Can enduring success be accomplished without persistence and patience? The answer is ‘No!’
Persistence and patience go hand in hand. You cannot achieve true success with one without the other. They are what I call essential ingredients in the formulation that gives birth to success.
One of the dictionaries I consulted provided this meaning for persistence: ‘to be obstinately repetitious, insistent, or tenacious. To hold firmly and steadfastly to a purpose, state, or undertaking despite obstacles, warnings, or setbacks.’
Read that again! Can you see how powerful a tool persistence is in the hands of anyone who desires to succeed? To hold firmly and steadfastly to a purpose, state, or undertaking despite obstacles, warnings, or setbacks!
Can you imagine anyone making it without these attributes?
I’ll answer that question by telling you a story. Seven years into starting our publishing business, we were yet to get out of the woods. Things were getting more difficult by the day. As a matter of fact, we were facing bankruptcy.
The bank we were owing got tired of our unfulfilled promises and set a deadline for us to pay up or got wound up. We couldn’t pay when the deadline expired. And they sent along their receiver manager.
When the man discovered that apart from our staff we didn’t have much left except for furniture which would only fetch an insignificant fraction of what we were owing, he realized that he had come to a dead end.
Our case was hopeless from what he could see. But persistence [some prefer to call it perseverance] was my second nature. So I pleaded for more time. The bank had no choice. So they let us be.
And from that hopeless situation, God stepped into our affairs and things began to turn around dramatically.
For the first time since we went into business we had a breakthrough. But look at how close we were to going under! Persistence saw us through.
Now, persistence is of no use without patience. If you’re persisting on something and you do not have patience, your efforts will be sabotaged by lack of patience.
A dictionary defines patience as ‘The capacity to endure hardship, difficulty, or inconvenience without complaint. Patience emphasizes calmness, self-control, and the willingness or ability to tolerate delay.’
If you read that definition carefully again, you’ll discover that your chances of succeeding, no matter how strongly you persist in an endeavor, is almost nil.
Patience is a strong factor in the achievement of success. I should know. I’ve been through some really tough times. But each time I’m passing through those difficult times, I realize that I’ve got to be patient; that I just have to hang in there.
It was not always easy. But I’ve come out tops again and again. And that is precisely what I commend to you: be persistent and be patient. The result is always worth the sacrifice.
And, in any case, you won’t achieve success without these two qualities. So why don’t you just master them and enjoy the rich rewards? You’ll be glad if you do.
Dr. Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase is the Founder, SuccessDigest, Nigeria's No. 1 life-changing magazine as well as SuccessDigest Leaders' Club http://www.sdlcnigeria.org/ and Owner/CEO of . . . http://www.sowealthlibrary.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sunny_Obazu-Ojeagbase
Friday, May 8, 2009
Knowledge - How Do You Turn It By Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge [Hosea 4:6]
YOU probably have heard it said before: knowledge is power. Taken literally, that should mean that once you know what you didn't know before, you'll be automatically empowered by your newly acquired knowledge. True, right? Think again!
Consider this example. Let's assume you didn't know that the house you slept in the previous night had electricity, so you slept in darkness. The next morning, while discussing with a neighbour, you mentioned the fact that you had to sleep in darkness because the house had no electricity.
The neighbour pointed out to you that there was electricity in the house and went on to show you where the switch was and then put it on just to prove to you that he's telling you the truth. At that point, you've acquired knowledge. The previous night, you didn't know the house had electricity. Now, you've that knowledge.
Great. Come night time, despite the fact that you know that the house has electricity and in spite of the fact that you know where the switch to turn in on is, you refuse to put on the light. What would happen? You'll still sleep in darkness.
Now, has the knowledge that you acquired earlier about the fact that there was light in that house empowered you not to sleep in darkness for the second night in a row? Of course it did not.
Until you make use of the knowledge -- the information you have -- what you know, which is called knowledge, has no power within itself to empower you.
And this is the greatest challenge being faced by most seekers of success and financial breakthrough. You see them everywhere you turn. They are quick to attend seminars. They find it easy to buy self-improvement information products.
They will go through all the hoops to acquire knowledge, no matter what it may cost them to do so. But when it comes to applying the knowledge they paid through the nose to acquire, they get distracted. They succumb to procrastination. They give in to other issues that will clearly prevent them from reaching their goals.
What should you do to protect yourself from this destiny destroying behaviour?
Listen to this story told by one of my protégés, Efe Imiren, a graduate of my April 2008 Information Marketing Business Workshop [IMBW]. Addressing the April 2009 IMBW Class recently, Efe said the night before Monday when the course was about to take off, her mother came into her room to tell her that they had lost a relation and that they had to travel home for the burial.
