The Power Of Focus - The Driving Force

The need of focus

In order to be a front runner in any worthy endeavor, focus is a core value you must possess. It is one thing to discover where you belong and it is another thing to stay on it. When you are committed to business you will eventually stand out. Running here and there leads to nowhere.

Matthew 6; 22 says, ‘’if your eyes be single your body shall be full of light’’ single here means focus. Thus light comes if you are focused on your assignment. Focus is a formidable force in your journey to leadership. Identify where you belong, embrace it, and stay there (focus).

Focus is the missing thing in our career today. You can never find a professor in any university who is professing in all fields. You can never hear of a popular general medical practitioner all over the world. When you operate as general anything, you dissolve into insignificant towards many directions. What you will hear is about a well known surgeon, gynecologist, pediatrician etc. It means a person may have knowledge of other things but he focuses on something. He is called a specialist.

A general practitioner cannot be a specialist. If you are a jack of all trade you will end up a master of none. If you belong to one thing please proudly stay there. Do not be ashamed. If you are a carpenter please stay focused and you will soon become the carpenter. The force of focus is the flight to the top.

If you are not focused on your career everybody around you will soon leave. If you are a trader and you are running here and there your business will soon lose value. Think of a tailor who is not focused; every time village meeting, political meeting, burial etc. Would you still go to him? A lawyer too who hardly stays in his chamber; every time family meeting etc To become a first class citizen of this world (I don’t mean a local champion) you must be focused.

1Kings 20; 39-40 (the man who lost a captive entrusted to his care in a war because he was going about here and there). Here and there never makes anything happen but failure. Distractions are side attractions seeking your attention to divert your course from distinction. A student cannot make good grades without focus.  

Do one thing to the point where it merges with your name example; if I say Coca Cola, without thinking Mineral drink comes to your mind. If I say Julius Berger, without any stress Construction comes to your mind. If I say Bill Gates, without thinking computer comes to your mind. What if I mention any of this great men (Adegboye; Benny Hinns; Oyedepo) what immediately comes to your mind? No wonder Jesus says that one thing is needful.  Don’t say I am a General Contractor. I guess it’s only in Nigeria that we have General Contractors.

Remember

      ·         Nothing will ever become dynamic until it first becomes specific.

    

      ·         At the root of every successful venture is focus.

      ·         It is your level of focus on your assignment that would determine your level of placement on earth.

      ·         Focus is to be totally committed or absolved in a particular assignment.

      ·         Focus is the ability to look unwaveringly at your purpose and assignment without distractions.

      ·         Nobody can scale great heights scattering himself in different directions.

      ·         Focus is simply consistently staying stubbornly on your assignment until it produces positive results.

      ·         If you do not get result you get insult and the only way to get result is to stay focused.

      ·         The world is tired of your explanations; they want to see your result.

      ·         A man of focus would never lack outstanding result.

      ·         Lack of focus would turn your destiny to that of a locus!

    

      ·         If you do not focus on your assignment then you become like a man in the asylum.

     ·         Focus creates a platform for manifestation and manifestation makes you a center of attraction which               compels massive attention in your favor.

     ·         One of the greatest killers of destiny is distraction (broken focus).

     ·         If you allow your vision to suffer division it would end in delusion.

   

     ·     Jesus came to fulfill one singular assignment. In John 18; 37 He says; ‘’for this cause came I into the             world.’’ He did not come for these causes.

     ·       ......In 2Timothy 4; 7 Paul says; ‘’ I have fought a good fight, I have finished my cause, I have kept the            faith.’’ Paul did not talk about his cause.

     ·         If you are distracted you will be limited.

Enemies of focus

Wrong ambition mixed with vision

Peter went back to fishing. Paul left the gentiles for the Jews haven’t been called for the gentiles.

Ambition is what you want while vision is what God wants you to do.

Some African Pastors in European countries mostly do not have churches with more than three hundred members because they mix wrong ambition with vision. Almost all of them are Pastors and car dealers at the same time.

However, there is a focused Nigerian Pastor in Ukraine and he Pastors a congregation of about five thousand people in a massively white dominated environment.

A great man would start witness a nose diving effect when they start mixing ambition with vision.

Mixing ambition with vision is like mixing water and oil and expecting them to blend.

Your ambition would be a strong tool of distraction that Satan would constantly use against you. Most people want quick money and there is no quick money in God’s kingdom. You must patiently follow the principles.

Many people are pursuing two rabbits at the same time and they end up catching none. You hardly know anybody for two things.

