Forgotten Diaries

Saving your savings: An Extract caption from R-EDx Int'l Journal “Sadly, many children are not financially literate as their parents do not consider this important. To compound the problem, the curriculum of most schools does not include financial education. Therefore, the only time that most children get exposed to money matters is when they are much older. No wonder they struggle with their finances when they start working.” (Adewale Ajayi – Money Matters: Your Children & Finances) It is pertinent to know that many people have fallen victim of being slave to money and financial resources. If you are controlled by money rather than controlling your money, then this content will be really helpful. So many adult lack the ability to manage any monetary/financial resources committed to them and that is why I would like to share some tips I learnt about a year ago while struggling to manage the very little resource in my possession. “First thing you should know is t

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is beauty, admire it. Life is bliss, taste it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a duty, complete it. Life is a game, play it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is sorrow, overcome it. Life is a song, sing it. Life is a struggle, accept it. Life is a tragedy, confront it. Life is an adventure, dare it. Life is luck, make it. Life is too precious, do not destroy it. Life is life, fight for it.                                                                       

Worry not my friend, tremble not Your parent may be humble, average class or they might be super rich It may not necessarily determine the aftermath of your successes. The world is not friendly, especially because you are not trendy Your palms are dry and you feel you are behind the bars Be not discouraged, be not bothered Life will get more interesting, only if you can hang on a little more. Do not be a loser, rather use your failure to boost your success The most successful people in the world have a powerful failure story behind. We only admire them because no one will talk about their failures until they are successful Sometimes you feel like taking your life, so many times you wonder why you are in this country Be not dismayed, startle not cos its all gonna be over soon. Be positive and always motivate yourself with positive affirmations like "i can do this", "I will do this", "I can achieve this"... Your academic performance looks v

Show me a man who is expedient, jovial, outspoken, diligent, ambidextrous and upright then I will bring to you Charles Coker. A young man with vision, mission and a great ambition. He is humble, openhearted, hardworking and highly enthusiastic Charles, Coker As much as he is a brainard, he is also a fashionista. I have seen only very few people who keeps a 100% social life (actively on instagram, facebook, whatsapp etc) and still have outstanding grades and results in their academics. Charles Coker happens to be one of those best personalities I have met in the last one year upon my strategic relocation to Lagos, winning so many social media challenges yet keeping up with top notch grades at school. It all started from the point he was designated as my buddy (work-buddy). He is a very free person to be with, always ready to put you through whatsaover seems arduous to you. Charles is not just kind, he is also completely harmless. A zealous lover of integrity. He happens to

A great man once said, “The best way to hide something from a black man is to put it in a book". This is unambiguously the truth, an average Nigerian (either student, youth or adult) basically read just to pass exams, immediately after which reading is over except if there are other exams ahead. How often do we read other healthy book? How often do we schedule time for our personal development? Do we even have a library to make reference too? Pause, think and reflect on this. Benjamin Franklin said in one of his quotes that "You either write something worth reading or do something worth writing". It is important for you to know that your reading life has a lot more to contribute to your success as an individual. Books basically express the mind of different writers and authors, while some are healthy and soul nourishing, others are not and we can easily depict the good from the bad. Hence, we as much as I would encourage us to ... THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS!!!

If you fail, your excuse is irrelevant, If you pass, your mistakes are irrelevant. Either way, just make sure you do the needful. Succeed in all - Richard O.A

Yomi Olugbenro (Partner,  West AfricaTax Leader at Deloitte) For young professionals and job seekers: Are you fit for purpose? Would you hire you? I’ve been reflecting over my recent experiences while interacting with fresh graduates and how inadequately prepared they are for the corporate world. There’s crisis brewing as we unleash more into the labour market without the needed capacity and mentality. We seems to talk quite often about unemployment issues in the country, but the challenge of “unemployability” is far bigger. Many job seekers approach interviews for which they are blatantly incompetent with entitlement mentality. The words of Dr Salami at the recent Deloitte in Dialogue on Nigeria Economic Outlook 2018 (#DeloitteNEO18) on our labour force’s “fitness for purpose” brought back the memory few days back. We claimed to have large and cheap labour force but we do not fully appreciate the competence gap. We could blame it on the education policy and/or the school s

You can offer your ideas to people as bullets or as seeds In one way or the other, your efforts at helping someone to change may fail, worsen, alienate them, unless you approach them in love and humility. Most people already know what their problem is. Chances are they’ve been grappling with it fora while, and deep down they want to do better. And unless you’re prepared for a ‘Who-are-you-to-tell-me’ response, you’ve got to approach them in the right way.  Former U.S. Senate Chaplain Richard Halverson writes: ‘You can offer your ideas to people as bullets or as seeds. You can shoot them or sow them. Ideas used as bullets kill inspiration and motivation. Ideas used as seeds take root, grow, and bear fruit in the life in which they are planted. But there’s a risk: once it becomes part of those in whom it’s planted, you’ll probably get no credit for originating the idea. But if you’re willing to do without the credit…you’ll reap a rich harvest.’ So the word for you today is: take t

