Five qualities of creative thinkers

The more you do of what you’re doing, the more you’ll get of what you’ve got.  Creative thinking requires that you continually dig deep into yourself and generate more, newer, better, faster, cheaper, different ideas that you can use to improve the important parts of your life. Want to be a creative thinker? Read below some unique qualities of creative thinkers

Ask Questions

The first quality is that creative thinkers are intensely curious.  They are always asking questions.  They ask questions like “Why?” very much like children do all the time. Then they ask, “Why not?”  “Why can’t we do it?”  “Even if it hasn’t been done before, can it be done now?”

Change Your  Mind

The second quality of creative thinkers is that they have a willingness to change.  They recognize that in a world such as ours, the unwillingness or inability to change is fatal.  They prefer to be in charge of their lives rather than being caught up in the flash flood of change that is inevitable and unavoidable. The words of the truly flexible person, the person who is willing to change are simply, “I changed my mind.” According to researchers, fully 70% of the decisions you make turn out to be wrong in the long run.  This means that you must be willing to change your mind and try something else most of the time.  Mental flexibility is the most important quality that you will need for success in the 21st century.

Continue to Learn

The third quality is that highly creative people can say, “I don’t know.”  They recognize that it is impossible for anyone to know anything about everything, and it is very likely that almost everyone is wrong to some extent, no matter what they are doing.  So when someone asks them a particular question that they don’t know the answer to they admit it early and often.  They simply say, “I don’t know.”  And if necessary they go about finding the answer. Here’s an important point.  No matter what problems you have, there is someone somewhere who has had the same problem and who has already solved the problem and is using the solution today.  One of the smartest and most creative things you can do is to find someone else, somewhere, who is already implementing the solution successfully and then copy him or her. The smartest person is not necessarily the person who comes up with the idea.  It may be just a lucky flash of insight.  The smartest person is the one who copies the idea first.  And it is often the person to recognize the value of a new idea that makes a fortune from the idea while the originator makes little or nothing.

Creative Thinkers Are Goal Oriented

The fourth quality of creative people is that they are intensely goal focused.  They know exactly what they want.  They have it written down very clearly.  They visualize it on a regular basis.  They imagine what their goal would look like if it were a reality today.  And the more they visualize and imagine their goal as a reality, the more creative they become and the faster they move toward achieving it.

Creative Thinking Generates New Ideas

The most important part of  creative thinking is your ability to generate ideas.  And the greater the quantity of ideas that you generate, the greater the quality your ideas will be.  The more ideas you have, the more likely you are to have the right idea at the right time. But generating ideas is only 1% of the equation.  As Thomas Edison once wrote, “Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”  Your ability to come up with an idea, to test it and validate it, and then to implement it through creative thinking and execute it in your life to achieve results is the true mark of genius. Every single time you originate a new idea, write it down, make a plan for its implementation through creative thinking and then take action, you are behaving like a genius.  And the more you manage your creativity in this way, the smarter you will become.  And the smarter you will become, the more you will achieve in every area of your life.  Your future will become unlimited.

Thank you for reading this article about creative thinking. Please comment and share below!

Source: Brain Tracy

Your Heart Desire

An Old adage says: "God has a plan for every man, and He has one for you," and this is absolutely correct. Your real problem, therefore, in fact the only problem that you ever have, is to find your true place in life. Find that, and everything else will follow almost automatically. You will be perfectly happy; and upon happiness, health will follow. You will be really prosperous. You will have all the supply that you require to meet your needs, and this means that you will have perfect freedom; for poverty and freedom cannot go together. Until you do find your true place in life, however, you never will be really happy, no matter how much money or distinction you may acquire; and until you are happy, you will be neither healthy nor free.

Whoever you are, God has not made you without a definite purpose in view. The Universe is a universe; that is, it is a unified harmony, a Divine Scheme. There can, therefore, be no such thing, as a misfit, or an unwanted or unneeded piece. It could not happen that God could create a spiritual entity such as you are, without having a special purpose in view, and this means that there is a special and particular place in it for you.