That is how they came to Jesus in John 6 with the intention of breaking His focus by making Him a King But Jesus maintained His focus and the result of His focus is even more radiant all over the world more than two thousand years after He ascended to glory.

It is not every good thing that comes your way that is from God. Not every good thing is for you to do. You only do every right thing according to your vision.

Many destinies are wasted because of wrong interest. You will have to consciously watch your interest so that your assignment can be preserved and given the utmost attention that it deserves.

Wrong company

·         It isn’t everybody at the Motor park or Airport that is travelling.

·         If you go to any airport there are people who know all the flight but they have not travelled on any.

·         It is not everybody in business that is going somewhere.

·         If you follow people who are going nowhere then you end up nowhere.

·         This is why Proverbs 13; 20 says; ‘’he that walketh with the wise would be wise but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.’’

·         Proverbs 27; 17 also makes it clear that iron sharpens iron. Wood can never sharpen iron. Friendship is not by force, it is by choice.

      Ignorance of the packages of your assignment

·         Inside every assignment there is a consignment and inside every vision there is a provision.

·      Your true provision is only found in your vision. Sadly many of us believe we just have to do something to help God. Uzziah tried it and died. You are too small to help God. If what you are doing is what God wants you to do (vision) then remember the question Jesus asked His disciples; ‘’when I sent you lacked you anything?’’

Skepticism

Fear of the unknown can actual sway people from the pursuit of their goal. Taking bold step in the midst of uncertainty, can actual make one face his course in life. This is why people break their investment into fragments hoping that if one fails the other will succeed. That is living life to chance and luck.

·         Fear is an inhibitor of success, if you fear to fail, you actual have failed.

·         No tangible progress in the midst of skepticism

·         Failure to remain focused is focusing on failure.

·         The destination of people who always doubt their potentiality is sure failure.

13 Workable Tips On How To Startup And Grow A Small Scale Business

Some people have some capital or at least an idea to startup a mini mart or a store or a stop over or a bar or a kiosk or some sort of shop, the problem some times is “how do I go about it?” and just before long they have diverted the fund to something else or at worse spend it. What you have to do, you have to get it done without delay. The fear most times is failure; they fear it may not bloom or it may not yield proceeds as expected. Note that the fear of failure is worse than failure itself.

If you have gotten some capital and you wish to startup a business that you have gotten the idea, then it is very simple. Don’t just go and rent a ware house or a store somewhere to start, you must put certain things into consideration and to make sure that the business thrives, the following tips will help you arrive at your goal.

1.       Kill that fear, venture to succeed, then take risk and be ready to bloom – the fear of failure destroys more than failure itself. Be aware that life is a risk and failure to take a risk is a risk taken to fail. If you have anything in your head or hand to implement don’t even think that it will not prevail. Nothing fails in the midst of proper consultations and planning.

2.       Asses the area to uncover latent issues – you have created the business idea and you are sure of what to run and you are afraid to get cracking; your fear may be a signal of something somewhere you are not sure of. So do proper assessment of the area to eliminate doubt. Determine the vicinity where to setup the structure or rent the shop. Make sure is strategic enough to start since you want to make sure to maximize profit.

3.       Make do with what you have – don’t wait till you have huge amount of money, make do with what you have. Start small but don’t remain small.

4.       Fix a low-priced price – the difference may just be a Fadden but be sure it will make the magic. You competitors will not find easy with you but just keep on and ignore gossips.

5.       Get operational principles – you must be guided be principles so you can prevail in the business sphere. Some of the principles may be no credit, family members must pay for goods and services including you etc.

6.       Get a good accounting structure – book keeping is good to keep business alive. Account for everything that transpires on daily, weekly, monthly and bases.

7.       Minimize expenses to maximize income – sometimes if not most times, do it by yourself. An upcoming enterprise needs not begin with lots of bills to settle from man power and other expenses. You have to get it done with little or no extra expense.

8.       Let the vicinity be attractive or inviting – let your customers see something unique about your booth. So do it like an enlightened person and not just some sort of novice or unlearned.

9.       Get good manners – a thank you said to a customer will serve as an attraction. People appreciate when you acknowledge them. Don’t talk and nag them away. When they are offended be polite and be firm in decision. Manners of approach will perfect the task.

10.   Be neat, nice looking and admirable – not only you but with all other staffs if there is any. This is not being seductive but attractive. Even the loosest person wants to admire someone.

