How insecurity undermines SME growth

By Bayo Ogunmupe In far away Bangladesh, Mohammed Yunus taught us how we can grant prosperity to our beleaguered nation. Bangladesh, a nation of 161.6 million people which got independence from Pakistan by revolution only in December 1971was lifted out of poverty in 1983. Yunus, that year established the Grameen Bank that granted loans to the poor without either collateral or interest. Fueled by the belief that credit is a fundamental human right, gave soft loans to develop small and medium enterprises which lifted Bangladesh to the prosperous middle income group of countries. Yunus, an economics professor noted how credit had lifted Europe and North America into prosperity. Through the Grameen- like micro-lending more than 100 countries worldwide have liberated their peoples from poverty and want but excluding Nigeria. As banker to the poor, Yunus was the recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Peace. he has received numerous other awards for his creative ideas and endeavours, including the World Food Prize in 1994. Sadly, Nigeria is deeply into social unrest, to the extent that many call it full scale war with Boko Haram in Borno, Yobe and Taraba and with bandits in Sokoto, Zamfara, Benue, Plateau and Nasarawa states. Now, insecurity has caused the Beekeeping Extension Society to move the production of honey from Kaduna where full scale religious war is going on at the moment. The production of honey has been moved to Kano, Gombe and Bauchi states. The representatives of the UN in a press statement announced that it spends $1.5 billion yearly on the humanitarian crises in Nigeria. In the first half of this year, bandits have killed 1,126 villagers. A commissioner on the Federal Character Commission form Taraba state Alhaji Abubakar Armiyau, attributed insecurity to injustice in the polity. Herders and farmers have clashed at Orire Local Government Area of Oyo, rendering agriculture impossible to be practised, leading to food scarcity in the future. More than 78,120 farmers abandon farms in Borno with bandits abducting a bride and nursing mother in Sokoto. All these led the former minister of Agriculture and chair of Arewa Consultative Forum, Chief Audu Ogbeh to enjoin North to make peace among themselves or they will lose the North.This unrest has created palpable fear among farming families across the country, providing a major obstacle in the way of the agrarian masses in Nigeria. Upon the outcry, Nigerian troops just expelled terrorists in Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State with 410 suspects surrendering and bomb- making factory destroyed. Meanwhile, most rural dwellers in Nigeria, especially those from the North where these killings are taking place, are predominantly farmers. So, the most pervasive economic activity is being put on hold. Then, there are the bandits, a uniquely Nigerian terrorist group known for precision attacks even under curfews and lockdown. We can see internally displaced persons all over the place, where women use their bodies to beg for food and men and children are ravaged by malnutrition. We are victims of Nigerian terrorist groups who have taken up arms against the state. When insecurity destroys the livelihood of a community, its inhabitants die twice, first, they lose businesses which are the means of their livelihood, second, they physically die. Thus, internally displaced persons are waiting for their second death. Sadly, we are still running a country where people bestowed with public trust cannot be held to account. And this is where internally generated revenue grows from, without reference to its sources and how the collection impacts society, despite this being a trending index of good governance. Which is why SMEs are dying. Internal revenue officials are making life a living hell for small businesses. It is definitely wrong for a country to persist in conducting governance in this manner. Insecurity, be it communal or religious as in Southern Kaduna, have a negative impact on small and medium scale enterprises. It also has a deleterious effect on every level of economic activity and the most vulnerable among individuals. This is why public policy cannot just focus on physical reconstruction of conflict invested zones, but also focusing on the restoration of the economy of the area. Indeed, insecurity has driven many entrepreneurs to racketeering and organized crime or becoming accessors to bandits as a result of bad government policies. The implication of the above is that entrepreneurs who have expended their wealth in order to increase it, become poor and dangerous to the society if policy isn't directed to the common good. Indeed, insecurity is exacerbated, when rent seeking, which is usually the case of ineffective policy design and application, becomes the main driver of private enterprise, as it is in Nigeria of today. Presently, Nigeria uses ineffective institutions to curb such tendencies, which is why insurgency festers. despite concerted efforts to stop it. However, where personality cults determine the nature and direction of public policy, effective institutions are hard to build. But sold institutions are essential in directing the course of development in making sure economic agents behave in set order. The toxicity of public policy, often evident in zones of conflict, is responsible for the thriving of low entrepreneurship supporting the enemy. This is due to a lack adequate lending necessary for high investment to curb insecurity. This analysis of the