Category Archives: My Ideas for Making Nigeria Better

No. 199: Start Your Mentoring Business Part Time (3 Useful Tools)

Access to a good mentor (like Burt Dubin has been to experts-who-speak clients across the world for 3 decades) can give a person power to achieve his/her goals with less effort, and in less time.

People out there need help…and YOU may be able to provide it as their mentor!

In Africa, mentoring as a business is still in its infancy. Most people refuse to accept they need it. When they do acknowledge it, they often want to pay little or nothing. Yet the results they get in life often indicate formal coaching/mentoring will GREATLY BENEFIT them!

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Click now to view the latest issue of Tayo Solagbade's Public Speaking IDEAS page

Tayo K. Solagade‘s

Weekly Public Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS Newsletter

Date: Monday 29th June 2015

No:199

Title: (a) Start Your Mentoring Business Part Time (3 Useful Tools) (b) To Achieve Sustainable Success, Closely Monitor News About Current Affairs and Politics! – [MP3]!

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

Last Week: Read articles published on my blog here

Newsletter Archive (E-mail version started 14th May 2012): Click here to view

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NB: This newsletter is published every Monday. Point your browser to www.tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets to read at least ONE new post added to my SD Nuggets blog on a different category from Tuesday till Saturday (sometimes even Sundays) in line with this publishing schedule :-)

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GET LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP OF MY INNER CIRCLE (OVER $250 USD!) WHEN YOU BUY BURT DUBIN’S SPEAKER MENTORING PRODUCTS/SERVICES – LEARN MORE HERE!

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 Plus

1 of 2: PUBLIC SPEAKING – Start Your Mentoring Business Part Time (3 Useful Tools)

Access to a good mentor (like Burt Dubin has been to experts-who-speak clients across the world for 3 decades) can give a person power to achieve his/her goals with less effort, and in less time.
People out there need help…and YOU may be able to provide it as their mentor!

In Africa, mentoring as a business is still in its infancy. Most people refuse to accept they need it. When they do acknowledge it, they often want to pay little or nothing. Yet the results they get in life often indicate formal coaching/mentoring will GREATLY BENEFIT them!

The typical exception to the above is when they are not the ones paying for the coaching e.g when it’s arranged as part of a career development program by their employer.

This is why most providers of coaching/mentoring or training in this part of the world, tend to target mainly organisations in their marketing, as against reaching out to individuals.

If you’re serious about exploring ways to earn extra income while in paid employment – Consider Starting a Coaching/Mentoring Business in your area of specialization

If that idea appeals to you, I’ve compiled 3 finds from recent searches I’ve done…

My 1st FIND: In the course of researching online for additional resources to use, I came across this excellent PDF resource on mentoring YOUNG PEOPLE:

It’s just one element from what is actually a complete and VERY comprehensive Tool Kit (including a CD etc) for Aspiring Mentors to use in designing their own mentoring programs according to World Class standards.

What’s most interesting is that this Tool Kit is used across the USA via a national mentoring network to link young people with caring adults, who need mentors.

Check out the PDF: [Download link appears here in the PDF version of this newsletter issue: Request it here]

You’ll notice that they have URLs for “State and Local Mentoring Partnerships” listed for virtually every state in the USA.

So, that’s for YOUNG people..

My 2nd FIND: There’s another online resource – this time for mentoring ADULTS…

It’s www.impactforcoaches.org – and last time I checked, membership was FREE.

It has a great resource page you can use to prepare material for coaching (you click on “Coaching Forms” once you are logged in. All are FREE:

Source URL: http://impactforcoaches.org/coach-resources/coaching-forms/

You are encouraged to ” customize them to suit you and your clients.”

Examples include: Coaching Forms such as… Coaching Agreement, Coaching Intake Form: Business Coaching Intake Form, Coaching Prep Form,  Your First 5 Sessions: Key questions to ask and areas to focus on when starting your work with new clients – specific to all major coaching specialty areas, Group Coaching Prep Checklist, Tracking Client Progress etc

Just go to www.impactforcoaches.org and sign up, and then get started :-))

You’ll get a page assigned to you, where your photo and profile will be published as a “Member” – and I think there are codes you can copy to add their membership BADGES to your website.

Here’s the link to my page on their site:

http://impactforcoaches.org/coaches/tayo-solagbade/

[Disclaimer/Full Disclosure: This is NOT a recruitment drive. I’ve never even gotten such a request from them. In fact, I’ve not been on that site since May 2014 when I logged on to change my URL from spontaneousdevelopment.com – which got poached – to tayosolagbade.com]

My 3rd Find: And finally, I’ve been exploring online and offline channels for a while now, to find resources and ideas about how persons keen to own their own businesses can do so without having to QUIT their day jobs.

My decision to search for and find this resource was influenced by my interactions with my Farm CEO clients – an increasing number of whom hold day jobs while running their farm businesses part time.

The belief that this way of eating your cake and still having it is possible became more reinforced for me as I’ve MORE of my Farm CEO clients turn out to be guys working at well paying jobs (some with multinationals manufacturers, oil service companies etc) – who setup farm businesses that they run with their spouses.

They then come to me to buy my software and other products to more effectively monitor, and manage their operations.

From what I learnt by observing them, and reading up on new ideas from Robert Kiyosaki and others, I realized it would be best to help people explore this alternative way…

Last week, I found a hefty PDF resource containing and linking to 100% FREE guide notes on doing just that.

