All posts by Tayo Solagbade

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, freelance writing services, and best practice extension support services (for farm business owners). Tayo is the author of the Self-Development (SD) Bible™, the popular Livestock Feed Formulation Handbook, and developer of its accompanying Excel-VB driven Ration Formulator - as well as the increasingly popular Monthly Poultry Farm Manager app. On 1st April 2013, Tayo (who reads, writes and speaks the French language) relocated to Cotonou, in the French Speaking Benin Republic on the first lap of his slow travels 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). 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 previews of paid issues of The Farm CEO™ Newspaper (www.thefarmceo.net), in addition to his FREE Weekly Public Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS newsletter - which he uses to promote Burt Dubin's Public Speaking Mentoring service to experts across the African continent. Visit Tayo's Flagship Performance Improvement website to download over 10 performance improvement resources to boost your personal and work related productivity. Join Tayo's international community of fans on his Flagship MS Excel Heaven Facebook page (click here). You can also connect with him via Twitter (@tksola).

PII 051: One State of Mind You Need to Defeat Adversity

In last week’s issue of my Performance Improvement Ideas (PII) newsletter, I talked about how you need to share your vision with others. How you need to infect other people with your enthusiasm and insights.

Now, in this issue I’m going to talk about poverty.

I’m sure many who read the above will wonder what I mean by that.

Well, I’m talking about poverty in material terms, in financial terms and also poverty in terms of your psychology or psychological makeup.

SCROLL DOWN TO READ FULL ISSUE

Tayo Solagbade's Performance Improvement IDEAS(PI Squared) Newsletter

Tayo Solagbade’s
Performance Improvement
IDEAS
(PI Squared) Newsletter

Monday 29th January 2017

Logo - Tayo Solagbade's Self-Development Academy


NB: This PI Squared newsletter will be published weekly, on Mondays, in place of the Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS newsletter, starting from today – 15th February 2016.
I’m reinventing my Monday newsletter content and theme, to accommodate my vision of serving the growing audience of serious minded individuals and organizations reaching out to me, with information, education. news and research findings designed to help them do what they do better.

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

View Tayo Solagbade's video tutorials and demonstrations on Facebook Productivity Tips, Web Marketing, and for his Custom MS Excel-VB driven software applicationsJoin the SD Nuggets community on Facebook.comConnect with Tayo on Twitter.comConnect with Tayo on Google PlusConnect with Tayo on LinkedIn.com

PII 051: One State of Mind You Need to Defeat Adversity

In last week’s issue of my Performance Improvement Ideas (PII) newsletter, I talked about how you need to share your vision with others. How you need to infect other people with your enthusiasm and insights.

Now, in this issue I’m going to talk about poverty.

I’m sure many who read the above will wonder what I mean by that.

Well, I’m talking about poverty in material terms, in financial terms and also poverty in terms of your psychology or psychological makeup.

With regard to the latter, you can have a poverty of ideas, or a poverty of self-esteem.

So poverty can manifest itself in many shapes and forms.

However the primary kind of poverty I refer to here is the poverty in financial and material terms.

Consider the following for a moment…

Think about any area of Endeavour you know in any part of the world you are aware of.

Have you noticed that some of the most amazingly successful people the world has ever seen are people that came from backgrounds in which they had to endure what you might call crippling visitations of poverty, often from the very early stages of their lives?

Ever noticed that?

Think about some of the most successful people you’ve ever heard of, who have made this world what it is. People who have become high level achievers in various areas of Endeavour.

You’ll find out that a large majority of them were exposed to severe forms of adversity very early on in their lives.

In other words they came into the world, and were probably born into poverty (I mean materially and financially) and had to learn to hustle at a much earlier age in life than most other people of their age, background, culture etc – especially those from the middle income and upper social classes.

So they were people born into a situation of perpetual lack, characterized by shortages of basic necessities and a chronic absence of most things resembling conveniences or luxuries of life.

Having to grow up seeing other people not suffering like they did taught them to grow up learning to fight to get what they wanted, so they could also have the nice things they desired.

People who have had to live like that, very early in life in particular, tend to grow up with a near insatiable urge to make the most of themselves using the often severely limited means and resources available to them.

That’s why we find that some of the best footballers – indeed sports persons – in the world, came from backgrounds of extreme poverty.

A good example is the legendary Pele from Brazil. I’m sure you can think of others.

