Just Start

So my Monday post simply saved as draft and I was wondering why I had no feedback(wish I could edit the date..lol)....Whew!! Hope you’ve been having an awesome week? Just want to drop a short word of encouragement for us all. 

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks an then starting on the first one. - Mark Twain

Every big thing you see today started small. That project can’t fail if you’ve not even started it. Questions will definitely pop up in your mind like: “Will anyone buy the product or service I am thinking of developing?”; “Do I really have what it takes to start this?”; “Do people still have interest in this thing I want to get into?”; thinking too much doesn’t help you. You need to act. Just go for it if you’ve been convinced to. Every idea has its pros and cons, don’t be too scared to take that step. Just start and see things unfold in your favour.

Picked these from Forbes site just this morning and thought to share:

Specifically after you have a handle on what you think you want, then you need to:

1.   Take a Smart Step toward that desire as quickly as you can i.e. act with the means at hand; don’t spend more (in money, time and other resources) than you can afford to and bring others along with you if it makes sense.

2.      Make reality your friend. Accept what is and build off what you find.

3.    Repeat steps 1 and 2 until you accomplish your goal or until you decide it is not possible or you decide you rather do something else.

 So friends, don’t let anyone or anything discourage you. Just take that bold step. Just Start!! Enjoy the rest of your week!!!

Beyond The Play

Hi hiiii,

How did your weekend go? Mine was FantaMARglorious!! lol... That's what one of my friends would always say. Meaning: Fantastic, Marvelous and Glorious. You'll find it in "Mary's dictionary"...lol

So, after a wonderful wrap-up of the 'Singles and Married' seminar on Sunday morning, we saw a SUPER interesting stage play that evening. Deviating from the lessons I picked from the storyline, I would love to talk about the cast. 

 From their expressions, I could see people who were ready to deliver, people who had worked hard to achieve results, people who had passion for what they were doing, people who didn't expect failure in anyway, people who worked together and believed in every member of their team... (I can go on and on) But guess what! It was a free production with a perfectly set stage and proper lighting.

Then I asked myself: What if everyone had such passion for their careers? What if we all believe in ourselves to deliver efficiently? Can't we all give our best to what we do? What do people pick from my expressions when I carryout my daily activities? Can people really work so hard in the absence of financial gains attached to the job?

Search for answers to these questions and just like I did, you will make up your mind to change a lot of things. Don't just stop at that... Work towards achieving such goals. No matter how little you earn from what you do, be good at it.

Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won't be faithful in large ones. If you cheat even a little, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities. - Luke 16:10 NLT

And like they say, 'Anything worth doing is worth doing well'

Have a productive week ahead.

Memories

“What i like about photographs is that they capture moments that are gone forever, impossible to reproduce.” Karl Lagerfeld

Aren't there memories you wish you or members of your family had saved as pictures? Let me quickly bring you one. I came across this picture on Facebook with the caption 'What does this remind you of, when you were of this age?'.

Now, you'll agree with me that this is an interesting and memory tasking question. I kept laughing as I recalled my childhood days ..... Christmas precisely.

That's one of such memories, I will be very happy to see a picture from that part of my past. There was this assurance that all your needs will be met.... regardless what the economy was like. All I cared about in each dress was the size of its pleats... Lol

It was so much fun seeing the dress tansform into a large circle whenever I spinned around. I had no worries about what anyone had to say about me or what people would say if I decided to take certain actions.
I think that's how life should be: believe God to supply all your needs, take your mind off what the news has to say about the economy, love all that God has given to you and showcase them at every given opportunity. Live a happy life, don't let the fear of people's reactions stop you from being YOU. And please, try your best to capture those fun moments; that way, you will have clear pictures attached to the sweet memories.
Stay happy always, catch ya!!

Meet Joey

Holla!!
Henceforth, I'll like to use Friday posts to celebrate people.... Let's tag it 'Meet Fridays'...*giggles* And today, make some noise..... as I introduce a great friend and co-minstrel..... JOEY!!