[Download link appears here in the PDF version of this newsletter issue: Request it here]

From scanning through it, I am convinced it contains virtually everything one would need to achieve the end described.

If you’d like to get it, simply REPLY to this broadcast, if you’re reading in your email box as a subscriber. Otherwise, if you’re online, click here to request your FREE PDF copy of this newsletter, which has the full download links to the featured resources.

Why do I NOT simply put the links up here?

Simple: I do that most times. But I periodically want my readers to take ACTION to get what they want, and not just be passive. If you don’t like or need what you’ve read, you won’t miss anything.

But if you like it, and want full access, ask for it, and I’ll send it over – at zero cost!

Click here!

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This newsletter (which I use to promote Burt Dubin’s Speaker Mentoring Products/Services) serves experts-who-speak. Starting – Monday 13th April 2015 – it MORPHED in name and content served, to a 2 part Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS newsletter, to better serve them. You just read the “Public Speaking IDEAS” part above. What follows below is the “Web Marketing IDEAS” part.

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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]

2 of 2: WEB MARKETING: To Achieve Sustainable Success, Closely Monitor News About Current Affairs and Politics! [FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD]

“If you want to achieve sustainable success in business (especially in a volatile market place like Nigeria), it’s in your best interest to develop interest in current affairs and politics, because those are the two key ingredients that really keep this country from having a stable sociopolitical climate.
And for as long as that stable sociopolitical climate does not exist, every person running a business will probably have to sleep with one eye open.” – Tayo K. Solagbade

It’s FREE for all my Web Marketing/farm business clients, and ALL members of my Inner Circle as well as for ALL subscribers to THIS newsletter.

If you are not yet ANY of the above, just send me a message here to let me know.

If you want me to send you the full MP3 recording, just say so in your message.

NB: If you’re already a client or subscriber, email me via tayo at tksola dot com and let me know you want it

Alternatively, click here to request the FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD.

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SPECIAL OFFER TO READERS OF THIS SPEAKING/WEB MARKETING IDEAS NEWSLETTER

Did you know that as an expert in your field you can make more money by speaking professionally? Or do you already speak-for-money, but want to know how to do it better AND/OR how to make more money even when you do not speak?

If you said YES to any of the above, THIS offer is for you.

Burt Dubin can teach you to do ALL the above and more. You can learn from him via direct mentoring (regardless of distance) or using the many home study packages he offers.

Get FREE Lifetime Membership of My Inner Circle (OVER $250 USD) when you do 1 or more of the following:

1. Signup for Burt’s Speaker Mentoring Service (click here for details)…

2. Purchase Burt’s Speaker Mentoring Products up to $500 USD or more (click here to see a popular one)…

NB: Membership of my Inner Circle comes with a FREE product of your choice e.g. my custom Excel-VB software, Information Products etc. (click here for full details of what my Inner Circle members get)…PLUS you get a LIFETIME 65% discount on ALL my other existing/future products and services.

HERE’S AN ADDED BONUS YOU GET FROM ME, IF YOU BUY FROM BURT…

If, upon commencing or completing Burt’s mentoring you choose to launch your speaking business formally, I WILL (at no cost to you) develop and implement for YOU, in line with guidance from Burt, a Web Marketing System to cost-effectively promote your brand.

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

ALSO GET MY PERSONALIZED MS EXCEL-VB VIDEO TUTORIALS (N100K) WHEN YOU BUY FROM BURT…

Buying up to $500 USD or more from Burt will also qualify you to receive my personalized MS Excel VB home study tutorial workbooks/videos – over N100k value.

Learn more on my Excel Heaven solutions website at www.excelheaven.biz

Click to visit my Facebook page (opens in new browser window)

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

Question: But who is Burt Dubin, and why do I (Tayo K. Solagbade) think you should you learn from him?

Answer: Burt is a 3 decade veteran in the professional speaking business. After achieving top level cross continental success as an expert-speaker, he has established a reputation for mentoring some of the highest paid speakers in the world. He owns SpeakingBizSuccess.com, SpeakingSuccess.com and BurtDubin.com.

Burt helps those he mentors (experts-who-speak) to Position, Package, Promote, and Present* themselves successfully to clients (*He calls them the 4Ps). That’s why it’s no surprise that on Burt’s website, considerable space capital is devoted to useful business marketing articles as well as products.

It might also interest you to know that MANY years back, Burt established himself as one of the best marketing minds in the world. To really put this FACT in proper perspective, I’ll provide more specific details in form of an example.

A few years ago, Burt contributed an article to a powerful publication titled “The Most Effective Articles Ever – By The World’s Top Marketers“. That 574 page ebook features timeless marketing advice from 71 of the world’s top marketers – including Jack Trout, Joe Vitale, Yanik Silver…and Burt Dubin.

That’s ample proof that (in addition to Public Speaking), Burt would be a great resource to learn business marketing from!

Full Disclosure: I represent Burt as Sole Agent for his products/services, which means if YOU buy from him, I get paid.

But that’s NOT the main reason I represent and recommend him. I have benefited in many ways by learning from Burt. Through his writing, his audio recordings, and from directly relating with him.

Before we teamed up in 2011, I’d been studying his work and adapting it to succeed in my work from way back in 2002. It does not matter what part of the world you’re in. If you know how to adapt them to suit your peculiar local needs, Burt’s ideas and strategies WILL work for you. I am living proof of it!

That’s why I never tire of CONFIDENTLY recommending him to others.

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.

