NeverTheLess

Destiny Adventures with BMM Episode 11

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Tue, 15 Sep 2015 11:37:00 +0000

WHEN YOUR BEST IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 14:33:00 +0000

Lately, I have been inundated with so much that I have been trying my best to stay afloat. In this experience I found myself pushing to the background a lot of things that I needed to do because I was busy ‘trying my best’.

There is a ton of writing to do, rather than do it I have been ‘trying my best.’ Anytime someone asks me why I have not gotten any of the stuff done, I just give them the line that’ I am trying my best. Recently, it dawned on me that trying my best is what I say, when I am avoiding to do what is required of me. In order not to feel bad or indisciplined, I simply say I am doing my best.

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/agree-terms.php?id=10079332

Well, it doesn’t matter how much of’ my best’ I do; if it doesn’t meet the requirement, then my best just isn’t good enough then.

In living a dream, most of the stuff we will have to do on a daily basis are those things we will rather not do. I don’t feel like doing any writing today for instance, but it is required of me. After all, I am in the business of publishing and writing. I really do not feel like reading today either, nor do I feel like prepping for the next training… but you know what? All these are required of me if I will be a success.

If our personal best is good enough then there will be no need for standards whatsoever, but because we are human, sometimes, our best will not be good enough; at such times we must discipline ourselves to do what is required instead.

Here are a few tips that may help you focus on doing what is required for this week.

1. BE INTENTIONAL: Like I said, living a dream cannot only be dependent on what it is that we feel and ‘doing our best’. This is why intentionality is a gift we should give ourselves. Once you recognise that your best does not help actualise the fulfilment of the goal; it is time to be intentional. For instance, how am I going to tackle my writing lull? Tomorrow morning when I come in, I will do nothing else. I will take receive no visitors and I will not read my emails. I will sit at my desk and concentrate on writing for the first half of the day.

2. TACKLE THE HARD STUFF FIRST – Once you are determined and intentional, it means you have cleared your desk and are concentrating on the task at hand. The next step will be to list all that you are required to do. Then prioritise and tackle them from the hardest to the less difficult ones. In my case, I find that manuals are a lot harder to develop and write than manuscripts on life experiences. So once I settle in, I will stick with the manuals first. Hopefully, I will be able to deal with a few before I move on to the less difficult writings.

3. UTILISE YOUR MOST PRODUCTIVE TIME – Everyone has a most productive time of day. I find that mine is between 3.00 am and 10.00 am. And because there are a lot of things required of me that I am behind on, I will be scheduling some writing time within these hours. That means when I get up at 3.00 am, I will be dealing with the hardest tasks before I move to the easier ones. Rather than use this time to read as I have done lately, I will commit to using it to do some serious writing.

4. ELIMINATE TIME WASTERS; DELEGATE – Even though I said that there are stuff that are required of us that we must tackle, if we know how to delegate, some of these can be delegated to kick start the process. For instance concerning the training manuals I mentioned, I can develop the scope of the material and assign someone else to collate and have me vet at the end of the exercise. This way, I am free to deal with other required stuff.

5. THINK BIG PICTURE – Finally, always think big picture. What this means is you take time out to think about how accomplishing this required part of the work will impact positively upon that which you want to achieve. Remember what success will look like when it is all done and maybe even picture what it will be like should you not be able to get it all done. My thinking is that realising how not doing the required stuff can adversely affect our end result, is enough motivation to knuckle down and get it done.

The truth is that we will sometimes get in that place where our passion wanes and we are not exactly jumping over the moon to get our dreams moving. However, while we feel that way, we still have to keep moving until we get to the goal.

My prayer is that you will make it NeverTheLess. Because of your goal, remember that making it might mean doing not just what you feel like but even those you don’t feel like but are required of you.

Here is to your success!

Bidemi

HOW TO SUSTAIN YOUR WIN AND KEEP WINNING

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:53:00 +0000

Welcome! On today’s post, I want us to look at how to Sustain A Win and keep winning. Most of us have been blessed with success at different points, and while some of us have been able to sustain the win and continue to use them to spin off more success, some of us have lost the momentum that success brought with it and are back on the grind trying to make another success happen?
Question then is; how does one sustain a win, while continuing to win? Here are a few points you may find useful:

REMEMBER WHERE YOU ARE COMING FROM – These days where everyone is an expert at something even though most are just arm chair pundits; always knowing what is wrong never knowing how to fix it. It is extremely important that we don’t forget where it is that we have come. Remember when your dream was just an idea; never forget when nobody could see what you saw. Do you remember the days when you had to answer the phone by yourself, manufacture the product alone, market it and keep your books all by yourself? Do you remember why you always went back even when others thought you should give up? Well, all these came together to give the win you celebrate today. To sustain it therefore, it will be great if you always remembered that there was a day when you were small with no win in sight.
DON’T FORGET THOSE WHO BET ON YOU – Every business or dream when properly executed becomes big and successful. However, most times, they also evolve and find it cumbersome to do business with some types of clients and customers. Unfortunately, these were the clients who even though weren’t quite sure how far the business will go put themselves out for you anyway. Growing and succeeding to the point when they become ‘those people’ you don’t what to deal with anymore, is extremely risky. Because success attracts, the tendency is much bigger and established clients will come knocking… to be able to keep sustaining the wins however, we must give priority to those who went out on the limb for us when no one else would.
KEEP LEARNING TO KEEP IMPROVING – Yes you are now a win and for some a point of reference, but it is wise to recognise that you still have a lot to learn. One success or ten do not negate the fact that life is a forever learning school. So despite the wins you have today, ask yourself; ‘what else do I need to learn and from whom’? This is the only way to keep growing. Remember it is said that the day one stops growing, that day he begins to die.
BE CONTENT YET NOT SATISFIED – The very religious usually will quote that ‘godliness with contentment is great gain’. They use this scripture as the excuse not to want to grow beyond where they are; instead they keep revelling in out dated and expired wins. There is always new territory to conquer so if you want to sustain the win you have today and keep the winning streak, one thing you must do is to recognise that even though you are content with that which you have, it is okay to aim for more and want to be more. One win is not enough to rest on our oars especially where there is room and opportunity for other wins and successes.
KEEP UP WITH THE TRENDS BUT AVOID COMPLICATIONS – Change we are told is the only constant thing and even with our dreams and businesses, change is a constant. The processes we started out with are bound to change over time… which means that what gave you this win may have not be able to give you the next one. Change that does not compromise the quality of your product or service is something you should want to embrace if you want to be able to sustain your win and keep winning.
NEVER FORGET WHY YOU STARTED – I didn’t start my business because I wanted to make money, I started because I wanted to make impact. It was while making impact that I realised that one cannot make impact and not profit therein. So when things become challenging as they can be sometimes I am quick to remember that the reason why I embarked on the journey wasn’t money alone. It is the same for you… to be able to sustain your win, never forget why you started. Even if circumstances pushed you to start there must have been something you hoped to see in the end. So as challenges come if you don’t forget why you started you should be able to keep standing.
NEVER, NEVER ARRIVE – I know a business that used to be the pride of all – those who ran it, those who worked there and those of us who were just customers. We wore our badge with pride, we were too glad that we did business with this entity… professional bodies even attested to the fact that they were winning. But then they arrived! And when they arrived, they became sloppy, they became rude and they became ineffective… and slowly but surely we are no longer proud to wear the badge, we are quietly looking for others who we will be proud of. In walking/working your dream, arriving is a bad thing… because arriving makes you do things you said you wouldn’t do when you started. So my take? Never arrive if you will sustain your win and keep winning.

Till next week, I hope this is enough food for thought.

Here is to your success!

Bidemi

ANOTHER PLUS FOR SISTA POWER

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 11:09:00 +0000

| on March 1, 2013 | No Comments

Hello people

Welcome to another day in the ‘blogafest’ for Sista Power. Today I have the review from my sista of the heart; Audrey Joe-Ezigbo. Please see her blog here: http://uniquely-woman.blogspot.com. As I have been reading all the reviews that have come in, I cannot help but say that even for me the PURPOSE of the book Sista Power is becoming clearer and now I am praying that it will fulfill destiny. I actually saw Audrey’s copy of Sista Power and all the markings and shadings are any authors joy. Thanks Sis.
Please note that this post is longer than usual but that is Audrey’s signature and it all makes sense. Enjoy and thanks for reading to the end.