11.   Reinvest proceeds and spend less – some business men and women will always take out their profit and squander it. Please the only one way to improve your business is to improve on its income capacity and that is by reinvesting the profit or/and sort fund from other sources to reinvest.

12.   Get side attractions – think of something that will attract customers and put it in place. It could be a free gift, bulk sms to send seasonal greetings, television viewing spot and good music etc.

13. Focus on customers satisfaction – if you must grow business then customers satisfaction should be your priority. Most business owners are full of self and no prefence for their customers, however a good business man/woman should build their goals around the satisfaction of customers.

Putting destiny on course – The Place Of Vision In Achieving Goals

Vision is having the sense of the future – a strong imaginative ability to picture the path of the future; planning and designing it to fit or suite a pattern in the mind. Vision is the strong use of the mind to look beyond the ordinary and see what becomes of the nearest and farthest future. God told Abraham to lift up his eyes to look and as far as he can see him God will give him; Abraham looked but this time not with the physical eyes but with the eyes of vision. You need not be told of the result of that visionary look of Abraham.

How to create a clear visionary sight

Empty your head knowledge and look beyond reality – from all scientific proof and evidence it may seems impossible but just empty yourself of the head knowledge and believe in the possibility of things. Abraham was old and well stricken in age but he look beyond that and see himself becoming the father of many nations. Create a clear picture of what you want and walk and work towards it will manifest. If you don’t like the world around you, you can indeed create another world around you where things are possible and you dreams are guaranteed.

Have a clear definition of what you want – a friend of mine in those who wants to be a great preacher but his weakness of being easily drawn away by ladies was not curtailed, he eventually impregnated a lady hustle mate and his schooling ended. He became an emergency father. What you want should be more salient to other things.

Separate from the crowed and stand out – you can’t see clear if you are not out of your comfort zone and out of the multitude. When God called Abraham, he called him apart and asked him to look. You can only see clearly when you are alone. Sometimes take time out of where everyone is, withdraw to view properly. I’m not saying you should go to some mountain or a wilderness, you may if you want to but I’m saying always learn to have a ground to stand differently from the grounds others are standing.

Resolve to make impart – if you are living your life hoping you will be lucky one day, be ready for an empty harvest because you have sown nothing but emptiness. If your desire is to transform humanity and impart people be sure you dream right and see clearly what you want and where you will be in the future times.

Vision enhance the following

Focus – when you have vision you stay tuned

Increase in zeal – when you have vision you run tirelessly.

Elimination of waste – people waste time, energy, resources, purpose and other valuable article to manifest destiny. But vision eliminates waste and enhances effectiveness.

Guarantee of glorious future – what you don’t visualize will not manifest and even if it does, it may not stand the test of time. Most great men in history have a powerful focal lens of vision.

Complete Elimination of insults – no matter the delay vision will bring result and insult will be completely wiped out.

Total acceptance when the vision scale through – the truth is that with strong desire and resilience vision will yield true result and when that happens those who rejected you before will help to sing your praise. Result breaks protocols.

Hindrances to vision

Your past – past failures can really tire you down; leave your past in the grave

Stigma/background – this may bring low self esteem and short sight you from seeing the true picture of the future.

Short term/pressing needs – if you think of what you will eat or get now you will certainly lose you visionary strength. Esau despised his birth right because of hunger but when he needed it was gone.

Fear of failure – the fear of failure is the best way to fail. If you want to fail, simply fear to fail. If you don’t risk anything you risk everything.

Complacence – too satisfied with one thing and ignoring thrusting further will blind fold you from living fulfilled. Keep reaching out in vision. Complacent about progress will hinder progress.

Complaisance – try to please everybody not having your stand; running with other people’s vision.

Make the vision plane; spell out you plans – proverb 16 :1

Unlocking Potentials And Maximizing Personal Abilities

How to discover your potentials

Emmanuel Egbunike was once Nigerian Olympic gold medalist; he was a sprinter, a relay racer, a long jumper and so many other things that he could do and he will always bring medals home. He was gifted in so many areas but not until he started discovering his wide range of potential in the field. The way to this discobery is Ability + Skill + Performance = Potentials

-          Discover the stuff you made up of – when the disciple of Jesus demanded that their master should permit them to call fire from heaven, Jesus simply said you don’t know the stuff you are made up of.  They were called to save, to heal, to reconcile and spoil the work of the devil so that was contrary to their calling. Where your strength lies indicates your make up - Ability.

-           Discovered yourself – before you can discover anything around you, you must know where you are standing or where you are. Self discovering is the beginning of knowing what to do and how to do it. Always ask these questions why am I here? What can I do? How do I get it done? - Skill.