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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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SPECIAL PRODUCT FEATURE

“Inside Speaking Business Success Secrets”

In this offer, Burt Dubin promises to show you how to generate PASSIVE incomes streams WHETHER YOU SPEAK OR NOT.

Plus, you learn a proven shortcut to top level speaking business success across corporate markets.

CLICK HERE to get full details of what it takes to make yourself a true speaking business champion in Burt's Boot Camp V: Inside Speaking Business Success Secrets

So, with diligent persistent application of what you learn you’ll start (as Burt says)…”bringing home high speaking fees”…whether you speak or not…in a matter of weeks….

Sooner than later you’ll find you’re ready to go for Burt’s mentoring at Diamond or higher Inner Circle membership level.

The best part is: every cent of your fee to purchase this product counts toward your membership in Burt’s Inner Circle.

In other words, you effectively get to eat your cake and still have it!

CLICK HERE to get full details of what it takes to make yourself a true speaking business champion in Burt’s Boot Camp V: Inside Speaking Business Success Secrets

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

Useful Resources for Speakers

Burt Dubin works with people who want to be speakers, and with speakers who want to be masters.

Showmanship Strategems

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 Dubin live

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 - Speaking Business Success

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

ProgramManual

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

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

psip-LULU-BACK-coverOK

Download above PDF

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

lick here to download your FREE 20 Page PDF Chapter preview of my latest Book" titled "KUKURU DANGER™: 5 True Stories About the Adventures - & Misadventures! - of a School Age Child Trying to Find Purpose in Life

Download above PDF

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).

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Click here to contact Tayo… 


SD Nuggets Blog

New posts from last week that may interest you! *
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[Tuesday]:

[Wednesday]:
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[Thursday]:

[Friday]:
[Saturday]:
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Want me to write for you? Click here to send me a message

www.tayosolagbade.com - Invite me to Speak...click here!

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 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 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.

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[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:

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

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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 Plus

 

THE FARM CEO (Issue 03) – Low Cost Protein Sources for L/S Feed, Good Aquaculture Feed Manufacturing Practice, Replacement of fish meal with maggot meal in African catfish, Soybean Meal Alternatives, Pre-Feasibility BROILER FARM (7500 Birds), Evaluation of Locally Available ingredients used for Ration Formulation for African Catfish

Issue No. 03 of THE FARM CEO:I got a phone question from Uchenna A., a Farm CEO client based in Abakaliki, on Sunday 21st June 2015, few hours after I arrived in Lagos from Cotonou. His question, was…

Q: What other alternative protein sources can I explore using if I cannot afford (or find) conventional ones like Fish Meal, Soyabean meal, and Groundnut Cake?

A: This Issue No. 03 of THE FARM CEO™ was deliberately devoted to addressing Uche’s question. You will therefore notice that I’ve featured several resources and publications offering tested ideas and guidelines for replacing the above mentioned protein sources.

tfc03-cover

this issue

[PDF] Low Cost Protein Sources for L/S Feed? P.1

[PDF] Good Aquaculture Feed Manuf. Practice P.2

[PDF] Replacement of fish meal with maggot meal in African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) diets P.2

[PDF] Soybean Meal Alternatives P.2

Pre-Feasibility BROILER FARM (7500 Birds)!  P.3

Evaluation of Locally Available ingredients used for Ration Formulation for African Catfish (PDF) P.3

Your Questions Answered P.3

Your FREE Ad Space P.4

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NB: Send in your questions. I’ve added this section to make sure I’m serving you what you need. Send me your requests, responses, and questions, early in the week, and I’ll dig up as much information as possible, review and publish here for your consideration.

THE FARM CEO™ content publishing objective is to save you time, effort and even money searching, researching, studying and/or making sense of the mass of information that’s available today, towards making intelligent, timely decisions to boost your farm’s long term success.

Click here to learn how to subscribe to get this latest issues as well as past issue of this newspaper.

 

No. 198: An Unusual LIVE Event Strategy That Attracts Buyers at Zero Cost (True Story)

If you’re willing to do the (hard but potentially rewarding) creative THINKING to conceive unconventional online/offline strategies, that attract paying clients at zero cost, YOU WILL reap superior and sustainable profits…from buyers who eagerly tell others about you.

I explain below.

The following short story about an event I attended in Benin Republic provides a background…

SCROLL DOWN TO CONTINUE READING

 

Click now to view the latest issue of Tayo Solagbade's Public Speaking IDEAS page

Tayo K. Solagade‘s

 

Weekly Public Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS Newsletter

Date: Monday 22nd June 2015

No:198

Title: (a) An Unusual LIVE Event Strategy That Attracts Buyers at Zero Cost (b) To Achieve Sustainable Success, Closely Monitor News About Current Affairs and Politics! – [MP3]!

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

Last Week: Read articles published on my blog here

Newsletter Archive (E-mail version started 14th May 2012): Click here to view

Is this email not displaying correctly?

View it in your browser.[Click to view Archives]


Logo - Tayo Solagbade's Self-Development Academy

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NB: This newsletter is published every Monday. Point your browser to www.tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets to read at least ONE new post added to my SD Nuggets blog on a different category from Tuesday till Saturday (sometimes even Sundays) in line with this publishing schedule :-)

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GET LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP OF MY INNER CIRCLE (OVER $250 USD!) WHEN YOU BUY BURT DUBIN’S SPEAKER MENTORING PRODUCTS/SERVICES – LEARN MORE HERE!