SISTA POWER: MY REVIEW – AUDREY JOE-EZIGBO
Unputdownable! I first came across this word (if one can call it that) about 20years ago. It stuck in my mind and has been the one word that describes each great book I have been blessed to read. Sista Power is a great book, truly unputdownable ! It literally held me spell-bound for a couple of hours as I read it from start to finish. A powerful message! Very real! Sista Power reads like a guided tour through to the realization of one’s innate potentials and resources, and towards the fulfillment of God’s design for one’s life.
Two days later, I started and again read the book all over, only more slowly this time. I simply had to! I can honestly say that Sista Power is one out of a very small number of books that have commanded my attention enough as to merit more than one read. My proverbial green pen marked, circled, and underlined! Every section was weighty, nothing trivial. So much I readily related with; principles that not only make sense, but which with proper introspection are easy to apply and will clearly bring about an acceleration of destiny and purpose. I loved the fact that the language used was personal; an honest, no-holds-barred conversation between the author and myself.
I am a lover of women, a believer in the power of working together. Since I first heard Bidemi share what the Lord ministered to her on collaboration a few years ago however, the word ‘midwife’ took on a new meaning in my life. I have been blessed to have Bidemi and some other lovely ladies as my midwives. I have understood more in the past few years than ever before, the power that lies in women that put all else aside and choose to move forward as a collective, holding each other accountable to build up themselves, their families and the world around them.
That said, Sista Power caused me to take a good hard look at other areas of my life, other relationships and experiences I have had over the years. I have had to give a million more thanks to God for the midwives He sent my way but whom I didn’t realize at that point were part of shaping my destiny for the season.
Many things struck me very deeply in the book Sista Power. If I really had to review it as extensively as I would wish, I would probably be reproducing the entire book. It was that potent. But here as a few of the things that really stood out for me:

‘Your pulpit is where you are!’ This is a clear call to action; a reminder that time is running out and I must be about my Father’s business. I am called to midwife others, even as the Lord sends midwives my way. ‘There will never be a convenient time for the work that God has called me to do’. Right where I am, I must ‘make myself available and stretch myself for the Kingdom’. ‘Life is not going to wait and midwives are constantly on the move’. People are in my life for a season and in that time, I must deposit as much as I can into those I am called to midwife; while submitting myself to learn and grow from those whose assignment is to midwife me. I may only have ‘a few minutes to make impact (as a midwife) and after that the opportunity will be gone’. To be able to ‘recognize the timing and be adequately prepared to walk in it’, I as a midwife must ‘be in tune with the Holy Spirit and with God all the way’. So true!
‘The Masters business requires haste’. Sista Power reiterates this often and it resonates deep within me. I cannot afford to miss my moments. My God is a God of accountability. I must be constantly conscious of the things that He requires of me and be ready to deliver on them. I may not need more than a few minutes to make the impact that I am called to make and after that the opportunity will be gone. My mandate is to die empty of everything that the Lord has put in me with which to bless the earth, to bless His children. I must use those few minutes well.

‘God thrives on collaborations’ and ‘Sista Power is about the common good!’. There is a reminder that collaboration is not about recognition, for I have a God Who sees all things and is able to reward my silent labors. Sista Power is a reminder to take my identity in God who is the only One that completes and fulfills me.

‘What the world needs can only be found in God and not in a particular individual or groups of persons’. There is a clear call for me to stay in my strength zone, to remain true to who I am at my core. ‘Any collaboration requiring you to reinvent yourself to fit into it is definitely not meant for you’. I need to know who I really and truly am, to believe in myself completely in order to effectively midwife others to become all that God has called them to be. This confidence in self is critical because ‘sometimes our collaborations may look like they are insignificant’. I must be a difference-maker, a value addition, even in my smallest of endeavors. The agenda is of God and not of self! The building up is for the collective and not for self.

Sista Power defines collaboration in a way that speaks deep to the root of what I truly believe the world needs today: ‘Collaboration is therefore a coming together of two or more people to further the purpose of God for their lives. The agreement is therefore between you, your collaborator and God Who honors covenants and agreements’. Sista Power reminds each of us that ‘God is pushing the original plan… He wants men and women who understand that it is not about them, it is about the Kingdom of God’.

The core message of Sista Power from my perspective is aptly summed up as: ‘Change is the objective, Kingdom is the goal, altering the status quo is the method’. The big question then follows: ‘Who will you join to push God’s agenda?’ This is where I leave it. I pray this great book will minister to every reader as it has to me. I pray the Lord will help each reader discover the power of collaborations in their lives.

Be blessed!

REVIEWS FOR SISTA POWER 2

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 10:12:00 +0000

Welcome, thanks for all the good will messages you have sent concerning the book Sista Power. God bless you! Please commit to buying a copy for you and maybe one other person. You will not be disappointed.
See below the second part of my ‘Sistafriend’; Bola Essien-Nelson’s review of the book. She calls them “My Salty thoughts”. Isn’t that just empowering? Thank you so much, Bola. God will honour you in Jesus name. Please see her salty thoughts below:

In Agreement (page 35)
How do I know who is in agreement with me Lord? This was the question I prayed as I read this part of the book. God just told me to do my own and he will do his own. He will only lead women of like mind to partner with me because I am doing his bidding. For a God given task, there is no need to force or cajole anyone. Deep calls unto deep, I guess. But the truth is like Bidemi says, women should really get their act together more and leave all this cattiness and petty jealousies behind. A battle is raging against our seed. Is this the time to be checking our hair and nails? Methinks not. The truth is that if we channeled all the energy we use competing in the arena of fashion and weave on, into peer coaching, mentoring and other value adding activities, I dare say our society would be a better place. When will we change, we women?

The Action Exercises
I love these questions! I encourage everyone to spend time after reading to respond to them. They have helped me better articulate my collaboration goals and the reasons why I am doing what I am doing in 2013.

Thoroughly steeped in The Word
Not sure you can go one page and not encounter the Bible. Bidemi is not picking stuff out of the air. She has tied all she is sharing with us to God’s word. I like how she has woven bible stories all through the pages using them to highlight places where collaboration was at play. From Miriam and baby Moses, to the Mary and Martha, etc. You and I know that the best collaborative effort we know is the one between God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit!, Right? Together the work, hand in hand to deliver, redeem, empower humanity! Praise God!

Passion!
Indeed Bidemi, Indeed! Passion is key! I have not met any mom who is not passionate about her children. This makes JUM (Joined Up Motherhood) such a natural thing for moms to be a part. You are so right. When we have passion for a thing or cause of goal, it helps us overcome obstacles (real and imagined) and to see the world as a place of infinite possibilities’ (page 74). I don’t know what it is that I would face in this world that will make me stop praying for my children. Can you? Think about your mandate, or your goals. Are you passionate about them? You need to be! PapaGod, above all, make me passionate about you!

It does not have to be BIG! (pg 84 to 85)
We are all part of a bigger painting. We all have our own ‘dot’ to contribute to the masterpiece God is creating. Your mandate, that change you want to effect, that cause you want to drive does not have to huge to be worthwhile. Just using your life’s experience to help another overcome a painful situation is a worthy as building a shelter for women. The point is that we all must realize that we are on this earth for a purpose and the truth is not all of us will be Deborah in this world. Some of us will be Jael. Not all of us can be Mary, mother of Jesus. Some of us might just be the little slave maiden in Namaan’s household. But all these ‘dots’ were mighty in God’s sight and they impacted the world equally. My favourite example of this in the book is when Bidemi talks about how she was sick and about to go in for surgery. A group of women stood in prayer over her from all over the world. Do you think they were just praying? Not at all. No, that was collaboration at its best. When women come together to hold another up in her time of need. I am sure that those women added some awesome dots to God’s masterpiece that day!

10 Must Answer Questions on Page 88
Even if you don’t have any collaborative effort in mind, I find these questions very useful in getting a better understand of who you are as a person. What you stand for, your values, principles and very importantly, your purpose.

It must add Value!
God never does anything for ‘fun’. As that old song goes, ‘where ever Jesus went, he was doing good’. When God send us out to collaborate, it is always to add value. I like what Bidemi says about this because it helps me when negative thoughts plague me. Look back on anything you have done with others, no matter how small and ask yourself this question. Did it add value to even one life? If you can answer ‘yes’, then give all the glory to God, you have fulfilled destiny. You have collaborated. You have sown a good seed into the soil of our future generations to come. You have tapped into a mighty source of power: The power that becomes available when women, sisters, come together to work for God: Sista Power!

Bola Essien-Nelson
Remember to check out Bola’s blog here; http://diaryofadesperatenaijawoman.blogspot.com

Here is to your success!

REVIEWS FOR SISTA POWER

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 09:57:00 +0000

Hello people, it is Tuesday, I know; life has just happened back and forth for me. Anyhow, through this week beginning from today, I will be having guests on NeverTheLess to share their thoughts on my book Sista Power scheduled for release this weekend here in Lagos, Nigeria.

Today’s post is the first of two by my Sista Bola Essien-Nelson; of the DNW fame now The Salt Chronicles. Please see her blog here: http://diaryofadesperatenaijawoman.blogspot.com

Please enjoy and make up your mind to buy a copy of Sista Power. You will be glad you did.

“Coals stay hotter and burn brighter when clustered together. But Separate one from the group and it quickly grows cold and faint”. This quote right at the beginning of the book, more or less encapsulates what collaboration is all about. The ‘why’, the ‘how’ and the ‘when’ of collaboration. As I read these words, my heart was so filled with gratitude to God because I just knew that he was encouraging me knowing the task he had set before me in 2013. Papa God, thank you for being so kind and good. Of course, it was natural for me to feel cold and faint sometimes in my prayer closet but there is no need to stay that way. I can collaborate with others. I can cluster with others and get my prayer coals burning hot and bright again.

The Mandate
I have come to believe and this book has confirmed it that, most of the time when God gives you a task to do, you usually have to wonder ‘how can this be?’ It always seems so big, too big for you and for me, that right there is a sure banker sign that it is a God thing. For were you able to do it in your own steam, then it would be a man thing. When I think about JUM (Joined Up Motherhood), I get clammy hands and my heart beats faster but then I remember that it is God’s initiative and that it is for the greater good of his children and I relax in the confidence that God will accomplish his work. The mandate is not about me. It’s about ‘the greater good’. Thank you Sista Power for making me see this again.