Consider other fields or vocations and the trend is readily apparent. You find that some of the most authentic achievers in the world, who changed our views of what could be called impossible by the achievements they recorded in spite of great adversity, were people that came from poor backgrounds.

When they are interviewed, most will say things like:

“I had no shoes”

“I only had one set of clothes.”

“I was always hungry, had to go without food”

“I had to sell newspapers to make ends meet”

In other words, they were people that were driven by their circumstances!

Life dealt them a harsh hand from the start, and they had to claw their way out of the hole of hardship and suffering into success and fulfillment.

They were people that never had enough of what they saw other people having and so they were constantly motivated by a desire to also create for themselves some amount of comfort by working hard.

This was because they found out that they could not just sit back and wait for others to do things for them – like they saw those from privileged backgrounds doing.

Many had to work with their parents in certain cases – and some even lost their parents, so that they had to fend for themselves and literally become adults overnight.

That psychological state was what enabled them develop the mental stamina to deal with difficulty or adversity.

And that ultimately made them people who were unstoppable whenever they chose to pursue success with purpose.

The essence of what I’m saying therefore is this:

If you want to achieve success in life, that is authentic and sustainable, in any area of Endeavour – whether you are born poor or rich – you have to develop the same kind of psychological stamina that the people who grow up in poverty possess!

You have to force yourself to develop it. If you don’t force yourself to develop that kind of mental capability, it’s going to be very difficult for you to deal with the hardships you may encounter in the course of pursuing authentic achievement in life.

Psychological stamina is one state of mind that is essential for every person that wishes to achieve success in spite of adversity.

But not everyone knows how to go about it.

And that’s why you need to become a student of success.

That’s why you need to read the true stories of those who have succeeded, and also read the philosophies of success explained in books like Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich.

Related Articles

1. Succeeding In spite of Poverty (3 Tips You Can Use)

2. Proof That Poverty Cannot Make People Steal…If They Don’t Want To (A True Story)

3. How Exposure To Poverty & Trial-By-Fire Can Be Deliberately Used To Prepare People To Succeed

4. No. 116: We Are Poor – Not Because of God (Lessons from 7 True Stories)

5. [PDF]A “Formula” Schools Need to Teach But Don’t! – Tayo Solagbade

6. To Achieve AUTHENTIC Success, Make Adversity Your Teacher and Friend

Excel-VB Driven Ration Formulator

Click to view larger screenshot

1. Click here to learn more about this app – watch demo videos etc

2. Click here to watch a 4 part video in which I demonstrate how to use this app to formulate rations using real life data sent to me by an Algerian PhD student.

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

EXCEL-VB DRIVEN POULTRY LAYER FARM MANAGER SOFTWARE

Click here to download a detailed PDF user guide and watch 15 screen shot user guide tutorials of the Monthly Poultry Farm Manager that I now offer Farm CEOs.

Click here to watch a screenshot demonstration of the Excel-VB Driven Poultry Farm Manager I built for a client farm business in Ekiti state, South West Nigeria.

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

SDN Blog™

New posts from last week*

Monday:

[Wednesday]:

[Thursday]:

Succeed Even In Economic Recession by Developing Multiple Competencies [Hint: Become a Multipreneur]

[Friday]:

N/A

[Saturday]:

N/A

[Sunday]:

Protected: The FARM CEO (Issue 71) : 11 Business Opportunities in Africa That Will Make More Millionaires in 2016, Investing in Africa’s agriculture is the next best thing, AGRICULTURE INVESTMENT IN AFRICA: TOP COUNTRIES TO FOCUS ON, African farming is the new frontier for brave investors

Video Part 2: [Excel Heaven Tutorial 07] Macro Protect or Unprotect Worksheets in a Workbook

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*Best Practice Farm Business Support Specialist & Founder of the MS Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation Club and Competition

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 organizations 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 organizations, 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 (October 1994 to December 2001) as a high performing manager in Guinness Nigeria. He rose from Shift Brewer to Training & Technical Development Manager, and later acted in senior roles as Production Manager and Technical Manager.

In addition to constantly challenging the status quo and influencing positive work changes, he built a reputation for using self-taught spreadsheet programming skills (starting with Lotus 1-2-3, and later moving to Excel Visual Basic) – in his spare time – to develop Automated Spreadsheet Applications to computerize manual report generation processes in the departments he worked. Over four(4) of his applications were adopted for brewery level reporting.