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 Plus

1 of 2: PUBLIC SPEAKING – An Unusual LIVE Event Strategy That Attracts Buyers at Zero Cost

If you’re willing to do the (hard but potentially rewarding) creative THINKING to conceive unconventional online/offline strategies, that attract paying clients at zero cost, YOU WILL reap superior and sustainable profits…from buyers who eagerly tell others about you.

I explain below.

The following short story about an event I attended in Benin Republic provides a background…

It was 6.00p.m Saturday 20th June 2015. I’d worked online since 10a.m before going to Tokpa motor part to try taking a taxi to Ouidah – a trip I’d long delayed since 2013.

But vehicles were few in coming. I waited still – eager to satisfy my curiosity about a town I’d heard so much about for it’s historical relevance from various sources e.g. tripadvisor.com.

By 8p.m I was told by a taxi owner at the park, who had just arrived from Ouidah, where, that the roads were in a particularly bad state due to the heavy rains, and that it was unlikely anyone would be willing to go that route.

I was disappointed. But I soon thought of another way to make use of the free time. So I went off to “le terrain” at Cotonou’s Stade de L’amitie…

I knew from my stay in Calavi back in 2013, that they often had open air music playing with food getting served to people etc, especially on weekend nights…

It turned out to be an excellent decision as I have a GREAT time watching a LIVE show outside one of the restaurants.

Amateur Beninese dancers of various ages took turns on stage to display exciting “Makossa” dancing moves (mixed with amazing acrobatic hip hop stunts)  individually and in teams of three.

One after the other they came on stage and did their thing…to the audience’s admiration.

Towards the end, one team of 3 young men in their 20s arrived and they were introduced as winners from a national competition held somewhere else earlier in the year.

By this time I was thinking of leaving…I thought I’d seen all the sickest possible moves by that time from watching previous dancers.

But by the time these 3 guys took over the stage, I quickly understood why they were chosen as national champions – they were truly awesome:

Their synchronized hips movement (you know the Francophone hip gyrations), punctuated with back flips and other stunts perfectly timed with the music, made me forget my need for sleep!

The show eventually ended around 2a.m or so.

But I was SOOO glad I was unable to make my much anticipated trip down to Ouidah, otherwise I would not have discovered this wonderful event!

What I love most about the whole show was the variety:

For instance, we had some dancers I put at under 10 years of age.

You also had the pretty little twin girls dressed in matching attire – managed by their mother.

Then there was a crippled elderly man in a hand pedalled bike who sang beautifully!

None of them got paid (except possibly the champion trio, who seemed to come in as the main event).

So the payoff for most of the dancers was obviously the opportunity to possibly build a reputation, by performing before a large audience of high income earning elite:

A. who may hire them to dance at private events

B. Who, if impressed, may give them generous cash tips on stage (that happened a lot) or as they go round the tables with bowls and caps in hand (I noticed the champion dancers did not do this. Often only the really young kids and student dancers).

C. In addition, the dancers apparently love what they do so much, that they welcome every opportunity to show off new moves before any LIVE audience.

Another thing I loved was the excellent organization – and the way the event was integrated into the restaurant’s business model:

The truly gifted MC coordinated the visiting dancers superbly.

Some of the dancers travelled from afar (e.g. Seme, the border town, and other cities). Before letting each act perform, he did an introduction and often found a way to exchange some banter with them in a way that stirred even more interest.

While he did that,  members of his restaurant team went round seeing to the needs of seated guests – most tables ended up covered with plates, glass cups and bottles paid for and consumed by guests kept glued to their seats by the gripping LIVE entertainment that went on uninterrupted.

It was an open event of sorts, but I gathered that there was a screening process to evaluate an intending performer via an audition.

Based on the foregoing, here’s what made me write this article:

This restaurant operator conceived an excellent reproducible strategy for attracting and keeping large traffic of potential buyers, in an open air show open to anyone who passes screening.

That way it was more like a public service, making it unnecessary to offer rewards or remuneration to dancers. Yet he got to reap substantial sales of food and drinks mainly via stands setup along the perimeter of the open air arena.

This brings me to the point I wish to make:

Instead of paying for ads, flyers and posters, he setup a LIVE show that runs through Friday to Monday a.m, using resources already part of the business overheads to attract potential buyers.

This strategy can be adapted for use in virtually any business model – even farm business.

You just need to think of how to go about it: if you can’t do the thinking, challenge an employee to do it for you, OR hire an expert with relevant proven competence (like me) to help you.

Final Words: For experts-who-speak, this strategy has been in use for decades!

A bestselling book written decades ago by a famous author, now late, tells a true story about how one man used this strategy to achieve financially rewarding success, by running a VERY unusual speaking event across the USA!

I will add here that I’ve since adapted ideas I got from reading that story, for use in Nigeria – with success. It’s a near fool proof way to achieve speaking business promotion success at low to zero cost – while earning income via other channels at the same time.

Reply to this email (or submit this form) and I will send you details of what he did and how – plus where to read all about it.

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This newsletter (which I use to promote Burt Dubin’s Speaker Mentoring Products/Services) serves experts-who-speak. Starting – Monday 13th April 2015 – it MORPHED in name and content served, to a 2 part Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS newsletter, to better serve them. You just read the “Public Speaking IDEAS” part above. What follows below is the “Web Marketing IDEAS” part.