Collaboration
According to Sista Power Collaboration is all about recognizing that you need help and reaching it for it. Collaboration is not an admission of weakness. It is actually the reverse. It takes real character to step out to work with others. To share your dream or goals with others and invite them to travel your journey with you. And in the times we are facing today, much of what needs to be done has to be a collaborative effort for it to have an impact. The task is too big. We need to partner with others. This book is a guide on how to do this ‘well’ and wisely.

So honest. So fresh.
No airs. No ‘humble’ bragging. Simply real. There is just something that strikes me about people when I meet them for the first time and the same thing happens when I am reading a non-fiction inspirational book. It is how ‘real’ the words sound to me. As I read this book, I feel like the author is right there with me, sharing with me from an earnest heart about her life and her experiences and I love that. Bidemi does not try to ‘make like she is perfect’. I can identify with her. Sometimes I read books and I just feel that, underneath all the ‘self-effacing’ words, there is still something screaming out for me to notice how smart, business-savvy, prayerful, helpful and philanthropic’ the author is. Such books simply put me off. I can get that from my church! Nowadays, we are all ‘forming’ perfect and it is not helping. Sista Power is a down to earth conversation between you and another lady who wants to help you reach your full potential in life as you collaborate with others…..wisely.

The battle between the woman and seed of the woman….(page xxi)
Papa God, thank you for this. Indeed the battle is one for our children, our seed. I am grateful for you showing me through Bidemi how important JUM is and I just ask you to help me. As Bidemi says, thank you for being interested in how it all unfolds.

The Ripple effect (page 29)
Bola just do as God has led you, he will cause the ripple effect to impact as he wills. The key is for me to move! Be the pebble! Make the waves… no matter how little the first wave may be. Make it!
These are my thoughts on this so awesome book. Please grab your copy now.

Blessings!

Bola Essien-Nelson

KK, FIFTEEN YEARS LATER; LESSONS LEARNT

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 11:51:00 +0000

Welcome! Sorry this week’s post is coming late, I had a major challenge deciding what to post. Eventually, I decided to wait and use the opportunity of my older son’s birthday to post a few lessons, I have learnt being the mother of a gentleman in every sense.

Fifteen years ago, Kenechi came into our lives exactly the way we had prayed to God that he will come. When I got pregnant, we (Mark and myself) started to pray every single day as he developed in the womb. We prayed specific prayers that aligned with his formation stage in the womb and we asked God for a lot of things and God answered every single one of those prayers.

Today as he turns fifteen, I take a look at the journey of being his parents and I cannot but say that he has brought us only joy… today I am thanking God for my firstborn son; Kenechukwu Chinonso David Mordi. Beautiful inside and outside… so calm sometimes I wonder? Friend to his siblings, extremely compassionate heart. I thank God for KK, the public speaker extraordinaire, for the many ways he has accepted us and never hassled us even for the things he wanted and we couldn’t afford or wouldn’t give.

I thank God for the special mind and the ability to retain information that he has given to my first born son. Today, I don’t see how I deserve to be his mother but I am honoured to be.

So what lessons can I share from being KK’s mother for fifteen years?

1. As we prayed and committed his formation and growth and still do today, if you will commit your dreams and aspirations to God, you will be amazed how far you will go. We are fifteen years today and still counting, that can be your story too. Prayer waters the ground for our seeds of work to yield a harvest.

2. Like I mentioned we prayed specifically concerning what we wanted to see in his features and temperament and he is exactly as we prayed. Concerning your dream, if you will take time to keep deliberately speaking and praying, you will get what you pray for. We prayed when his nails were forming and when his hair was growing, we prayed about every single part of him forming. You cannot birth your dream without watering it with prayer.

3. As his parents we did everything within our capacity to give him a conducive environment to thrive, we told him we loved him when it was needful, we disciplined him when it was required, and we constantly spoke positively about him and his future. If your dream will make it, you will also be required to give it what is required at every point.

4. By the time KK was old enough we sent him off to school, where we entered into collaborative efforts with his teachers and school authorities to continue to shape him. However, we didn’t hand him over and never went back to inspect how he was doing, we kept watch. When we noticed that he wasn’t thriving, we took him elsewhere. Your dream is no different, you will have to enlist the help of others along the way, and you will need to keep inspecting what they are doing. And should you notice your team members are giving the wrong vibes… step in and be the parent.

5. Finally, we recognise that even though KK is our son, he belongs to God and ultimately to the world to make a difference. So we tell him; we encourage him to begin to look beyond his needs alone and know that others are depending on him. We tell him that he is on earth for a PURPOSE and one he must rise to in due season. Your dream may be birth by you; it has eternal potential to impact lives and generations even after you. It is your responsibility to position it in a way that it fulfills that specific destiny it carries. So make sure you know what your dream achieves put alongside eternity.

So, there you have it. Some of the lessons I learnt from being the mother of a fifteen year old. I know your dream may differ, but as long as you recognise its importance, and give it ‘your’ best possible, you will make it NeverTheLess.

Please join me in praying for KK that he will make it NeverTheless. Happy Birthday son, you are so loved.

Here is to your success

Sistar B

My Book, Super Eagles and PUSH

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 09:44:00 +0000

Great week ahead, I dare say! Congratulations to our own dear Super Eagles; re: last week’s post, I did say that the man who has something to prove finds a way to win. What other way to prove that life principle than having a home based player score the winning goal? Lesson: Never underestimate the power of the ‘underdog’.

I have another piece of news and this is both personal to me and a great blessing (even if I say so myself) to everyone who will have the opportunity of laying their hands on this special resource!

My first book ever is now out of Press! It is titled SISTA POWER and it is about collaborations. If you ever want to discover how to join forces with others to bring about a collective fulfillment of destiny this book is a must read for you. To order a copy please call 08029056642 or email bidemi@effectualmag.com

Upon the release of Sista Power last week, at least three people did say to me that they were impressed with the discipline with which I take on a project and finish it, and wondered how they can do that too.

At the risk of trivialising their compliments and their concern about themselves, I have this to say; like every one of them, I cannot say I am that focused and disciplined. Even the best of us can become afraid, discouraged, unsure and much more. I am no different.

So what is the solution? Well, what I can attest to is that I commit and keep doing what it is that I need to get done. Here are some tips that may help you move your dream along too.

1. ENVISION THE FINISH LINE: Just like most members of the Super Eagles may have dreamt of holding the AFCON Cup in their hands leading to the final game, you too must envision the euphoria, fulfillment and sense of accomplishment that finishing will give you. Smell the environment, hear the compliments and feel the sensation of finishing. Let that picture be part of your driving force. I mean, know what finishing can make you feel like.

2. THINK ON PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Some times when, I am struggling with a current task, I think on the other times in the past when I had felt like I couldn’t do it or go on anymore, yet was able to finish the execution in the end. Think on how when you eventually finished the task, remember how it felt like and think about the value your finishing added to you and others, and get up and keep going. I was not in the room when Coach Keshi gave his pep talk to the players, but I am sure he told them that in 1994, it was done, and can be done again.

3. THINK ABOUT WHAT COULD GO WRONG SHOULD YOU NOT FINISH: This seems like a fear factor, but I mean if the adrenaline that surges through your veins when you think of the worst case scenario of when you don’t finish energises you to go on; it becomes a good thing. For my book, I kept thinking about how others may never really get to understand what power lies in collaborations and how they can take advantage of it. I kept thinking about the fact that being a Christian, I will die one day and return to God; how will I face Him to say I didn’t complete the assignment He gave me? I am sure the Super Eagles knew their reception back home will be warmer and more exciting with a win than with a loss.

4. REMEMBER PURPOSE: As long as you understand that everything you do on earth if you are deliberate is tied to God’s PURPOSE for you. Then even the task at hand becomes in your sight even more important than you may have thought. For me writing the book, wasn’t just the next thing to do, I was sure it was part of God’s plan for my NOW, so I had to keep at it. The Super Eagles could have given up in the initial round of the tournament especially since no one believed in them anyway, but they must have thought, that it was part of God’s plan for their lives for the now!

Friends, life can be a drag, living on purpose can be hard and laborious, but never forget that it was for such a time as this that you were created. So just get up and keep going; you will make it NeverTheLess… ask the Super Eagles, success is sweet.

Here is to your success!

Bidemi

SUPER EAGLES; HUNGER FOR SUCCESS VS EXPERIENCE

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:15:00 +0000

Blessings! God bless and keep you in this month of February.

I am not anywhere near what you will call a football fan, neither am I as educated in the game as a lot of people out there. However, I do know a life principle when I see one.

At this time a few weeks back, in my home country, everyone had something to say about the Super Eagles; our National Football Team, the comments were largely consistent; most of it was negative. The tournament started and the mood remained the same two draws and a win by the skin of our teeth ushered Nigeria into a Quarter final battle against the most prominent African time, Cote d’ Ivoire. Almost everyone, was very sure that we were finished where football was concerned as a nation. Then the worst happened. The Coach, Stephen Keshi; for me one of the most purposeful ex national players for Nigeria, released the list of the members of the team that were going to be playing Ivory Coast and he had a number of home based players! It was like he poured petrol into an already raging fire, everyone wanted his head! Surely, he had no idea what coaching was all about!

