Career Development, Entrepreneurship, My DN Travel News, Public Speaking, Writing/Blogging

Speaking Ideas: The 90 Word Secret To Remembering Your Speech Outline

February 28, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

“The average man does not use above ten percent of his actual inherited capacity for memory. He wastes the ninety per cent by violating the natural laws of remembering.” – Carl Seashore

Nothing can be more devastating than finding out in the middle of your delivery that you cannot recall one or more key points you wish to make to pass your message across successfully.

Now, there is probably no ability more crucial to your success as a speaker, than your capacity for remembering i.e. your memory. Among other things, your memory helps you to remember the order of the points in your talk or speech i.e. your speech outline.

It therefore goes without saying that in today’s world, with the seemingly increased pressures of modern day living, developing a RELIABLE system for improving and making optimal use of your memory, can greatly influence the outcome of every single speaking outing you have.

For adults in today’s fast paced and fast changing technology driven world, the need to get much done in less time is as pressing as ever.

One area where this has become glaring is our ability to remember things. Because we have so much to do in the same 24 hours of each day, many people now struggle to remember stuff.

The result is that many people now depend on various tools and devices to enhance their ability to cope with the heightened demands of meeting the daily challenges of modern day living.

You know them… BlackBerries, iPads, computers of all kinds and the Internet itself (e.g. web based birthday/anniversary reminder services).

But if truth be told, human beings, MAN, still has in him the capacity to achieve much higher levels of productivity than he currently does. Unfortunately, most of us do not know. Indeed, some think it’s impossible to do more than they currently do, without getting help from others. They do not know what they are truly capable of.

Your Speaking Success Depends On Having A Speech Outline & A Good Memory

The foregoing quote by Carl Seashore is very instructive – for many people in today’s world – especially if they aspire to become successful speakers. After thinking up and getting your thoughts down on paper, you will have blended them with ideas and insights from research reading you have done, to produce a speech outline that enables you do justice to the subject or topic.

But since it would be in bad taste to read out your speech from paper, the next task after completing your outline, will be for you to develop a formula or system for remembering your speech outline.

The Laws of Remembering

It has been established that IMPRESSION, REPETITION and ASSOCIATION are the THREE natural laws of remembering, upon which the “memory system” is founded. So, to understand how to improve one’s memory, it becomes imperative that one understand how to avoid violating each of these laws.

1. IMPRESSION:

You need to form the habit of concentrating your attention intensely on what you wish to remember, so as to achieve a clear, and long lasting impression of it in your mind. Note the use of the word “habit” here. Historical accounts tell us that Theodore Roosevelt’s trained himself to be able to concentrate on the task at hand even when in adverse environments e.g. where noise/distractions existed.

Your ability to focus in this manner on what you want to remember will help you imprint it in your memory. One example drawn from Dale Carnegie’s writing: Test your mastery of this law by seeing how well you are able to recall the names of people you are introduced to, a while afterwards.

2. INTELLIGENT REPETITION:

We use repetition a lot because most of what we have to learn is via rote – blind memorisation. We recite poems, until we know them by heart. It should be noted here that the repetition referred to is NOT that which turns the learner or user into what Robert Kiyosaki has called “mindless parrots.” It is advised that reasonable intervals are allowed between the repetitions.

In relation to your speech outline, you can use repetition to improve your ability to remember it. Reading it out loud – the way Abraham Lincoln did, and the way students of Islam studying the Koran did – is a good way to achieve this. After you have done it a while, you’ll notice a marked improvement in your ability to recall the relevant points in your outline, making it easier to strong together the various parts of your speech in the right order, so that your outing goes as planned.

3. ASSOCIATION:

The famed psychologist, Prof. William James, described this third law as “the indispensable element in remembering”. Our minds work better when given “cues”. Pictures are perfect vehicles for communicating such cues, and that’s why they can be successfully used to improve our ability to recall anything from memory.

Mark Twain, reportedly revealed – in a magazine interview – that he used pictures – which he formed by himself – to remember the order of occurrence of items he wished to remember. The pictures you use, for this concept to work, must have some association with the thing you wish to recall. One example: To remember a person’s name e.g. Mr. Tangahar who sells fruits, you could think up the picture of “Tangerine”.

For your speech, remembering the outline can be made easier by what Dale Carnegie called a “nonsense sentence”.

There’s one that was widely used when I was in school many years ago, to remember the letters of the alphabet: “The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog”. It’s not totally nonsensical, but it is a bit trivial. For those who used it however, it offered a quick way to quickly recall all the 24 letters of the alphabet – especially under tense situations.

Here’s a humorous twist to this concept:

In Nigeria, when our power company was still called National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), people chose to call it “Never Expect Power Always” to reflect our perception of its ability to deliver reliable power supply. When it changed name to “Power Holding Company of Nigeria”(PHCN), people responded by breaking down the NEW acronym to mean “Please Hold Candle in Nigeria”!

To use this technique, a speaker would put words in a nonsense sentence, in the order in which the idea or point each word represents, occurs in the speech itself.

To paraphrase Dale Carnegie, any group of ideas can be linked together using words in a nonsense sentence that may tend to be even easier to recall, because it sounds ridiculous. So, please use it.

Summary: The 90 Word Secret To Remembering, Derives From The 3 Natural Laws

Here it is – in form of advice given by a competent authority on the subject:

“We are visual minded. Eye impressions stick. We can often remember a man’s face, even though we cannot recall his name. The nerves that lead from the eye to the brain are twenty-five (25) times as large ad those leading from the ear to the brain. The Chinese have a proverb that says “one time seeing is worth a thousand times hearing”. Write down the name, the telephone number, the speech outline you want to remember. Look at it. Close your eyes. Visualise it in flaming letters of fire.” – Dale Carnegie

And that’s the secret. You will notice that it effectively captures the requirements of the three natural laws of remembering, which is why it provides a fool proof formula that you can readily put to use for yourself – with some study and effort of course.

Final Words

The ideas provided here are based on a review of Dale Carnegie’s notes on “The Improvement of Memory” in his book titled “How To Wind Friends & Influence People By Public Speaking”.

Get yourself a copy of the book and study these concepts in more detail, then put them to use, to improve your memory and become a more effective speaker today!

NB: This article was first published online on 7th December 2011 via www.spontaneousdevelopment.com and Ezinearticles.com

General, My DN Travel News, Parenting, Self-Development

To Succeed, Your Child Needs to Develop Purpose in Life

February 27, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

By “purpose”, I mean the ultimate, over riding objective that you set for yourself to achieve over your entire lifetime.

It has been said that a well-defined purpose is actually one that will keep a person busy trying to achieve it till he/she dies. However, that person would derive the greatest satisfaction and fulfillment not just from actualizing that objective, BUT also in the process of working towards that achievement.

As I said in my FREE auto responder e-course titled “Ten Ways You Can Use Self-Development To Create The Future You Want” that kind of “purpose” has been described by some as a “Magnificent Obsession”.

Now, if we think of highly successful people in our respective societies, we can reasonably deduce what purpose in life each of them has (or had).

In Nigeria, for instance, the late fiery Lawyer Gani Fawehinmi, seemed to be obsessed with fighting for the emancipation of the rights of the common people.

That is the masses, the downtrodden, the poverty stricken and the disadvantaged.

That his cause/purpose was his “obsession” could not be doubted when one saw the passion with which he spoke about it, every single time he had the opportunity.

It goes without saying that THAT was why he lasted so long in pursuit of that purpose. It also explains why he had such a huge following amongst Nigerians.

Same applies to Fela Anikulapo Kuti – who chose to educate us through his songs about the folly of our ways and those of our governments/leaders, as well as the need for us to avoid feeling inferior to others.

Fela died living the values he so fervently advocated.

Again, that was why he was so phenomenally successful – and acknowledged worldwide – in death – even by those he “preached” against!!

In effect, by “purpose” I refer to the special talent, skill, insight or ingenuity that a person (e.g. your child) might have to offer this world.

The exclusive niche s/he might end up – with proper guidance – carving for himself in the nation, on the continent – even across the globe.

That rare, unique quality which would make his/her name ring a familiar bell in the ears of people…

The way Mohammed Ali’s name today still rings very loud, familiar and pleasant bells in all our ears.

Ali is one man who, despite physical limitations imposed on him by ageing, as well as a nervous disorder, still continues to demonstrate the extraordinary courage and tenacity that has made many refer to him as the greatest Boxing Heavyweight Champion who ever lived.

He has indeed lived the dream he once had!

I challenge you TODAY to give your child also the opportunity to dare to dream BIG, and AIM HIGH, like those great people we all know…so s/he can over time, enjoy the excitement of striving to accomplish that dream.

As in the Olympics, the joy is not necessarily just in winning, but also in having participated. It is in having given it your best shot. And never having to look back with regret that you could have done better.

Let’s give our children that opportunity – even if we never got it when we were their age.

If you really love your kids, you will do this for them. And they will thank your for it…..all their lives.

PS: This article was first published online on November 27, 2009 via www.spontaneousdevelopment.com and Ezinearticles.com

General, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Parenting, Self-Development

Preparing Young People To Become Successful Adults – Using Extracurricular Activities

February 26, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

What follows are a few ideas I have advocated over the past decade (based on personal successes I have achieved as a parent and mentor), regarding use of specific extracurricular activities to empower young people – especially those still undergoing schooling.

1. Team Working/Building Activities:

To help students learn how to work with others towards mutually agreed goals.

They learn the essence of cooperating to get things done effectively as a group. Major competence to acquire: Interpersonal Effectiveness. Students would be required to read the book “How to win friends and influence people” by Dale Carnegie, and apply it in their daily activities.