"If you occupy a position without having value to add to others, you are only wasting space" -  Richard O.A

"When you have a set-back in any circumstance, do not think of taking a step-back neither should you push-back, but endeavor to knock-back & take a deep breath, while your mind be  unwavering, let God plan a come-back" - Richard O.A

It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one, than to have one and not be prepared for it. - Richard O.A

A broken pencil with a new phase of life. "Success is not final, failure is not fatal; It is the courage to continue that counts." Recently, I deeply researched about the reasons why we fail and the lessons we learn (or ought to have learnt) from such failures. In this light, I would like to share a personal experience. In 2006, I partook in an international exam of which I failed woefully. I can remember I was in the junior class in college then. The effect of that exam's result was so traumatic that I became completely abashed with everything around me. Friends whose assumptions is that I cannot pass the exam were elated because they didn't pass too. We all failed! But then, I was astonished when I came about this broken pencil's ✏️ picture again last year. I remembered how the sight of the picture proffered a permanent solution to the 1,001 thoughts in my mind back then. I grabbed my pen as I began to outpour my mind inside my notepad. Yet, I w

Written by: Richard Okunola Have you ever wondered what hiring managers are thinking as they read over your resume (CV), and how they choose whom to interview and whom to reject? This early screening is generally pretty straightforward on the employer side of the process. Here's a look at what most hiring managers are thinking about as they read through your resume and cover letter, and how they decide whom to invite to interview. How closely do you match the must-have and nice-to-have qualifications for the job?  Every job has certain "must-have" qualifications – core requirements for skills or experience that you must have. Most also have "nice-to-have" qualifications that the hiring manager would like to find, but which are more flexible than the must-haves. The first thing most hiring managers will look for when reviewing your resume is how well you match up with each of those lists. If you're missing a must-have, you're probably not moving

Written by: Richard Okunola In 1960, President J.F. Kennedy of the United States called together scientists, head of airlines and engineers and gave them an assignment; land an American on the moon in the next ten years. Nobody had done it before. How they would do it nobody knew. All they had was a goal and a promise of all they would need. They beat their target by one year and landed someone in the moon by 1969. Professional Colleagues A Goal is a dream with a deadline... If you fell yesterday, stand up and keep moving today Have you dared to set a goal? How to achieve it is not the problem. The way God designed life is for you to decide what you want.  Many people do not set goals because they do not know how they are going to get provision and some are afraid of not being able to achieve such goals. But that is not the way it works. The style is to decide " what" you want and then God will supply the " how"  to get it. I want us to go int

Written by: Richard Okunola. Looking at the recent phenomenon and day-to-day struggles and hustles all in a bid to attain success. It is obvious and evident that so many people (including me and you) are beginning to lose hope. From turmoils to traumatic experiences leading to sturm und drang, we no longer harbour hope. We lost hope long time ago because we are saddened by our inability to procure and secure the future. In fact to some, it looks like the daily stress and hustles may never end as the future we have always looked up to since juvenescence has been impaired and no longer in-view. Some have completely lost hope because there is always one need or the other they desired but are unable to achieve. The failure to possess these goals timely has cost them lots of proclivity for shabby options. As a student, you see your mates/colleagues achieving good grades, doing very well in academics, they finish school and unfortunately could not get a lucrative job. You loo

Real people use Real Names - Richard Okunola About 90% of the real great people in the world use their real names (e.g Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Robert Kiyosaki, Stephen Covey, Yemi Osinbajo, Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Jacob Zuma, Bob Gass, etc . I observed that most people who change their names/initials on Facebook and other social media platforms do so because they are not proud of that name their parent gave them at birth, forgetting that it is the bedrock of their success in life. Changing or customizing your real name does not change your personality. And that's the more reason why you should consider having a nickname instead of changing your real name. Be prepared for greatness, "Real People use Real Names" - Richard Okunola

Written by: Richard Okunola It was a cold evening in November 24, 1895 The Struggle for Success - Episode 1 Tayo the son of Odegbami (a popular name for hunters in Yoruba land - a local tribe in Nigeria) decided to go hunting for bushmeat. The weather looks calm at first and then it began to drizzle. Tayo fastened his wrist watch as he glanced at it to verify the time. It was exactly 6pm, he picked up his newly sharpened Cutlass and headed straight to Igbonla (the local name for jungle in Yoruba). He didn't waste much time before he got hold of 2 big hares. Very elated, he kept them in his hunting bag as he continued to wallow in euphoric mindset of captivating a much bigger bush meat ( daging semak) . Gbosa!! Gbosa!! It was a gunshot from nowhere. Tayo fell to the ground as he struggled to hold his breathe. It was another great gaffe from Mr Ikechi the reckless Hunter who was to be banished from the village in the elders fortnight meeting. He has again stricken Tayo

When a confusing question meets a troubled mind, a confusing interpretation is digested and a wrong answer is projected. This wrong answer is called ' Phobia'  (Fear) - Calm your nerves - Let your mind be settled - Reduce your anxiety - Believe in yourself - Finally, take a deep breath and fire on. (Richard 's Theory of Handling Fear)

Think about it. If you want something, go after it. Get the answer now or fail the question later.