Tayo holds a B.Sc degree in Agricultural Extension Services from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, having graduated top of his class – with Second Class Upper Division honors – in 1992. 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 (SDAc).

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 The Farm CEO Weekly Newspaper (sent via email to paid subscribers) and his Weekly Performance Improvement IDEAS newsletter.

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

View Tayo Solagbade's video tutorials and demonstrations on Facebook Productivity Tips, Web Marketing, and for his Custom MS Excel-VB driven software applicationsJoin the SD Nuggets community on Facebook.comConnect with Tayo on Twitter.comConnect with Tayo on Google PlusConnect with Tayo on LinkedIn.com

Home |About | Contact | SD Nuggets™ | Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS | Web Marketing Systems | Freelance Writing | MS Excel® Heaven™ | Cost-Saving Farm Biz Ideas

Video Part 2: [Excel Heaven Tutorial 07] Macro Protect or Unprotect Worksheets in a Workbook

Today, I emailed the second and concluding part of the screenshot video tutorial titled “[Excel Heaven Tutorial 07] Macro Protect or Unprotect Worksheets in a Workbook” – announced on this blog 2 weeks ago – to members of my Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation Club.

Click here to request a copy of the video tutorial – or learn how to join the club.

xlvb-vid-29thjan2017

Protected: The FARM CEO (Issue 71) : 11 Business Opportunities in Africa That Will Make More Millionaires in 2016, Investing in Africa’s agriculture is the next best thing, AGRICULTURE INVESTMENT IN AFRICA: TOP COUNTRIES TO FOCUS ON, African farming is the new frontier for brave investors

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Succeed Even In Economic Recession by Developing Multiple Competencies [Hint: Become a Multipreneur]

When I decided to become – and later begin calling myself – a MULTIPRENEUR in 2004 (2 years after I became a startup), many people criticized me for “doing too many things”.

Some said I was trying to be a “Jack of All Trades” and anytime I had a setback they readily pointed out that THAT was the cause.

But I knew better, and simply ignored them – because my experiences had taught me that if I was to survive the harsh socio-economic environment I had to operate in as an entrepreneur, I needed to function as a multi-skilled entrepreneur aka Multipreneur.

The above is why it was intriguing, if not somewhat amusing for me to come across an article titled “Why entrepreneurs need multiple competencies” – on the website for a Nigerian National newspaper (Business Day).

multiple-competencies

A portion of the article’s abstract (reproduced below) really caught my attention:

“According to experts, multiple competencies save costs, enable entrepreneurs compete better than peers, attract…” Really? According to “experts” – what experts???

You mean like those who constantly lectured me in my startup years about the need to NOT do too many things, when I chose to use my “multiple competencies” to make more money with less effort, in less time and using fewer resources?

Experts? Huh…what a joke!

If truth be told, without my deliberately nurtured HABIT of developing and using my multiple competencies, I would have quit my business a long time ago, instead of outlasting adversity I’ve faced, by thriving in spite of repeated setbacks and disappointments.

My multipreneurial aptitude kept me going each time, because I always had a new or different skill, knowledge or attitude I could apply to get myself back on track each time I derailed, or to leapfrog to a new level of achievement as the need arose.

Sadly, when I was starting out, it was almost impossible to find people to respect and encourage me for displaying this trait in my society.

Most established entrepreneurs and so called experts frowned seriously at my tendency, and told me it was going to do me more harm than good.

Yet, I kept recalling how my abilities were saving me money, time and effort and so I knew they were wrong. What was more, at a point, I began to use my skills to help those who had cast aspersion on me for using them.

That was when I realized they had no clue what they were talking about when they were criticizing me. So I decided to begin writing about Multipreneuring, sharing true stories from my personal experiences of succeeding with it.

At the bottom of this article, I’ve appended links to some of those articles I’ve written on multipreneuring or what I like to call being a “Jack of Many Trades”

Today I have established a firm reputation as a reliable provider of a complementary mix of multidisciplinary solutions to clients within and outside Africa (see www.tayosolagbade.com, this blog, www.thefarmceo.net, www.excelheaven.biz and www.tksola.com – and relevant links on each site).

Hopefully, more people in this part of the world (Nigeria/Africa) will realize that developing and using multiple competencies is a sure way to boost one’s chances of succeeding in ANY field, regardless of the challenges you may have to face.