Business and other partnerships are notoriously impossible to sustain in an environment where there is a lack of trust.

Someone defined TEAM as Together Everyone Achieves More. If we can teach students to adopt this philosophy in their lives, they will grow up more willing to work together for success over time.

2. Creative Thinking and Problem-Solving Activities:

To help student learn how to go about investigating the root cause of problems, be they process or people-related. They will be taught to understand why it is important to champion progressive change and how.

They will learn how to constructively challenge existing ways of doing things. They will be made to realise that it is important to have questioning minds – always constantly wanting to know why things are the way they are, and what can be done to improve.

3. Self-Development Activities (SD):

I have noticed that many people readily claim that they practice SD. That may be true. But the way I have conceived of SD and its practice, I refer to something that could be called a “culture”. Something that is not only systemic, but has actually become a way of life for a person or a group of people. There are many sides to practicing SD some of which are:

a. Vocational Skills Acquisition:

A person can decide to attend a seminar to learn how to make money from soap production. That would be Self-Development. The problem is that many times, there is no continuity in such efforts. What happens is the person then launches into the business having no idea of other areas of knowledge and skill necessary to run a business successfully.

Getting the technical skills or know how is one thing. Knowing how to effectively market and manage yourself to use your skills to make PROFITABLE INCOME is another thing entirely. That’s why some people hire a manager to help them.

b. Mental Stamina:

This is the most neglected aspect of SD. Some people do not even know it exists. Yet, many times, it makes the difference between the man who wins and the one who comes second in a 1,500m race photo finish.

When a long race is coming to an end, the muscles are aching, the legs are tiring, the lungs are screaming for air and each runner desperately wants to stop so he/she can take a little rest. The runner who has enough mental stamina to ENDURE and MANAGE all the pain/discomfort well enough to keep going, instead of slowing down, often wins.

Michael Jordan – before he retired – was renowned for what his NBA colleagues called his “tough mental game” – that made him repeatedly score game-winning points, hundredths of a second to the end of a game!

It is well known that a person’s state of mind is as crucial to his/her success as is his/her physical condition.

This rule applies across all spheres of endeavour. (Try going to the market to do elaborate shopping while worrying about the whereabouts of your 8-month old child who went missing over 2 days ago, and see how well you fare!).

People’s mental attitudes often determine, many times, how successful they become.

If you do not understand how to deal with difficulty, disappointments and adversity in your life, and how these unpleasant experiences actually offer you unparalleled opportunities to develop into a stronger person emotionally, you might be unable to achieve noteworthy success.

I say this based on my personal achievements in paid employment, and since…

Summary: Our youth need to be made to understand the need to develop themselves in the manner described above.

This will equip them to have good self-perception/healthy self-esteem, and an ability to carry on in the face of discouragement.

If we want to turn out youths who will make a difference in society, we must help them develop to become self-confident and emotionally stable. That is not read in books or taught in schools and universities. But it can be deliberately passed on through coaching and/or mentoring by competent persons. If we neglect this aspect of their development, many of our young people are likely to fare badly when they leave school and enter the real world (of hard knocks).

Let’s all begin to think of ways we can use extracurricular activities to better prepare our young people to become competent and productive adults in the future.

Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz, General, My DN Travel News, Self-Development, Writing/Blogging

Does Your Website Repay the Money You Spend to Keep it Online? (If NOT, Here’s How to Make It Do So!)

February 25, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

One of my strategic objectives as a Performance Improvement Specialist is helping business owners develop and implement low cost web marketing systems and strategies that will increase their marketing mileage, while lowering their expenses.

But in doing this, I have noticed the following trend amongst many Nigerian business owners and decision makers. Please note that those I refer to here are people whose businesses lend themselves naturally to marketing via the web right here in Nigeria.

1. Denial:

Many are rather defensive when approached about using a website or adopting web marketing adapted for the Nigerian environment. They often say they don’t need either, or that “Nigerians’ don’t use the Internet” to the extent that makes it worth investing in marketing to them through that medium.

I say, even if that were true (which it is NOT), you would be better off being one of the first to use web marketing to promote your products/services to Nigerians, since that would make you stand out, and get you noticed. Isn’t marketing ultimately about “creating awareness” about what you offer, at least in the initial stages?

It’s a pity some Nigerians feel they must be able to physically “touch” what they invest in for business!

2. Lack of Understanding:

Some do not understand, and refuse to be bothered. They can afford to be like this, because their competitors are either the same or like those in 1. above.

But here’s the danger: One day, one or more of those not bothered today, will suddenly “discover” the power of marketing intelligently to Nigerians via the web, right here in Nigeria, and begin to use it – gaining a competitive edge, and possibly driving the rest under.

What I find most amusing is that many of these decision makers usually readily say they have websites, and that it is working for them.

But you never see their web addresses displayed anywhere on their company premises, or even signs. In many cases, they even place adverts on radio/TV and even newspapers without including the URL of the website they spend money to keep online annually!

Believe me, I do not exaggerate. I once found myself having to ask a client why he had left out his website address from a – far from being cheap – quarter page advert he had placed in a national daily!!

In essence, I am saying “Your Website Needs To JUSTIFY The Money You Spend” on it.

Basically there are two ways to confirm if it does.

You will check to see if it either

(a). Saves you money/time or

(b). Helps you make more sales or – even better – if it does both.

Now, to get your site to do the above, you need to adopt an intelligent Web Marketing System like the one I use, and which I customize for clients.

Below I provide two examples of businesses that would benefit greatly from active use of intelligent website marketing systems:

————————————–

Example 1: Bookshops

These are perfect candidates not just for website ownership, but more importantly for intelligent web marketing.

If you own or run one and do not use web marketing to complement your offline marketing, here in Nigeria, YOU ARE LOSING GREAT potential customers, and SPENDING MORE THAT you need to.

Think about it for a minute: All those books, videos, tapes by great authors, with wonderful messages on various powerful subjects of interest.

If you were to do a publication that reviewed different book titles periodically to a list of opt-in subscribers, you would over time build interest in some of them, to call in and place orders.

Call me and I will tell you how you can go about it

Example 2: Estate/Properties Management

Any decision maker in a company engaged in sale and management of properties, especially where so many companies compete, NEEDS to look for NEW, and unique ways to separate hers from the crowd.

Think about it. These days, most of these companies use similar looking flyers, banners, bill boards, cars, and even (for those who bother) websites!

Yet EACH one wants busy potential customers (with little time to “explore” every “good” offer in making up their minds) to see it as offering better value than the others.

The truth is most customers simply go with their instincts – or a friend’s suggestion.

However, if they had the opportunity to get MORE detail about what each company is about, what it offers etc, over a period of time, they could end up choosing a different company!

Such details could be obtained via subscription for instance, to a website newsletter; and/or a PDF report on “Choosing the Right Home or Property”; and/or an electronic course on “How To Value Property” etc.

Any company that offers the above, and actively uses intelligent web marketing to promote them to win new customers, greatly increases its chances of getting found by new customers who will ultimately take action to do business with it.

Final Words: Your business can spend LESS than it currently does on marketing, if you adopt intelligent web marketing systems of the type I advocate

There is a WAY to make this happen. It’s not just about writing something and sending it out. And it’s not about getting a super graphic web designer to put all the flash designs and animations in the world on your website!

You NEED the know-how to do it right, and make it work.

Like I tell a lot of people, Google.com, in my opinion is the ugliest (or “blandest”) site on the net. Yet, it makes billions of dollars through people who keep going back to it – and it’s not because they get to see fancy graphics on the site! Get it?

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz, General, My DN Travel News, Self-Development

7 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Spend Money (Hint: If You Worry About Paying More Than You Should, THIS Article is for YOU!)

February 24, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

Let me begin by stating that the ideas I offer here were obtained from studying Jeffery Meyer’s Succeeding In Business Newsletter issues. Adapting them to my purposes has actually helped me repeatedly convince prospects to buy from (or hire) me.

If you are an entrepreneur, understanding the ideas I offer here, if you apply them correctly, CAN help you close more sales. I say this from experience. Simply use the questions enumerated below to help them realise they NEED YOUR products/services.

But I’m writing here, NOW, for prospective buyers of products/services – the prospect or existing client, who is considering “buying” a product/service from a provider.

In the course of my work, I have learnt that some buyers only want one thing: The lowest price (s). To them, the lowest price means they’ve gotten the best value for every Naira spent.

However, even in the Nigerian market, it could prove severely wasteful to base your purchase decisions solely on price. There ARE other things to look for.

Are you scared of paying more than you should?

Well, there is something you can do, to ensure you minimise chances of making that mistake.

To spend “wiser”, simply make it a habit to think up YOUR answers to the following questions, before making your purchase decision.

I call them the “Prospective Buyers’ Decision Making Questions”.

1. Why do you need the product/service?

Another way to ask this question is “What do you want to use the product/service for?”

If you cannot think of a good reason to justify purchasing it, then it would be obvious that doing so, would be likely to be a bad decision – money wasted or poorly spent.

2. How did you go about deciding the kind of product/service you need?

Okay, so you have convinced yourself you NEED the product/service.

But just before you go out and get it, why not question yourself further about HOW you arrived at your choice of product/service.

For instance, a person could decide s/he needs a new vehicle for the company’s sales department.

However buying a luxury car (e.g. BMW) to meet that need might not be the way to go.

3. Why doesn’t the existing product/service meet your needs (i.e. assuming you already have one)?

If you already have something that addresses that need, why is it that you feel a need to purchase this other product/service.