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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]

2 of 2: WEB MARKETING: To Achieve Sustainable Success, Closely Monitor News About Current Affairs and Politics! [FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD]

“If you want to achieve sustainable success in business (especially in a volatile market place like Nigeria), it’s in your best interest to develop interest in current affairs and politics, because those are the two key ingredients that really keep this country from having a stable sociopolitical climate.
And for as long as that stable sociopolitical climate does not exist, every person running a business will probably have to sleep with one eye open.” – Tayo K. Solagbade

It’s FREE for all my Web Marketing/farm business clients, and ALL members of my Inner Circle as well as for ALL subscribers to THIS newsletter.

If you are not yet ANY of the above, just send me a message here to let me know.

If you want me to send you the full MP3 recording, just say so in your message.

NB: If you’re already a client or subscriber, email me via tayo at tksola dot com and let me know you want it

Alternatively, click here to request the FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD.

******

SPECIAL OFFER TO READERS OF THIS SPEAKING/WEB MARKETING IDEAS NEWSLETTER

Did you know that as an expert in your field you can make more money by speaking professionally? Or do you already speak-for-money, but want to know how to do it better AND/OR how to make more money even when you do not speak?

If you said YES to any of the above, THIS offer is for you.

Burt Dubin can teach you to do ALL the above and more. You can learn from him via direct mentoring (regardless of distance) or using the many home study packages he offers.

Get FREE Lifetime Membership of My Inner Circle (OVER $250 USD) when you do 1 or more of the following:

1. Signup for Burt’s Speaker Mentoring Service (click here for details)…

2. Purchase Burt’s Speaker Mentoring Products up to $500 USD or more (click here to see a popular one)…

NB: Membership of my Inner Circle comes with a FREE product of your choice e.g. my custom Excel-VB software, Information Products etc. (click here for full details of what my Inner Circle members get)…PLUS you get a LIFETIME 65% discount on ALL my other existing/future products and services.

HERE’S AN ADDED BONUS YOU GET FROM ME, IF YOU BUY FROM BURT…

If, upon commencing or completing Burt’s mentoring you choose to launch your speaking business formally, I WILL (at no cost to you) develop and implement for YOU, in line with guidance from Burt, a Web Marketing System to cost-effectively promote your brand.

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

ALSO GET MY PERSONALIZED MS EXCEL-VB VIDEO TUTORIALS (N100K) WHEN YOU BUY FROM BURT…

Buying up to $500 USD or more from Burt will also qualify you to receive my personalized MS Excel VB home study tutorial workbooks/videos – over N100k value.

Learn more on my Excel Heaven solutions website at www.excelheaven.biz

Click to visit my Facebook page (opens in new browser window)

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

Question: But who is Burt Dubin, and why do I (Tayo K. Solagbade) think you should you learn from him?

Answer: Burt is a 3 decade veteran in the professional speaking business. After achieving top level cross continental success as an expert-speaker, he has established a reputation for mentoring some of the highest paid speakers in the world. He owns SpeakingBizSuccess.com, SpeakingSuccess.com and BurtDubin.com.

Burt helps those he mentors (experts-who-speak) to Position, Package, Promote, and Present* themselves successfully to clients (*He calls them the 4Ps). That’s why it’s no surprise that on Burt’s website, considerable space capital is devoted to useful business marketing articles as well as products.

It might also interest you to know that MANY years back, Burt established himself as one of the best marketing minds in the world. To really put this FACT in proper perspective, I’ll provide more specific details in form of an example.

A few years ago, Burt contributed an article to a powerful publication titled “The Most Effective Articles Ever – By The World’s Top Marketers“. That 574 page ebook features timeless marketing advice from 71 of the world’s top marketers – including Jack Trout, Joe Vitale, Yanik Silver…and Burt Dubin.

That’s ample proof that (in addition to Public Speaking), Burt would be a great resource to learn business marketing from!

Full Disclosure: I represent Burt as Sole Agent for his products/services, which means if YOU buy from him, I get paid.

But that’s NOT the main reason I represent and recommend him. I have benefited in many ways by learning from Burt. Through his writing, his audio recordings, and from directly relating with him.

Before we teamed up in 2011, I’d been studying his work and adapting it to succeed in my work from way back in 2002. It does not matter what part of the world you’re in. If you know how to adapt them to suit your peculiar local needs, Burt’s ideas and strategies WILL work for you. I am living proof of it!

That’s why I never tire of CONFIDENTLY recommending him to others.

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 :-))

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

SPECIAL PRODUCT FEATURE

“Inside Speaking Business Success Secrets”

In this offer, Burt Dubin promises to show you how to generate PASSIVE incomes streams WHETHER YOU SPEAK OR NOT.

Plus, you learn a proven shortcut to top level speaking business success across corporate markets.

CLICK HERE to get full details of what it takes to make yourself a true speaking business champion in Burt's Boot Camp V: Inside Speaking Business Success Secrets

So, with diligent persistent application of what you learn you’ll start (as Burt says)…”bringing home high speaking fees”…whether you speak or not…in a matter of weeks….

Sooner than later you’ll find you’re ready to go for Burt’s mentoring at Diamond or higher Inner Circle membership level.

The best part is: every cent of your fee to purchase this product counts toward your membership in Burt’s Inner Circle.

In other words, you effectively get to eat your cake and still have it!

CLICK HERE to get full details of what it takes to make yourself a true speaking business champion in Burt’s Boot Camp V: Inside Speaking Business Success Secrets

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

Get Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring
for Africa Based Experts
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Useful Resources for Speakers

Burt Dubin works with people who want to be speakers, and with speakers who want to be masters.