Related Articles

1. No. 128: Using Location Independent Multipreneuring to Achieve Public Speaking Success

2. If You Lack Capital, Intelligent Multipreneuring Can Help You Succeed!

3. More Real-Life Proof that Being an Intelligent Jack of Many Trades (aka Multipreneur), Can Make You Succeed More Often

4. You can SUCCEed MORE by being a Multipreneur – A True Story (Hint: New Book Coming Soon)

5.  To Achieve Uncommon Success, Avoid Specializing [Hint: New York Times Article About Steve Martin’s Amazing Success As a Multipreneur]!

6. Being a Jack of All Trades Doesn’t Mean You’re a Master of None – by Melanie Pinola on LifeHacker.com

7.  Knowing a Little of Everything Is Often Better Than Having One Expert Skill – by Adam Dachis on LifeHacker.com

[RECOMMENDED] Role of Feed Mill Laboratory Towards Improving Feed Quality – Feature article from thepoultrysite.com

Below is a preview of an excellent article I found on thepoultrysite dot com – which I recommend EVERY livestock Farm CEO read!

It’s packed full of practical wisdom about the value a  Feed Mill Laboratory can add to the feed formulation operations of a commercial livestock farming entreprise.

Even if you do NOT own a feed mill of your own and/or do NOT plan to setup one, the information shared in this piece can still benefit you greatly.

That’s because it provides sound insights into why you need to find and use a reliable Feed Mill Laboratory to derive the nutrient analyses for feed ingredients you use to formulate rations for your livestock.

Here’s a preview ending with a link to the full piece:

Role of Feed Mill Laboratory Towards Improving Feed Quality

The goal of feed manufacturing is to produce feed that meets intended specifications in nutritional composition. writes Sunil Chauhan, a post graduate in chemistry working with Avitech Animal Health Pvt. Ltd as a lab technical officer.

Today feed manufacturing is a very competitive activity and consistent feed quality is a key growth driver. Quality control and assurance have emerged as a critical feature in the business of feed manufacturing. A quality control system involves personnel being properly trained to ensure a high level of organisation, documentation and policing of various procedures and processes necessary to guarantee the basic quality of feed ingredients and feed.

Continue reading…

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/1022/role-of-feed-mill-laboratory-towards-improving-feed-quality/

Study Your Child’s Naughty Actions to Discover Her Genius [True Story: Secretly Keeping a Pet Turtle – Then Getting Caught & Flogged!]

Kids will always get into trouble. Every parent must accept this as a reality. What matters is how we help them LEARN from the mistakes they make, so they arrive adulthood as well rounded and competent individuals.

I for one got into all sorts of trouble between the ages of 10 and 16. Today, I coach my own kids (3 of them teenage boys) on a daily basis, and it’s NOT been funny dealing with their naughty sides.

I’ve however found my own past experiences from going through that phase quite useful in “parenting” them.

There’s however one very important insight I’ve since gained:

It’s that quite often, if you pay close enough attention, your child’s naughty actions may provide pointers to a natural gift, talent or ability that s/he may be able to exploit to achieve success in adult life via a formal income earning vocation.

In my case, my passion for wild life and agriculture as a child, reflects in the work I now do as an expert supporting livestock farmers, and providing agro-based solutions (like my Excel-VB Ration Formulator, Feed Formulation Handbook, Excel-VB Poultry Farm Manager, my Feed Formulation Home Study Video Series etc).

What follows below is a true story about one of my many naughty escapades as a school age child, which illustrates the point I’ve made above:

Secretly Keeping a Pet Turtle (Then Getting Caught & Flogged)!

Secretly Keeping a Pet Turtle (Then Getting Caught & Flogged)!

One day I caught a small turtle during one of our trips to catch crabs. It was about the size of my palm. I excitedly took it home, and secretly kept and fed it (I think earthworms – but not sure now) for months.

One day my brother, Femi found out about it. I pleaded with him to say nothing to our parents. He agreed.

But later on, when we had one of our few BIG quarrels as kids, he went and told my Dad that I was keeping a tortoise downstairs in the backyard, near the well.

My father was enraged, and called me to ask if it was true. I said it was. That night I got the beating of my life.

We had a Guava tree at the back of the house at Olodi-Apapa, where we lived then. Once you were to be flogged, the tree would “supply” some long slim branches. Oh, how I resented that tree!