present state of insecurity in Nigeria, and even the Covid19 pandemic has been largely at the macro-economic level. Growth projections and the incipient recession, inflation and unemployment are the implications of inappropriate policies. The impact of insecurity and the destruction of the middle class in the rural economy is yet to be appreciated. Recently, some states approached the federal government asking for money to shore up security in the states, in spite of amplifying their tax collection to boost resources. Sadly, rural tax is evidence of insensitivity to the plight of the rural poor worsened by the ravages of war. Government tax policy that ignores the negative relationship between insecurity and war inspired bankruptcy is the handiwork of neophytes. Taxes are for the living. A special tax policy should be evolved for the rural dweller in time of war or unrest. According to Amnesty International, so far, bandits have killed 1,126 and abducted over 400 Nigerians in seven states of Northern Nigeria. That meant so many thriving enterprises have been wiped out. Unfortunately, we are still unable to identify those behind Boko Haram, the killer herdsmen and the bandits with out DSS, NIA, NPF, DMI, and the Defence Intelligence Agency. Rebuilding broken bridges serves no respite without knowing the identity and the location of those who broke them. With some two term governors disclosing that they met ethnic cleansing in their states, it may well mean we are facing premeditated unrest in the country which we are loath to unravel.

The true meaning of Karma

By Bayo Ogunmupe In defining karma, most people are wrong about its meaning. People are wont to say,Karma is a bitch, we hear that all the time. But somebody does something good, he gets good karma in return. Something bad happens to someone, that is because he had bad karma. But that isn't how karma works. We all think we know what karma means, sadly, we don't. The true definition of karma we have wrong. This misunderstanding of the true definition of Karma doesn't help any of us. When you truly understand what karma means, you can use it as a powerful tool for personal development. Indeed, karma is a Sanskrit word meaning 'action.' It refers to a cycle of cause and effect which is an important concept in the religions of Asia, particularly Hinduism and Buddhism. In its essence, karma refers to both the actions and the consequences of those actions. It is important to note that karma isn't set in stone, it isn't out of our control, and is not indirect. By this, I mean you don't do good things with hopes of getting good in return. Karma isn't doing your chores this week in hopes of winning the lottery. Instead, it means: the steps of your life, your spiritual development and your personality are directly molded by your thoughts and actions. The present you affects the future you. According to a Buddhist, "Karma is an action, not a result. The future is not set in stone. You can change the course of your life right now by changing your intentions by acts and self destructive patterns." First of all, karma has nothing to do with 'fate.' If you do something bad, it doesn't mean something bad will happen to you. Karma is based on your actions and your thoughts at every single moment. This explanation of karma by Barbara O'Brien of Buddhism.com blog explains it best: "Karma means action not fate. In Buddhism, karma is an energy created by willful action through thoughts, words and deeds. We're all creating karma every minute, and the karma we create affects us every minute. It is common to think of 'my karma' as something you did in your last life that seals your fate in this life. But this is not the Buddhist understanding of karma." Thus, karma means: action, work or deed. When we talk of karma, what we are referring to is: the spiritual principle of cause and effect where intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect). But it isn't just you reap what you sow; that's not all, it is more than that. While karma has a strong core of cause affecting effect, it is also more that your actions and thoughts will affect how you live your life.It is less of I picked up recycling outside so I'll get a good thing later but more of the good actions I choose now will mold me into a virtuous person the rest of my life. Allow me to add a quote from an Upanishad, "A man of good deeds will become good." Our flawed interpretation of karma originated from the pop culture of you get what you deserve, wealthy musicians, and manufacturers praising themselves saying their creativity and hard work made them wealthy. That their hard work paid off; that they got what they deserved. It is easier to justify: bad makes bad, than there's a dynamic energy system that responds to our every action. Also, our misguided perspective that we aren't in control of our destinies cause us to attribute success in life to fate. Certainly, karma is not fate. Karma is an internal power that we create, for good or bad. When we shift this to say, 'that's karma' when something bad happens to us, we are giving up our internal will power. We're giving up on our ability to change things. It's because of this false view of karma, that we desire to transform karma into a form of cash cow, based on our ethical and spiritual behaviour. However, if we can let go of this misunderstanding of happiness, we can see that all we need is to live deeply in the present moment with mindfulness and discover our true nature. Karma is simply energy; our intentional thoughts and actions. This