Is it that you feel what you have does not fully meet the existing need?

Or is it that you anticipate future needs may outstrip the capacity of the existing resource?

Take time to carefully reflect on this, as it would go a long way to enable you accurately determine whether or not to go ahead.

4. Because the present product/service doesn’t serve your needs (or because you have none), how is this impacting on your establishment’s effectiveness?

This is related to the preceding question.

By implication, you will find reflecting on this question useful in further deciding on how relevant the product/service you are contemplating buying is to your real needs.

So, if you are able to identify and enumerate specific/tangible ways that the existing product/service is negatively affecting your company’s performance, it would provide further justification to purchase the new one.

Note however that one possibility you could equally consider is CHECKING to see if there is a way you can get the current product/service to IMPROVE, so that you do NOT have to purchase a replacement or addition, which would require more spending.

5. What will happen if you don’t purchase this new product/service?

Of course, if the existing product/service is not addressing the important needs of your company, the company will continue to suffer for it.

Failing to correct that situation will likely result in more negative impact.

So, ask yourself what will happen if this trend continues.

If the answer you get is NOT what you want for your company, then you’ll have to seriously consider purchasing the identified alternative(s).

6. How did you determine the price you said you want to pay for this product/service?

And this is the most sensitive one of them. Money!

Everyone these days is thinking of how to use less of it, to get more of what they want.

But who can blame them? It’s plain common sense!

The only problem is that some people tend to take it a bit too far. They begin to think of getting EVERYTHING for little or nothing.

Having gone through the process of reviewing the questions before this one, you should have come to terms with the reality that the product/service you wish to purchase is capable of FILLING the need you have identified, or SOLVING the problem you have discovered.

Either way, you will have accepted that it is worth paying for, and since it will be IMPROVING on what you currently have in place, there is a good chance it will not be “cheap”.

But it could be affordable. So, I suggest you aim to NEGOTIATE a good bargain, to get it.

7. What if the product/service you purchase doesn’t work properly OR what if it fails to serve the needs you identified?

But we must NOT be academic about this. No one is perfect, and no process is fool proof.

This implies that following the above outlined steps may not ALWAYS result in making the right purchase.

This could happen for so many reasons. One example is your understanding of the situation that created the need you identified.

If you are not well informed about the dynamics of that situation, you could draw the wrong conclusions about what the need is!

The moral here is that you MUST strive to be conversant with whatever aspects of your operations you are evaluating.

Be honest with yourself in this regard, and if you are unsure about your ability to do this, consult one or more persons that have the competence (your staff, colleagues etc) to help you make the right assessments.

Final Words

To end, I now share some details of additional information I provide to my prospects or clients, to further “educate” them about why buying from (or hiring) me would be the right thing to do.

a. We believe in establishing long term relationships.

“A customer who is only interested in doing business with the supplier with the lowest price has no interest in developing long term relationships.” – Anon

For the person contemplating making a purchase, this has already been addressed in the preceding discussion.

If you focus only on getting what you want at the lowest possible price, you are likely to end up getting what you don’t want i.e. lower quality.

Or the supplier could walk away. If s/he decides to sell to you on that unfair basis, s/he may not be forthcoming when you need after sales support etc.

So, be careful!

b. We want to help you become better at what you do.

Jeffery Meyer recommended politely informing the prospect or client that you “are not just a vendor selling products/services”.

You will tell him/her that “your vision is become a valued advisor whose knowledge, training, education, and experience will enable him/her get better results”.

For the prospective buyer, the above statement is just as relevant.

You should carefully study the “provider” of the service/product you are contemplating, to see if s/he shows signs of abiding by a code of ethics that makes him/her willing to be a “Valued Advisor” to those s/he serves.

If YES, that gives you more confidence to do business with him/her. If NO, the logical line of action is obvious!

I believe if you as a prospect buyer of product/service adopt the above steps in your decision making thought process, you are likely to make more accurate purchase decisions that you used to.

Good luck!

PS: This article was first published online on 9th August 2010 via www.spontaneousdevelopment.com and Ezinearticles.com.

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, General, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better, Public Speaking

No. 182: You Need to Persevere and Innovate In spite of Adversity

February 23, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

Entrepreneurs – and I mean authentic, honest, integrity driven ones – remain an endangered species in Nigeria. Most of them never really do well enough to truly flourish like their counterparts in more friendly climes.

That reality is in contrast to what happens in societies that Strive Masiyawa says “attract foreign investment and advance/develop” (as in the quote below).

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Publication: Weekly Public Speaking IDEAS Newsletter

Date: Monday 23rd February 2015

No:182

Title: You Need to Persevere and Innovate In spite of Adversity

Author & Publisher: Tayo K. Solagbade [Tel: +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria) or +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic) ]

Blog URL: http://www.tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets

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IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS newsletter is published online on the “reincarnated” version of my Self-Development (SD) Nuggets blog. I continue to put finishing touches to the content. If you encounter ANY bad/dead links, and you can spare the time, email them to me via tayo at tksola dot com. Thanks in advance

No. 182: You Need to Persevere and Innovate In spite of Adversity

That reality is in contrast to what happens in societies that Strive Masiyawa says “attract foreign investment and advance/develop” (as in the quote below).

“A country that does not have a healthy relationship with its own entrepreneurs (big and small), will always have difficulty mobilizing foreign direct investment, into its economy. One of the things, I always consider before investing in a country, is how it treats its own entrepreneurs, particularly the “little guys”. I have invested in more than 20 countries, in my business career. I know a thing or two, about why investors come to any country.” – Strive Masiyawa

Source: View blog post here

The above words by Dr Masiyawa perfectly capture the sentiments I expressed in my 2014 article titled “Societies That Progress Make Their Talents Feel Wanted”.

In it I explained how the VERY unfriendly – indeed harsh – socioeconomic environment of my country, Nigeria influenced my decision to relocate to Benin Republic in 2013.

It’s now 2015 – February 23rd to be specific – and virtually nothing has changed from what obtained in 2013.

And that’s why I’m going ahead with my plan to MOVE my family to join me in Cotonou

For those not aware, in a few weeks from now, all things being equal, and with the continued guidance and support from the Creator, my family will be moving to join me in Cotonou.

I’m in Lagos with them, making the preparations. Unless some miraculous change occurs in the current Nigerian situation, we will soon be settled as a family in Cotonou.

The fact that I am actually able to IMPLEMENT this plan proves that I succeeded in finding a strategy that equips me to DEFY the limitations of Nigeria’s “climate”.

However, I realize the key to my long term success will be to avoid prolonged stays in Nigeria.

Everytime I do so, I spend 3 times MORE than I would in Benin…and the VERY harsh conditions under which I have to work/live here often have a telling negative effect!

This is why it is crucial that my family join me in Benin. That way, we can simply visit Nigeria, at intervals, rather than having to stay in it continuously, and getting sucked into its “black hole”.

It takes a superior brand of persistence and creativity to survive, talk less flourish – especially outside paid employment – in a society like Nigeria.

That’s what I had to be like while I was still based in Nigeria. But I soon realized that if I really wanted to BUILD on the successes I was achieving, it was crucial that I operated from an environment that afforded me the means to consolidate my progress.

The key requirements were access to uninterrupted power supply, and lower expenses of money, time and effort – which were almost impossible to achieve in my country.

In contrast, since moving to Benin Republic, I have effortlessly accessed them and a lot of other performance enhancing situations, which boosted my productivity.

So much so that TODAY, I’ve built a critical mass of “solutions” that enable me attract prospects and convert clients, with minimal effort, even while I sleep.

The friendly socioeconomic environment in Benin made it easy for me to FOCUS on refining my adopted strategies and ideas, until they worked exactly as I wanted them.

As a result, I now earn an increasing proportion of my income via passive income streams generated from solutions I deploy using the system I setup mainly while in Benin.

Anytime I visit Nigeria (80% of my clients are Nigerians in Nigeria), I focus mainly on “promoting” those solutions to generate more passive income…and I NOW also share my expertise with willing others…

Unlike when I spent all my time “chasing” clients for projects while still based in Nigeria, today, when I’m in Nigeria, I do very little of face to face work with clients or buyers.

I have no need to.

Instead I simply “work” my client attracting web marketing system to make them come to me.

The way I work gets me noticed so well…and not surprisingly MORE Nigerians are reaching out to me, for help, so they can get more results with less effort and less cost, like I do.

For instance, I recently began mentoring a serious minded young man on use of my Web Marketing System – here in Lagos. This began just after he paid to join my Inner Circle.

He has a degree in chemical engineering, but after failing to get a good job, he decided to venture intop network marketing of health and wellness products.

Did you get that? It never ceases to amaze me: He studied engineering in the university, but today is a network marketer of health supplements!

Just how much of all the stuff he learned about engineering, during 4 years of study now comes in handy in his chosen vocation?

I ask this question because once again, the point I continue to make about the glaring need for overhaul of our schooling system is made apparent here…!

So, this young man in now learning from me, about how to use a Web Marketing System, to sell his health products faster, with less effort, and at less cost.

He has seen several real life examples of how my system makes buyers come to me on their own, even while we are seated together.

On several occasions I have received phone calls, text messages and emails (while with him) in which a client announced that s/he had paid money into my account, for one of my information products or software.

After witnessing it several times, he’s told me he knows the way I sell would be the best way for him to sell his own products.

To his credit, he has shown great diligence in devouring the learning resources I have provided for him, since we began. I therefore have no doubt in my mind that he will soon be a role model for colleagues in his line of business.