I didn’t watch any match prior to yesterday’s and I didn’t watch yesterday’s either, but you cannot be in Nigeria and not know what’s up if the national team is playing… so I heard all the commentaries from my brothers to my neighbours to people buildings away from us. As you know Nigerians are pretty passionate people. Even though I was in my bedroom trying to catch some much needed sleep, it was impossible to miss the fact that Nigeria had won the match.

By this morning, all of Facebook and Blackberry world had been overtaken by Nigerians who always ‘knew’ Nigeria had what it took… everyone suddenly is very proud of our national team and are expressing belief in Stephen Keshi’s strategy. I am not going to try and pick holes in their sudden change of heart and belief but I do know that if you are pursuing a dream, then you can learn a thing or two from this experience.

1. THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM AT THE TOP:- In discussing this subject with my husband this morning, (he is a football aficionado) he told me that Clemens Westerhof had pulled this same feat off in the past, (in AFCON 1990). But he was pretty sure that a foreign club side does not make the player, what makes him is his talent and his commitment to success. Just like everyone wrote the team off because it had more home based players than internationals, people may look at your small dream now and write you off. But if you have the same hunger for success like those young men had yesterday, even a savvy and favourite tournament team like the Elephants will not stop you.

2. PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR FRESH EVEN WHEN THEY DON’T KNOW IT – As with most things in life, when we get used to stuff, venturing out in any other direction can be very uncomfortable, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that when we get ‘fresh’ we are relieved. The home based players were fresh, inexperienced at that level maybe; but fresh. Even with your businesses and dream, the key is to be fresh. Give them something extra in unexpected doses or fashion… even if you are pursuing a dream in a field others have excelled, what makes you stand out is not doing it exactly like they have, but in presenting your own to them fresh.

3. FRESH HAS SOMETHING TO PROVE – When everyone kept castigating Coach Stephen Keshi’s choice of players, I wondered what their problem was… basically, if these internationals were that good and they are, why will they risk tarnishing their image and reputation on a team most say has been jinxed for nineteen years? What will playing at AFCON bring them that they don’t already have? Fame? Money? What? The home based players on the other hand, were green and fresh, probably never been outside the shores of Nigeria… maybe dreaming to adorn themselves in the national kit was even a tall order. But here is opportunity thrown on their laps… in my experience people like these have something to prove! It is why I will prefer to do business with a young up and coming ‘start up’ any day over an established structured one, especially when I need someone to give me great service. All of us small businesses and new dreamers on the block have something to prove. What this means is we go the extra mile. So the next time someone asks you why they should trust you to deliver, tell them because you have something to prove.

Well I did say I was no football buff per se, but I do hope you can draw these parallels between the Super Eagles and you; trying to chart a course for your dream and create a world class business. In the final analysis, just like the Super Eagles went on to surprise even their most ardent supporters, you too can go on to surprise even yourself.

Remember no matter what they say, you will make it NeverTheLess!

Here is to your success!

Sistar B

The Baby Steps Compound

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 10:23:00 +0000

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Welcome! Where did January go? It is the 28^th already! Wow! And the days are never going to stop and wait for any of us to play catch up. Recently, a task I had not tackled for a while suddenly fell on my plate and it was not funny at all. While I knew that I had what it takes to deal with this assignment, the magnitude of the work that was required just made me not want to venture into starting.

I spent days agonizing on the volume of work that is required for me to get this done, I whined about the number of hours and days I will have to spend stooped over the computer dealing with it. I spent over a day scouting the internet for software somewhere that will deal with the work while I had my hands free to do ‘other’ stuff.

The problem was while I was busy doing everything but the work, my deadline was quietly creeping in on me! Eventually, it dawned on me that I had wasted four days doing nothing but going round in circles… the software I found can only be helpful if I took the initiative and started to do the work one page after the other.

Finally! I woke up from my slumber with the reminder of something I had always known; that all I needed to do was take it one step at a time, and even though it may take a while, I will get where I need to go. Even though I was looking for a magic wand that I could wave to get the work done in the blink of an eye, it was never going to happen. I had to do it precept upon precept, line by line. Even with the software, I still had to take it one little step after the other!

Darren Hardy in his book The Compound Effect, says “No matter what you learn, what strategy or tactic you employ, success comes as the result of the Compound Effect”. In simple terms, it doesn’t matter what you are trying to achieve with your dream in 2013, it doesn’t matter what lofty plans you have, there are no magic carpets or wands, you will have to do it one step after the other.

The very little steps of success that we take, will all come together to make the big bang that we are looking for. I know you want the really big contract, where you will earn so much that all your problems and needs are met all at once, (Is that ever going to happen?), it will take the smaller contracts where you have excelled to prepare you for that big one.

I know you will rather have your business situated in a particular area of town and you will rather have certain kinds of clients, what will an office in a choice area of town do for you if you have no track record of successful baby steps with happy small clients.

As January ends, and we all are reflecting on how we have done, please be encouraged that it is not the big or giant steps that constitute the success that you desire, it is the little every day steps that you take towards your dream that will compound into the huge success that you are looking for.

So if you have been too busy chasing the giant leaps that you did nothing about the baby steps, February is another opportunity to begin small and keep doing the little things until pooled together they make a really great mass of success.

Slow and steady wins the race, it is about the steady disciplined steps… they may not seem like much now, but if you keep doing them, they will come together soon enough to release the bang that you seek.

You may not be flying yet, at least you are crawling, it may not seem like much, it is still movement, and if you keep it up one day you will begin to run and maybe even fly. No matter what, with every baby step remember, you will make it NeverTheLess, after all, little drops of water can make a mighty ocean.

Hugs

Sistar B

BEHAVIOUR DOES CHANGE

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 11:39:00 +0000

Welcome! It is week four already! How far have you gone in your quest for the dream life?

Behaviour does change so stick it out... don't give up when you get the shock that some do not think that your product or service is the best thing that happened to mankind since fresh air!

Before the launch of Effectual Magazine I stumbled around both with excitement and trepidation . My creative genius was going on display at a level I could only have dreamt of, I was excited because finally my dream is flagged off and released for the benefit of mankind, and I was nervous because I didn't know how mankind will receive its 'salvation'.

At the launch I remember that a lot of people requested for copies of the magazine for onward distribution. They were so optimistic that they were going to sell every copy and remit funds to me, I was ecstatic that we had such great buy in from the get go, and I was so sure we had been accepted by the market and will begin to soar in sales from that point on.

However, that was not the way it all unfolded as three weeks after all the copies of the magazine that had been collected by people with the promise of helping us distribute were returned to the office except for about fifty copies. Imagine that you sent out two thousand copies of the same thing and one thousand, nine hundred and fifty were returned to you… ouch! For me it was one very painful manifestation of rejection. For every copy of that magazine that was returned to the office, I felt a fresh stab of rejection and couldn’t understand why the people couldn’t see the great product we were offering them…

Now four years later and still going strong, people still call to ask for that specific edition, and unfortunately, we do not even have a copy to spare. More importantly, I have come to realise that nobody rejected me personally, but that they needed time to adjust their behavior to accommodate our dream.

The point of today’s post is to bring to the fore the fact that we cannot predict the behavior of our target audience and therefore while we expect a miracle at the beginning, we should be open to let those who may need more time, adjust before they commit to us. In the case of Effectual some of those people came back months and years later to subscribe to the magazine and even become distributors of the same magazine they had said the first time was not a product they wanted to market or even spend their money on.

So what changed? Their behavior did change, they probably grew up, or the season of their lives changed and they suddenly realized that they needed what we had on offer. Or maybe even their mood changed from what it was. I cannot tell you specifically, but I can sure let you know that with time, most of them came round and we are grateful to do business with them today.

Even as you go marketing and introducing your product or service today, recognise that saying No to you is not a rejection of you, and secondly that because they said No today does not mean they will not say yes tomorrow. Behaviour does change and hopefully theirs will change in your favour.

However, a few of them wanted us to change what we had to suit their dreams before they got on board, but as we were convinced we had a good product we stuck with what we were doing. So watch out for those ones.

My encouragement for you today is to keep doing what you do the best way you can, keep reaching out and who knows one day soon, they will come calling to ask for what they had initially said they didn’t want or need.

Today, Effectual doesn’t do fifty copies each edition, as a matter of fact we have individuals who do that number of copies now. So it is all a matter of persistence and recognizing that if your product is as good as you believe it is, then maybe what to do is wait for their behavior to change rather than change to suit them.

But then again, are you sure your product is the best that you can do? Is it possible your own behaviour needs to change first?

Till next week, you will make it NeverTheLess.

Hugs

Sistar B

KEEP EVERY 'SPOKE' OF THE WHEEL SPINNING

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 12:40:00 +0000

Brand new week, fourteen days into the new year, how are you doing? Because of some unforeseen change that I had to deal with upon reopening for the year, I have found myself working longer hours than usual this early in the year, yet getting back home and feeling like I didn’t accomplish much each day. I always planned to get into the year running with no downtime. So I should be proud that I am able to do so much so early in the year while most people are still trying to get off the ground shouldn’t I?

Well, I am actually worried rather than excited with my progress and the reason is simple… I found upon reflections this past weekend that I have been busy working on just one aspect of the dream while every other part has been left unattended to. And that is the point of today’s post; how does working on just one aspect of our lives or dream impact upon the big picture?