energy we generate now and in the future affect us. It merely shapes our future path and destiny. It has nothing to do with reward or punishment. Karma is unbiased and it is ours to control. Let us see how karma actually works. Examples of bad karma are oppressing people, abuse of power, stealing and cheating. When through these actions you create bad karma, you will bear bad results either immediately, within your lifetime or in your other life. Some of the results of your bad karma could be being born into abject poverty, involvement in a destructive connubial relationships and being punished by society. And to gain good karma: you volunteer for good causes in your community, loving others as yourself, choosing what is moral over what is easy. The results of your creating good karma are: you become a pillar of good for your society, you gain increase in wisdom, you own a healed soul and carry healing powers. Thus, when you perform certain actions, you will bear certain consequences. That is how karma works. There are three types of karma: accumulated karma, this is karma of actions you have taken in the past. Ripened karma: this is karma ready to be experienced in your present life and lastly, current karma: this is karma that you are making now, which you will experience in the future. Which is why karma plays an integral part in the cycle of the soul's rebirth. The actions you have taken in the past will affect your reincarnated self in the future. There are two salient laws of karma. One, What you sow, so shall you reap. Two, whatever spiritual law or truth you refuse to accept will continue to haunt and limit you until you accept it. I urge you to water your mind through using karma as your guiding force. Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How you know this is the experience you are going through at the moment.

Strategies that will hasten your success

By Bayo Ogunmupe The path to success is a long and arduous road. The reason why many people don't achieve their ultimate aim in life is because they lack the discipline to maintain their focus on their end goal. To help you remain disciplined and focused, here are five strategies you must adopt to achieve success. One, choosing a goal; in the choice of your ultimate end goal, it is only after you have chosen a goal that you start working on baby steps you need to take to inch yourself towards your particular goal. For example, Nigeria's only Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, early in his career as a university teacher, academic and researcher, focused on winning the Nobel prize. To achieve it, he took the first degree in English Literature two times in order to qualify as a university teacher After a first class degree, he didn't bother for higher degrees, they ultimately followed later. He then settled than to writing, acting and writing plays as a dramatist. He covered all the known genres of literature: acting, writing plays, novels, poetry, translating Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmole to the English language. He then brought forth the cultural practices of Nigerians not known to the world at that time. He is perhaps the first person to bring to the world that Nigerians have culture and belief systems distinguishable from those of savages. He wrote more than 50 books: plays, poems, novels, essays, criticism and newspaper articles. Eventually he was given the Nobel prize for literature in 1986, the first black African to be so honoured. Thus he eclipsed his contemporaries who became vice chancellor of universities. Nigeria has had more a thousand vice chancellors since 1986, but we're stuck with only one Nobel prizewinner. That's the importance of accurate goal setting. Two, breaking your goal down into small and easily achievable steps, that will not overwhelm you. These steps need to be simple, clear and manageable. By breaking your end goal to smaller bits you ensure the ultimate achievement of your ambition. Three, by breaking your goal into smaller steps you are now left with going into the action of actually executing your goal piece by piece. In your race for excellence, never compare yourself to another person. The destiny of the other person is different from yours. Just simply aim at executing one task after another. That way you see yourself making progress. Four, celebrate every achieved milestone, no matter how small. Each celebration serves as a motive force in your achievement of the next milestone. The celebration of one milestone emboldens you with greater confidence to hit the next target and ultimately your end goal. However, the bottom line is, always have an end goal in mind. by celebrating every time you cross a milestone, the achievement of your ambition becomes inevitable. Finally, the confidence gained crossing each milestone changes the way you treat yourself. Self confidence gained by achievement makes you realize it isn't your job to change yourself in order to become someone else's idea of a worthwhile human being. Think better, live better. Don't allow the opinion of others to dominate you in the present. You are not what others say about you. You are not what happened to you. You are what you choose to become at the moment. Permit yourself to meet your own needs. Choose to honour your feelings and emotions. Choose to make self love and self care your top priority. Choose to think better about yourself, so you can live better in spite of the circumstances you face. Heal yourself by refusing to belittle yourself. They conquer who believe they can.