God never repeats Himself, and so He has never made two people alike, and it is for this reason that no two people could ever do quite the same work, or express themselves in quite the same way. That is why, rightly understood, there really need be no competition. There need be no such thing as, say, two thousand people struggling for the same place in life. Whatever the place may be, there can be only one person who can fill it perfectly; and there are one thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine other places somewhere waiting for the other people if only they will find them.

But how is one to find his true place in life? Is there any means whereby you may discover what it really is that God wishes you to do? You may feel inclined to say:

"Even if it be true that God has some splendid thing that He wishes me to do, and to be, how can I possibly find out what it is?" Perhaps you may even be tempted to add: "I am a very plain, everyday sort of person; my circumstances are extremely restricted; the conditions of my life are just drab commonplace. How then can there be something wonderful, beautiful, splendid awaiting me? Or, even if there were, how could I possibly get to know about it? “And the answer is Divinely simple- Already in your past life from  time to time, God Himself has whispered into your heart just that very wonderful thing, whatever it is, that He is wishing you to be, and to do, and to have. And that wonderful thing is nothing less than what is called Your Heart's Desire. Nothing less than that.

The most secret, sacred wish that lies deep down at the bottom of your heart, the wonderful thing that you hardly dare to look at, or to think about —the thing that you would rather die than have anyone else know of, because it seems to be so far beyond anything that you are, or have at the present time, that you fear that you would be cruelly ridiculed if the mere thought of it were known — that is just the very thing, that

God is wishing you to do or to be for Him. And the birth of that marvelous wish in your

soul —the dawning, of that secret dream— was the Voice of God Himself telling, you to arise and come up higher because He had need of you.

Source: Emmet Fox: Your Heart Desire

The Sanguine- Who is He?

Why do you act the way you do?  Why do you always get into trouble with your friends and family? Why do you always complain about your boss? Most people find themselves in wrong relationships and careers because they struggle to identify their personality type. When we are able to identify who we really are and our temperamental tendencies, we become better in regulating ourselves, this allows us to develop self-control and self-discipline and avoid unnecessary pitfalls within our lives.

In this post, I intend sharing with you some of the major personality types, so that you can develop your strength as well as maximizing weaknesses that comes with that temperament type.

Let’s begin with the Sanguine

sanguine temperament

Sanguines are the popular, talkative and the “centre of attention ” at all times, no matter the setting. At a party, Sanguines are the loud type making funny comments and telling funny stories all over, typically the ones to  give life to the party, because they love to talk. They attract people with their magnetism and exude charisma; a  sanguine personality is always affectionate, loving, cheerful, optimistic  and hopeful. To easily spot a sanguine; look for the one that easily dominates conversation or talk too much about their selves. And watch out, in their enthusiasm, they may exaggerate the truth, waste time and definitely forget obligations.

If you find yourself dating a sanguine, what they want to hear from you is how attractive they are, how you like their hair, make-up, clothes, dangling earrings or anything else they have put on.

Some down sides of sanguine are; they are not normally goal oriented, waste time and forget obligations.Sanguines are frequently not disciplined, and this is, of course, very difficult for the third personality type called melancholy to understand. Sanguines wear their "heart on their sleeve", but they very easily “forgive and forget”. As quickly as a Sanguine will discover a new hobby or pursuit, that love of it can be lost when it ceases to be engaging or fun.  

What Next?

Are you a Sanguine? Tell me some of your weaknesses and strengths; in my next post I talk about the Choleric temperament

Simple Ways to Keep Your Mind Sharp

The importance of keeping your mind sharp cannot be overstated. We’re all part of a fantastic intellectual and information economy, which thrives on ideas, creativity and intelligence. Keeping your mind sharp is sure to give you the edge over the competition, and more importantly lead to your own higher levels of happiness.