The ability to persevere and innovate enabled me develop this powerful system for attracting profitable buyers, which I now setup for (and teach) others…

I want you to know that ability can help YOU overcome your bouts of adversity in ANY field too.

You have the power in you to do it.

I learnt to persevere and innovate in the face of adversity, way back in my early 20s (I’ll be 45 in July 2015 – few months from now).

Specifically, my first extreme “adversity” test occurred during my National Youth Service year.

I appear in the photo below with NYSC colleagues in Gulu Vatsa village, Lapai LGA, Niger state, 1992/93 batch

[L to R: Can’t remember, Haruna Sambo (Bauchi), Idowu Ojoye (Lagos), Sunday Ogbulio (Enugu, I think), Can’t remember, and me (Ogun)]

I was 23 years old at the time that photo was taken.

We stayed in that village all through the post-June 12 presidential elections results annulment crisis, unable to return home. My parents kept calling a close family living in neighbouring Gwagwalada in the FCT to find out if I was well.

This village was unconnected to the national grid, so we NEVER saw NEPA light, and only General Vatsa’s son (Mohammed) and a teacher (Idris) had generators that I knew of.

Newspapers arrived 3 or more days late, and the last bush taxi out to the city departed at 5p.m. If you were not on it, you’d have to sleep in the village.

My experiences in that village really prepared me to deal with adversity later in life.

For instance we suffered for several months when our allowances inexplicably stopped dropping into our bank accounts at month end.

No one had any answers for us. We had no relatives to go to. And were running out of money!

It got so bad I started helping a local teacher work on his farm for N100 per day, so I could buy lafu (yam flour) to cook and eat, with palm oil, melon, onion, and salt. That was ALL I ate, daily!

All that adversity woke me up to be the self driven agent of change that I am today.

My survival instincts became finely honed during that period, giving me an edge that has kept me going through tough time till this very day!

So, if you wonder what drives me, this is one of several mental stimuli that I use to keep challenging myself, and those I coach/serve, to excel perpetually.

When things got bad for me as an entrepreneur, over a decade and a half later, the memory of that experience helped me look beyond my suffering to THINK up practical solutions to real life problems.

Today, I now help others with the solutions I develop…

My success, despite the prolonged heartbreaking struggles I had to confront, proves that we are truly “powerful beyond measure”, as Marianne Williamson so wisely observed in her writing.

That’s why I end this piece by urging you to memorize her powerful word reproduced below.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?

…We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. ” -Marianne Williamson

Another person whose words really kept me going during the darkest hours of my entrepreneurial struggles was Burt Dubin. Here’s my favourite, which I memorized:

“Never give up. Have bulldog blood. Have bulldog blood. Have bulldog
blood! One morning you awaken to find your vision of the future, rooted in

the wisdom of the past, is your present reality.” – Burt Dubin

Read Burt’s full article here. It’s titled “Your Future: Vision or Daydream“. A powerfully inspirational piece. Read it, digest it & act ON IT!

Final Words…

When tough times strike, your ability to recall the above words WILL boost your morale and help you find the courage to persevere and innovate UNTIL you breakthrough!

If you need help putting the ideas shared above to use, let me know HERE.

Click here to tell me which of Burt’s speaker mentoring products or services you are interested in.

*************

Learn about Burt Dubin’s speaker mentoring products (books, audios etc) below…

If you need help purchasing ANY of Burt’s products (like “Presentation Magic”), call me on +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic, my base) or +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria) or email tayo@tksola.com

Have a great week :-))

*************

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SD Nuggets Blog™	New posts from last week that may interest you! *
Public Speaking[Monday]:	No. 181: To Achieve Selling Success, Always Have Products You Can “Gift” Away
Entrepreneurship[Tuesday]:	Choosing The Right Farm Business (14 Key Factors to Consider)
Farm Business [Wednesday]:	A Positive Mindset, Mental Stamina, and Visualisation Will Always Lead You to Success!
Farm Business [Thursday]:	Dealing With Stereotypes and Innuendoes (True Story of a Nigerian Location Independent Multipreneur)
Entrepreneurship [Friday]:	Why You Need to Avoid Getting Carried Away With Success
Parenting [Saturday]:	To Succeed, Understand That Lack Of Capital Cannot Stop YOU!
Want me to write for you? Click here to send me a message

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*Sole Agent For Burt Dubin’s Speaker Mentoring Service In Africa

Mobile: +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria) or +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic)

http://www.tayosolagbade.com

Tayo K. Solagbade is a Location Independent Performance Improvement Specialist and Multipreneur (i.e. a highly versatile/multi-skilled entrepreneur), with a bias for delivering Best Practice solutions to

Farm Businesses and others.

Since 2002, he has earned multiple streams of income providing individuals and organisations with personal development training and coaching, custom MS Excel-VB solutions, web marketing systems/web hosting,

freelance writing services, and best practice extension support services (for farm business owners).

Tayo is the author of the Self-Development (SD) Bible™ and the popular Livestock Feed Formulation Handbook. He is also the developer of its accompanying Excel-VB driven Ration Formulator™ and the Poultry Farm Manager™ software.

He has delivered talks/papers to audiences in various groups and organisations, including the Centre for Management Development, University of Lagos, Christ Baptist Church, Volunteer Corps, Tantalisers Fast Foods

and others.

In May 2012 he was the Guest Speaker at the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development’s Annual Semester Entrepreneurial Lecture at Yaba College of Technology in Lagos.

On 1st April 2013, Tayo (who reads, write and speaks the French language) relocated to Cotonou, Benin Republic to begin slowly traveling across the West African region.

His key purpose is to deliver talks, seminars

and workshops on his key areas of focus and interest to interested audiences (Email tayo at tksola dot com for details).

In a previous life, before leaving to become self-employed, Tayo served for seven years as a high performing manager in Guinness Nigeria. He rose from Shift Brewer, to Training & Technical Development Manager, and then later acted in senior management roles as Production Manager and Technical Manager.

He is an Associate Member of the UK Institute & Guild of Brewing, a 1997 National Finalist of the Nigerian Institute of Management’s(NIM) Young Managers’ competition, a Certified Psychometric Test Administrator for Psytech UK, innovator of Spontaneous Coaching for Self-Development™ (SCfS-D™), and Founder of the Self-Development Academy Limited.

When he’s not amazing clients with his superhuman skills (wink), Tayo works as the creative force behind his Daily Self-Development Nuggets blog – on which he also publishes his Weekly Public Speaking IDEAS

newsletter(which he uses to promote Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring service to experts working across the African continent).

You can connect with him on Twitter @tksola.com and Facebook.

Visit Tayo Solagbade Dot Com, to download over over 10 performance improvement resources to boost your personal and work related productivity.

====
[IMPORTANT NOTE:====

On 4th May 2014, Tayo’s 9 year old domain (Spontaneousdevelopment dot com), which hosted his website, was taken over by Aplus.net.

Within a few days however, Tayo used his advanced self-taught web development skills to build a SUPERIOR “reincarnation” of it the website http://www.tayosolagbade.com.

But updates are still ongoing to URLs bearing the old domain name in most of the over 1,000 web pages, and blog posts

he’s published.

If you experience any difficulties finding a page or document, email Tayo at tksola dot com.

Click “Tayo, What Happened to SpontaneousDevelopmentDotCom ?” to read a detailed narrative about how the above event occurred :-))

Here’s an article Tayo wrote, to inspire others to defy adversity, and bounce back to even greater reckoning at what they do EVERY time:

Succeed by Emerging from Adversity Like a Phoenix (TayoSolagbade.com launches extra Hosting plan with FREE Web Marketing!)

And he wrote the one below, to explain why losing a domain name, no matter how old NO LONGER determines your online success or otherwise:

A Proven Strategy to Find Profitable Buyers Regardless of Your Domain Name

==================

Useful Resources for Speakers

Burt Dubin works with people who want to be speakers, and with speakers who want to be masters. Click here to visit his website NOW and submit a contact form message telling him what challenges you’re facing, and how you’d like him to help you. Tell him I sent you, and you’ll get a pleasant surprise offer from him.

Burt Dubin’s monthly Speaking Biz Strategies Letter [Signup & get a 7-Part Email Course on “How To Succeed And Get Paid As A Professional Speaker“]

Get Burt’s mentoring at any of the 3 levels below:

1. Top Shelf [Click here]

2. Mid Range [Click here]

3. Budget Delight [Click here]

Publications

Burt Dubin’s latest book: “On Being a Master”

Download Chapter 1 Preview as PDF

Visit the “On Being a Master” website

177 Wow! Wow!

Showmanship Stratagems

Discover these secrets of making your programs more interesting and valuable to your clients and audiences now.

more information

Burt’s Flagship Album

This is the product to own if you can own only one. Why? Because in it you discover principles of platform mastership available to you nowhere else at any price.

You hear performance strategies you can emulate. You shorten your learning curve. You see ways to engage and delight audiences with both content and stories . . . plus you experience a bit of fun.

With its Money back if not delighted Guarantee hardly any are returned.

Find out why

Presentation Magic

A live example, including a complete audio recording of a program Burt created from scratch–on a topic he knew nothing about and never, ever presented before! See how you, guided by your personal Learning Guide, (Presentation Magic), can do this too and thrill audiences as often as you want.

Presentation Magic Manual with new pages added plus 3 audio CDs.

more information

How To Create a Great Program Manual

Discover how you can produce a precious memento of you and your program. Capture over 44 model pages you can easily adapt for your use. Engage proven principles that add value to the experience of sitting at your feet and learning from you.

This is a reprise of the historic presentation that launched the Speaking Success System.