Designing the life of your dreams

By Bayo Ogunmupe In designing the life of your dreams you must remember that what you want to achieve and what you can achieve is limited only by what you can dream. As children, we were born dreamers. We truly believed anything was possible, and no dream was too big. But as we grow into adulthood, we become more and more disconnected from our dreams. It happens so subtly that we don't realise it happening. First, we start questioning our abilities. Then, out of fear of failure, we settle into our comfort zones. Eventually, we become satisfied that this is where we belong. And that if we feel unfulfilled, we take it as our fate, that this is how things are meant to be. So, we talk ourselves into refusing to go after our dreams. Until before we know it, we've forgotten how to dream completely. Which is why we have to consciously ignite the vision of our childhood dreams. Thus, here, I'm going to show you exactly what you can do from where you are now, to get to where you want to be, even if you think it isn't possible. If you've lost sight of your dream or you have forgotten how to dream altogether, your very first step is to ask yourself this deceptively simple question that, once answered, will change the trajectory of your life forever. What would I love doing? Determining what you would love involves a great deal of introspection. It requires you tapping into the spiritual side of your life that holds all the answers; the spirit you were born with that knows your true life purpose. Perhaps you would say: "I don't know what I would love doing, that's why I am reading this article. If so, splendid; that means you're in the right place. With some simple exercises, I am going to show you how to obtain the clarity of purpose and direction you've been seeking for so long. So let's get started. Let's talk about how dreams are created. Your dreams speak to you in two ways. One, Your longing- This is what is missing in your life, which you have a strong, clear desire for. Two. Your discontent. This is anything present in your life now that you want to change. For example, you may discontent with your present job. It isn't paying enough and too far from your abode. In other words, to further define the dream you want to envision, you must pay close attention to what is currently missing from your life and how it is affecting you negatively. Regardless of the type and sources of your discontent, know that these feelings are not wrong. And they're not signs to ignore; for they diminish your acts of gratitude to the Almighty. Those feelings are an expression of the Universe's desire for you to live a greater, more fulfilling life. The Universe is always seeking greater expansion through you- it wants you to grow and blossom. So now that you understand the true nature of your longing and discontent; let's move on to the exercises. And after, keep reading to help you connect with the Universe for greater heights. In plugging into your longing and discontent, take a moment to identify your longing and discontent in four areas of your life. Write your responses under each of Longing and Discontent in your diary. This is because writing things down activates hemispheres of your brain, which enables you gain higher levels of thinking and helps you stay focused. Area of life 1: Fitness level; eating habits, weight and sleep. Area of life 11: Relationships for example spouse, family, friends, community and mentors. Area of life 111: Vocation/career: for example: job, promotion, self employment or writing a book. Area of life 1V: Time and money/ freedom: examples: income levels, time for travel or to be spent with your loved ones. If you can't see the lifestyle, you can't live it. That is my rendering of this aphorism of Gautama the Buddha: "The mind is everything. What you think you become." When you tune into your longing and discontent; your dream begins to emerge in your imagination. You then start to envision or picture it, and even more importantly, feel it. Then your vision of life becomes clear. And that's when you are ready for the next step. So, allow yourself to pause, take a breath and explore what life is trying to tell you. Then throw open the gate of your imagination and picture daily, what lifestyle you would love to live in. Remember it is right and proper to be grateful for all the good you already have and still long for more.