Just two weeks earlier, she narrated, they had just returned from home where they had buried her father. And now that she had this opportunity to attend a course that she had every reason to believe would transform her life, she was being told to get ready to travel home again.
Instead of caving in to that demand, Efe stayed away from home and turned her office into her residence for the one-week duration of the course as well as switched off her mobile phone so that no one could reach her or distract her.
And for two weeks after the workshop, she was still sleeping on the bare floor of her office, taking ordinary bread for breakfast and drinking garri in the night, working hard at creating her first information product which eventually launched her career.
The result? A year later, her information marketing business had taken off in grand style. Now, from not knowing what she would do to raise her siblings and make a headway in life one short year ago, she's now comfortably shouldering the responsibility and growing her business steadily.
Just think for a moment. Suppose she went home to bury the relation instead of doing the course? Definitely she would have missed the course and she would never have had the opportunity of acquiring the information that she translated into her high income producing venture. By simply taking action on what she learnt, she moved from zero to a heroine.
Ouch! I've just let the secret out of the bag! Taking action on what you know; actually doing it, that's what transforms knowledge into power! That's what brings the result you're craving for.
If you know what to do and you're not doing it; if you're not acting on the knowledge you saved in the hard drive of your brain, it's a waste of time hoping to be successful.
It just won't happen!
PS: Do you want to comment on this article? You can do so here
Dr. Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase is the publisher of the nationally acclaimed monthly magazine, SuccessDigest and founder of SuccessDigest Leaders' Club.
His publications have helped thousands of people to launch their own successful businesses. To learn more about him and how you may profit from his wealth of experience visit http://sunnyojeagbase.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sunny_Obazu-Ojeagbase
YOU probably have heard it said before: knowledge is power. Taken literally, that should mean that once you know what you didn't know before, you'll be automatically empowered by your newly acquired knowledge. True, right? Think again!
Consider this example. Let's assume you didn't know that the house you slept in the previous night had electricity, so you slept in darkness. The next morning, while discussing with a neighbour, you mentioned the fact that you had to sleep in darkness because the house had no electricity.
The neighbour pointed out to you that there was electricity in the house and went on to show you where the switch was and then put it on just to prove to you that he's telling you the truth. At that point, you've acquired knowledge. The previous night, you didn't know the house had electricity. Now, you've that knowledge.
Great. Come night time, despite the fact that you know that the house has electricity and in spite of the fact that you know where the switch to turn in on is, you refuse to put on the light. What would happen? You'll still sleep in darkness.
Now, has the knowledge that you acquired earlier about the fact that there was light in that house empowered you not to sleep in darkness for the second night in a row? Of course it did not.
Until you make use of the knowledge -- the information you have -- what you know, which is called knowledge, has no power within itself to empower you.
And this is the greatest challenge being faced by most seekers of success and financial breakthrough. You see them everywhere you turn. They are quick to attend seminars. They find it easy to buy self-improvement information products.
They will go through all the hoops to acquire knowledge, no matter what it may cost them to do so. But when it comes to applying the knowledge they paid through the nose to acquire, they get distracted. They succumb to procrastination. They give in to other issues that will clearly prevent them from reaching their goals.
What should you do to protect yourself from this destiny destroying behaviour?
Listen to this story told by one of my protégés, Efe Imiren, a graduate of my April 2008 Information Marketing Business Workshop [IMBW]. Addressing the April 2009 IMBW Class recently, Efe said the night before Monday when the course was about to take off, her mother came into her room to tell her that they had lost a relation and that they had to travel home for the burial.
Just two weeks earlier, she narrated, they had just returned from home where they had buried her father. And now that she had this opportunity to attend a course that she had every reason to believe would transform her life, she was being told to get ready to travel home again.
Instead of caving in to that demand, Efe stayed away from home and turned her office into her residence for the one-week duration of the course as well as switched off her mobile phone so that no one could reach her or distract her.
And for two weeks after the workshop, she was still sleeping on the bare floor of her office, taking ordinary bread for breakfast and drinking garri in the night, working hard at creating her first information product which eventually launched her career.
The result? A year later, her information marketing business had taken off in grand style. Now, from not knowing what she would do to raise her siblings and make a headway in life one short year ago, she's now comfortably shouldering the responsibility and growing her business steadily.
Just think for a moment. Suppose she went home to bury the relation instead of doing the course? Definitely she would have missed the course and she would never have had the opportunity of acquiring the information that she translated into her high income producing venture. By simply taking action on what she learnt, she moved from zero to a heroine.
Ouch! I've just let the secret out of the bag! Taking action on what you know; actually doing it, that's what transforms knowledge into power! That's what brings the result you're craving for.