When your mind is in top shape, you will:

• Have greater motivation and focus
• Get more done
• Come up with more creative ideas
• Find inspiration more often
• Remember more
• Experience a better life

I’d like to share a few practices I’ve found are extremely beneficial in keeping my mind sharp and can help you as well:

1) Continue reading, absorbing knowledge and experiencing culture
Sorry to use a clichéd quote, but education is not preparation for life, education is life itself.It should be something pleasurable and done for intrinsic reasons above all else. Read blogs on subjects both within your field and in new fields you know nothing about; read books; watch lectures on fascinating new subjects; read about ancient societies; take in a new form of art you’ve never experienced; you get the idea. Challenge your mind to continually broaden your horizon and soak up new information like an infinite sponge (that’s pretty much what it is, you should use it to do just that).

2) Learn a skill or craft you’ve never tried before like playing an instrument, composing music, painting, building a model airplane, or even coding computer programs. 
Engage your mind in learning a new skill. You’re never too old to do this, but this is definitely something you should start as young as you can. I started composing my own music at around 17, and in retrospect I wish I had started even younger. You’d be surprised how much learning a new skill will open up many new paths in your mind and help you become even better at whatever you are already an expert at. You’ll also open yourself up to tons of new connections and intellectual social circles by engaging yourself in a new hobby, form of art, or trade.

3) To improve memory don’t write everything down
If you can, try this for a week: write down everything you need to do at the beginning of the week, as you normally would, but take your list and put it out of sight. Instead of keeping that list visible at your desk, internalize your projects and simply remember and know what needs to be done, prioritize it in your mind, and do it. Your brain is extremely powerful and you’ll find that, in time, you may not have to write anything down to remember everything (you can still keep a list for reference, but it’s great not to need it).

4) Give your mind time to assimilate knowledge
We live in a culture where we are constantly experiencing and learning new things and taking in new information. This is a great thing, I’m not going to go into the information overload spiel, I don’t really believe in that anyway (you are in total control over how much information you take in at once). But in your process of absorbing new skills, knowledge and life experiences; internal analysis of yourself, what you have learned and where you are going is vital to put everything in proper perspective. Some people do it well during running, others through listening to music, and some people through making art. Find your own place that allows you to assimilate all you have learned and frequent it often.

5) Eat well, sleep well and exercise often
Giving your mind the proper rest and energy is essential to getting the best performance out of it. This one is pretty self explanatory, but people often forget that you need proper fuel and proper rest to function optimally. Also, putting your physical body through the paces is a surefire way to rejuvenate yourself mentally. If you’re ever feeling stressed, out of inspiration, or depressed, a few days of nutritious food, good sleep and vigorous exercise will put you back to your full self soon enough.

CreditAdam Singer

Our Greatest Fear —Marianne Williamson

It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other

people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of
God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.

—Marianne Williamson

EXPOSING THE NUMBER 13

The number 13 has been unlucky for centuries. Some historians peg the superstition to the 13 people who attended the Last Supper (neither Jesus nor Judas came out of that one O.K.), in the States most tall building do not have the 13^th floor, ancient Babylon's Code of Hammurabi omits the number 13 in its list of laws, so the superstition dates back to at least 1700BC. 

Biblical interpretations of numbers suggest the number 13 not to be a good one. To write 13 in Hebrew you write two words (yod-gimel).These signify the hand (outworking) of pride. The number 13 speaks of rebellion and depravity. The first occurrence of the number 13 is found in Genesis 14:4, that signifies a time of rebellion:

“Twelve year they had served Chedorlaomer,but in the thirteen year they rebelled”

There were 13 tribes of Israel, including Levi, after Joseph received the double portion with two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh. And when the tribes were given their inheritance in Canaan, there were 13 inheritances as well. But Levi received no inheritance and Manasseh received a double portion, one on each side of the Jordan. These show the rebellious heart of Israel after the flesh.

In Mark 7:21-23, Jesus lists 13 sins that proceed out of the heart of a carnal man.The word ‘dragon’ appears 13 times in book of Revelation.In Joseph’s dream, there were 13 elements mentioned; the sun, moon and the eleven stars (Gen 37:9).He told the dream to his father and brothers, and Jacob said to him ,”What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother  and I and your brothers indeed bow down to the earth before you?” Because of this dream, Joseph’s brothers envied him.

Although the number 13 has so much myth surrounding it, Bible says in Job 22:28 : ²⁸ Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.