I find that most of us tend to have parts of our lives that are either more demanding or run a little more smoothly than the others and we consequently spend more time on those areas while neglecting the others. The question is does giving 80% to a particular part and another 60% and yet another 10% make for balanced living? The unfortunate answer is no, while it may seem like we cannot give the same amount of attention to every part of our dream, it is important that we prioritise and ensure that every aspect of importance is deliberately worked on.

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If for instance I decide that this year, I will expand the business, which is not a bad thing to want to do, it is important that the family does not suffer in the process. However, if in expanding the business I practically now live in the office and visit the home where my family and those I love are, then maybe I am neglecting something just as equally important if not more, to chase after a bigger dream.

Here are a few tips in ensuring that nothing suffers.

1. Make a list of all the important aspects of your life (You should have done this at the end of the year actually, but if you are yet to, it is still okay to do so now). Make sure your list includes, family, health, finances, relationships etc.

2. Allot adequate time to each spread across each week that you want to spend moving each of this aspects of life forward.

3. Intentionally give each aspect the required attention each time its circle comes round. And don’t rob Peter to pay Paul, as we proverbially say.

4. Take time at the end of each week to reflect on how you did on each, to ascertain if you may need to make adjustments

5. Ask for help from those around you if you need to be kept accountable, or just for help to follow through.

6. Keep this routine weekly until it becomes a habit to go round every single important aspect of your life.

We cannot allow our health to suffer because we are running a business, otherwise in the end when the money is made, we may not be strong enough to enjoy the gains. Neither can we spend so much time pursuing a career while our family hardly sees us, or else we may not have anyone to come home to upon retirement, when we eventually make the conquest.

While the business or the dream may be the most visible part of our lives, it can only run smoothly if we are able to find our anchor both in family and faith. No one man is able to run on his own and make a success out of it. Our lives have always interfaced and overlapped with that of others, and there is a major need for us to keep all the 'spokes' that constitute the wheels our lives spinning effectively for our own good.

So while I am almost overwhelmed by how much this one aspect requires, I am going to take time out to give other aspects their due because I know that every single aspect requires my attention as well!

No matter how many balls you are juggling right now, remember that the right thing to do will be to give equal attention to all that your life is. You will make it NeverTheLess… I promise, you will.

Hugs

Sistar B

WHEN YOUR PLAN GOES BELLY UP

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 12:44:00 +0000

Welcome!

It’s the 7^th of January already and time waits for no one. Someone asked me what to do when the first significant thing that happened in the New Year is for the bottom to fall off your plans. What do you do when your Partner in the dream or business has asked to be released from his commitment? What do you do when the funding you expected to be able to take off, is withdrawn within the first few days of the working year? What can you do, when your plan is sent on a tailspin because some major component fell through?

Well! Yes, what should one do? Maybe I will not be able to give you detailed answers for your peculiar situation, but I can surely begin by letting you know that what you should do is ADAPT! The truth is, there is no perfect plan… so if something goes wrong this early, as unsettling as it can be, it is better it has happened this early, you can make adjustments.

What failure wants you to do is throw up your hands and say you cannot go on, because you hit a brick wall. However, if you go that route, your dream life will be cut short even before you see the gains within 2013. So consider the following to remain on track…

1. Adapt as quickly as you can. Don’t take too much time mourning over what has happened, instead take time to reflect on why it happened, how come you were blindsided and make a decision. In the past, when I hit this kind of wall, I spend too much time processing and making no decision. The longer it took, the more lethargic I became towards the goal. But recently, I hit one of those walls, and even though it seemed like what I had built was going a-crumbling right before my eyes, I knew I didn’t have the liberty of time. I knew I had to move forward and to move forward meant I had to make a decision. The moment I was able to make that one decision, I began to see a lot more clearly and adapting became easier.

2. Assess Your Resources and quickly see how you can work with what you have until you are either able to find additional funding, or replace the marker that fell out. What I realise is that we wait until whatever we are doing begins to go south before we do any assessment; especially when things are going really well. The first lesson I have learnt in 2013 is that even when stuff is going as planned, it is important to reflect on a regular basis so you can appraise and assess your operations. So take a look at what you have on the ground and make the necessary adjustments until the storm passes.

3. Keep Your Attitude Positive. Surprises such as the one we are talking about here can honestly dampen the excitement with which one has entered the year. However, that again is a trick to keep us down. We must keep our attitude positive. Yes the cup is no longer full, but rather than seeing it as half empty let your mindset be that it is half full. This snag may delay your result for a while but a positive attitude says, I know it will still work out no matter what.

4. Go back to what you did the first time and it worked… there is always some pattern that you can go back to in picking the pieces and keeping the dream alive… find that pattern and stick to it until you begin to get your desired result again.

5. Remember That It is Your Dream. Because the dream is yours and yours alone, the tendency is that others will not be able to keep pulling with you for whatever reason, but you have to keep going. So even when it seems like you are alone, remember it is your dream and stick with it!

Finally, remember that adversity is the true test of greatness. So if you give up now then your strength is small… so don’t give up! What you are about is important and will bless you and others, giving up therefore, is not an option!

Remember that there is a big God who is more interested in your success than even you are! He will ensure that you make it NeverTheLess, I know He will. So even though things seem very uncertain this early, know that behind every cloud the sun does wait to burst through. You will make it! NeverTheLess.

Hugs

Sistar B

Ahead Into 2013: What Can You Do?

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 12:25:00 +0000

Apparently none of us had the power to increase the number of days in 2012, hard as we might have tried and as much as we might have wanted or needed to; the year has come to an end. If you are like me, you must feel initially that you didn’t make any progress but after you take time to reflect and reconsider, you realise that you had moved up in leaps and bounds. Maybe not as far as you wanted, but you moved.

For me that 2012 is ending is not news, and it shouldn’t be even for you, I mean we all had a whole year's notice that this will happen today, so why are we so hung up? I believe it is because after all is said and done, we realise that despite all the plans we made, none of us had what it took to make it this far, we still had to rely on Someone greater to make it all happen. Thank you Lord!

That tomorrow is the first day of January 2013 is also not news, so while we all will and should celebrate the New Year day festivities, what happens after the celebration? I am thinking that since we had taken a few weeks to reflect on 2012, we should progress into how we will walk the 2013 journey.

These points should be useful to you

1. Go Pictorial – No matter what you intend to achieve with 2013, can you see the picture in your mind? I was thinking about my life journey going forward and I am cutting pictures that speak to me. You too should do a Vision Board it will help you see in your mind’s eye where you want to go and give you something to walk towards. (See Blog archive on Vision Board).

2. Trust Your Instinct – As your life is what we are talking about, it will be really nice to trust your instinct, trust what your gut tells you next year. I mean if it is your dream life why is everyone else telling you what to do and what not to?

3. Truly Care about Your Customer – whether you provide goods or services, you will not be relevant without your customers. So why not make caring for them a huge part of your business focus in the next year. A happy customer will help you make bank every time you know.

4. Bring Greater Value – No matter how well you do, there is always room for improvement. So to have a great 2013, why not find more ways to add value to the people you are serving? Enhance your products, make your customer service experience exceptional. Bring more value!

5. Partner or Collaborate – some of the things that will bring your dream to significance this new year may not be things you can do alone, so consider who you might need to join forces or collaborate with for the greater good.

6. Enjoy The Ride – As you may well know, 2013 will have a December 31, just as 2012 and all the other years before have had. So why not enjoy the ride? Do your absolute best but make up your mind to enjoy the ride as you go on.

7. Be Grateful – No matter what happens because some curves will definitely show up along the way, the valleys and the mountains will also be part of the journey… so be grateful. For every experience be grateful!

8. Stir Your Ship – In the final analysis it is your dream. You cannot trust anyone else to get you to wherever you want to go, so take responsibility for 2013, think big, do your homework, get your hands dirty if need be. Whatever you do, stir your ship!

While these are not exhaustive, let them set the marker for how you start. Thank you for being part of my life through 2013, welcome to 2013 and make the best use of your opportunity to be alive.

Happy New Year!

Hugs

Sistar B

WHAT MAKES YOU AN EXPERT?

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 20:07:00 +0000

Merry Christmas people! Another one has rolled by and no matter what has happened or is happening, we are still here! As I write this, I am away with my family on a much appreciated vacation. I say appreciated not deserved, because in my mind, deserved doesn't happen unless you can afford to. So even though we have worked really hard this year, this holiday is more appreciated than deserved. Thank you Lord for making it happen.

Today I want to look at the issue of expertise. Who is an expert? What makes one an expert? A lot of definitions come to my mind, but the one I am most comfortable with contextually is that an expert is someone who has narrowed down his options and focus to a specific endeavor to be the best possible in that field.

Today there are so many self professing experts and there is nothing absolutely wrong with being one... It is just that it will be nice to show proof of our expertise, to qualify as experts. If you think John Maxwell for instance, you see the picture of leadership. If you think Steve Jobs, you see the picture of innovation... So as we round off 2012, if we think you, what picture do we see? If you think Me, what picture do you see? We all are meant to conjure pictures of our expertise!

Since it is Jesus' birthday tomorrow, when you think him, what do you see? Even though some now refer to the season as Holidays and others as Xmas, there is no running away from the fact that when you think Christmas you don't have to try, but the picture you see is loads of activity, joy and cheer! People going out of the way to be nice this one time in the year.

So if you ask me why is Jesus an expert, I will say because He came to achieve one thing and He focused only on that... To bring us the awareness and the opportunity of a better life and a better way. Jesus qualifies as an expert because He solved and still solved the problem of pain, hurt, misery and death... He is the Saviour of the world... And this season proves that even when people don't agree, they stop to take in the spread of joy in this season.