Showmanship Strategems

 

177 Wow! Wow!

Showmanship Stratagems

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

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Burt Dubin live

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 - Speaking Business Success

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

ProgramManual

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)

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Download above PDF

******

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

lick here to download your FREE 20 Page PDF Chapter preview of my latest Book" titled "KUKURU DANGER™: 5 True Stories About the Adventures - & Misadventures! - of a School Age Child Trying to Find Purpose in Life

Download above PDF

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… 

SD Nuggets Blog

New posts from last week that may interest you! *
Public Speaking[Monday]:

[Tuesday]:

[Wednesday]:

[Thursday]:

[Friday]:
N/A
[Saturday]:
Want me to write for you? Click here to send me a message

www.tayosolagbade.com - Invite me to Speak...click here!

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 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 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:

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 Plus

 

 

To Succeed In Today’s World, Your Kids Will Need REAL WORLD Experience

No amount of “formal classroom based schooling” at ANY levels in the BEST (whatever that means) learning institutions in the WORLD, can compare to QUALITY time spent gaining real world relevant hands-on experience in any field of endeavor.

This is why students are asked to go on INTERNSHIPS, or INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT etc.

You need to take what you have been taught in the controlled environment of your learning institution, and make diligent conscious effort to put it to PRODUCTIVE use in the REAL WORLD you intend to apply it once your learning is completed.

MANY MANY MANY people fail to understand this, and that’s why even when they are truly gifted, academically and otherwise, they enter society and literally struggle to achieve the full potential that EVERYONE knows they have.

This is however often not entirely the fault of the affected individuals. Instead it’s due to the way society trains us to think.

We leave the most important things for LAST.

The most successful lawyer in court when everyone graduates, may not have been the best in school work.

Indeed we have notable examples that prove this here in Nigeria, and elsewhere – in various fields!

Which brings me to the point I wish to make:

As parents, if we love our kids and want them to truly succeed, we MUST go out of our way to EXPOSE them to real world experiences.

We must challenge them to connect with their environment by engaging in activities that will help them develop the needed awareness and emotional intelligence to take what they learn and use it to achieve their goals, regardless of what LIFE may throw at them.

Are you doing that for YOUR kids yet???

If not, NOW is the time to start. Your kids will thank you for it later. Today’s world demands it – book knowledge alone, will NOT be enough for lasting authentic success in or out of paid employment – especially OUT of paid employment.

When you consider that decent jobs are getting fewer and harder to win, it only makes sense to prepare one’s offspring for the possibility that they may have to work for themselves.

If that’s to happen successfully, they will need bucket loads of REAL WORLD experience under their belts.

PLEASE give it to them now, so they can make the best use of it as they grow!

Photo: My 3 sons pose for a photo with the musician – Beautiful Nubia – just after completing their 3 hour FREE Music Workshop session at his EniObanke Arts Centre at the Ikeja-GRA premises.

They were taught rudiments of percussion (agogo, shekere, etc.), talking drum, rhythm guitar, bass guitar etc by experienced musicians and teachers.

Click to read full article titled:

Studying Music Can Make Your Child Achieve More Success

Photo: My 3 sons pose for a photo with the musician - Beautiful Nubia - just after completing their 3 hour FREE Music Workshop session at his EniObanke Arts Centre at the Ikeja-GRA premises.

THE FARM CEO (Issue 02) – Rat Control, Integrated Farming, Economics of Egg Production, Agribusiness Handbook: Poultry Meat & Eggs, Watch Songhai’s Award Winning Snails Feeding Video, Songhai’s Leadership Academy – SLA

In this second issue of THE FARM CEO newspaper, you get my reviews of, and links to:

(a) A 3 part write-up on Rat Control – VERY useful, by a UK based expert!

(b) A PDF Manual on Integrated Farming

(c) A PDF paper on The Economics of Egg Production

(d) A PDF document titled “Agribusiness Handbook: Poultry Meat & Eggs

(e) Watch Songhai’s Award Winning Snails Feeding Video

(f) Read about Songhai’s Leadership Academy – SLA

Below: Screenshot of the cover for Issue No. 02 of THE FARM CEO (Monday 15th June 2015) – this is the formal look for the newspaper.

creenshot of the cover for Issue No. 02 of THE FARM CEO (Monday 15th June 2015) - this is the formal look for the newspaper

Subscribe to THE FARM CEO HERE, and get ALL back issues, in addition to your full subscription of 48 weekly issues.

Content to expect

1) Useful feed formulation/other findings from trusted sources

2) Cost-saving ideas from farm visits as I travel across West Africa.

3) Ads by farm providers/suppliers of all genres.

4). Special promo price offers of my Software and Book products

Learn more at http://tinyurl.com/TheFarmCEO

MS Excel Automation Education in African Institutions Can Boost Jobs Creation & Self-Employment!

Universities and business schools across the world often offer full, real world relevant Excel-VBA programming courses. But NONE in Nigeria, Benin, possibly all of Africa do.

This write-up is targeted mainly at educators  and providers of learning solutions in Africa. There is a massive dearth of MS Excel learning in general and Excel-VB programming education in particular.

Countless certified accountants in the UK, America, Australia, Canada and Asia excel by developing automated Excel-VB driven applications for their employers and clients.
MS Excel Automation Education in African Institutions Can Boost Jobs Creation & Self-Employment!

Same applies to their colleagues in engineering fields. They are able to do this because many of their institutions offer formal training in Excel-VB programming.

In this paper, I explain why this is so, and how it may be limiting the ability of many of their graduates to excel in their working lives, be it in or out of paid employment.