After my punishment that night, my father asked me to get the turtle out of the old sink I’d kept it in, and take it to the car.

Then he drove right to the middle of the bridge that crossed the Lagoon (I believe it’s called Carter bridge), and asked me to drop the turtle into the water.

My heart bled as I did that, but I had no choice. It was obvious he was greatly upset that I’d brought a turtle home. But I did not know why. He never told me why. To myself I said: “Afterall, it’s not a snake!”

You may wonder why I kept the Turtle a secret in the first place.

In truth, I have no idea. We kept lots of cats (mother – and kittens she put to litter, which we gave out) and a dog in the house for years.

Maybe I anticipated my parents would say no to another pet.

But I must say I never expected such an extreme reaction from my Dad. Many years later, I asked my mother about it, and she explained that the shell of the turtle had some traditional significance he was not comfortable with.

Anyway, that experience of losing the Turtle only made me more interested in aquatic life.

2 decades later, I’ve created my own brand of Natural Self-Cleaning Aquariums™ that I build for use as learning aids (e.g. to explain concepts like the Nitrogen Cycle, Balanced Ecosystem) in schools and other places.

And between 2000 and 2004, I spent many long hours visiting all sorts of water bodies and aquarium shops, as well as fish farms, collecting, breeding, and rearing – different kinds of beautiful, but hardy, ornamental fish species e.g. Platy, Gourami etc.

In the home I intend to setup for my family in Cotonou, we’re going to have a special aquatic garden (with lighted glass aquarium displays at night) next to the home based Brew Pub we’ll be running. It’s a concept I already tested extensively at our family house in Lagos between 2002 and 2005. So I know it works.

Read: Working As A Farm Hand Enabled Me Create My Self-Cleaning Aquariums

This article is based on excerpts from my first Best Practice Parenting Book published in 2014 for sale in print and ebook format via lulu.com/spotlight/sdaproducts – click to view the book.

Kukuru Danger™ - 5 True Stories About the Adventures - and Misadventures! - of a School Age Child Trying to Find Purpose in Life

 

PII 050: You Cannot Achieve Your Goals All Alone (Hint: How to Get Others to Gladly Support You to Succeed)

2 weeks ago, in issue “PII 048” of this Performance Improvement Ideas (PII) newsletter, I explained why “You Need to Habitually Study Successful People”, if you wish “To Make Success a Habit.

In that piece I also explained why you need to analyze your failures (and they will be MANY) also in order to learn how to succeed better.

Now in this issue, I explain why you need to share from doing the above with others around you. Not just those close to you, but any persons you have cause to interact with, in the process of trying to succeed.

The reason you have to do that is this:

SCROLL DOWN TO READ FULL ISSUE

Tayo Solagbade's Performance Improvement IDEAS(PI Squared) Newsletter

Tayo Solagbade’s
Performance Improvement
IDEAS
(PI Squared) Newsletter

Monday 23rd January 2017

Logo - Tayo Solagbade's Self-Development Academy


NB: This PI Squared newsletter will be published weekly, on Mondays, in place of the Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS newsletter, starting from today – 15th February 2016.
I’m reinventing my Monday newsletter content and theme, to accommodate my vision of serving the growing audience of serious minded individuals and organizations reaching out to me, with information, education. news and research findings designed to help them do what they do better.

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

View Tayo Solagbade's video tutorials and demonstrations on Facebook Productivity Tips, Web Marketing, and for his Custom MS Excel-VB driven software applicationsJoin the SD Nuggets community on Facebook.comConnect with Tayo on Twitter.comConnect with Tayo on Google PlusConnect with Tayo on LinkedIn.com

PII 050: You Cannot Achieve Your Goals All Alone (Hint: How to Get Others to Gladly Support You to Succeed)

2 weeks ago, in issue “PII 048” of this Performance Improvement Ideas (PII) newsletter, I explained why “You Need to Habitually Study Successful People”, if you wish “To Make Success a Habit.

In that piece I also explained why you need to analyze your failures (and they will be MANY) also in order to learn how to succeed better.

Now in this issue, I explain why you need to share from doing the above with others around you. Not just those close to you, but any persons you have cause to interact with, in the process of trying to succeed.

img-20160509-00504

The reason you have to do that is this:

It is very unlikely that you will be able to achieve your goals all alone!

In other words there are very few people who are able to achieve authentic success, without needing help from others.