No copy of this 2 CD program and 50 page Learning Guide has ever been returned.

more information

Smart Exercising Will Keep You Fit, Healthy and Alive - Click to read

*******

NEW: Speaking Ideas: 25 Articles and True Stories for Experts Who Speak and Those Aspiring (Volume 1)

Download above PDF

******

NEW: Get 2 Real Life Poultry Layer Farm Start-up Business Plans (PLUS Customization)!

Download above PDF

*******

New Ebook (55 pages): Best Practice Farm Management (& Performance Measurement) for Profits – No. 1 of 4

Download above PDF

*******

New Ebook (57 pages): Farm Business Start-up (Information, Education & Inspiration) – No. 2 of 4

Download above PDF

*******

New Ebook (55 pages): Best Practice Livestock Farm Business Feed Formulation – No. 3 of 4

Download above PDF

*******

New Ebook (58 pages): Best Practice Farm Business Marketing – No. 3 of 4

Download above PDF

*******

NEW: KUKURU DANGER™: 5 True Stories About the Adventures – & Misadventures! – of a School Age Child Trying to Find Purpose in Life

Download above PDF

Download above PDF

*******

NEW: EXCEL-VB DRIVEN POULTRY LAYER FARM MANAGER SOFTWARE

Learn more here

*******

NEW: Your Practical Feed Formulation (& Compounding) Home Study Video Series Is Now Available

Click here to learn more

FREE TALK: How a Best Operating Process Management Sysem (BOPMS)™Will Earn Your Farm MORE Profits!

Download above PDF

FREE TALK: 3 Zero Cost Strategies to Attract Profitable Buyers for Your Farm Products!

Download above PDF

NEW: Coaching Program for Farm Products Marketing Success

THEY WROTE…

“(Tayo Solagbade) is amazing and I think he is going to produce some impressive results online…” – click here to read full comment by Patrick Meninga (US based 6 figure income blogger who gained fame for building a $2,000 per month adsense website and selling it for $200,000).

—————————–

“Tayo, I honestly believe you are one of those who will succeed at anything he does. Your commitment and effort has been outstanding….Thanks for all your hard work since I’ve been here – you will be sorely missed. I don’t need to wish you good luck, you have the ability to make your own luck. – Andy”(R. Jones)*

*Operations Manager, Guinness Nigeria Plc Benin Brewery, December 2001 (Handwritten comments in farewell/xmas cards sent to Tayo Solagbade following his resignation to start his own business).

———————–

Click here to contact Tayo…

Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring

for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz, General, My DN Travel News

To Succeed, Understand That Lack Of Capital Cannot Stop YOU!

February 22, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

“FACT: Lack Of Capital is one silly – yet deadly – myth that can make you fail even before you start running your own business.” – Tayo K. Solagbade

I already touched on this theme, in a separate article titled “7 Deadly Myths That Can Stop You From Succeeding” but later decided its seriousness made it merit an article of its own.

This article ends by pointing out that worse than lack of capital is the danger posed by “Wolves In Sheep’s Clothing”.

Think LACK OF CAPITAL Can Stop YOUR Business? Think Again!

I grew up hearing different people talk time and time again about “Lack of capital” as the reason why they could not start their own businesses or why they failed when they tried to start one.

Some readily latch on to the perfect excuse (what I believe Americans call a “cop out”) …They say: even the banks will not lend money to them since they lack collateral and could not possibly pay back loans taken at the high interest rates charged by banks!

My submission – with apologies to all those who subscribe to the above excuses – is that these problems are not insurmountable as most people seem to think they are. I make no idle claims here. Believe me – I live in a society where institutional – or any other kind of – support for business startup is VERY FAR from abundant (capitalised emphasis VERY deliberate) compared to most other societies. So in that sense, I can relate to what they say – but only up to a point.

Going by my experiences and what I SEE many people DO daily, I am fully convinced the problem is frequently NOT how or where to get money/capital. THE PROBLEM, MOST TIMES, IS WITH THE PERSON WHO WANTS TO GET IT! I explain, below…

Learning That NOT Being Financially Intelligent Is A Bigger Problem Than NOT Having Capital

There are different dimensions of intelligence. Unfortunately, many “educated” people tend to be uneducated about this subject. Psychological research has proved irrevocably that different people are intelligent in different ways, depending on their predominating natural aptitudes.

For instance a person might not be academically strong (i.e. s/he has low “academic intelligence”) but s/he might be extremely “intelligent” as a football player – what the scientists would call having “Psychomotor Intelligence”. Robert Kiyosaki, in his book “Rich Kid, Smart Kid” described over 10 different geniuses(intelligences), which people can have. (Get a copy of that book and learn more about this subject).

He said his Rich dad often defined intelligence as “being able to make finer distinctions in life”. From reading Kiyosaki’s writings, I have arrived at my own definition of Financial Intelligence as “having an understanding of how to make creative use of money, in a way that ensures its perpetual availability”.

Consider this. Let’s assume you got promoted and earned a huge salary increase, plus allowances and other benefits splashed on you in your workplace (or if you own a business, let’s say you made an impressively huge profit margin on a deal). To buy that brand new big screen TV you’ve always wanted, Robert advises that one spend money in a way that ensures one still holds on to it (i.e. the money) at the end of the day.

Using the ideas from Robert’s books, one way to do it would be as follows: You would delay your “gratification” a little bit and take time to explore possible options of reasonably lucrative and reliable ventures/investments you could put your money into. Then, over a certain period of time, you would harvest the returns from your investment to buy the TV, without touching the invested money. A bit simplistic I admit, but it communicates the message I want to get across.

What is crucially important to note is that, you would have, by doing the above – or something similar – established a new income stream source, acquired new knowledge/skills plus a new “toy”(the big screen TV) – and still HELD ON TO YOUR MONEY! Now THAT would be financial intelligence in action. Like Robert’s rich dad would say, “the rich don’t work hard – they make their money work hard for them”.

So, as an entrepreneur entering into business, you should have this kind of mental disposition towards your monetary expenditures.

I started out in January 2002 with over N590,000.00(Last time I checked $1.00 USD = N130 approx. out here). A few short months later, believe it or not, ALL of that money was GONE! The reason: I lacked requisite understanding of how to handle money in relation to pursuing my business goals. Simply put, I lacked Financial Intelligence of the type described by Robert Kiyosaki.

I made this mistake when I started, and many times afterwards. Old habits really do die hard – It was so hard getting this simple message to SINK into my “thick head” despite the fact that I had read it!

Someone once said “A person who does not know, and does not know that he does not know, is a big fool!” In my case I was a perfect example of the fool and his money that are soon parted! I think my message has been well communicated. I leave you to ruminate on it, and decide how you wish to apply it to your personal situation. I sincerely hope reading this will help others AVOID making the same mistakes I did.

Having said that, I try to take solace in the words of R. Buckminster Fuller who, according to Robert Kiyosaki, once said:

“I know so much because I have made so many mistakes” – R. Buckminster Fuller

To me, that statement re-assures anyone who DOES go ahead to make these or other mistakes, that it would NOT be the end of the world. S/he will STILL be able to succeed in spite of those wrong turns if s/he will only LEARN from them and PERSIST towards the goal.

My “Mistakes” Had Little To Do With The Presence Or Absence Of A Business Plan

One must LEARN to understand and deal with the realities extant in his/her own environment in order to stand any chance of succeeding. The way things work out here in my country, most business plans in truth tend to be limited in their usefulness, beyond being used to make a formal statement of intention.(The situation in your country may of course differ). Here are 3 instances that illustrate what I mean:

(a). There are issues relating to ethical business practices – or more accurately, their widespread ABSCENCE. I don’t have to say more here – the front pages of national dailies do a better job – reporting cases of multinational corporations complaining about this BIG problem. It’s the reality – at least for now, though efforts at influencing change continue. You can gain some insight by reading my article titled “There Is Nothing Wrong With A Humble Beginning: Achieve YOUR Success With Honour & Integrity”.

(b). Then you have the prevailing economic climate/government policies etc(. E.g. Sudden upward reviews of petrol/diesel prices coupled with poor availability of both items PLUS perpetually erratic power supply which makes necessary the use of generators run with petrol/diesel (that’s changing prices and NOT even readily available!) make using a business plan to reliably manage a business out here, in most cases a practical waste of time.

Of course, some people would disagree with what I have said, but the best way to judge in my opinion is to LOOK around at how businesses(that manage to survive) – even the big ones – operate out here. It won’t take long to SEE that there is major truth in what I have said.

(c). There is also the issue of how much of a market EXISTS for the product(s)/service(s) a business is offering. I throw more light on this in an article titled “Do You Need A Business Plan If Your Idea Is New, Untested, or Unproven?”.

Incidentally, I did have a business plan (for my Integrated Fish Farm) startup that I took weeks to painstakingly prepare, going out to research various aspects, and getting guidelines from banks towards securing equity investment under the Small Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme(SMEIS). My experiences over a two year period in this regard, convince me of the accuracy of the opinions I have expressed above. Visit http://www.selfhelpcd.spontaneousdevelopment.com to learn more about the business plan I wrote for my Integrated Fish Farm.

Your Integrity Is The Best Collateral You Can Have – Nurture It!

So if I “squandered” all my money that quickly, how did I survive? Well, I began by thinking – HARD! It did not take me long to realize I had no choice than to ask for HELP*. The question then was who to ask. My mind immediately went for the name(s) of person(s) I knew who would not doubt my motives for starting a business PLUS who knew me well enough to trust that I would not request money under false pretences. Over a period of about nine months consequently, one particular person, a close friend, former colleague and confidant would bail me out to the tune of almost half of the total amount I had already spent – mostly at short notice.