Towards Self Fulfillment, Beyond Salary

By Bayo Ogunmupe Beyond Salary: Towards Self Actualization and Fulfillment is the title of the book under review. It is a primer on self employment. In it, the author, a well mentored and prolific writer, Babatunde Raimi changed the African traditional perception of the people, most of whom are fixated on trading their certificates and wasting their productive lives on salaried jobs. They being baited by pensions, which nowadays are often stolen by pension fund administrators with retired employees going hungry in the evening of their days. Beyond Salary challenges you to actualize your gifts by finding self fulfillment in entrepreneurship. It was first published in 2018 by Lulu Press, Morrisville, North Carolina, USA. It is 182 pages, has 10 chapters, a forward, an introduction and a postscript where feedback from Raimi's previous books was discussed. While it lasts, salary enslaves your time, mind and hands and blinds you to opportunities and the freedom in striking out on your own. Sadly, ignorance still chains you to salary in the face of other factors as job security is increasingly threatened coupled with delayed or stolen terminal benefits. Beyond Salary empowers and equips you with correct information you need to pursue a purpose driven life. I recommend it to those seeking liberation from the slavery of salary, and taking bold steps away propelled by creativity, inventiveness followed by the satisfaction that comes from self actualization and self fulfillment. The alarming rate of Nigeria's under-employed and unemployed culminating in the EndSARS protest and destruction of infrastructure calls for drastic measures. Thus, in Beyond Salary Raimi offers intellectual solutions to this unemployment plague. In his first book, Planning for Retirement, which I had the privilege of reviewing, he predicted the future like Nostradamus. here, he gives a message of hope and courage, having risen to become a multi- income earner across many different value chain investments and opportunities. In this book, the author shares his experience as an entrepreneurial strategist and life coach. You will surely have an expected glorious future, when you start thinking Beyond Salary and act swiftly to manifest your full creativity potentials. Raimi walks you through how to live beyond salary, discover your passion, generate investment and business ideas and live a life of self actualization and self fulfillment. In this first quarter of the 10 chapter book, the trap of salary, why we need to work, and salary related challenges is discussed. While it is good to work, it is best to work to gain experience because, who you eventually become when you work, is much more important than the salary you earn. Youtube videos from Google of Jack Ma, the richest man in China show he failed many times. After being turned down from many salary jobs, he finally succeeded as founder of Alibaba, an e-commerce website, which is surely giving Amazon a run for their money. When you google the name Nnamdi Ezeigbo, you realize self employment pays. After being tired of searching for job as a graduate of electrical engineering, he became an apprentice in computer repairs. After graduating as a computer repairer, he starts sharing a slot with a bend down street book seller at Ikeja due to penury. He acquired a new identity as people started calling him Mr Slot. The name stuck and today, his Slot Supermarket remains one of the most reputable mobile phone retailers in the Nigerian market till date. While Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba succeeded in his aim of solving the electronic problems of China, the most populous nation on Earth, Ezeigbo sought to make cheap phones with warrantee available to Nigerians the largest nation in Africa. With those examples, it is right to say that every problem in any community is business opportunity. So, what problems are you created to solve? instead of waiting on salary, go and discover a problem you are created to solve. Since people work to provide means of livelihood for themselves and their family, work therefore is a necessity. But real fulfillment or job satisfaction comes from doing what you love and getting paid for it. If you are above the age of 36 years, you are already on your retirement stage. The law of diminishing returns is already on you. Retirement is a major issue with employees. By the Pension Reform Act of 2004, you can retire and access your retirement benefits from age 50, as a civil servant, or employee of a private concern. The mandatory retirement age is 60 for civil servants, 65 for academic and non- academic staff of universities and 70 years for professors. Today Nigeria's pension schedule has become a model for some West African countries like