As the saying goes, no man is an island.

The truth, as has been my experience and that of others who stories I’ve read, is that you will find it necessary at some point in time, as you try to achieve your goal, to pass some of the lessons you learn to others you come across, and identify to be in NEED of such information, education and/or insights.

Note that you would do this NOT because you feel superior to them, or you want to prove a point.

Instead you would do so because – apart from boosting their ability to succeed in achieving their own goals – it would be in your long term interest, to get them to understand where you are coming from.

If people do not see what you see, and gain the insights that you have about why you need to operate the way you do to achieve your success:

  1. They may not know what to do, and how to do it, when you encounter challenges and need them to support you like you may have done for them.
  2. They may not be able to adequately prepare themselves to support you if/when the need to do so arises.

In other words, if you share with them the insights you’ve gained from studying the lives of other successful people, you would be inadvertently informing and educating them about why they need to think and act the way those successful people DID (like YOU are doing) if they wish to boost their changes of achieving the successes they desire.

However, not everybody wants to, or finds it easy to get out of his/her comfort zone to do something few people have (or no one has) done before.

Some people are comfortable being where they are!

They don’t like stress or uncertainty – and they certainly do not like taking risks….all of which those of us who are entrepreneurs thrive on!

If you are an entrepreneur, or you have the mindset of one, then I’m sure you know what I mean.

We never see setbacks as bad things – but those who lack our mindset do, and that’s why quite often when they learn of things going wrong for us, they imagine the worst and wonder why we insist on forging ahead :-)

Luckily, most of us have enough wisdom backed by resilience to NOT let their negative mindsets discourage us from staying true to our cause till we succeed.

The above is why entrepreneurs generally tend to be in the minority within most populations. The larger majority love to be salaried employees, avoiding the insecurities of having to stand on their own to find ways to earn income.

People with entrepreneurial traits are rarely in the majority in society.

That’s just the way it is. That’s because it’s not easy and generally not fun – at least not in those initial stages of building from the ground up as a startup.

Those are often VERY challenging, potentially traumatizing periods in the life of most entrepreneurs. I have been through it, so I know.

For those of us who are entrepreneurial by nature, we actually get a thrill from doing it all, no matter how hard it gets or how long it takes.

But those who are NOT, when they decide to become entrepreneurs, find it to be an unpleasant experience – especially when things are not going well for them.

So it’s not everyone that will want to be an entrepreneur.

Therefore you need to understand that in functioning as one, you will periodically find yourself having to relate with others who LACK that mindset you have, but who you may have to approach for help or support to keep going!

Do you see what I’m getting at here?

These would be people who would NEVER on their own choose the path you have adopted as an entrepreneur, but they would be in your network and in a position, at some point to give you what you need to recover from setbacks or progress to the next stage of your entrepreneurial evolution.

For instance they may be those you have to ask to lend you money, load you their cars, or other resources you need, give you a reference, or recommend you to others. Sometimes you may have to live – or share office space – with them etc.

So these people you may find yourself needing to relate with and/or request help or support from may not necessarily share your entrepreneurial mindset e.g. they may think a lot of what you’re doing or trying to do is crazy – and that would make it difficult to convince them that helping you is a good idea…especially when it has to do with THEM giving YOU their money to use for that purpose!

That’s why you need to find a way to share your insights with them in a manner that enables them UNDERSTAND what makes you tick.

If you refuse to develop that ability, you’re going to have to work a LOT on your own, with little or no support from others who have the means to give it.

So for you to interface with others who do NOT do what you do, and make them feel like lending you a hand, you will have to learn to communicate what you see (your vision) and fee (your passion).

And so you need to be able to able to communicate what you see (your vision), and communicate what you feel (your passion), in a manner that attracts other people and makes them feel like buying into your vision and supporting you to achieve it.

Now the minute you learn how to do that, you’ll find that sometimes 50% of the work you need to do is taken away.

This is because they’ll likely become your most fervent advocates, sometimes going out of their way to do things for you and/or ask you how they can help.

As you make that happen in your life, you’ll find that succeeding becomes a much easier endeavor.

Next week I’m going to talk you about  the role that (deliberate) exposure to poverty can play in preparing people to achieve authentic success, not just in business, but in any area of life.

Excel-VB Driven Ration Formulator

Click to view larger screenshot

1. Click here to learn more about this app – watch demo videos etc

2. Click here to watch a 4 part video in which I demonstrate how to use this app to formulate rations using real life data sent to me by an Algerian PhD student.