*Note: Some people let their egos get in the way at this point, feeling they would look “weak” if they had to “stoop” so low as to ask for help from others. I would say if you have any viable alternative to ASKING for help, then go for it and achieve your purpose. If not, PLEASE swallow your pride and ASK – nicely too! – for HELP or forget your dreams!

Napoleon Hill said your magnificent obsession will at a point take you over and you become one and the same with it. At that point you will think, drink, sleep and eat that vision you are working to achieve – sparing little or no thought for anything else. THAT state of mind, according to him, is what will make people and things that will help you achieve your objective come together at the right time and in the right place. He adds that this is what the uninitiated see happening to REAL entrepreneurs and other great achievers, which they call “luck”.

More than five years on, I can look back and confirm that Hill’s submission to a great extent, especially going by my experiences, explains how I managed to survive perpetual scarcity of CASH – and other resources – that afflicted me prior to EACH breakthrough that took me to a higher level of success in my work. I have always emerged WISER and MORE competent. You will hopefully be able to draw some consolation from knowing this up front if/when you pass through a similar experience.

But INTEGRITY was a key factor: Luck has been defined as “that which occurs when preparation meets opportunity”. Entrepreneurs who benefit financially or otherwise from others, many times have paid their dues, and EARNED the trust, confidence, respect and empathy of those who extend such assistance to them.

At this point some persons who are the typical complaining type, who never want to sit down and THINK of how they can apply/adapt what they read to their own personal situations, will probably say “But Tayo, you had the advantage of someone who could give you such money when you needed it – I don’t!”.

My answer to that is this: I have learnt that life dishes out challenges to us according to our circumstances and capabilities in order that we might grow to the next level of strength/achievement. It is left to each person to decide how s/he will respond, which will in turn be determined by the strength of his/her desire for success.

Lack Of Capital Can Actually Be More Of A Blessing Than(If At All) A Curse

So it was that even though I started off with what many would have considered reasonable capitalization for my business, I ended up within a few months looking as if I never had any capital in the first place! That was my own “portion” if you will.

But the result was that I had to think of other creative ways to carry on with my work. There was no point complaining. You will find that where you have one thing to your advantage, another person lacks that same thing. So, as I said in my article titled “7 Deadly Myths That Can Stop You From Succeeding”, you must learn to take what you are given, and use it to get that which you want.

Francis Bacon once reportedly said “A wise person makes more opportunities than he finds”.

As has been revealed through studies of the lives and achievements of many successful entrepreneurs, the period of greatest learning, and fastest growth, are often those periods of LACK and WANT. It was when I found myself in that extremely excruciating condition of lack of money that I really began to learn the skills I needed to survive.

I want to assure you here, that had I not experienced EACH of those periods of hardship, I am FULLY convinced that I would not have the level of clarity and depth of insight that I now do, and with which I have been able to subsequently progress my work.

Today, I have detailed, handwritten records of daily expenses I have made since April 2002 till date – one of the new things I learned to do at the time, in order to keep my spending “sensible” and track it against my budget. This was something I had read about so many times while in paid employment, but never really allowed to “sink home” into my consciousness because of the bad spending habits I had formed then.

Like I stated in another article titled “Practical Guiding Philosophies For Entrepreneurial Success”, If you plan to(or have already) entered into entrepreneuring from a similar background to mine, this is the first thing you have to watch out for – your spending habits. With very few exceptions, most people who go into business after having being in paid employment – especially where the pay was relatively comfortable – often lack the “discipline” needed to preserve the “lifeblood” (i.e. cash) of their new businesses.

Sourcing Capital For Your Business (“Priming” Yourself To Do It Right)

Now, I am not here to claim that I am the world’s expert on raising capital or anything of the sort. Rather, I want to share with you my perspective which I believe is probably one of the most realistic ways to look at the problem– if you want to successfully tackle it.

My position is that anything will be a problem for you if you believe it can be a problem for you. For as long as you think – or allow yourself to believe – that “seeming” lack of capital sources can stop you from succeeding in your business, then the chances of that happening will be high.

1. Start by having the unshakeable belief that you can find the money you need to startup your business. You need to be convinced that you can if you are ever going to be able to do the next thing I will tell you. So, erase any doubts arising in your mind. Block your ears to the “advice” of ANY sage realist friends/relatives you have who may ask you “Where are you going to get someone to give you that kind of money?”.

“Spare me the grim litany of the realist. Give me the unrealistic aspirations of the optimist any day!” – Gen. Collin Powell

2. Next, decide within yourself that whatever plans you come up with, you will NEVER allow yourself to be discouraged if it appears that they are not working the way you intended – and the capital you seek seems not to be forthcoming. Again, you have to convince yourself that it will be better to persist in implementing your capital-sourcing plans(or modifications of them) till you do get the capital than for you to give up.

3. Take a pen and paper and begin identifying the various individuals, groups or organisations/institutions that can help you. Once you have a comprehensive listing you will then draw up a plan to approach and present your proposal to them for possible funding by them.

To do this effectively, you will of course have to research specific potential sources of funding, and this varies from one society to another – as I have found from trying to follow ideas for sourcing funding obtained from reading articles by persons in the US, out here in Nigeria! You know your society better and will be able to judge – reasonably – what kinds of funding ideas are likely to resonate best with people/organisations you are likely to approach.

Let me add here that I believe there is NO one correct way of raising cash. In my case(following the advice in James Cook’s “Startup Entrepreneur” book that “if you have to borrow to keep going, do so…but turn your back on handouts”), I have sourced it at different stages of my entrepreneurial adventure by giving up percentage ownership of my start-up company.

Today more than five individuals (friends/relatives have combined ownership of over 45% of my little company). I feel good about this because looking at the profile gives me the motivation to WORK HARDER to deliver on the promises I made to those who chose to buy into my idea.

At other times I have also bartered my services in exchange for a badly needed resource(s). An example was when I lost access to a laptop computer I was using to implement a web design project for one client and an Excel VB project for another. In order to finish both projects, I negotiated with one of the clients, who ran a IT company specialised in building and installations of computers and telecoms utilities, to build me a new desktop computer system unit which I paid for by letting him pay me a sum LESS the charge for THAT service. As a result, I did not have to shell out cash from my own pocket.

In reality, finding capital especially when the more obvious channels fail to turn up anything useful(and that happens in my society quite a lot!) will often be about YOU being WILLING to think creatively. Read my article titled “Use Strategic Partnerships To Start-Up Faster, And Joint Venture Marketing To Make More Sales!” for more IDEAS about how teaming up with strategic partners can help you overcome a lack of adequate financing while taking your ideas from conception to market place FASTER and with greater chances of success using your partner’s experience, expertise and networks/contacts.

FINAL WORDS: Worse Than Lack Of Capital Is The Danger Posed By “Wolves In Sheep’s Clothing”

To survive in the real business world, anywhere, you will need to develop your sixth sense – specifically the ability to “detect” any signs of INSINCERITY in people you relate with especially in business. This is one of the hard lessons I learnt. And in my opinion a lack of this kind of “Street Wisdom” should give ANY startup MORE cause to worry than even a lack of valuable capital.

Why? Because it could make you LOSE all you have, capital inclusive, to crafty/dishonest business persons you may unknowingly choose to work/relate with – and possibly depend on for guidance etc.
I have seen certain cunning individuals readily take advantage of “green” inexperienced persons, that come to them looking for guidance and support. They do this by exploiting the latters’ business naivety – and then letting them down, often deliberately, when it matters most. To put it simply, they USE and DUMP newbie entrepreneurs.

In fact, I once read a startup guide e-book chapter on Business Networking produced by a company called “Virtual Teknocrats” which described these “wolves in sheep’s clothing” as “Pro” networkers – one of four main types of networkers. The “Pro” is one who is selfishly motivated and typically notorious for “sucking the life” out of “Newbie” networkers i.e. using and dumping inexperienced others.

Does not matter what part of the world you’re in – they’re everywhere. So, be careful who you go to for help! Networking is meant to be a mutually beneficial – symbiotic – relationship. Check those you do it with. If it looks like they only seem to take, and never give at all, or if you find you always get the distinct feeling you’re being short changed, I say TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS and get out – FAST.
In relation to this last point, I’ll leave you with these words of TRUE wisdom from Burt Dubin ([http://www.speakingsuccess.com]):

“Demand integrity from all associates. Would you go sailing in a leaky boat? Would you drive on a tire that would not hold air? Then, steel yourself: In cold blood dump unworthy others.” – Burt Dubin

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, General, My DN Travel News

Why You Need to Avoid Getting Carried Away With Success

February 20, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

James Cook in his book titled “The Startup Entrepreneur” explained that certain successful entrepreneurs get very uneasy whenever things seemed to be going (in their opinion) “too smoothly”. They are rarely comfortable with “good times” and when such times come upon them, they take pains to stay on the alert for things t

In a number of cases, these individuals learn to be this way due to bitter and painful past experiences in which they had suffered devastating setbacks because they got carried away with their successes to the point that avoidable failure was visited upon them.

If anyone should know what this feels likes, it’s ME! The positive side to all this however is that every time, in the process of recovering from EACH setback, I have learnt many useful lessons.

It was Fran Tarketon who said “A true entrepreneur never stays down”.

In previous writings I have used the example of some celebrities who achieve local fame and success, but immediately lose their focus, sense of moderation and humility.