So if you want to be an expert in 2013 need I say more? Get better at solving specific problems and when we think you, we will see a picture of the problem you are committed to solving!

Shout out to my Sista and friend Funmi Johnson, @born2bebeautiful. When I think you I see Women free from violence. You are an expert girl... Keep your focus.

To all you who have followed through 2012, thank you so much... Let's do this again in 2013, you are loved and appreciated. In the words of a song I heard yesterday:

We are no longer lost, because we have a Saviour!

Jesus is the expert at Saving! You too go be the expert by the problems you solve...

Merry Christmas! Enjoy and be Safe!

HugsSistar B

Change your Story!

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 08:25:00 +0000

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Good morning world, last week turned out to be one of shock and mourning the world over, from the Connecticut killings to the Helicopter crash in Nigeria that claimed the lives of a governor, former National Security Advisor and others, all whose families are suddenly plunged into deep mourning this season. It is all sad and my prayer is that God will comfort everyone affected, and heal this dark world we live in.

This has me thinking; what hope do we have that all will be well in 2013? What gives me the audacity to ask us to plan so vigorously? What is the guaranty that we will be alive to pursue the plans we make? I wish I can say that because we have worked hard at planning, everything will turn out okay and that we will be alive... But I honestly cannot give any assurances, but that which I should and can give, I make bold to tell you about today.

I am a person of faith, as you may have gathered from following this blog. I believe in God, not just any God but the God of the Bible, whose only son died for me, so I can make bold to plan 2013 even when the world is dark, because no matter what happens, I know I am safe in Jesus' hands. What about you? Have you accepted him as your Lord and Saviour? If not please don't go another day thinking you have time, because remember, tomorrow is not guaranteed.

On today's post, I hear people say it’s no use planning because they have no idea if they will live past tomorrow but I say, plan anyway, with God you have every chance and opportunity to be all He has called you to be. So rather than mope around doing nothing about your future, maybe what you need to do is change your story.

Change your story by changing a few things... Say different things, speak positive, that the world is dark doesn't mean the monsters are coming to get you. You can be part of the light the world needs, by stepping up to intentionally live your dream life.

Change your story; you cannot do the same things expecting to get different results. Change what you have been doing with undesirable results and your story may be on the way to changing.

You may need to even change those you hang with to be able to get a different story. Maybe those you hung with in 2012 were more toxic than good for you. Intentionally, change those you hang with. Spend more time with purposeful, positive people than with drifters and negatives.

Change your story by changing your expectations, you cannot go around expecting the worst out of life and get anything different. With a sunny outlook of life, the right plans and your commitment to follow through, your story should change to match your expectations.

Finally, stay on this track... Keep at it until you arrive at your desired destination. However, don't forget the greatest game and story changer is in who you decide to commit to. Jesus loves you so much, and is committed to your success more than you are.

So this week when I say you will make it please understand that it is because I know someone who will get you there NeverTheLess... You can bank on Him. I do.

Hugs

Sistar B

Live Intentionally!

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:57:00 +0000

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Shalom! Blog is late today, I am sorry. But it is for a good reason. You know how I have been asking us to try and put together a plan for 2013? Well, today, I had to move away from telling myself and jotting down what it was I was looking to work on next year to bringing others in to see if they could help me shape some of my ideas. So you can say that the rubber met the road today. It was a soft exercise that you know can be very hard yet essential, but I am glad I had that session this morning.

So what is up on today’s blog? Well, aside from quickly sharing with you, this morning I am reminded again that ‘two good heads are better than one’, and that if you intend to move forward with your plans for the new year, then maybe at this stage you need to begin to involve your team members. Today, my team helped me set a few timelines and helped clarify processes for some of the things we want to achieve for 2013 as an organization. (Thanks Ladies).

Okay, someone asked me how planning will help if it is not followed up with execution and I did say to him that planning was useless if it was not backed with action. He then went on to ask if I knew that the likelihood of not following through was really high, and my response again was yes, it is easier for people not to follow through than for them to tackle their plans head on.

His next question was, so how does one avoid or deal with a lack of motivation to follow through? My answer is the core of today’s post. The first thing I suppose we can do is to be intentional about what we want to achieve. I had to personally put a pen to paper to list the overall objective for my life, professionally, as a wife and mother, and Minister of the gospel. My goal turned out to be just three words “To Live Abundantly.” But that was still vague and far from something others could understand and so I had to break it down into differently parts.

I came up with this:

a. I want to maximize every potential. (This got me listing out the potentials, what I have done with them so far and what else I need to do. Which led to identifying the different aspects of my potential that were either dormant or not maximally in use). Each step led to another and in the end I have like a map of where maximizing my potential is likely to lead. Consequently, I have drafted a plan with deliverables and before the end of this week, will insert dates and timelines.

b. My second leg of living abundantly was to Be Intentional. Now what this means for me is that I will do my best to have a plan, with a goal in sight and follow through on the plan. The reason we don’t follow through sometimes on our plans is that we become distracted by equally important issues and ultimately get sidetracked. So what will I do?

I am spending more time thinking than I am even talking right now, because I want to be sure that where I am headed is where I want to intentionally end up. So if in the course of the year, life throws me a curve, because I am intentional, I will not lose sight of what I want to achieve especially since everyone on my team will have a copy of the destination for the year and can bring me back on track.

The key is to recognise where you want to go and intentionally work towards it. Life will happen no matter how water tight our plans will be, but the more intentional you are, the easier it will be to get right back on track. This isn’t about asking God to support the plans you have personally made though, this is about stepping into God’s will and finding your peculiar way of expressing His mind concerning you.

Finally, someone asked how she will know that her plans are aligned with what God wants for her in the New Year, and while I cannot exhaustively answer her, it is important to recognise that you can use the Value, Impact and Gift test to ascertain if you are in line with God. What is your gift? Are your plans and dreams supported by your gifting? Does your dream add value? And who else will be impacted by it?

Till next post, remember that as long as you are intentional, you will make it NeverTheLess. It may not happen in a day, but if you keep using your building blocks you will get there. I promise you will… NeverTheLess.

Hugs

Sistar B

The Concrete, The Essential

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 13:42:00 +0000

sachacody.blogspot.com

Hello people! Amazing! It is the third day of December already. Even though I am wondering where all the days of this year went, I am extremely grateful to God for ensuring that we met most of our goals for the year. Even if we didn’t meet the goals we had set, it is still a great privilege to be alive enough to plan towards 2013.

Today we will continue with the train of thought in last week’s post. And this is simply that planning will bring clarity to what we want to achieve in the New Year. It is inspired by a post on SethGodin’s blog.

On the post he spoke about soft and hard. He said the stuff that we can measure and appraise are the concrete (hard) things we deal with in our business. The soft things, however, are the essential yet immeasurable stuff we have to handle. He emphasized that the concrete stuff receive more attention than the soft things. I immediately could identify with the post, because honestly, today, I didn’t feel like leaving my house for the office.

The lethargy I was dealing with had nothing to do with concrete stuff, but the fact that I had, on my list, a lot of soft but essential things to deal with.

Unfortunately, dealing with these essential stuff can be harder than dealing with the concrete issues because in the end you can tell how far you have gone with the concrete but cannot quite do so with the soft and essential.

Now I understand that the last thing you may want to do is spend time planning on paper for next year because it may be impossible to measure how far your planning may take you. Someone actually asked me, what happens if the plans fall through? What if everything I planned didn’t happen? Let me quickly say that yes, some of the stuff you plan for may not happen because other events will overtake them.

However, as long as we take time to think things through, the likelihood for the plan for the entire year to fall through is almost nonexistent. This is not about playing God and making plans that cannot fail. It is about partnering with God, and making sure that our strategies support His plans for us so that we can move quickly to accommodate his work for our lives in 2013. So even though I am not feeling motivated at all, I am here at my desk looking through all that I need to do, and taking on the essential so that my concrete will align with God’s will and what I want to see in my dream work in 2013.

One tip I will like to leave with us today is to see planning as trying to solve the problem in our minds even before it shows up. See everything you are putting on paper right now as a test run for a year of significant dealings.

Your dream is the core of your life and the quality of thought you put in at the planning stage will determine the problems you will be able to solve in the New Year. Everything that people will come to you for will be built around your ability to solve their problems.

So roll up your sleeves, pour yourself a cup of tea or coffee and push through the drudgery that your planning stage may be right now. Don’t forget the picture of the accomplished task; let it be what will keep you going till you make it to your destination.

Drudgery or not, hard or not, I know you will make it NeverTheLess, I promise you will.

Hugs

Sistar B

Your Plan is your Power!

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 16:11:00 +0000

chessblog.com

Welcome! It is amazing that today is the 26^th day of November 2012. Seriously, where did the days go? Before we know what is happening we will be in 2013 and I can’t help but wonder how many of us are even thinking about the New Year let alone trying to prepare.

As you may have noticed I have been talking about reviewing the year 2012 to enable us prepare for 2013 on this blog for a few weeks now. Someone asked me why I was so hung up on what will come in 2013 and my response was that because I have heard that the man with the plan is the man with the power.

So what is your strategy for next year really? What is it that reviewing 2012 will do for the way you will run next year? Asking the questions in previous posts what did you learn about yourself and your dream, how will you take that information and utilize it next year?