Success Habits Successful student exhibits a combination of successful attitudes and behavior as well as intellectual capacity.

"Knowledge without understanding is the same as Ignorance" The beginning of Wisdom is: get Wisdom (skillful and godly Wisdom)! [For skillful and godly Wisdom is the principal thing.] And with all you have gotten, get understanding (discernment, comprehension, and interpretation). Proverbs 4:7 AMPC

"One of the few steps to becoming successful is to ignore pleasure of leisure hours" - Richard Okunola

Whatever the position you occupy in life, you are a potential mentor to someone whether you are aware of it or not

"If a food has no taste, we add salt to it. But if salt has no taste, what do we do to it?" Note: People value you in the extent to which you add value to them.

"Until you recognize the fact that people are not perfect, you may never know that love means forgiving imperfection"

"If you are gonna build a relationship with anyone, you must be ready to swallow your pride and remain forever humble"

People are intrigued when they see good things happening in the lives of individuals, families, and organizations that are based on solid principles. They admire such personal strength and maturity, such family unity and teamwork, such adaptive synergistic organizational culture and their immediate request is very revealing of their basic paradigm. " How do you do it ? Teach me the techniques. " What they're really saying is, "Give me some quick fix advice or solution that will relieve the pain in my own situation."

You cannot pretend for long, for you will eventually be found out. Admission of ignorance is often the first step in our education. Henry David Thoreau taught, "How can we remember our ignorance, which our growth requires, when we are using our knowledge all of the time?"

If you don't let a teacher know what level you are -- by asking a question, or revealing your ignorance -- you will not learn or grow.

In life, it is quite difficult to create a work-life balance for people, hence leading to displeasure in work and frustration in achieving goal/targets. Let’s take a practical example. Yourself and Productivity In Economics, the law of Diminishing Returns, also called ''Principle of diminishing marginal productivity', states that if one input in the production of a commodity is increased while all other inputs are held fixed, a point will eventually be reached at which additions of the input will yield progressively smaller i.e the more and more you consume a particular commodity, the less satisfaction you will derive when you are filled up. You can drink up to 5 bottles of Coke continuously at the same time but it will get to a stage where an additional intake will/would cause a problem. At this point, you pause to take a break. This is exactly what this article is all about. You must learn to manage your time appropriately so as not to lay your hands on t

"I wish i had known four years ago what i knew now, I would have taken career and college (University degree) planning more seriously" So many people at the expense of their desired course go for a cheaper course due to their inability to meet up with the requirements of their proposed ambition. I friend once told me " my major was easy and fun, but I cannot get a decent job"

"There is something so special about all the heroes, mentors, icons and celebrities that we admire."  These guys are just extremely focused individuals who discovered their purpose earlier and gave it the full attention required.

"Never ever look for a future partner unless you are sure of your own future"

"We are the instrument of our own performance"

"Do not wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and wait" - Adewale Ajayi The concept of investing in real estate implies that if you wait for a perfect time to invest, that perfect time might never come. Therefore, you must invest now that you have little and wait for that little to materialize and mature.

"As a lady if you have submitted to a man that is not submissive to God, you are in trouble" - Apostle Joshua Selman

"It is what you save that will increase your Net Worth" - Adewale Ajayi Any balance in your savings fund is likely your net worth. Hence, you need to transfer all balances in your emergency fund if unused to your savings at the end of the year.

"The farther you go down the wrong road, the harder it gets to find your way back"

"Good habits are hard to form but easy to live with while Bad habits are easy to form but hard to live with"

"Seek first to understand, then be understood" Integrity, Maturity and Abundance of Mentality helps us to understand others irrespective of our own perspective of seeing thing. We welcome other peoples' ideas and make a contribution or suggest a better viewpoint through intellectual initiative. Consideration for others provides courage for oneself because you will be considered important at all times if you seek to understand others.

"Before we start something we should always think about how to finish it first" So many people embark on journeys they can never complete and end up being stagnant - they can not go further neither could they afford to go backwards also. Hence, it is better to think about finishing before starting at all

"For you to win another person does not  have to lose, change the way you see things and we can all make a better world" There is abundance out there and i believe someone does not have to lose because i want to win alone

"To be successful you must have a vision, a mission and an objective"

"When you rise, everything around you rises but when you fake it, you portend not to leave that position till you admit that you are nobody yet"

"Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is going on around them, they stay focused"