Begin declaring what you what to see happen in your life this year. Proverbs 23:18: “For surely there is a future hope; and your expectation shall not be cut off.”

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL! 

To Whom It May Concern

Today, I woke up with anxiety written all over me, though it was a day to make merry; I could not lift up high my voice to sing praises to my God. The birds keep chirping on a nearby tree close to   the windows, the lovely fresh air blowing across the room; but my countenance was down. “It’s your birthday Emma, quicken yourself and be happy”, I said to myself. ”What is there to be happy about; the desires of my hearts have still not being met”, I questioned. With a huge sigh, I thank God for another day he has added to my life and hopes of a brighter tomorrow. However, one question that never stopped to beat at the door of my mind was simple: “What on Earth Am I Here for?”

What on Earth Am I Here for!; am I  here to just exist and see the passing of days, months and years; and finally  depart with loved ones singing dirges at my grave(loved ones who may never had shown their love to me when I was alive)? Definitely not; suddenly in the silent of my heart I whispered out these words:

• I was born to be a change agent; every single  person that comes my path; I will  unlock their  potentials ,they will  intend brings out the best in the people they come across and together transform the ailing society we find ourselves in.
• I was born to bring hope to the hopeless, the words from my mouth and songs from my lips will assure people there is going to be a brighter day.
•  I was born to challenge the status quo; raise a generation of nay Sayers, and proclaim the message  of salvation to all and sundry.

·         Today I live not for myself but for the souls that will be left behind years after I am no more,   

My name is EmmanuelFordjour Kumah; I am not like any other person you’ve come across; so don’t compare me with anyone. On this day was I born; God has a purpose for my life and with every single day, I will search for that purpose.

If you have read this article to this far, please don’t wait till I DIE to show me love. My birthday gift from you is simple: A PRAYER, A BLESSING, Caring heart and of course lots of WISHES on my FB wall. STAY BLESSED ,SEE YOU on TOP,HAPPY XMAS and Thank you ABBA FATHER

You can become an Entrepreneur if...

Last month, I had a chat with an old school mate who took advantage of his Boss leave abroad to start his own business. Another good friend of mine stumbled into blogging some years back and now operates one of the finest web development firms in the Ashanti Region. Few years ago, whiles pursuing my national service, a friend and I decided to venture into the  unknown  to become the Entrepreneurs we  have all being talking of; our ideas, plans and visions are gradually seeing the light  of the day. In my conversation with many young entrepreneurs, there are clear evidences everyone can become an Entrepreneur. Today, I share with you some surprising signs that will catapult you into the world of entrepreneurship. If you are ready; let’s begin.

• Hate the Status Quo – It doesn't make sense to you that something has been done the time-honored way with no explanation why. You are not someone who wants to just go through the motions or sit by idly. Nor do you like following the pack.
• Easily Bored - You find yourself easily bored, and others start viewing you as a problem. But nothing is wrong with you except that you are bored with activities that aren't up to your abilities and aren't challenging. That's why you hated most of the classes you ever attended. Think Bill Gates who dropped out of college to become one of the richest men in the world.
• Fired from Jobs – You're too creative for your own good when it comes to working for others, and you may have some history, as I do, of losing jobs. Being just a cog in wheel is very difficult for you because you want to create something others can be inspired by and contributes to.
• Labelled a Rebel - You know that greatness resides outside the lines of conformity and don't think that policies, laws and regulations apply to you. You have been described as a rebel and rule breaker and would defy gravity if you could. 
• Ready to Improve Everything - You always see how you could do things better. In addition, you are opinionated and freely give your two-cents about your better way of doing things--even when you're not asked. 
• Don't Fit the Norm - You have always been a bit uncomfortable in your own skin. Until you get used to the idea that you are in fact different from most people, it could prove to be a problem--or exactly the motivation you need to acknowledge the entrepreneur screaming to get out.
• Obsessive - You may have been labelled obsessive/compulsive because when you get started on something you have difficulty letting go. Don't let anyone convince you that this is a disease or deficiency. All of the great entrepreneurs become completely immersed in their vision. Howard Schultz stuck with Starbucks even when his family tried to persuade him not to.