They begin acting out unhealthy fantasies through poor attempts at flaunting what they think suggests wealth – e.g. buy/drive flashy cars, eat/dress expensively, and even become loudmouthed. Often times this leads to their success being short-lived, as they eventually get into one trouble or the other – be it through financial indiscipline, bad relationships, etc.

TOM Associates have a series of educational tapes, which they routinely produce to meet the personal development needs of people who attend their training programmes. In one of such tapes on “Wealth Building”, highly successful/wealthy people were described as having – among other qualities – the “habit” of “living well below their means”, believing that they do not need to show they have wealth.

Also, the tape explains that a person earning high income, who spends all that he earns as quickly as it comes, will not be wealthy. In other words, wealth comes thorough the careful accumulation and growth (via investment) of that which has been earned.

I went into elaborate detail in my Ten Week e-mail course explaining the importance of understanding the issue of “Money Management and Wealth Creation”. I quoted very successful people who have shared their knowledge in this area.

Now, with this understanding of how to manage the inflow of income resulting from your initial successes, you may also want to ask yourself, what next? Many people have short-term visions for themselves/their businesses. It is however much better to try thinking ahead, and envision where you would like to be in the distant future in your business. This way, even when you achieve your small victories/short-term goals, you will be able to stay focused on maintaining your performance to achieve the longer-term goals.

It is the absence of long-term planning that often makes many people wrongly conclude that they have arrived, when they suddenly achieve a small success.

You should have determined at the start why you are doing what you are doing, and how far you want to go with it. Then plan carefully what you need to make it happen, who can help you get there, what problems could crop up etc.

When you work this way, you will be much less likely to fall into the common trap of getting carried away with your successes. Examples of how people get carried away include: An actor or actress/entertainer especially preferred for key roles due to his/her good looks/smartness suddenly starts “putting on a lot of weight”.

A check reveals that he/she now eats indiscriminately and/or does no exercises. The result over time – his/her performance drops. For a while, the fame from previous achievements might help to raise “heads”/open doors, but after a while, he/she would become obsolete.

My observations and experiences prove that as humans we are prone to errors and mistakes. What is crucial is that we learn from them. The message I therefore wish to share in this article is that you constantly strive to AVOID getting so preoccupied with your successes that you forget to CONTINUE doing the things that made you successful in the first place.

Failure, as Jim Rohn once wrote, does not happen suddenly – it is very OFTEN the result of a long series of poor decisions and wrong choices/actions you take over time.

Keep this in mind and act based on your understanding of it, and you will NOT have to endure avoidable setbacks in any endeavour you embark upon!

Asked which of his works he would select as his masterpiece, architect Frank Lloyd Wright at the age of 83 replied, “My next one.

Entrepreneurship, General, My DN Travel News, My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better

Dealing With Stereotypes and Innuendoes (True Story of a Nigerian Location Independent Multipreneur)

February 19, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

2 years ago, when I first relocated to Cotonou, from Lagos, the first few months exposed me to raw cynicism from most Beninese citizens I met…and it always happened once they learned I was Nigerian.

I’ve shared several true stories about specific encounters I had, including one with a widely traveled PhD holder who was kind enough to paint the reputation Nigerians had, with his people, in vivid terms for me, using a shocking personal true story, and examples from his trips.

Only my dogged determination and persistence enabled me break down those biases that has today earned me ready friendships, and later business relations with people in that society. Many of them today tell me I’m "a very unusual kind of Nigerian".

I know they mean it as a compliment to me, but I don’t like it, because it reflects badly on my country and my people.

What’s more, I know that many Nigerians like me, abound, only they may not venture far enough for such foreign cynics to encounter them.

When I visited Ghana in 2005 for 2 weeks on business, almost nothing went right for this same reason.

My host’s brother, Paul Awuku, told me: "Tayo, it’s going to take Ghanains time to trust you. So many things have happened. Just be patient."

Back then my interest was to explore opportunities. I could not stay longer as the prospects were gloomy and I had run out of resources.

Today, I work as a Location Independent Multipreneur, choosing where to go (country wise), and how long to stay based on my preferences.

Regardless of where I am, at any point in time (I’m currently in Lagos), I can, and do sell my products and services.

Over 80% of the above happens via the web.

But what I do, the major solutions I provide, are quite uncommon/unconventional.

Examples of what I do/sell to my growing base of trusting buyers…

1. 100% customizable Excel VB software for farm businesses and others

2. Web Marketing Systems development in which I get paid to write creative content for clients that I build FREE Joomla websites (and provide webhosting) for.

3. Multidisciplinary Information Products on wide ranging topics and themes I identify to be real world relevant.

4. Paid membership website access to the above existing range of solutions, and those I plan to create in future.

But some people just won’t let go of their biases!

It’s funny yet true.

They see all I’ve built out of nothing, including rebuilding my online brand from the ashes of my snatched 9 year old domain to establish what is my highly Effective Online Presence at www.tayosolagbade.com, and they still look for excuses to cast aspersion on me.

Ever so often this happened, and I’ve accepted the need to accommodate such people with their baggage of negativity. My thinking was that they would over time discover that I’m different and acknowledge it.

Sadly, what I found is that they seem keen to find that which does not exist: a crooked Tayo Solagbade.

They betray these hidden motives often in the things they do, and especially what they say.

Well, I believe in keeping carriers of negativity at arms length, indeed much farther away if possible. So starting today, 19th February 2015, I will respond with LOUD silence to any persons who fail to accord me the same consideration and courtesy I extend to them.

For me, such displays of interpersonal ineptitude must be discouraged. I refuse to apologize for being a Nigerian. Not to other Africans or persons from outside the continent.

If you can’t deal with the fact that I proudly flaunt my Nigerian status, from my African base, while providing solutions to a global audience, without seeking approval or recognition or any external validation, then PLEASE do not contact me, because I seriously doubt we would get along!

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, General, My DN Travel News, Self-Development

A Positive Mindset, Mental Stamina, and Visualisation Will Always Lead You to Success!

February 18, 2015 Tayo Solagbade Leave a comment

In this article, I share the kind of thinking that will enable you to repeatedly overcome adversity and progress – even as an entrepreneur breaking new grounds in a very difficult environment – to pursue authentic success, with honesty and integrity.

1. Development Of A Positive Mind Set:

A lot of people out here are so good at TALKING about how to be positive in spite of failure. About how never to give up, no matter how difficult things get – or even when friends and loved ones stop believing in, or abandon you.

Yet, I can tell you, from over eight long years of personal experience (tinged with uncountable bouts of loneliness, and lack), that very few people actually apply these principles in their lives when they are faced with those difficult situations.

I am not trying to make myself look good here, but my insistence on earning a living, supporting my family, by developing MS Excel-VB driven software and web marketing systems, NEVER won me any fans amongst those who knew me.

Yet, I stayed committed. Too many people who were irked by my refusal to do something else, year in, year out, even went as far as scheming to frustrate me. I have gotten numerous phony calls and emails, from people hiding their true identities who tried to play mind games on me.

They typically pretended to be interested in my product or service, when in reality all they wanted to do was make fun of me, if I fell for it. Sometimes – especially in the early days – I did, but over time I learnt how to protect myself.

My positive mind set has kept me going this long, to the extent that today, my client profiles have taken dramatic leaps to include larger businesses, that I never stood a chance of getting noticed by, when I was starting out.

2. You Will Need Mental Stamina:

In the course of my work out here, I have studied a lot of people, and come to realise that most of them are really good people – deep down. Many do not want to be crooked in doing business. They do not really want to cheat others, if they can avoid it.

Unfortunately, they have not developed the ability to ENDURE prolonged suffering without seeking undignified outlets to escape from it.

And this is what leads them to begin cutting corners! Take it from me – it is not easy to stay straight and honest when you have nothing to fall back on. When you see your spouse and kids threatened with lack of food or other necessities, on a repeated basis, THAT CAN make you change into a not-so-good person.

This is what makes many people in Nigeria feel “tired” of fighting or resisting fuel attendants who randomly impose unlawful fines or levies on them, whenever they have to buy fuel during so called periods of scarcity. People like me who have constantly refused to give in to their demands, and who stuck to our guns even when fellow citizens criticized us for playing “holy” now enjoy the benefit of being “recognised” by those greedy attendants, and reaping the rewards of being able to buy fuel at normal rates, without paying ANYTHING extra!

That’s what mental stamina can do for you. It makes it impossible for adversity to wear you down or break your resolve or commitment to your goal. No one is born with it – you DEVELOP it. And I offer PRACTICAL, personal, and confidential coaching to help interested persons develop this important aspect of their Emotional Intelligence.

3. You Must Be Able To Visualise:

The ability to imagine what can be; to envision what is possible – regardless of what IS the current reality around you, is one that EVERY person who wishes to achieve his/her dreams MUST develop. The picture you create in your mind and/or the images that dominate your thoughts, if kept positive, and in tune with your desires or longings, will ultimately attract to you, those things you want.

This is not some fancy theory or hypothesis. It is a concept that has been proven to work in real-life for as long as man has existed. I am able to say this because I have read a book written on this subject as far back as the 1900s that attested to this fact. When you think back to the history of man’s invention of the airplane and eventual travel to space etc, you will begin to understand why this is true.

In my journey to entrepreneurial stability and maturity, I have successfully used this principle to make myself relevant and in increasingly greater demand, by my preferred target audience, for my unique range of products and services. For instance, I recently got paid N2,500 (Current exchange rate: N150 to $1.00) per article of approximately 750 words, by a client, to write sixteen (16) new articles for use in his website marketing campaign, right here in Nigeria. And this is not the first time it has happened.

