best, which is still not enough. 
But can this country move forward?

The answer is a big yes. We can do better. 
If we will have the change we so need, we all need to embrace personal responsibility to move this nation forward. Some sect are clamoring for independence. I don't think that is the solution. No matter how you divide water that is contaminated, it is still contaminated. Nigeria has been contaminated with corruption. While growing up as child in the 1990s, a particular tribe that some section of the country want to pull out from were the most sincere people to trade with. Right now they have also been contaminated. 
Corruption is the real enemy of the Nigerian state. It is not only those holding public offices that are corrupt. Many can not be trusted, this something for nothing mentality is eating up the character and honour of many. People want to become rich but don't want to go through the process required. The principal who collects examination fee of one thousand must be a corrupt person. The man who avoids to pay his electric bill is corrupt. The project supervisor who expect his/her student to pay to be supervised must be corrupt. It is from the bucket you take a cup of water. Every criminal in the public sector was picked from among us. If we that are led will change those that are leading will change. If every one will clean his corner, the whole world will be clean. If you will change every thing will change for you. The change you are looking out to see is actually within you. The government can not solve all our problems. People are anxious to improve their circumstances without improving themselves; therefore they remain bound. 
Change is not what you wait for, it is what you make happen. 
As yourself, if every one in Nigeria were to be like you, how will this country be like. 

"The value of life lies not in the length of days but in the use we make of it, a man may live long and yet live very little",Michel de Montaigne

 In your corner, are you doing your best to make this country work? This country becoming paralyzed while many are making a career as analyst instead of becoming catalyst for change. 

One Nigeria!

5 quick steps to release your unique genius

Most often we see people excelling at their academics and conclude that they are geniuses. There are many first class graduates that are last class in life. More still are second class upper graduates but living in the lower class of society. We all have an equal opportunity to be as unequal as we want to be. Genius is attainable by any one at any time in their life. There are so many who were ones considered dummies, who by their choice to excel became better at solving problems and thus discovered five powerful ways to express their hidden genius. 

A genius is an exceptionally intelligent person or one with exceptional skill in a particular area of activity. Are genius born or made has been a question many have asked for a long time. I will not claim to have the answer to that question but what I know is this; so many have moved from the class of dummies into the class of genius and so can you. Dr Ben Carson is a notable example. Let us consider the five factors

• Know yourself and why your here: Genius involves figuring out who you are, and owning yourself. Its about amplifying your best traits and compensating for the rest. There are billions of people in the world today, a few are succeeding exceptionally while a vast majority are failing miserably. What is the difference between success and failure? Is it based on parental background, community, government or church? In as much as all these factors influence people's level of success, many have succeeded despite disadvantaged backgrounds. There is a reason you are here. You are not here to do every thing, you are here on a specific assignment. You were created on purpose for a purpose. "We all have a part to play in life and all you can do is play it", Basam in the movie Tyrant". It is your responsibility to discover it. You can not display genius outside your purpose. I feel most alive when I teach because that is my purpose. Let me ask you a question? If money was not a factor what will you love to be doing right now. When you locate it, the world will locate you
• Discover your hidden abilities: Abilities are given to fulfill purpose. Birds fly, fishes swim. Water has the ability to quench the need for liquid in the body acid doesn't. I love teaching and the ability to compose and transmit information (communicate) comes naturally. Its the easiest thing I do. I studied civil engineering at the university, how ever I have little or no interest in construction. The best I could have been as an engineer would be a local champion, but watch out where am going as a communicator. Can I tell you something? What you were taught in school will not make you great except it is tailored towards your purpose. You want to stand out? Stand on the abilities that come naturally to you. 
• Focus on your purpose: Greatness comes at a cost and that cost is focus. "this one thing I do" said Paul the Apostle, not 10 things. He that is every where is nowhere. The energy from the sun can cause a paper to burn when its rays are focused through a convex lens. Focus causes you to be on fire and when you are on fire people will love to come and see you burn. You have to focus on your assignment to make impact in life. Be focused and you will drill your pure genus from the core of your being.
• Persistence: If you want to be a genius you must persist and insist. Genius does not come overnight. No classic is created overnight. That is one difference between other Hoods and Hollywood. John Maxwell, one of my mentors as a communicator said that in one of his leadership classes a man walked up to him to appreciate him for the insight he had given them This gentle man went further to say that he wished he had heard the leadership genius 20 years earlier. To that statement John replied, "You wouldn't have wanted to hear me 20 years ago". What made the difference between who he was 20 year before and who he was at the time they talked? Persistence. Persistence converts the freedom to be a mediocre to an opportunity to enlist yourself among the high flyers. There is a reservoir of genius in you, persist until the world sees it.
• Learn from the best: Successful people are those that are willing to learn from successful people who have gone on the journey of success before them. Isaac Newton a genius in every sense quipped, "If I could see any further than others, it was because I stood on the shoulders of giants". You can only learn the best from the best. Who are you learning from? One of the ways I learn from the best is through their books. I have never met John Maxwell but there are just few of his books I don't have and haven't read. You see the wisdom radiating from a man's mind can be reflected to your mind through the pages of his books. The number one book to read, however is the bible because it is the word of the best of the best, God himself.

Genius awaits you, take responsibility and become who you were created to be.

assignment

This is an assignment I gave to my students in class for the weekend. Someone should try to solve it and give me the answer.

It took 5 boys 8 days to plant 1200 trees on the school farm.
a) how long will it take 20 boy to plant the same number of trees.
b)how many day will it take the same number of boys to plant 4800 trees