I have a vision to influence the initiation of an Excel-VB programming awareness “movement” across Africa’s educational landscape, in a way that leads to jobs creation and self-employment outcomes for participants – just like it happens in developed societies.

This White Paper has been published to propagate that message. If you run a learning centre or institution and would like to partner with me on this, or you would like to download the full PDF white paper (it’s FREE), send me a message via www.tayosolagbade.com/contact.htm.

It Pays to Keep Truth-Based Relationships (Lesson from True Story by Beyoncé)

What Kinds Of Friends Do YOU Want – And Keep?

I want to surround myself with TRUTH all the time. I do not want to keep diplomatic and “anchorless Social Chameleons” (as Daniel Goleman described them in his book on Emotional Intelligence) in my social circle.

Does not matter if they are relatives or friends. I want people around me who will say what they mean and mean what they say – NO MATTER whose Ox is gored in the process, even if it’s mine! I want these things because I know they will bring out the best in me and those I relate with. What about YOU?

A Lesson About Truth-Based Relationships From A Celebrity

I was watching an interview of the highly successful female singer – Beyoncé- some time ago in which her gutsy venture into production of a solo album in secrecy and (as the reporter put it) without the luxury of a “safety net” to fall on (in event of failure) was discussed.

When asked how she felt about people making up stories about her life and commenting on her as a celebrity, she (among other things) said she felt lucky to belong to a family where people (unlike what obtains for some other stars) don’t tell her everything she says or does is “cute”. She added that as a result, she has always been surrounded “by truth” which has helped her remain herself.

Adults In Society And The Challenge Of Keeping Truth-Based Relationships

Listening to Beyoncé and reflecting on what she has achieved as a member of the immensely successful group – “Destiny’s Child” – and in her subsequent solo career, makes me certain that my belief that “surrounding oneself with truth in order to succeed with integrity” is valid.

Too often in society, especially amongst adults, duplicity, denial and outright dishonesty/insincerity feature prominently in relationships. It is so much so that I sometimes feel it would take only a blind person NOT to see it!

The truth is that inside each of us is a sixth sense, which equips us (if we develop it) to be able to “detect” insincerity in others – to some extent. Unfortunately, vanity, selfish interests and the need for ego gratification, make many people close their eyes to these obvious signs of insincerity when they see them.

I once read the following quote : “We ask for criticism, even though what we actually want to hear is praise”. I’ll take it further and say “…As a result, when we get the criticism we ask for, we take offense against the person(s) who is/are sincere enough to tell us the TRUTH”.

What Kinds Of Friends Do YOU Want – And Keep?

I think I like the “Beyoncé” kind of surrounding a lot. I want to surround myself with TRUTH all the time. I do not want to keep diplomatic and “anchor less Social Chameleons” (as Daniel Goleman described them in his book on Emotional Intelligence) in my social circle.

Does not matter if they are relatives or friends. I want people around me who will say what they mean and mean what they say – NO MATTER whose Ox is gored in the process, even if it’s mine! I want people around me who will tell me what they think of my words and actions to my face and not smile that I’m OK and then go behind my back to complain to others!

I want people who will give me (and/or anyone who needs it) the help or support I need UNCONDITIONALLY and without complaining or murmuring, and who will be decent enough to let me know when it is NOT convenient enough for them to help/support anymore – instead of continuing to help GRUDGINGLY. I want these things because I know they will bring out the best in me and those I relate with.

And if I cannot find people who fit the foregoing descriptions to be around, I would prefer to be on my own/keep to myself!

Is It The Number Of Friends You Have That Matters – Or The QUALITY of EACH ONE?

Incidentally, the attributes outlined above are those I have always striven to exhibit in my relationships with others. They are powerful qualities that I encourage YOU to also develop (if you do not already possess them), because you will make yourself EXTREMELY valuable and useful in the lives of others as a result.

Let me end with this question, which will be followed by what I consider a VERY powerful quote:

Question: What would be the point of your claiming to have many friends/associates/relatives etc for instance, when most (or all?) of them are not true to you?(i.e. say one thing to your face and another when you’re not around OR they say one thing and do another etc).

Blaise Pascal probably had the above in mind when he reportedly said the following words:

“I lay it down as a fact that if all men knew what others say of them, there would not be 4 friends in the world”.

What do you think?

NB: This article was first published online on 31st October 2007

 

 

Teaching People To Make Money Helps Them Better Than Always Giving Them Money

I believe, from years of careful observation, that: People Who Always Get Helped Without Being “Taught” Seldom Stop Needing Help. The following quote explains why…

“The more is given, the less the people will work for themselves, and the less they work, the more their poverty is increased” – Leo Tolstoi (1892)

For some reason, people who get “help” READILY handed out to them in an atmosphere that does not CHALLENGE them to LEARN how to take control of their situation so as to eventually become self-sufficient, SELDOM (if at all ever) stop needing help.

In contrast, those who get help that includes being TAUGHT HOW TO develop/empower themselves and others like them, to overcome the limitations of their circumstances, quite often end up become self-dependent and highly motivated.

It is a common fact of life that certain persons will sometimes need “help” to achieve progress they seek in some areas of their lives.

Over the years, I have taken time to carefully study – as the opportunities presented themselves – how such people over time fared.

One thing came out quite clearly: For some reason, people who got “help” READILY handed out to them in an atmosphere that did not CHALLENGE them to LEARN how to take control of their situation so as to eventually become self-sufficient, SELDOM stopped needing help!