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

EXCEL-VB DRIVEN POULTRY LAYER FARM MANAGER SOFTWARE

Click here to download a detailed PDF user guide and watch 15 screen shot user guide tutorials of the Monthly Poultry Farm Manager that I now offer Farm CEOs.

Click here to watch a screenshot demonstration of the Excel-VB Driven Poultry Farm Manager I built for a client farm business in Ekiti state, South West Nigeria.

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

SDN Blog™

New posts from last week*

Monday:

[Wednesday]:

[Thursday]:

Fear Can Be Very Costly!

[Friday]:

N/A

[Saturday]:

N/A

[Sunday]:

Protected: THE FARM CEO (Issue 71): Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund, AWARD LAUNCHES 2016 GAIA AGTECH INNOVATION CHALLENGE, 50 New Innovative Agriculture Business Ideas in 2017

2017]

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*Best Practice Farm Business Support Specialist & Founder of the MS Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation Club and Competition

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 organizations 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 organizations, 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 (October 1994 to December 2001) as a high performing manager in Guinness Nigeria. He rose from Shift Brewer to Training & Technical Development Manager, and later acted in senior roles as Production Manager and Technical Manager.

In addition to constantly challenging the status quo and influencing positive work changes, he built a reputation for using self-taught spreadsheet programming skills (starting with Lotus 1-2-3, and later moving to Excel Visual Basic) – in his spare time – to develop Automated Spreadsheet Applications to computerize manual report generation processes in the departments he worked. Over four(4) of his applications were adopted for brewery level reporting.

Tayo holds a B.Sc degree in Agricultural Extension Services from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, having graduated top of his class – with Second Class Upper Division honors – in 1992. 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 (SDAc).

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 The Farm CEO Weekly Newspaper (sent via email to paid subscribers) and his Weekly Performance Improvement IDEAS newsletter.

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

View Tayo Solagbade's video tutorials and demonstrations on Facebook Productivity Tips, Web Marketing, and for his Custom MS Excel-VB driven software applicationsJoin the SD Nuggets community on Facebook.comConnect with Tayo on Twitter.comConnect with Tayo on Google PlusConnect with Tayo on LinkedIn.com

Home |About | Contact | SD Nuggets™ | Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS | Web Marketing Systems | Freelance Writing | MS Excel® Heaven™ | Cost-Saving Farm Biz Ideas

Fear Can Be Very Costly!

This is a true story. Names, dates and locations have been changed.
—-

It was a quiet afternoon in March 1995.  She was visiting me as usual in the Training Centre, during break time.

Annogu looked at me and said “Tayo, I hope you’re not going to get so busy as you often do, and forget to come around on my birthday. Remember it’s on Saturday – 2 days from today?

I looked up from typing on the computer, and smiled saying “Come on, don’t worry. I promise I’ll come and see you.” She said “Well you’d better. Or I’ll never forgive you!

We both laughed. As I looked at her, I could not help thinking how far we’d come, less than three months after we first got together. She was now in her fifth month as an Industrial Trainee (IT) from a university in the east.

On hindsight, my initial misgivings about getting close to females (due to a nasty peeping tom accusation back in primary school), now seemed baseless. We clearly enjoyed each other’s company. And I looked forward to spending more time with her on Saturday.

As her birthday approached, I asked some of my more “girl savvy” colleagues for tips on what gift to buy for her. They mocked me for being so nerdy that at 25, I knew nothing about dating. I endured their jibes, and after reflecting on their suggestions, settled for a big box of chocolates, and a beautifully worded birthday card from the popular Asterix Super Stores.

At about 12 noon on saturday, I dressed up, and with the neatly wrapped gift in hand, read out the address she’d written on a slip of paper, to a taxi driver. He knew the place, and after agreeing the fare, we set off.

I was not to know I was in for a (scary) surprise.

About 20 minutes later, the taxi pulled over, and the driver said “Oga, na here O.”(I.e. “Boss, this is the place”). I paid him and got out, then looked round. For some strange reason, I felt like I’d been there before. But I shrugged it off, and taking my bearing from house 21, made my way up to number 35, written on the slip.

As I got closer, I felt a knot tightening in my chest, as the realization dawned on me.

“It can‘t be!” I told myself.