If you know what to do and you're not doing it; if you're not acting on the knowledge you saved in the hard drive of your brain, it's a waste of time hoping to be successful.
It just won't happen!
PS: Do you want to comment on this article? You can do so here
Dr. Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase is the publisher of the nationally acclaimed monthly magazine, SuccessDigest and founder of SuccessDigest Leaders' Club.
His publications have helped thousands of people to launch their own successful businesses. To learn more about him and how you may profit from his wealth of experience visit http://sunnyojeagbase.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sunny_Obazu-Ojeagbase
Time, Money and Good Health - Which is More Important to Your Success in Business? By Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase
IF you were presented with three choices -- time, money [seed or working capital] and good health -- which one will you absolutely go for? Which of the three will you hang on to while ignoring the other two?
Tricky question, you say? Maybe. But I don't think so. Not when you give it a deep thought.
Depending on the level you're in your entrepreneurship career, the answer is as simple and straight forward as ABC.
Without a shadow of doubt, these three items are so essential for anyone to have enduring success in business. They are as important to a business as blood is to a living soul. None of the three is dispensable But right now, you're being forced to take one only.
So which of the three will get your nod? This is my own ranking of the three "must haves" in order of their importance to me.
1. Good health
2. Money
3. Time
And this is the reason behind my choice:
Good health ; This is the number one choice for me. It's so far ahead of the other two that I didn't even have to think before giving it my vote.
Practically everything in life is achievable if there good health. No matter how desperate your situation may be, if you have good health and sound mind, you can literally overcome it and turn it around.
But without good health, your chances of making it next to zero. When your health fails, you're like a boxer lying flat on his back from a left hook to the jaw, with the referee counting from one to ten.
Your crown, if you're the champion, or your ambition to wear the crown, if you're the challenger, depends on your ability to get back on your feet and resume the fight. If the referee counts you out, it is good night.
The fight is over. You're down and out. From that point you could end up six feet below the ground level. Or you could become a vegetable on wheel chair, totally useless and dependent on others for everything you may wish to do. And running your business is certainly not going to be one of those things! So you see, good health is number one. No questions about it.
Money ; If money could speak as men do, I'm sure it would have pulled me aside and demanded to know why I'm making him my number two choice instead of number one. I know that money speaks in other ways. Its voice is even more audible than a man's voice that is magnified by the most sophisticated loud speakers.
For instance, if you turn up at an annual old students association gathering wearing the same dress you wore last year, which now stands out not because it was the same dress but because it's now worn out and bearing some outstanding patches here and there, everyone in the gathering would know immediately that your finances has headed south.
That is one of the ways that money speaks. And it could be very loud indeed. In fact money is powerful. It is a must have. But in spite of that fact, it's still number two, behind good health.
If I'm healthy, I could make all the money in the world that I want to. With my health in good shape, I could do anything legitimate to earn money, including getting a part in a home video acting a clown if it would guarantee the next meal for my family.
But you say, suppose you don't have money, how will you be able to start your business and run it profitably?
Every diligent and attentive reader of our monthly magazine knows [or should know] by now that capital [seed or working capital] is not a barrier to starting and running a successful business.
What counts, is a sound idea.
Time ; You've heard it said over and over again: Time is money. And it is true. I believe it is. But, despite that fact, I'm choosing good health and money ahead of it. Why? Because, until you learn how to invest your time and not spend it, time could be a wasted asset. And that is what it's in the hands of a majority of people. Sad! Time is a great resource. An indispensable one for that matter.
But as an entrepreneur, which is the consideration here, good health is running far ahead of time and money not so far ahead but still having a slight edge. Consider the following: You have a hot idea. This idea is capable of making you tons of money. It's an idea which can be exploited by anyone. I mean, it is not patented. There's no government law that restricts others from doing it. And even if there's such a law, no responsible government will give you the go ahead for an indefinite take off date.
If you have this hot idea and you don't have the money to start to it, you'll lose the market. No doubt about it. So, money beats time hands down here. And, of course, if you have a hot idea and you have billions to invest in it, the moment you're identified by Ward C and bed number five by the window in a popular or not-so-popular hospital, you're out of the race.
But make no mistake about it, in another setting -- a setting that guarantees good health and eliminate the conditions attached to the hot business idea that I described above -- I will go for time ahead of money. If you have lots of money but you're a procrastinator, all that money will be wasted away. Inflation will eat it up.
For example, if you wanted to place order for a raw material in November last year but dragged your feet till February after naira moved from its secure exchange rate of N118 to the one US dollar, you're already a loser by several thousand naira.
See? For you to create wealth and live to enjoy it, sound health is the sine qua non. So, dear entrepreneur, don't under-estimate good health. You can disagree with me on my placement of money above time. But, never never take your health for granted. Never!