What Next?

Do you see yourself in any of the above signs? Then I bet you are an Entrepreneur in the making. Drop me your feedback and let the world support you in your endeavor.

Credit; Grant Cardone

Why Do Some People Achieve their Goals whilst Others Fail?

Last week Thursday,I  sat   closely by my TV and watched with  keen eyes as some outstanding youths were honored at the just ended National Youth Achievers’ Award. From excellence in  Academic endeavour to excellence in ICT innovation  (Grabbed by our own DerryDean Dadzie of Dream Oval Ltd), enthusiastic youth walked up on stage to receive what I describe as  a taste of greater things to happen in their lives. As I watched, one thing that kept  moving through my mind was this; “Why do some people achieve their goals while others fail?” I believe it's because successful people manage to overcome  barriers that, in many cases, guarantee failure. So I went digging for these barriers, and these are what I got:

1. Uninspiring Goals

When most people set goals, they envision a "thing," such as a particular amount of money, an object (like a new car), or a specific achievement (like writing a book). Unfortunately, these "things I'm gonna get or do" goals don't appeal to the core of what motivates them,  they therefore  miss the point .To be successful  in life, emphasis should be placed more on how you feel when you achieve the goal rather than envisioning a “thing” as the goal. That way, you'll be inspired to do whatever it takes (within legal and ethical bounds) to achieve that goal.

2. Fear of Failure

Nothing cripples a man more than the thought of failure. If you're afraid of failing, you won't take the necessary risks required to achieve your goal. For example, when I applied for my current job, I was so much afraid of making the first call to follow up on the application letter because I knew I may not have the required skill set to work in such an environment. The fear of failure won’t let you quit your dead-end job,nor start your own business . To overcome this, just know that failure is an inevitable ingredient for success and use it as a stepping stone to greater heights.

3. Fear of Success

In many ways, this fear is even more debilitating than the fear of failure. Suppose you achieved something spectacular, like enormous wealth. What if it didn't make you happy? What then? What if you ended up losing all of it? What then? Would your friends start acting weird? Would your family be envious? Such thoughts (and they're common) can cause even a highly motivated person to self-sabotage.My advice to you is not  to entertain such fears; we become what we repeatedly think most of the time, if you are afraid of being successful, you would never be.

4. An Unrealistic Timetable

Most people vastly overestimate what they can do in a week and vastly underestimate what they can do in a year. Because of this, most people try to cram too many action items into the short term rather than spacing out activities over the long term. The inability to get all the short-term steps accomplished creates discouragement and the impression that the final goal is slipping away.To help you fix this, try the 20/80 rule: schedule only the 20% of the activities that will produce 80% of your results

5. Worrying About "Dry Spots"

It's easy to get discouraged when you reach a point at which nothing you do seems to advance you toward your goal. For example, suppose you're trying to master a certain skill(hmm a stage i have reached myself);you make swift progress at first but then, after a while, it seems as if you're not doing any better, or maybe a little worse. Some people use these "plateaus" or "dry spots" as an excuse to give up and therefore fail.

Whenever you reach a plateau or dry spot, it's time to celebrate rather than give up. A plateau is almost always a sign that you're on the brink of a major breakthrough, if you just have the patience to stick with it and trust that you'll eventually achieve your goal.

What Next?

Guess  i have helped you overcome those common barriers preventing you from reaching the top? Let me hear your thoughts

Credit:Geoffrey James

Killing the Dream Killers

Dream Killers

I woke up today only to realise it is the 1^st of October, 2012- two more months to the end of the year! Suddenly my countenance dropped, I failed to see the rising morning sun that greets  me when  I open the  doors, nor did I even hear the birds sing, not to talk of singing along with them in recognition of what lovely day my maker has bestowed on me. “What happened to all those dreams, those beautiful plans I drew out during the start of the year with so much excitement and hope?” I said. What about you, what happened to your dreams? Or didn’t you have a dream? Everyone has a dream at one point in their lives, days go by, but there is just this one thing that you want to do before the end of the year, that thing that you want for yourself and believe would make you happy. Do you remember it? Have you been able to accomplish it?