Idikwu Joseph Ikande popularly known as Joey, a songwriter and composer is a Nigerian based gospel artist that is eclectic in his approach to music and a lover of all genres. He is more of an R and B singer, though his flair for soft rock still stands out as his first single released “Standing Ovation” attests to this. He is Igede by Tribe from Benue State, born into a family of seven (7), the second (2nd) of five (5) siblings. Joey is a Nurse by profession and a music lover by birth, “mmmm, how cool”.... And I can't forget to add that he's a JOSSITE!! Yeah 

His musical background dates back to his early childhood and has ever since grown with him till date. His experience with music gets better as the years roll by as he has always been an active singer in different choirs at different capacities and also backed up for some big time Gospel Music Heroes, Lionel Peterson, Chris Delvan, Panam Percy Paul, Solomon Lange, Freke Umoh and a host of others.
He recently dropped his debut single of all times titled “Standing Ovation” that is more alternate rock inclined. The inspiration for this song he says was borne out of a grateful heart that is perplexed by God’s show of love, left with no certain expression to display and so, helplessly stands in ovation. Download song here

 He is currently working on other singles due to hit your frequencies soon and urges everyone to keep their fingers crossed in anticipation as we also expect an album this year.

Joey is quite poetic in his song writing skills, which reflects in nearly all his songs as he defines music as a fine mix of words with melodious sound. He lays claims to his inspiration, rich source of creativity, diversity and uniqueness of his music to the likes of Deitrick Haddon, Fred Hammond, Jeremy Camp, Donnie McClurkin, Marvin Sapp, Casting Crowns, Smokie Norful, Hillsong that constitutes a large space of his playlist that he listens to.

His words to you, keep focus, let God be true and all men liars.
Follow Joey on twitter @joey_twits and @joowwei
Like his page on facebook here
You too can be celebrated here one of these Fridays, simply send details to chigwacham@gmail.com
Have a GREAT weekend.

Val's Edition 2

Hey there!! Like I promised in my previous post, I'll be sharing few tips from the second segment of the 'Singles and Married' Seminar which held at Graceville Christian Centre, Abuja on 9th February, 2014.

 Longevity in marriage doesn't necessarily mean success. As important as love is, it's not the most important thing in marriage; WISDOM is. There's no challenge that can't be overcome by applying wisdom.
Sometimes, wisdom could be 'apologizing even when you aren't wrong', 'taking the blame for your spouse's shortfalls before friends and family' and ultimately, praying for him/her.

Anybody above the age of 18 has a minimum of 4 personalities within him/her:

1. The person he/she is by birth
2. The person formed by people's influence on him/her  (including conclusions from past relationships)
3. The person formed by religious influence and
4. The person his/her personal philosophies made him/her (their dos and don'ts) 

With these personalities merged in just one body, it takes wisdom to actually understand and relate rightly with your spouse

Marriage should not be seen as a mere contract, it is supposed to be a covenant. People in a covenant don't jump out because of challenges. Discovering faults doesn't give you the right to quit because it is already a sealed covenant. You have the time to change your mind before the solemnization of matrimony, after which you are both considered as covenant partners.

"Before marriage, he/she is A will of God but after marriage, he/she becomes THE will of God."Pst. Tunde Ayeni

You too can be part of the last session of the Singles and Married Seminar holding this Sunday 23rd February, 2014.
Enjoy the rest of your week!!

Val's Edition

Happy Val’s Day Sweeties!!
Today, I’ll like to share a few tips I picked from the ‘Singles and Married’ Seminar at Graceville Christian Centre, Abuja on 9th February, 2014. It was an wonderful, real and exiting meeting headed by Pastor Tunde Ayeni (Pastor Tee). I’ll discuss the Singles’ segment today and that of the Married soon.

Singleness is not a natural way of existence; it’s a phase of life that requires certain grace to live in it. Once that phase is over and you’re still living in it, you have lots of stumbling tendencies. Don’t turn that passing phase into a permanent residence; believe God for that phase to pass quickly.

In making your choice of a life partner, DON’T TRY TO PLAY THE HERO. She’s a single mum, her child is comfortable around you, you want to correct the past wrongs and change her perspective about men…. Hey! You can prove all that to her without rushing into marriage. Take out time to understand what you are getting into. Make informed decisions so that you don’t start a journey with load that turns out to become a burden midway into the journey. Don’t start something you’ll have to complain while doing later in life.

Always apply the Law of observation. People don’t change overnight.  Don’t expect something you are tolerating in a relationship to disappear when you get married. Don’t be too carried away by love that you think he/she will treat you differently. If she fights her family members, colleagues, friends and church members; don’t expect to be an exception for a long time. It’s a lifelong commitment; don’t stay in a trap for the rest of your life.

 I’ll conclude in Pastor Tee’s words:

“Men don’t marry those who turn them on; they marry those who don’t turn them off”

Dress decently, don’t throw your privacy out in public and adjust your personal habits to be accommodating.

Do have a pleasant Val’s day celebration.