-          Look inward to what you can offer humanity – every can be a problem solver or giver; but if you know what to do to relief man of some of his pains and flaws your are on your way to discovering your potentials - Performance.

How to unlock potentials

Put to work what you have discovered – The master gave several talents to his servants for them to make profit, two got increases but one of them refused to maximize his talent and he was cast out and punished. Those who worked with theirs were blessed and recommended (Matt 25:14 – 30). The only way to start operating in full capacity is to start operating with what you have and strive to increase in it.

Personal development – personal development is paramount in all things and a vital tool to accomplishing self reliance and maximizing self worth. If you are what you were some 2years ago then you are far backward.  The world is dynamic such that when you move one step backward it will land you twenty steeps backward. Always improve on yourself.

Be tenacious – persistence break resistance, no matter the instance. If you are easily discourage in the face of challenges you can not how good or gifted you are. You real self is revealed in the face of opposition in terms of what you do to overcome. It takes full perseverance and self reliance to come through.

Always find out and do something new – things don’t just happen something must propel them to occur. Why am I thus Rebecca asked herself and she discovered to nations in her womb. What you know will guide you in realizing potentials and achieving heights in life. Try to do something different from the ordinary and that will push you to find out how to achieve greater result in life.

Find a life of sacrifice – you can’t achieve anything not until you are ready to pay a prize. You can’t get from earth what you have not paid for. Place a demand by sacrifice and she will settle you.

Face your course – the path to realizing destiny is very smooth but distractions roughen it up. Sail on a straight path that is set on course by looking only the direction of the vision. You can never miss it on earth if only you are always on course.

Speaking Skills – Simple Ways To Build Public Speaking and Communication Skills

Public speaking is the process of speaking to an audienve in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, motivate or entertain the listeners. It is a close synonym to presenting, although it is more of a commercial suggestion.

In public speaking, as in any form of communication, there are five basic elements in public speaking are: who is saying what to whom using what medium with what effects? The purpose of public speaking varies from simply informing, to motivating people to take action, and then telling a story. Good speakers should be able to change the emotions the listeners and not just merely informing them without taking decision.

In presenting a speech, the end is not what is heard but what is said. So the sole target of a presenter is to sell his ideas by the use of effective communication skill.

All speeches should have to salient goals – the first goal is firm, fixed and basic —to communicate and be understood—while the second goal depends on the type of speech you want to present.

Types of speech

Informative: it is a lecture simply intended to convey knowledge and educe indulgence/and understanding. What to do in informative are; ask questions, solicit examples, let them ask questions, relate answers to question to real life situations. However, too much information will undermine your efforts. Don’t endlessly find facts, theories and figures just make sure you don’t get off hand.

Characteristic of informative speech

The information should be communicated correctly.

The information should be communicated clearly.

The information should be meaningful and interesting to the audience.

The information should probably try to change their course of action.

Persuasive: in a persuasive your job is to get your audience to agree with you and most probably to take action. The processes of creating, reinforcing, or changing people’s beliefs or actions are embedded in persuasive speaking. It is the most complex and challenging of all the types of speech because unlike informative speech, which you are mere than providing information on your topic, you are going to providing your own opinion on that topic and attempt to persuade them that your opinion is correct. This element is what makes the persuasive speech the most challenging of the four types. The key to a persuasive speech is to have an opinion about the topic. You must know what you believe and why you believe it and also have in mind the how to convince them. Provide convincing evidence for them to follow your opinion

Characteristics of persuasive speech

It most be convincing and for it to be, it must have the following elements.

Make references-appeal to authority- known authorities in certain areas of interest are most time highly regarded.

Make logical presentation-appeal to logic-not just some sort of argument but it should be with critical thinking and logic.

Get at their emotion- appeal to emotion-people easily take sympathetic decision when you get at their emotion.

Demonstrative speech: The demonstrative speech is much related to informative speech; it is to providing the audience with information however, demonstrative speech is to give the audience the clue on "how-to". In preparing this speech you ask yourself how and why the subject matter.

It is to demonstrate and show how is done so the use of aids is very important here. For instance you want to demonstrate how to couple a detachable table you will have to use practical examples. It is called the “how-to” speech because it seeks to teach on to get something done.

Characteristics of demonstrative speech

It makes use visual aids - These are helpful in any speech, but they are the very backbone of a demonstrative speech.

Focusing on how to rather than what is –determine what skill your audience should gain.

Imparting the steps involved in accomplishing the skill.