Today, I would like to help you achieve those dreams even before the clock strikes 31^st December, 2012.Join me, as we identify some of the major dream killers in our life and kill those dream killers. Yes, we don’t just want to point out the dream killers, but we want to know how to get rid of these dream killers. By sharing with you, it would give me the impetus to achieve those dreams I set out for myself before the beginning of the year, so let’s go along and kill those dream killers

Below are some of the most common dream killers I have found and how to get rid of them

• Fear

William Allen White said,” I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today” Fear of the unknown, fear of failure is one of the major reason people do not accomplish their dreams, they are afraid that when they step out and walk , they would fall on the first step. They are afraid of what people might say if things don’t go right, hence they never try. Fear is only false evidence that may become real if you permit it. So how do you kill fear? Rise up and do, the only way to know if that dream is possible is not in contemplating on the dream but by taking action, once you take the first step, all false evidence seizes completely.

• Fire Extinguishers

Fire extinguishers are group of people particularly friends and close relatives who specialise in quenching every little spark of fire in our life. You have a dream, a desire you want to see accomplished, immediately you talk to these people about your plans, they talk you down. They would give you 101 reasons why that dream cannot be achieved, and even cite examples of those who tried following that same path you want to go and failed. How do you kill them? Avoid the fire extinguishers, be careful the kind of people you share dreams with. Only share dreams with people you trust would be of immense help.

• Low self –Esteem

People with low self esteem don’t dream, even if they do they have a very low image of themselves that, they do not see how “they” can accomplish those dreams. They come out with great plans, ask them to implement it and they think they can. They would normally say, “me, how can I do that, I am too…” and bring out a pile of reasons why they can’t. Kill your low self esteem, no one is better than you, smarter than you or more intelligent than you, change the picture you have of yourself and achieving dreams would be second nature.

• Laziness

At last, the biggest dream killer: laziness! Laziness comes in many forms –it may be losing your inspiration, procrastination, tiredness, lost of motivation. You put things to be done now away, hoping that there would be a more convenient time, and they never get done. Success has no room for lazy people; you need to find ways of staying focused and inspired. Whenever you feel lazy about doing something, just pick  piece of paper and ask yourself, “Do  it now?”, if you feel a strong urge to procrastinate, it is an indication  you are becoming lazy get up and do that particular thing and you would realise you would achieve your dreams much easier

What Next?

Do you know of any dream killers in your life? How were you able to go pass them to accomplish your dream s? Share with us

Developing a Vision

the vision

Some few weeks ago, I called a friend of mine to congratulate him on a new role he has picked up in the church. At age 25, his passion for the Lord and love for the flocks our Lord God has left in our charge has seen his elevation to be part of the new elected Elders of the Church. As we kept on talking; he drew my attention on the possibility of me taking over as the leader of the youth ministry in church because he may have to resign that position to make time for a higher calling.

After the conversation, I kept on thinking of how I am going to lead the Lord’s people if the mantle is handed to me. “How do I develop, carry and spread this vision to the people I would be put in charge of? “, I kept asking myself. One of the major challenges in the world today is the challenge of leadership; as one great speaker puts it, if you think you are leading, look behind you, you may only just be taking a walk.

In this post, I intend sharing with you bits and pieces of how you can develop a vision for the future.

What every leader must do.

The one quality that every leader must have is to have a clear and exciting vision for the future. Excellent leaders take time to think through and come out with a clear picture of where the organization would be in one, two, three and five years to come. The leader does not have the challenge of only developing the vision, but is faced with the challenge of communicating the vision to the followers. Come to think of it, of what use is a vision if people cannot buy into it?