Ghana, Gambia, Cote d'Ivoire and the Republic of Benin. You need the information in this book to avoid retirement pitfalls. however, here are some investment layouts as a corollary to planning for retirement. You can maximize these either as an employee or entrepreneur. One, Treasury Bills. These are short term debt instruments issued by the Central Bank of any government as short term funding for the government. They can be sold for cash anytime. It carries no risk. They usually carry a 91 day duration by which time it matures. Two, stocks; these are shares of companies sold at the stock market. Companies raise capital by issuing stocks and entitle the stock owners (shareholders). You can buy stocks directly from companies or buy them for the benefit of other companies. Three, bonds. These are instruments of indebtedness from the bond issuer. It is a debt security certifying that the issuer owes the holder the amount written on it. The debt the issuer is obliged to pay with an agreed interest. By buying the bond you are giving the issuer a loan. Bonds are usually issued by governments. If you hold bond to maturity, you will get all principal and interest back. Which is why bonds are both lucrative and secure. Four,Annuities.These are fixed sums of money paid to someone as agreed: yearly, twice a year, monthly or as may be desired by the annuitant for the rest of his life. There are two types of annuities: deferred and immediate. Deferred annuity is where your money is invested for a period of time until you are ready to start withdrawals, usually in retirement. You have only 35 years working as a civil servant. For your safety therefore, you start an annuity plan early. You will need more money at retirement than when you were working. Five, insurance ought to be an integral part of our lives. It is a back-up plan in the event failures or accidents. Where two of your children enter university at the same time; with insurance you will be able to cope for their upkeep and college fees. Also, you can get tax rebates on your insurance accounts. Six, fixed deposits. These are solely offered by banks, where the interest is usually paid at an agreed period, monthly, quarterly or yearly by the bank. Finally, cooperatives. As an employee, you need to invest in the co-operative society of your company. It has helped many people to build houses they would never have built if they were saving in the bank or insurance company. My next focus is review of chapters four, five and six. These chapters cover starting a business with an idea; entrepreneurship and provoking ideas. The growing rate of pension liabilities, defaults by the states and the Federal Government amounting to billions of naira are enough to provoke thinking beyond salary especially now that we spend more than a quarter of our lives in retirement. The widespread corruption that has be deviled Nigeria is traceable to poor pay and employee dissatisfaction leading people to divert public funds for personal use because they cannot survive with their eight to five jobs. A large percentage of politicians in Africa are in politics because there is free money there. hence, they get there by hook or crook even if it requires human sacrifice. According to Wikipedia, in 2012 alone Nigeria lost N400 billion to corruption. "It is insecurity that allows many to steal, and a slow judicial system that allows them to continue these acts of terrorism against our collective wealth, as the number of convictions are still low compared to the amount that has been stolen." The road to entrepreneurship can be tumultuous, especially in a Nigeria riddled with high level corruption. However, in the long run the reward for visionary entrepreneurs, incurable optimists and persistent individuals is boundless. However, steps needed on the ladder of success, include but not limited to the following. You must desire knowledge and skills, plan consciously, set goals, keep wise company and be committed and focused. Mr Babatunde Raimi, the author is a prolific writer, poet, researcher and a visionary entrepreneur. Mentored by the famous American millionaire, Robert Kiyosaki and the Chinese business mogul, Jack Ma, Raimi mastered the art of solving economic, political and educational problems. He holds a B.Sc Ed from the University of Lagos; and the MBA in Marketing in view from the same institution. He is a member of the Association of African American Museums of the USA, Nigerian Institute of Training and Development; Teachers' Registration Council of Nigeria, Association of Registered Insurance Agents of Nigeria, member, Association of Economists and Statisticians of Nigeria and a licensed Insurance agent. His vision is to raise a new generation of reformers through financial empowerment and correct application of knowledge.