Your speech got the major points on how to achieve your goals well mapped out.

 Special Occasions: This final speechmaking is broad and differs from the others. You may want to present a speech at an occasion, a brief keynote address, a farewell speech, a birth day speech etc. In the various kinds of special occasion speech may have its own format which in the scope of this lecture. The speech may be prepared or impromptu. When making a speech at a special occasion; prepared or impromptu, be appropriate and focus. Your thoughts should always remain centered on that occasion itself and maximize the opportunity

Characteristic of special occasion speech

The speech should focus on the occasion

Be timely as possible and brief.

You may not have the facilities of microphone and aids – the audience might be standing around a cocktail party or a brief address whereby the audience are clustered around you.

It may be impromptu or prepared – so as a speaker you should be well informed and prepared at all times.

Tips to develop public speaking skills

Sound grammatical accuracy and eloquence in speech – as a speaker you have to build vocabulary – visit 

grammatical concord, collocation, use of idioms and figures of speech.

Attend seminars and listen to speakers around the world.

Read books on public speaking and listen to tapes.

Build inner ability to face people (courage).

Work on yourself in terms of personal development – read my article on personal development on this site

Have a good sense of humour – learn jokes, be polite, humble and friendly.

Have a good sense of dressing – not necessarily being extravagance but dress nicely and neatly and have a good sense of combination.

Mannerism is paramount – good manner is a very sharp tool to gain acceptance.

Seek examples and borrow from good speakers.

Obey time constraints and be concise

Know you audience before time.

Lead a discussion

Punctuate words with gestures

Get to the venue before every body or at least early enough to ease tension.

Always have enough information on what to present.

Seek to present something new – you are the resource person so you have to be ahead.

Good communication skill – tips on communicating well

What is said is not as important as what is heard.

Don’t seek to be understood seek to understand.

Listen more than you speak – listen more say less, people can asses you from what you say.

Make use of gesture and demonstrations.

Command good English language – speak well at all times and if you made a mistake in the cause of your 

speech don’t apologize but don’t repeat such grammatical error.

Styles/mode in communication – speak to be heard

Passive – too soft can’t communicate well.

Passive – Active – intermediate; talks not too soft but can’t pass out information accurately.

Active – good for the job, has all it takes to do the job. Has what it takes to convince his audience.

Aggressive – active but aggressive, too forceful and no humour or convincing ability

The best in communication is active; you are well heard, understood and firm. Don’t be passive and don’t be aggressive too just focus on the audience, getting you rightly.

Good Marketing Skills

A good marketer is someone who is good at persuading; making people to patronize certain goods at a particular time even if they don’t want to buy at that time. a good marketer is the leader who knows how to sell into the heart of the people.

Must bankers I have meet in the course of my work with students around Nigerian higher institutions; I have always noticed some sort of vacuum and certain lapses in skill and presentations. Some times, some are just excellent and some times some are close to not well trained. So this article will help build the right trait of qualitative and quantitative marketing and instill good culture of marketing in you.

Keys to become a good marketer

Key1 – Be out spoken and courageous: speak good English, be admirable and well polished.

Key2 – Learn to capture the audience: know how to buy their mind. Get their attention without stress. So first impression makes a lot of difference-if you can’t get their attention at first you may struggle through out.

Key3 – Be proud of what you do and be authoritative: we are not saying you should be disrespectful or show arrogance rather polite yet firm and appealing.

Key4 – Developing convincing techniques: you should be able to make them patronize your product. Make them see the need; your power is in your tongue use it well.

Key5 – Develop good communication skill: eloquence is a sharp razor, good command of language is s great assets, but good communication skill is all you need to get at the heart of your customers or audience.

Key6 – Wear amiable disposition: learn to smile, don’t slouch, scowl and learn to be lively at all times. Don’t let your failures, shame fears and doubts show in what you do.

Key7 – Learn good manners and etiquette: you may not know who is watching; remember winning the people’s approval is all you need to sell. So show good manners – table, dressing, conversation, handling complement etc.

Key8 – Know how to make good and effective use of time: be time conscious and know when the ovation is high and leave the scene.

Key9 – Have a target: having a target is one, achieving it is another thing. So you must work modalities to get at the target.

Key10 – Develop positive mind set of your product: the way you see your product is the way the product is. So be optimistic and a fanatic of your own belief.

Key11 – Improve on you selling skills and selling speed every day: since you must set new target other than the previous one, so you must improve on your skills and speedy. So you have to be hard working and strong.