Motivating the people to buy into the vision

The vision of future possibilities, of what can be, arouses motivation for people to give of their best. People only buy into visions if they have a clear picture of that vision, get the people involved in creating the vision; if they can see themselves in the vision, they would own it and run with it even in your absence. To encourage others and instil confidence in them you need to lead by example. Become enthusiastic of where the company or institution is heading, talk about the vision everywhere you meet your colleagues and let them give input into the vision. It could simply be like this, “So what do you think of us acquiring that piece of property as a new office complex? You would have a better office area to work in ”  Once the person sees himself in the vision , the fire sparks within and in no time , the whole office has caught up with these new wave of change in attitude and belief.

What next?

Project forward 3-5 years and imagine your ideal future vision, what does it look like? What steps can you take immediately to begin turning your future vision into your current reality?

Benefits of Life Long Learning

In my previous post , I defined what lifelong learning is and even went further to explore Growth learning and maintenance lifelong learning, You  know, man  is a creature of growth and anyone who has stopped learning have  actually stopped growing. We  live in a knowledge economy where the more you know the better it gets, however, what is more beneficial is not the knowledge acquired as knowledge is only potential power, the utilization of the knowledge is what makes the world we live a better place. Today, I would like to share with you some benefits of lifelong learning, but before that let’s just take a look at another type of lifelong learning .If you are ready, here we go:

• Shock learning

Brian Tracy defines this  type of learning as shock learning ,this is where something happens that contradicts or reverse a piece of knowledge or understanding that you already have, shock learning can be extremely valuable if you act upon it .Unfortunately, most people are creatures of habit. When something happens that is completely unexpected, they choose to ignore it in favour of the old information with which they are more comfortable.

Now a look at some of the benefits of lifelong learning:

• Lifelong learning develops our natural abilities

We are all born with innate abilities; someone may be naturally good at singing, or running a 100 metre race and coming top every time. However, it takes conscious effort and time to develop these natural abilities. A self motivated conscious pursuit of knowledge would unlock certain potentials within us and sharpen the abilities we already have

•  Lifelong learning helps us adapt to the changing society

Society is constantly changing, with the outburst of technology, what you knew some ten years ago would be obsolete. Some years gone past, the most common medium of communication across countries was through the snail mail. Fast forward into the 21^st century, and man has been able to break the communication gap, sitting behind your laptop you are able to communicate with people of varying race. Lifelong learning enables you to adapt yourself to these changes brought by technology.

•  Lifelong learning creates a curious, hungry mind.

There is a big world  out there- new inventions waiting to be discovered, countries yet to  be explored, and books yet to be written. Dedicating yourself to lifelong learning creates within an hungry mind, our drive and desire to learn fuels itself and we keep going, constantly looking for more to feed our hungry minds.

What Next?

Don’t let it stop here, challenge yourself to growth by feeding on new resources each passing day. Be eager for knowledge, and you would realise that; the more you know the better it gets

Why you must always learn

Henry Ford once said “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” I’m sure I am part of the very few who believes that learning still continues when one is out of school. Today, it is uncommon to see people who are out of school reading any relevant material accept for some newspaper article a friend may have recommended or glancing through the pages of a popular magazine they might have picked out on their way from town. To prove my point, when was the last time you read a complete book? I’m not talking about a novel, or a fiction book but a good book that after going through the first few pages you learn something valuable that contributes to your personal and professional development.

In the 21^st century, which is also termed the information or technological age; your success in life is dependent on your ability to expand your mind and strive for continuous education. That is why I recommend lifelong learning; lifelong learning helps you to leapfrog ahead of the competition making you a top notch in your field.

In this post, I intend sharing with you some benefits of lifelong learning; come to think of it how would you benefit from this post if you have no clue of what lifelong learning is?

Before I delve deep into the waters, let’s take few minutes to understand what lifelong learning is and even go further to investigate the different types of education you can have whether deliberately or in random haphazard fashion.

What is lifelong learning (LLL)?

Wikipedia defines lifelong learning as the lifelong, voluntary, and self-motivated pursuit of knowledge for either personal or professional reasons. As such, it not only enhances social inclusion, active citizenship and personal development but also competitiveness and employability.

From the above definition, I believe the starting point  for lifelong learning is the desire to learn and acquire knowledge from every angle, a person dedicated to lifelong learning  has the drive to not only go seek for knowledge but to do something with the knowledge acquired. Lifelong learning is not only confined to the classroom, but takes place throughout life and in a range of situations.