Habits of Self Made Millionaires (3) by Bayo Ogunmupe You will be the same person in five years except for the people you meet and the books you read. This is why you must make meeting and becoming friends with great people your priority. Researchers avow that fully 85 percent of your success and happiness in life is determined by the quality of friends and acquaintances you make in your day to day activities. The more people you know and who know you in a positive way, the more successful you will become and the faster too. At every turning point in your life, someone is standing there to help or hinder you. Which is why successful people make a habit of building and maintaining a network of high quality relationships throughout their lives. As a result, they accomplish vastly more than the person who goes home to watch television every night. Thus, it is not in Nigeria alone that success depends on who you know. It is a universal law of life that only those who know you that will promote you or nominate you to high public office. And such a reference group is defined by people with whom you habitually identify and pass the time. Humans are like chameleons in that they take on the attitudes, behaviors, values and beliefs of people with whom they associate with most of the time. So, make yourself a millionaire by networking with great people. And take care of yourself, you can only become great if you have good health. A former President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt said: "The key to happiness is a sound mind in a sound body." In order to enjoy their money, self made millionaires aim to be centenarians. You too should make living a long life your habit. There are three keys to living a long, healthy and happy life. The first is proper weight, Set a goal to get your weight under control and remain lean and fit for the rest of your life. The mantra for this is: Eat less and exercise more. The second key is proper diet, and the key to diet is to eat fewer but better foods. Eat proteins, fruits and vegetables. Eliminate desserts, soft drinks, candy and sugary foods. Stop consuming excess salt, flour products and eat in smaller portions five times a day instead of three large meals. If you can control your eating, you will be able to control other habits in other parts of your life. The third key to a long and healthy life is proper exercise. This requires vigorous activity, long walks, joining a wellness or sporting club and keeping some fitness equipment in your house. One of the qualities of self made millionaires is that they think carefully before making quick and decisive decisions. They discipline themselves to take action, following up their decisions. Successful people are more decisive and try far more things than their less successful peers. According to the law of probabilities, if you try far more different ways to be successful the odds are you will eventually find the right way at the right time. Unsuccessful people are indecisive, procrastinate, they do not have the character to make firm decisions. As a result they drift through life and never achieve financial independence. Moreover, great people never accept failure to be an option. A journalist once asked the founder of International Business Machine (IBM), Thomas J. Watson, how he could be more successful and faster. Watson replied: "If you want to be successful faster, you must double your rate of failure. Success lies on the far side of failure." Though self made millionaires are no gamblers, they dare to go forward; they take calculated risks for their goals to achieve greater rewards. When you act boldly unseen forces come to your aid. Every act of courage increases your courage. Perhaps the best mantra from the movie Apollo 13 came from Eugene Krantz, head of mission control at NASA. When the people around him were agonising over losing the spacecraft and astronauts, he pulled them together with decisive action saying loudly: "Failure is not an option." And the quick actions taken saved the day. Finally, to become a self made millionaire, you must pass the persistence test. According to the 30th President of the United States, Calvin Coolidge, "Nothing can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." Persistence is the lodestar of human character. Persistence is to the leader as carbon is to steel. It is absolutely indispensable to the attainment of greatness in any field. Always programme your subconscious for persistence by resolving in advance that you will never give up, whatever what happens. The courage to persist in the face of all terror is the one quality that, more than anything will guarantee your success. Remember, all life is a test. For you to achieve great success you must pass the persistence test. Recurring crisis is inevitable in life, so you must brace yourself up for war. Imagine every difficulty sent to you was to teach you a valuable lesson that you must learn to be even more successful in the future. And from this moment onward, always seek the valuable lesson in every setback or difficulty. This will help you in your quest not only to become a millionaire, but in your march to becoming a visionary leader. In conclusion, success is predictable. Success is not a matter of luck or accident. You must plan to successful before you can become great. If you are persistent in your pursuit of greatness, nothing in the world can stop you.