Most people out here only know something like this to happen in developed societies. A lot of people out here even try to get hired to write – via the Internet – for people based in developed societies, but are often unsuccessful. What I have successfully done is to create the same lucrative market for myself right here in my country. And all it took was my ability to hold my vision, and take practical steps to actualize it.

If you want your dreams to come true – start imagining in vivid terms what exactly you want to SEE or FEEL when you achieve your dreams -and then take definite steps to work towards achieving them. It is the key to your ultimate success.

Final Words – It Starts With How You Carry Yourself

You must come across as self-assured, confident and enthusiastic to the person you approach with your product or service offer, or indeed anyone you have to interact with. And you must KNOW your stuff – or subject. This goes without saying.

One Example:

I have entertained friends and clients with the story of how, back in 2007, I entered an office in Ikeja area of Lagos, to introduce my custom spreadsheet software development service.

The owner of the company was so amused to hear me say I could develop software for him using MS Excel that he burst out laughing so many times, as I spoke. Eventually, he turned to someone seated next to him, and pointing to me said “Can you imagine him wanting to teach me Excel? I know more Excel than he knows! What can he possibly teach me?” Looking at me, with a mocking expression on his face, he said with a tone of finality “Anyway, I wish you all the best”.

All my handwritten testimonials from past clients – including two well known companies he was familiar with – did not impress him. As I left that day I had to muster all the courage I could, to avoid feeling depressed. I shook off the embarrassment of that experience, and continued my foot-solider-marketing. And it was a good thing, I did so.

Guess what happened? Before the end of that day, I had won a project to build an Excel-VB driven software for a medium sized hotel in Omole Estate, Phase 1 in Ikeja, Lagos. And I went on to sell THAT same application to another hotel in Ikeja less than ONE month after finishing it!

Looking back, I realise that it was the way I carried myself that often “won” over the clients. I always presented my offer in an engaging manner – using very graphic illustrations that instantly communicated the benefits they wanted. I NEVER let past unsuccessful sales attempts faze me one bit. THAT was the key! Anyone who wants to succeed in selling to others will need to master this ART.

One more thing:

It’s NOT necessarily how good your clothes look, but how good YOU look. Think about Arnold Schwarzenegger dressed as a barbarian. Even though he’s dressed in rags, he still looks “good” to behold. His physical presence commands attention from people of both sexes. Am I saying you should go and build muscles in order to succeed more? No, I am not.

But Zig Ziglar did let on in his writing that at some point in his salesmanship career, he decided to do more workouts to build his physique so that he could look more presentable. In my case, I have found staying physically fit not only makes me look physically good, it also helps me stay mentally sharp and alert – an asset that has paid off in terms of my being gable to deliver earlier than clients expect by working longer hours than they anticipate I can.

More importantly, the way I walk, and the fit of my body to my clothes, even when I wear the exact same ones day after day, has often helped me focus clients on ME, and my message, instead of what I am carrying or wearing.

You May Not Have The Means To Dress Well Enough:

I feel a need to hammer a little more on this point. Some people feel if they don’t have enough good clothes to wear, they will not be able to impress, and succeed. I argue that not everyone will have the means to buy good clothes, shoes etc to wear and impress those s/he wishes to win over. Sometimes, you just have to make do with what you have.

In these situations, the way you carry yourself, and how to engage the attention of your target audience will prove crucial in directing their attention to YOU, instead of what you are wearing.

Trust me on this – I HAVE been there and done just that, many more times than I can count. In fact, some of my new clients have confided in me that they hired me because they felt I “looked and sounded competent”. Now, THAT is what you want your clients to do – hire you because of the perception you have created in their minds that they will benefit by doing so!

For adults in today’s fast paced and fast changing technology driven world, the need to get much done in less time is as pressing as ever.

Your Speaking Success Depends On Having A Speech Outline & A Good Memory

The Laws of Remembering

1. IMPRESSION:

2. INTELLIGENT REPETITION:

3. ASSOCIATION:

For your speech, remembering the outline can be made easier by what Dale Carnegie called a “nonsense sentence”.

Summary: The 90 Word Secret To Remembering, Derives From The 3 Natural Laws

Final Words

As I said in my FREE auto responder e-course titled “Ten Ways You Can Use Self-Development To Create The Future You Want” that kind of “purpose” has been described by some as a “Magnificent Obsession”.

In effect, by “purpose” I refer to the special talent, skill, insight or ingenuity that a person (e.g. your child) might have to offer this world.

I challenge you TODAY to give your child also the opportunity to dare to dream BIG, and AIM HIGH, like those great people we all know…so s/he can over time, enjoy the excitement of striving to accomplish that dream.

1. Team Working/Building Activities:

2. Creative Thinking and Problem-Solving Activities:

3. Self-Development Activities (SD):

Michael Jordan – before he retired – was renowned for what his NBA colleagues called his “tough mental game” – that made him repeatedly score game-winning points, hundredths of a second to the end of a game!

Summary: Our youth need to be made to understand the need to develop themselves in the manner described above.

1. Denial:

2. Lack of Understanding:

Believe me, I do not exaggerate. I once found myself having to ask a client why he had left out his website address from a – far from being cheap – quarter page advert he had placed in a national daily!!

Example 1: Bookshops

Example 2: Estate/Properties Management

The truth is most customers simply go with their instincts – or a friend’s suggestion.

Final Words: Your business can spend LESS than it currently does on marketing, if you adopt intelligent web marketing systems of the type I advocate

But I’m writing here, NOW, for prospective buyers of products/services – the prospect or existing client, who is considering “buying” a product/service from a provider.

Are you scared of paying more than you should?

1. Why do you need the product/service?

2. How did you go about deciding the kind of product/service you need?

3. Why doesn’t the existing product/service meet your needs (i.e. assuming you already have one)?

4. Because the present product/service doesn’t serve your needs (or because you have none), how is this impacting on your establishment’s effectiveness?

5. What will happen if you don’t purchase this new product/service?

6. How did you determine the price you said you want to pay for this product/service?

7. What if the product/service you purchase doesn’t work properly OR what if it fails to serve the needs you identified?

Final Words

a. We believe in establishing long term relationships.

b. We want to help you become better at what you do.

For the prospective buyer, the above statement is just as relevant.

No. 182: You Need to Persevere and Innovate In spite of Adversity

The above words by Dr Masiyawa perfectly capture the sentiments I expressed in my 2014 article titled “Societies That Progress Make Their Talents Feel Wanted”.

The fact that I am actually able to IMPLEMENT this plan proves that I succeeded in finding a strategy that equips me to DEFY the limitations of Nigeria’s “climate”.

It takes a superior brand of persistence and creativity to survive, talk less flourish – especially outside paid employment – in a society like Nigeria.

Anytime I visit Nigeria (80% of my clients are Nigerians in Nigeria), I focus mainly on “promoting” those solutions to generate more passive income…and I NOW also share my expertise with willing others…

For instance, I recently began mentoring a serious minded young man on use of my Web Marketing System – here in Lagos. This began just after he paid to join my Inner Circle.

So, this young man in now learning from me, about how to use a Web Marketing System, to sell his health products faster, with less effort, and at less cost.

The ability to persevere and innovate enabled me develop this powerful system for attracting profitable buyers, which I now setup for (and teach) others…

Specifically, my first extreme “adversity” test occurred during my National Youth Service year.

My experiences in that village really prepared me to deal with adversity later in life.

All that adversity woke me up to be the self driven agent of change that I am today.

That’s why I end this piece by urging you to memorize her powerful word reproduced below.

Another person whose words really kept me going during the darkest hours of my entrepreneurial struggles was Burt Dubin. Here’s my favourite, which I memorized:

Final Words…

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Learn about Burt Dubin’s speaker mentoring products (books, audios etc) below…

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SPECIAL PRODUCT FEATURE

“Inside Speaking Business Success Secrets”

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Get Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

==== [IMPORTANT NOTE:====

Here’s an article Tayo wrote, to inspire others to defy adversity, and bounce back to even greater reckoning at what they do EVERY time:

And he wrote the one below, to explain why losing a domain name, no matter how old NO LONGER determines your online success or otherwise:

Useful Resources for Speakers

Get Burt’s mentoring at any of the 3 levels below:

Publications

THEY WROTE…

Think LACK OF CAPITAL Can Stop YOUR Business? Think Again!

Learning That NOT Being Financially Intelligent Is A Bigger Problem Than NOT Having Capital

My “Mistakes” Had Little To Do With The Presence Or Absence Of A Business Plan

Your Integrity Is The Best Collateral You Can Have – Nurture It!

Lack Of Capital Can Actually Be More Of A Blessing Than(If At All) A Curse

Sourcing Capital For Your Business (“Priming” Yourself To Do It Right)

FINAL WORDS: Worse Than Lack Of Capital Is The Danger Posed By “Wolves In Sheep’s Clothing”

It was Fran Tarketon who said “A true entrepreneur never stays down”.

It is the absence of long-term planning that often makes many people wrongly conclude that they have arrived, when they suddenly achieve a small success.

Failure, as Jim Rohn once wrote, does not happen suddenly – it is very OFTEN the result of a long series of poor decisions and wrong choices/actions you take over time.

I know they mean it as a compliment to me, but I don’t like it, because it reflects badly on my country and my people.

Today, I work as a Location Independent Multipreneur, choosing where to go (country wise), and how long to stay based on my preferences.

Examples of what I do/sell to my growing base of trusting buyers…

But some people just won’t let go of their biases!

Sadly, what I found is that they seem keen to find that which does not exist: a crooked Tayo Solagbade.

Get Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring
for Africa Based Experts(PDF…Click!)

====
[IMPORTANT NOTE:====