Having talked about lifelong learning taking place throughout all phases of life and in a range of situations; let’s take a brief look at some of the different types of lifelong learning.

• Maintenance Learning

Maintenance learning can be likened to going to the gym and doing a light physical exercise to keep you at a particular level of fitness; it does not necessarily increase your fitness level or improve your condition in any way. Maintenance learning would therefore be defined as a way of keeping current with your field by reading an occasional book and subscribing to current magazines and newsletters in your field.

• Growth Learning

You can also consider another type of learning that is geared towards adding knowledge and skills to your repertoire that you did not have before. For instance, if you decide to learn some basic computing skills to help expand your business relation with your prospective customers or decide to learn another language to help you communicate with foreign clients who do not speak English or any native language that form of learning is growth learning One good thing about growth learning is that it helps you expand your mind and you acquire information that you did not have before to enable you to do things that you could not do before. I have been a major beneficiary of growth learning; I always go the extra mile to empty my pocket just to fill my head with new knowledge geared towards my career enhancement

What Next?

Which of the learning processes do you involve yourself in? Please drop me your comment. In my next post we take a closer look at the benefits of Lifelong learning

A Leader with a Purpose: Biblical Leadership

Hi, hope you are enjoying my post on the Biblical perspective of leadership? In my last post I began with integrity as a trait of a good leader with emphasis on Samuel’s speech to his people.

(1Samuel 12:1-8)

leadership

 

Today, I would like to share with you other common traits of great leaders, culled from the book, The Bible on Leadership. It is often said that, show me a leader without a goal and I would show you a man with a boat and nowhere to go.One outstanding trait of great leaders is purpose. A leader with a purpose does not only accomplish much but sets the fire in others to carry on. Purposeful leaders are not self centered, people are his priority, their needs are his needs, and he sells his hopes and aspirations with his followers and goes the extra mile to put smiles on their faces. Unfortunately in our society today, we just have positional leadership who obviously lack clear sense of where they are heading the flocks to. When a leader is dedicated to a purpose, and when the entire ‘troops’ see that dedication is unwavering and ‘‘for real,’ great things happen.

I remember, some years ago, my local church was struggling to complete its building, past Church leaders failed to accomplish this task until we had a great leader whose single purpose was to finish the completion of the church building before the end of his administration as a resident minister. He was so committed to the project that in six months, the job was done. How come? The members identified with the vision of the leader and when they did, great things happened.

King David, faced with the daunting task of the construction of a temple, handed it over to his son Solomon, who admittedly lacked experience in the construction business. But David had also given himself wholeheartedly to this project: ‘‘With all my resources have I provided for the temple . . . gold for the gold work, silver for the silver . . . bronze . . . iron . . . onyx . . . stones of various colors. Besides I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple . . . Now who is going to consecrate himself today to the Lord?’’ (1 Chron. 29:2–5)

What David really meant was, ‘‘Who is going to buy into my vision and join hands with me” Like King David, every leader should have a  purpose road map so that in their absence competent successors can carry on with all uncompleted projects. Is it the same in our churches and even our nation? One Government fails to complete a project and the successor doesn’t see it as their priority, they begin chatting their own course. Church leaders and administrators come into office with their own agenda and vision, leaving the formers works untouched till they are true with their plans. Should this be the situation?

Great leaders with great purposes always face obstacles and opposition. Consider Nehemiah rebuilding process when he heard Jerusalem was in ruin. The colonial officials in Jerusalem ridiculed and opposed Nehemiah’s efforts to rebuild the wall. Tobiah the Ammonite chortled, ‘‘what they are building—if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones.’’ And Sanballat the Horonite chimed in, ‘‘what are those feeble Jews doing? . . . Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble— burned as they are?’’

(Neh. 4:2–3). One key indicator of a purposeful leader is the challenge and opposition you would face in trying to implement something of significance.

This just goes to show you that if your purpose is good and worthwhile, you will probably have some vocal opponents.