I had the opportunity to teach at church yesterday and a few things came to my attention on why people don’t plan. The first is the fact that people actually think that life is something you can fix as it happens. They say stuff like “I will cross that bridge when I get there.” And while it seems like a plan, it is actually no plan at all!

Living the life of your dream in 2013 cannot be left to last minute decisions. I heard a wise man once say that most of the life mistakes we make are made based on the spur of the moment decisions. What he means is that we go through life just waiting for stuff to happen so we can react. So our lives are lived in reactionary mode and we wonder why we didn’t hit the objective we had set?

The second thing that caught my attention is that sometimes people claim to have made a plan when what they have actually done is project where they want to end up without looking at how they will arrive there. Your strategy is beyond what you say you want to do or see, it is about the detailed day by day, bit by bit, step by step intentional thinking through aligning resources and actions with the goals and objectives you have.

I am simply saying that saying for instance that you want to make money next year is not enough, you need to take it further planning the step by step process by which you intend to make money. At this point you want to be able to answer questions like:

a. What specific aspect of your dream can generate income for you?

b. What are those things that you are required to put in place in making this money?

c. Who will you need to work with you on this?

d. How long from start to finish and earning?

e. What happens in between?

And so on and so forth. The idea is for you to break down your intention into small bite sizes and begin to work them out, both in your mind and on paper, even before the dawn of 2013.

Remember, he that has a plan has the power, stepping into the New Year with such a detailed and intentional plan gives you the clarity edge compared to the man who just started to make his decisions upon reaching the bridge.

I do know that you will make it, and I am sure a little bit of deliberate and intentional planning will be a plus. Life is a gift and no matter what we may have seen, if we intentionally put our plans together, God will come and bless them NeverTheLess. He will…

Hugs

Sistar B

Your Dream, Your DNA

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 10:17:00 +0000

zengardner.com

Another week, another step towards actualizing your dreams and visions! Welcome and May God bless you!

Recently, I have been thinking about what makes my dream unique and different from all other similar dreams, and the only answer I could find was that the unique element of what I do is… ME! Yes, me. I am the difference maker in how my dream and vision is pursued and lived to make impact.

This brings me to our next review question for 2012, which is;

‘How have I limited myself this year, and what will I do to correct that?’

One of the hardest things to do and learn in growing and running a dream is how to conduct and run as ‘you’. At least for me in 2012, there were times I struggled with doing stuff just the way I knew to do them and they flowed from me naturally.

While, this is a strength, sometimes I wonder whether ‘me’ is good enough. Isn’t there a way better than the way I am doing it? I wondered. It took a while but I recognized that even though there are alternative ways to run, the best way for me to run is to be me!

People may have told you how what you are doing isn’t going to work because it is not the way that it is done… and while they may be correct, is it possible that that is not the only way it can be done?

The point of today’s post is to point us to the folly of having run this year doing our best with our dreams while trying to be other people. You received the inspiration to dream and you have labored to put it all together, why do you have to present it like all others have done?

What is wrong with showing up with your dream and it is all you? How can you say a dream is yours if you cannot bring yourself to bear on it? Why agree to put your values and principles on the back burner just because you want to make what you are doing appealing to everyone? No sir! You cannot do that, because no matter how hard you try, you are not and cannot be called to everyone. Those who will flow with you will do so not because of the very correct or perfect way you have presented the dream to them. They go with you, because you - the unique you - appeals to them. If who you are will not be required, God would have made you a clone of all those people you are trying to be.

So, while we may have wasted precious time and opportunities in 2012 trying to do it like all the others, it is time to look ahead into 2013 and determine that you will present the unique ‘you’, that part of you that nobody else can be.

I guess what I am saying is give your business or dream the SOUL it deserves, give it your signature… ensure that everything you do in 2013 has your DNA all over it. because in the end, it is your DNA that makes you different from the over 6 billion people on the face of the earth… and that is a good thing. So enjoy being YOU.

Irrespective of what anyone says to you initially, I can assure you that ‘you’ will grow on them. If you remain in the game long enough as ‘you’, they will get used to you and you will be amazed at how they take to you. Make 2013 the year you determine to be you and nobody else because that is how you will make it, NeverTheLess.

You are loved.

Hugs

SistarB

PDA: Public Display of Accountability

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 10:25:00 +0000

10bellevue.blogspot.com

Welcome! How are the reviews going? Before we go on to our question of the week, l need to tell you about myself. Before my marriage and then Effectual Magazine, I was a confirmed quitter. I had no staying power at all with anything that got too difficult. I will quit an argument even if I was in the right just to keep the peace. I will take the back seat in a relationship and allow myself to be maltreated if only to avoid exercising my right especially in conflict.

I will stop going to a particular place just to get myself away from anything that will turn the attention on me for too long. I quit at every turn. I will give up on a grand dream very easily once I hit my first resistance. I didn't quit on education however, because I wasn't sure I will be alive to tell the story; it seemed my parents were serious about killing me if I flunked out...

But then I realized that the reason I kept quitting was because no one expected me to deliver on any promise to them... I refused to be accountable to anyone, and that meant I could do what I wanted! Even with Effectual, for at least four years, I ran below the radar because I didn't want to be accountable. When it dawned on me that I was going to keep going round in circles except I shaped up, I opted to have a very public release of the magazine. We had the press present and we had people in the room whom I respected and will hate to let down.

That day most thought I was just birthing a dream, but for me it was more than that, it was the beginning of my commitment to ensure that this will not die too! Since then, I have been tempted to quit a hundred times but then I remember standing before those men and women that day, making a promise to deliver excellent life impacting content and the thought of upholding that promise keeps me going.

Today's question is what will I commit to do differently, and to whom will I be accountable in 2013? This question is more about looking at those things we had purposed to do at the start of 2012, and even started but somehow, we hit a resistance and rather than keep pushing, we quit. Recognizing that we have pulled back on something we not only believe we can do but actually have the ability to do is a start. Like I did with Effectual, step out and schedule a release date for that book, not in your mind but to people you don’t ever want to disappoint.

Pencil down a date when your office or business plans to hold that first Conference you have had on your schedule for years but have managed not to hold. If you can, put adverts out to that effect. I find that the pressure that comes with publicly displaying your intentions makes us feel accountable to the public and urges us on even when we would rather quit. The truth is that first edition may not be the best that you can do, but it will be the start of many to come, especially if you get the ‘technology’ right the first time.

Public display of accountability is not about making empty boasts that we have no intention of following through on, it is however, a submission of our aspirations to others so that we can follow through. The truth is that most people may never even come back to ask you why you didn’t follow through, but just knowing that someone may come back and ask you why, is enough motivation to go on. For me it is another reason to ensure that I keep walking towards to my dream destination.

So before you do anything about 2013, ask yourself, how can I commit myself to a group beyond my family, so I can follow through rather than quit on this dream again? You know something else, because God loves you very much, He will, amongst that crowd, pull out one person who will commit along with you and he or she becomes one key reason why you cannot afford to fail.

Despite my penchant for quitting, it has been years and I am still here. So even for you, if you take the bull by the horns and publicly submit to be accountable you will make it NeverTheless… seriously I know you will make it.

You are loved!

Hugs

Sistar B

YOU ARE ONLY AS POOR AS YOU CHOOSE TO BE

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 14:32:00 +0000

Welcome to a new week, as I pray new Blessings your way in Jesus name! Hope your weekend went well, mine was full and insightful, plus I had my children home for about six days and it was a joy to have a full house again even though for only six days.

Last week I was at an event and a lot of what we call “old school music” was played and the line “one is only poor only if they choose to be …”from Dolly Parton's Song, “Coat of Many Colours”, stuck with me. the more I thought about this line, the clearer the truth became to me. Yes, one is poor only if he chooses to be. God has endowed us with so much in talent and experience that if we will take the time to consider what it is we have been given and find a way to express our gift, then we cannot literarily be poor.

The line also had me thinking about what poverty really is? As for the song writers, being rich was not about how much money they had but about the attitude with which they viewed that which they had and by the use they were able to put that which they had. So before we even continue the exercise from last week, let me encourage us to check our attitude. Ensure that somehow, our attitidue is one of gratitude. Setbacks or no setbacks, we are still here, which means we have the opportunity to right whatever may have gone wrong.

So while I am asking that we review our year to ascertain what we can do to have a better next year, it will be great to ensure that we have the right attitude while reviewing. Remember you are only as poor as you choose to be. Whatever worked this year can be better, just as whatever we may think didn’t work may appear different if we looked with the right attitude; one which sees every glass as half full rather than half empty.

Today's question is; “what worked really well?” What did you do in 2012 that worked? How did it positively affect your bottom line? Take time out and replay it all in your mind, write out the high points, speak to members of your team ask them why they think that particular idea, principle, whatever it is worked. Write it all down and then take it a step further and ask yourself, how you can adapt the process that gave so much success into next year’s running and operations. The idea is to repeat what was successful, and find a way to adapt it where things didn’t work if possible, to ensure you have a blue print for next year.

For us at Effectual Magazine, one thing that has worked really well is how we have been able to keep our content fresh and impactful so that the magazine is it’s own chief marketer. We want to take that same attitude of keeping it fresh into our marketing and hopefully our market share will increase considerably. Something else that has worked in our favour is the collaborative efforts we have made to add value to both our work and our readers and we intend to do our best to keep them going and possibly forge more of such alliances in 2013.