I looked again at her handwritten directions on the slip she had given me. Yes, I was on the right street, and at the right house.

But not only had I been in the house before, I had also met the owner. Only it had been at night, and for a completely different purpose. I felt like disappearing with the gift in my hand.

“How could this happen?” I asked myself. I wondered if she had known, and chosen not to mention it, but dropped the thought just as quickly.

She had told me she was staying with her uncle and aunt, having moved from her home state to take up the 6 month internship at the company. I just never thought to ask for her uncle’s name. “If I had, would I have still dated her?” I wondered. It was hard to say.

So, there I was…

Standing uncertainly outside the door. I no longer needed her to tell me her uncle’s name. I already knew it was Hama Elbon…my landlord!

I had been there 9 months earlier, to pay one year’s rent and sign a tenancy agreement for a 3 bedroom flat in his new block of four flats. This was so I could move out of the apartment I shared with my two graduate trainee colleagues.

There were 2 main reasons I was nervous about being back.

Firstly, on the night of my maiden visit, Mr. Elbon had expressed reservations about renting out to bachelors. According to him, most of them were “players”, who kept late nights and preyed on girls. Even though I was not like that, I was not sure he would jump up and down in joy, on seeing me pop up at his door to take his niece out :-)

The second reason was that Annogu had once told me her father (a high court judge in her home state at the time), would frown at her dating someone from a different tribe. So, I worried that her guardians might share a similar bias. And I was not keen to face any tribal discrimination drama – especially not one that could cause tension with my new landlord!

But then I told myself, “The worst that can happen is they’ll say they don’t want a mere trainee, who also happens to come from another tribe, dating their niece. I’m certainly not going to run away with my tail between my legs!”

So I summoned courage and knocked.

The door opened, and sure enough I found myself looking at my landlord’s wife.

I greeted her, and she replied pleasantly, adding “Oh aren’t you the new tenant at our house on Abopki highlands? How are you?” I replied half-smiling, that I was fine.

Before I could say more, she looked at the wrapped gift in my hand and smiled broadly saying “So, you’re the one Annogu is expecting. She never did tell me the person’s name. What an interesting co-incidence! Sit down while I let her know you’re here.”

“Is oga around?”, I asked casually. “No, he’s been away on a trip, but we expect him back today or tomorrow”, she replied, as she walked away.

At that point, my apprehension rapidly faded away. The uncle was away. And his wife betrayed no noticeable reservations. What a relief!

And so it was that far from being a disaster, my date with Annogu turned out great.

We spent an enjoyable day at the leisure park, having ice cream, a nice meal, and sharing lots of fun stories – including how I almost bolted back to my flat, when I found out she lived with my landlord (she had also been shocked to hear her aunt say she already knew me).

I got her back home before nightfall. The uncle was not back (“Thank God!” I thought to myself). So I said goodbye to both ladies, and left.

Fear (when not controlled) can be costly in life – and especially in marketing.

In marketing products or services, the fear of rejection, disappointment or even embarassment can hold you back. For instance, making cold calls in person or on phone can be a psychologically tasking exercise. But people who succeed in marketing, learn to dig in and do it – in spite of any doubts or fears they have.

Letting fear paralyze you can deny you the success you need. Just like I realized in deciding to knock on my landlord’s door, the worst that can happen is those you approach will say “no”.

Last time I checked, NO never killed anyone. What’s more, you’ll never know if they won’t say YES, unless you try – will you?

So, don’t let the fear of what can go wrong keep you from taking the steps to achieve your dream. Or one day you’ll look back with regret, wondering what might have been.

Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. – Mark Twain.

PS: This post was first published online via spontaneousdevelopment.com (now defunct) on Monday, September 17, 2012 8:00 AM

[Recommended] Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers

The idea that companies must “delight” their customers has become so entrenched that managers rarely examine it.

But ask yourself this: How often does someone patronize a company specifically because of its over-the-top service? You can probably think of a few examples, such as the traveler who makes a point of returning to a hotel that has a particularly attentive staff. But you probably can’t come up with many.

Now ask yourself: How often do consumers cut companies loose because of terrible service? All the time. They exact revenge on airlines that lose their bags, cable providers whose technicians keep them waiting, cellular companies whose reps put them on permanent hold, and dry cleaners who don’t understand what “rush order” means.

Continue….

https://hbr.org/2010/07/stop-trying-to-delight-your-customers