Habits of Self Made Millionaires (2) By Bayo Ogunmupe Thought is the source of greatness, wealth and all material gain. All great discoveries, inventions, creativity and all achievement starts from human thought and imagination. And it is when you honestly act and follow your thoughts that you achieve whatever goal you set yourself. Which is why self honesty, or integrity is the eleventh habit of self made millionaires. And the most valued and respected quality you can develop is a reputation for absolute integrity. Winners are always honest in everything they do and in every transaction they perform. Thus, you must never compromise your integrity, your word must be your bond and your is everything when it comes to business or politics. Integrity is essential to greatness because business or political promotion is based on trust. Your success in life will be determined solely by the number of people who trust you and who are willing to support and work for you, give you credit, lend you money, buy your services and help you during difficult times. Your character is your most worthwhile asset and it is based on the amount of integrity that you practice. The first key to integrity is to be true to yourself in all things. Being true to yourself means doing whatever you're doing excellently. You must pursue excellence in whatever you are doing. Integrity is demonstrated internally by latent honesty; externally by quality work. The second key to integrity is being true to other people in your life. Live in truth with everyone. Don't say or do anything you do not believe to be true, right and honest. Refuse to compromise your integrity for anything. Always live up to the highest standard that you know. Single mindedness in the pursuit of priorities is the twelfth secret of self made millionaires. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways, therefore being single minded is the hallmark of successful people. When you create the habit of setting priorities and concentrating on them single-mindedly, you will be able to accomplish whatever you want in life. This strategy has been the reason for high income, great wealth and financial independence for many people. Your ability to determine your priority and working on that priority until it is achieved is the test and measure of your willpower, self-discipline and personal character. This is an important habit you should develop if you want to be a great success. This one habit alone will make you a self made millionaire. Developing a reputation for speed and dependability is the thirteenth habit of self made millionaires. Since time is the currency of the 21st century, everyone today is in tremendous hurry. Customers want their services or products delivered immediately. Impatience and instant gratification now rule the world. And for you to be competitive you have to deliver your products and services with the speed of light. Loyal customers will change to the fastest supplier in a twinkle an eye. So you have to develop a sense of urgency and a bias for action to excel. That is how to attract more customers. When you exhibit the ability to get things done quickly and accurately you move to the front in your profession. And a reputation for speed and action combined with climbing from one peak of achievement to another marks the fourteenth secret of success of self made millionaires. Winning isn't an one-off event. It must be continuous. Identify the trends and cycles in your business and adapt to these changes. And practice self discipline in all things. Self discipline is the ability to make yourself do whatever you should do, when you should do it, whether you like it or not. It is the ability to set a long term goal of becoming financially independent and then disciplining yourself to achieve your long term goal. Self discipline requires self mastery, self control, being responsible, and self direction. Everything in life is a test, the test is whether you can do the important things; keep your mind on what you want and where you are going rather than thinking and talking about what you don't want or problems you have had in the past. When you pass the test, you move to the next onward to becoming a millionaire. The greatest genius of all time, Albert Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than facts." Which is why you should explore your creativity all the time. Since you utilize less than 20 percent of your brainpower and creativity daily; you should tap your imagination, creativity and intuition more often. Develop new ideas on your career, your creativity is stimulated by your desired goals, pressing problems and focused questions. The more you focus your mind on achieving your goals, the smarter you become and the stronger the muscles of your mind become. The more you use your brain creatively, the stronger and more resilient it becomes. You develop the muscles of your brain by straining them.