The idea behind this series of posts is to ensure that we don’t walk into 2013 blindly, trying to find our way while others are off and running. Part of what you may need to do might be to learn some additional skills to enhance your performance. Now is the time to identify those courses and begin to put together a plan to enroll and follow through.

Every dream needs to evolve and it is my hope that with the right attitude and with the mindset that there is gold right where your mine is, you will be able to position yourself for a great 2013.

No matter what happens, no matter how hard it is to go through with these reviews, never forget that you are only as poor as you choose to be and with that kind of attitude and doing the right thing, who says you cannot make it? You can and you will make it NeverTheLess.

Hugs

Sistar B

Refined by Trouble?

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 11:18:00 +0000

Welcome! It has been extremely hard coming to this page lately; first I went on a very short vacation and then came down with the flu. So sorry I couldn’t post anything last week, and this week is coming late. Life happened and I had to go with the flow.

Even today, someone has asked me how they will know what it is that they are here for. And it seems I am running out of answers because it seems so easy to find what you are on earth for some, while for others it seems to be the hardest thing that there is to resolve.

Anyhow, one thing that is common to everyone who has asked me recently how they can find out their purpose is TROUBLE! Yes, I mean trouble. Difficulties, challenges, etc. A lot of us when everything is well do not bother to stop and think about the possibility that even though we are doing something, it may not be what we really should be doing. Somehow, it seems that it is in the day when trouble hits that we suddenly receive the revelation that we just might have been living outside our ordained purposes. Hmmm!

travel.ninemsn.com.au

I therefore concede that trouble does seem to have its advantages then. Rick Warren, in his book The Purpose Driven Life, actually said “every problem is a character building opportunity.” Not only have I seen that trouble has the capacity to refine us character-wise, I also see that it helps us look beyond our present and begin to find ways to live meaningful lives.

So as we begin to round off 2012 gradually, what are you thinking about 2013? What are your plans, have you started reviewing 2012?

Maybe the first question you will want to ask is; what has been your greatest setback? What hasn’t worked at all?

Setbacks spell trouble so let’s take time and review ours, take a sheet of paper and write it out. Why did it happen? What needs to change? Who may you need to be more around? Is it something you can do without in the New Year? If not, is it possible that you can refine it?

I guess what I am trying to put out on today’s post is that the year is winding down and a lot might have happened in your favour and a few things the other way round. For those already living their dreams, what trouble did you see this year that can help you build better business character next year? It will be fool hardy to wait until the 2013 before we begin to move.

Look at it again; that it is trouble doesn’t mean it has no use. Find out its significance and explore it in the interest of your dream.

Till next week, remember, every trouble is a character building opportunity, and in spite of it, as long as you hold on long enough, you will make it! Yes, you will!

NeverTheLess.

Hugs,

Sistar B

LANCE ARMSTRONG: THE DEATH OF PROCESS

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 12:16:00 +0000

“Every God given vision will become real if we will only have patience”

Oswald Chambers.

Welcome. I believe that everyone has a dream, everyone qualifies to live their dream, and every dream has the capacity to make impact. Today I want to appreciate my off line respondents, all my sistas in the US, thanks for following. You are loved and appreciated.

Last week I heard the story of a man destined for greatness, but jumped process, and took shortcuts. Lance Armstrong was looked upon by most as a great man not just by biking enthusiasts but by most dreamers. He had the most important ingredient to succeed in his chosen field (PASSION) and he did seem to be succeeding for a while, until revelations in the past month started to poke holes in his credibility as an athlete.

Having a conversation on how this man has dropped in his rating with my husband; he said to me, “You know I have completely lost faith in bikers as athletes with integrity.” Wow! That hit me! Because my husband is a man who has faith in most people! Then I became sad because this is how Process died! So today, we mourn the death of PROCESS.

dryicons.com

Why does anyone think that they can cut corners and make it? Why is it that we think that success obtained without integrity will last? So many questions! More importantly, what are we telling our children about competition?

If you are a dream chaser, people will tell you how to get there the easy way; they will suggest to you what to do so you will be working ‘smart.’ What they may not tell you is that smart is not necessarily wise! Old principles like integrity may be old but they are tested and proven to be the only way.

So how do we work our dream so we don’t lose all we have worked for? How do we ensure that our passions are legitimately worked to bring the desired result without causing us pain and shame in the end? Let’s look at a few pointers:

1. INVEST: Anything you give up to go up is an investment in the future. When we don’t put in the required hard work but will rather cut corners like undergoing blood transfusions before a major contest, we are eating our seed rather than sowing it. Because the right thing to do in this instance is put in the time and work required. Whatever is achieved from hard work tends to endure longer than others. Plus in the process of training, we learn life lessons that enable us to win the game over and over again, in the future. Rather than take a short cut, invest the time to travel the route so you can learn the terrain and own it!

2. WEIGH YOUR OPTIONS: All things are lawful but not all things are expedient is a biblical saying that I believe in. That something works for your competition doesn’t mean it will work for you. Weigh your options, what works within your peculiar circumstances? What price are you willing to pay? Are a few months or years of seeming success enough to destroy your name for life? How do you want to be remembered in the final analysis?

3. WHO HOLDS YOU ACCOUNTABLE? ‘Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are’ is also a popular saying that some of us have stopped taking seriously. Every dream chaser requires an accountability partner. Who is it that holds you accountable? What principles guide their lives? Really who is the one you go to for counsel? I find that people may not know the details of running my business but they have life values that I admire so I submit to them. They help shine the light when I begin to move into those gray areas that can ultimately become dark and keep me accountable. If in chasing your dream you will not ‘kill’ process, then you need to submit yourself to accountability.

4. WHAT WILL YOUR FINAL HOURS LOOK LIKE? You have now had the opportunity to live long chasing this dream and you have been blessed to have done great things with it. It is time to go home and stand before your maker and it is time for others to put a sentence on your tomb, what is it you can see them say about you? What is it you will be proud to stand before your maker and say concerning how you have run? It is only a fool who lives like he will have no end because surely the end will come, and at that place there is no chance to go back and right the wrongs… wise people decide from the get go not to make those costly intentional mistakes.

In the end, your dream will also stand to be judged, that is when you will realise that it is not how far you have ran but how well that matters. It is given to us all to run and finish well but the choices we make will decide what happens.

My prayer now and always for you is that you will make it NeverTheLess… you will.

Hugs

Sistar B

The Road Less Travelled

noreply@blogger.com (SistarB) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 11:23:00 +0000

thenational.ae

It is a great day to be alive. Welcome to NeverTheLess, and thanks so much to all of you who take time to drop a word to show you were here. You are loved and appreciated.

My bags are packed and I am ready to embark on a trip I had taken all of one month to plan for. The day has finally come, and I am moving one step closer to the destiny I have always wanted but honestly, making this trip alone sucks! As long as the trip was still in the future, I was fine, but the moment it became a present possibility I started to look for reasons why I may not be able to make the trip. It had nothing to do with the fact that the event I was going to speak at was no longer important or relevant to my dream, but it was mainly because I am afraid of traveling alone.

Have you ever felt that chasing after and living your dream will be more fun if you had someone working alongside you? I feel like that so many times. So as I sat on the edge of my bed wondering who should have been going on this trip with me, it suddenly dawned on me that so many of these trips I will have to go alone!

So I picked up my bags, hopped in the car and headed to the airport. Every now and then the thought will occur to me one more time, you are traveling alone! And each of those times, I brace myself and say, it is the reality of living a dream, sometimes you must go alone.

Here are some questions you should ask yourself when living the dream becomes lonely:

1. WHO – Who are you called to? Who were you called with? Once you are sure whom you are called to and the impact you can make, it makes facing the journey alone a bit less scary.

2. WHAT – The 'What' question is pretty easy. It is the question that provides you with a plan. What are you called to deliver through your dream? How important is the ‘what’ of your dream to the lives you are called to serve? Who else do you know who will be able to provide the ‘what’ as you can? Again, it enhances the importance of facing this trip, even though alone.

3. WHEN – The next question you should answer to convince yourself to get on the dream bus is the ‘When’ question. This is simply about the lifespan of your dream and your call. Do you think the opportunities and the people will always be there? Do you think the need will always be there? The answer to the When question is usually, NOW. So again, if you have to live this dream NOW, then shouldn’t you get on the bus?

4. WHERE – It is imperative that you know where you are called to express your dream. I mean if you are called to your immediate family alone, then maybe you are exempt from getting on the dream bus alone, but if not, then travel you must, and sometimes alone is how you must travel.

5. WHY – This is our last question for now. Why you? Why this dream? Why the audience? Why? I know for instance that I am the one called to do what I do, because I have been endowed with the potential to do so. I have the experience to tell the story, and my audience is probably me a few short years back. In other words, your why, qualifies you and puts in perspective for you why getting on the bus is expedient. Maybe because except you do it, no one else might be able to do it the way you do it. There is also the fact that it is the passion that has consumed you.

Now back to my trip, I have been on that trip and many more alone. Each time even though getting out of the house is scary, once out there, I cannot but be grateful to God for the opportunity.

What steps do you have to take today alone, in order to enhance your dream life? Remember that dream chasers travel the road less travelled. Get on that bus. One thing is sure; you will make your destination NeverTheLess. I promise you will!

Hugs

Sistar B