Hoping Against Hope

Hey there!! Hope we’ve all been having an awesome week? As another weekend draws near, I wish to take us back a bit to one of the highpoints of the last weekend in January: The CHAN 2014 match between Nigeria and Morocco. Now, that match should be used practically to prove to us that it’s never too late to achieve whatever we want. Giving up should never be an option. 

“What I told them at half time was that we were not the ones playing like that, I told them they were giving too much respect to the Moroccans. Even though they are a good team, they don’t deserve such from us, we are supposed to take our game to them and that is what they did in the second half. I told them I want to see the same character or more like they displayed in the game against Bafana Bafana and they did that,” Keshi.

For the benefit of those who didn’t watch the said match (and of course those who gave up watching when Nigeria was 3 goals down… lol) let’s have a brief highlight of the match. The Moroccans raced to a three goal lead in just seven minutes, scoring in the 33rd, 37th and 40th minutes. At this point, the eagles had missed so many goals that many people had concluded there was no hope of equalizing, but the second half saw goals from Ugonna Uzochukwu(49’) and Rabiu Ali (56’) then Ejike Uzoenyi on the dot of 90 minutes ensured the game proceeded into extra-time. While it seemed the game would head for a penalty shoot-out, in second half extra time, Ibrahim scored the winning goal after Moroccan goalkeeper and captain, Nadir Lamyaghri spilled an easy ball off Uzoenyi's cross. 

Morocco: (3) (3) 3 (Moutaouali 33' 40', Iajour 37')

Nigeria: (0) (3) 4 (Uzochukwu 49', Ali 56', Uzoenyi 90', Ibrahim 111') 

Watching the way the goals came in during the first half, lots of people gave up. Some said the eagles should just quit struggling as they had tried by making it to the semi-finals. Many Nigerians had predicted the eagles would lose the match while many of us kept hoping against hope that they would at least reach a draw. Life knocks us down sometimes and we seem to see only negative ends to the situations at hand, but one thing is important: IT’S NOT OVER UNTIL IT’S OVER. Don’t give up!! Give it all your best no matter how low you think you’ve fallen. There were still reasons to lose hope at the 88th minute of that match but HEY!!! It took the Moroccans just 7minutes to score 3 goals, 3 minutes should be enough to score just one last goal. God proved that to us through Uzoenyi who scored in the 90th minute. 

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all ”Dale Carnegie.’’

 Don’t stop living, as long as you keep waking up every morning. Don’t stop trying, as long as the opportunity to do that keeps coming. Don’t stop believing, as long as you’re still alive. Hope is not pretending that troubles don't exist. It is the belief that they won't last forever; that hurts will be healed and difficulties overcome; that we will be led out of the darkness into a brighter day. Against all odds, let’s keep hoping for the best, WE DESERVE THE BEST!! 

Watch this space tomorrow for the Valentine Special Post....

WORDS 2

Thank you so much for the support. It’s good to know I actually have people who take their time to read my posts. I was shocked when views of my post “WORDS” hit 150 just few hours after it was published. I received a few comments and messages among which I had messages from friends suggesting that the positive impact of words should also be given cognizance. In that light, I’ve titled today’s post 'Words 2' to stand as a continuation of the previous piece.

No matter what level you attain in life, be nice to your subordinates. It gives this sense of belonging that could make an employee want to stick to a particular firm, not minding an offer elsewhere with higher pay . Discussing work with my friends often gets some of us wondering: “Do bosses like that really exist?”

Here is a typical example: Boss 1 is extremely nice with words while Boss 2 always has something to scold you for. In a tight working situation where you’re given a very short space of time to handle something you’ve never done before, on submission, Boss 1 would normally say “Wow! This is wonderful. But you can bring this part lower to make it more presentable. Make this change and that change, nice job” while Boss 2 says “Madam! Do you think we are playing here? What sort of work is this? I’m tired of working with empty heads in this office. Everybody seems to have nothing upstairs. My friend, take this rubbish back to your office and make this change and that change”

They've both made the same point, presented differently and definitely the reactions to them must be different too. On reading this (which could just be an understatement on both parts) everyone would rather work with Boss 1 than Boss 2. 

It's often said that when people are praised for something they did, they are empowered to do more.

You never know how important compliments can be till you are at the receiving end. Just a word from you can light up someone’s day. That little compliment, that word of appreciation, that word of encouragement can do a lot in the life of its recipient. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone (Colossians 4:6).

^5-6 Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out. (MSG)

Spread Happiness, enjoy life and be nice to others, and you will not only brighten your day alone but someone else's too. Have a splendid week ahead!