Dr. Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase is the publisher of the nationally acclaimed monthly magazine, SuccessDigest and founder of SuccessDigest Leaders' Club. His publications have helped thousands of people to launch their own successful businesses. To learn more about him and how you may profit from his wealth of experience visit http://sunnyojeagbase.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sunny_Obazu-Ojeagbase
Tricky question, you say? Maybe. But I don't think so. Not when you give it a deep thought.
Depending on the level you're in your entrepreneurship career, the answer is as simple and straight forward as ABC.
Without a shadow of doubt, these three items are so essential for anyone to have enduring success in business. They are as important to a business as blood is to a living soul. None of the three is dispensable But right now, you're being forced to take one only.
So which of the three will get your nod? This is my own ranking of the three "must haves" in order of their importance to me.
1. Good health
2. Money
3. Time
And this is the reason behind my choice:
Good health ; This is the number one choice for me. It's so far ahead of the other two that I didn't even have to think before giving it my vote.
Practically everything in life is achievable if there good health. No matter how desperate your situation may be, if you have good health and sound mind, you can literally overcome it and turn it around.
But without good health, your chances of making it next to zero. When your health fails, you're like a boxer lying flat on his back from a left hook to the jaw, with the referee counting from one to ten.
Your crown, if you're the champion, or your ambition to wear the crown, if you're the challenger, depends on your ability to get back on your feet and resume the fight. If the referee counts you out, it is good night.
The fight is over. You're down and out. From that point you could end up six feet below the ground level. Or you could become a vegetable on wheel chair, totally useless and dependent on others for everything you may wish to do. And running your business is certainly not going to be one of those things! So you see, good health is number one. No questions about it.
Money ; If money could speak as men do, I'm sure it would have pulled me aside and demanded to know why I'm making him my number two choice instead of number one. I know that money speaks in other ways. Its voice is even more audible than a man's voice that is magnified by the most sophisticated loud speakers.
For instance, if you turn up at an annual old students association gathering wearing the same dress you wore last year, which now stands out not because it was the same dress but because it's now worn out and bearing some outstanding patches here and there, everyone in the gathering would know immediately that your finances has headed south.
That is one of the ways that money speaks. And it could be very loud indeed. In fact money is powerful. It is a must have. But in spite of that fact, it's still number two, behind good health.
If I'm healthy, I could make all the money in the world that I want to. With my health in good shape, I could do anything legitimate to earn money, including getting a part in a home video acting a clown if it would guarantee the next meal for my family.
But you say, suppose you don't have money, how will you be able to start your business and run it profitably?
Every diligent and attentive reader of our monthly magazine knows [or should know] by now that capital [seed or working capital] is not a barrier to starting and running a successful business.
What counts, is a sound idea.
Time ; You've heard it said over and over again: Time is money. And it is true. I believe it is. But, despite that fact, I'm choosing good health and money ahead of it. Why? Because, until you learn how to invest your time and not spend it, time could be a wasted asset. And that is what it's in the hands of a majority of people. Sad! Time is a great resource. An indispensable one for that matter.
But as an entrepreneur, which is the consideration here, good health is running far ahead of time and money not so far ahead but still having a slight edge. Consider the following: You have a hot idea. This idea is capable of making you tons of money. It's an idea which can be exploited by anyone. I mean, it is not patented. There's no government law that restricts others from doing it. And even if there's such a law, no responsible government will give you the go ahead for an indefinite take off date.
If you have this hot idea and you don't have the money to start to it, you'll lose the market. No doubt about it. So, money beats time hands down here. And, of course, if you have a hot idea and you have billions to invest in it, the moment you're identified by Ward C and bed number five by the window in a popular or not-so-popular hospital, you're out of the race.
But make no mistake about it, in another setting -- a setting that guarantees good health and eliminate the conditions attached to the hot business idea that I described above -- I will go for time ahead of money. If you have lots of money but you're a procrastinator, all that money will be wasted away. Inflation will eat it up.
For example, if you wanted to place order for a raw material in November last year but dragged your feet till February after naira moved from its secure exchange rate of N118 to the one US dollar, you're already a loser by several thousand naira.
See? For you to create wealth and live to enjoy it, sound health is the sine qua non. So, dear entrepreneur, don't under-estimate good health. You can disagree with me on my placement of money above time. But, never never take your health for granted. Never!
Dr. Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase is the publisher of the nationally acclaimed monthly magazine, SuccessDigest and founder of SuccessDigest Leaders' Club. His publications have helped thousands of people to launch their own successful businesses. To learn more about him and how you may profit from his wealth of experience visit http://sunnyojeagbase.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sunny_Obazu-Ojeagbase
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