(SERIES 5) 15 CRITICAL LESSONS I LEARNT IN 2013

LESSON 10 OF 2013: Every business man or woman would understand that when you are about to start a new business, there are three things you need to have in place to put the business together. 1) The right people. 2) The right opportunities. 3) The money.

There are many people that wait for these 3 conditions to manifest before they start something up even when they have fantastic IDEAS (many ideas have died waiting). I remember vividly that when I was about to start SEA Publication, there was no perfect opportunity, the money was not available in surplus and the right people were not forthcoming so I decided to use the available resources within my environment to complement my fantastic idea. Today, people have started volunteering to work with the publication and opportunities have started coming. If I had waited then, the IDEA would have died in my mind.

Like I would always tell myself, the only thing that can limit me is I MYSELF. The way I see things determine how they affect me. If all I see is impossibility, everything I do would be impossible to achieve. If all I see around me are problems, I would never be able to see meaningful opportunities.

So rather than waste my time looking at situations from a point of view that would not move me to the next level as a person, I would rather restrategise and change the perspective from which I see things. Remember the LESSON, all you need is an idea (plus the utilisation of the available resources within your disposal) to start something reasonable.

LESSON 11 OF 2013: You cannot be better than the people you spend most of your time with (you are the average of the 5 best people you spend most of your time with). I realised that one of the major reasons why I lived an unpleasant and unproductive life before was because of the friends I walked, ate and talked with.

Around March, I decided to change friends. I dropped majority of the almost useless friends and I opted for people that could rub their positive attitudes and lifestyle on me. People I could share ideas and experience with, people that could give loaded advise that would move my life to the next level. Today I am more productive, more responsible, more efficient and more reliable because I changed the people that surrounded me.

If you realise that your life is not moving the way its supposed to, then it is time to check the kind of friends you keep. What impact are they actually making in your life? If their impact is making your life move backwards then you must realise that you need to cut of the friendship before it cuts you off your purpose. Act fast just like I did and you would be happy with the outcome.

Note: Don’t drop people that are of no impact to you and go ahead to pick up new friends of the same calibre with the old ones. Remember, you desire a change and it must start now. Be wise!!!

LESSON 12 OF 2013: Year 2013, I learnt about the “law of correspondence” from a book written by Brian Tracy, titled Creating Your Future. The law says that your outer world tends to be a picture image of your inner word. What is going on outside of you is a reflection or manifestation of what is going on inside of you.

That law made me realize the words of one of my mentors, Titilayo Femi Kings. He would always talk about IMAGINATION . He would say you have the ability to be in Germany even when you are in Nigeria if you can picture it in your mind (see the picture in your mind).
Successful people are very conversant with this success tip.

Always remember, until you picture it in your mind, it would never become a reality. If you desire to have a car next year, picture yourself in your mind in this particular car of your choice and envision yourself driving the car. You would realise that the more you picture this car, the more you work towards fulfilling the dream of owning this car.

The mind is very powerful and it works well for those that utilize it well.

— Copyright © 2013 Seun Emmanuel Alaofin