In contrast, those who got help that included being TAUGHT HOW TO develop/empower themselves, to overcome the limitations of their circumstances, quite often ended up becoming self-dependent and highly motivated.

Why does this happen? I personally believe it is due to the fact that when people get used to being given things to cope with the difficulties or limitations they face, they become CONDITIONED to expecting help to come in that manner.

With the exception of a few individuals who may have “spirits” that make them reject being dependent on others for long, many people tend to be quite content to wait till they are given rather than wanting to LEARN how they can on their own find/get what they need.

In my country, there is a very common practice of “helping” less fortunate relatives, friends etc by giving them cash gifts.

A successful person out here will often find him/herself besieged with demands for money for schooling, feeding etc from various members of extended families – and even beyond. If s/he happens to experience any setback that negatively affects his/her income source, there is a rippling multiplier effect down through the chain of dependency that’s been formed.

The irony is that few if any of those who had been receiving money regularly from him/her would at this point be able to turn around to offer help in return. This is because in most cases they often spend it all and begin preparing to come back for more!

Incidentally the point being made here is one that I strongly believe can help many charities/donor agencies MODIFY their approach in providing “help” to their respective target groups, so they can record MORE sustainable successes.

In the next section I explain my perspective on this issue, and what I believe can be done to help those dependants we care about from falling into this kind of trap.

Gradually Teaching Your Dependants To Make Money, Helps Them Better Than Giving Them Money ALL The Time!

I believe VERY strongly that my peace of mind is MUCH more important than the “opportunity” to feel important by having those who need something from me KEEP coming back to me.

I don’t want to have anyone chasing me around for money. I would rather quickly show him/her how to make the money s/he sees me making so s/he can get out of my hair. :-)

I would NOT want anyone harassing me every now and then to help him/her type a letter on the PC. Instead I will ask him/her to commit to a programme to learn from me – FREE if necessary – how to do it.

If s/he fails to honour the commitment, I would be justified to refuse to type any documents for him/her in the future. Same applies to the guy who every week wants me to use MS Excel to help him prepare a weekly report he sends to members of his cooperative.

Same applies to…YOU get my drift by now I’m sure. :-)

I love helping people, BUT I prefer showing people HOW TO help themselves, because by so doing, I help them EVEN MORE – and in the process I HELP MYSELF too!

Think about it. Not only will those YOU “help” in this manner be grateful to YOU for a long time, they will also tell others about what YOU did for them.

Most importantly for me however, I would have my FREEDOM from worrying about when next she, he (or indeed THEY!) will be coming back to ask for more help, in whatever form or shape!

If more people in a society form the habit of coaching and influencing others around them in order to make such persons MORE self-sufficient and independent, THAT society will over time achieve major progress.

PS: Manny NGOs that habitually dole out so called “aid” (to non-disaster victims) will need to give the argument presented above some serious consideration, if they really want to achieve useful IMPACT for the long term!

PPS: This article is based on a piece that was first published online on 17th May 2007

 

“Do Not Ally Yourself With Power Against The Powerless!” – Chinua Achebe

Sometimes people need to be rebuked for trying to protect their vested interests, at the expense of others.

Chinua Achebe once said: “there is a moral obligation “not to ally oneself with power against the powerless.” (See [The Boston Globe] Achebe: Fighting corruption with fame – The Boston Globe)

As a leader in a developed society – EVERYTHING you say, and do, is noted by the press, and the citizens, and it WILL be used for or against you in future. We need to become like that in Nigeria, to progress.

The question is how many of us are prepared to do that? Does it occur to us that by FAILING to speak out against errand boys of selfish leaders in power, who are “planted” among us (e.g. on Facebook) to keep us in line, we “ally ourselves with power against the powerless”??

Considering how many times he has tried and failed at getting elected into office (note that I have never voted for him), Pat Utomi, could justifiably sit back and say I tried but they gave me no support.

When I started out in self-employment in 2002, (then Dr.) Utomi invited me on appointment to his office at LBS (as a result of a management research paper I sent to him, which I would later present at CMD). His parting words to me that day were “Remember…Tenacity! Tenacity!!”.

Looking back at the efforts he made, I give him kudos, for walking his talk for years in taking PERSONAL ACTION continually, to influence positive change in Nigeria.

Below is a post he once made to his facebook wall, that captures my feelings/sentiments about complacent Nigerian elites(See ): 

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Years ago in India I read that a candle loses nothing when it lights another candle. I wonder therefore that there is so much darkness in a land of many candles. As I see the failure of citizenship with many educated middle class people hugging their comfort zones I think how sad we can not see the masochist in us. How we hurt our own long term interests” – Pat Utomi (See original post here)

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I have always been VERY sensitive to the existence of extreme imbalances in society that leaves some shortchanged.

I feel the pain of people who suffer because the government/society’s leaders fail to do what is right. Because I ALSO bear part of that suffering, it becomes even more personal, for me.

And that’s why when I READ stuff written by a member of the “jeun soke” (“chop up”) elites, claiming NOTHING is wrong with the status quo, or the slow pace of promised reforms, or that the WHITE we all see the government doing is actually GREEN, I get really upset.

These days, ONLY people in BIG SALARY jobs (and those enjoying “arrangee” business, via connections of all sorts), are reasonably “insulated”, from the negative impact of the many wrong things happening in Nigeria, due to bad leadership.

Sadly, they also constitute majority of the “complacent elite”. 

The status quo in Nigeria RIGHT NOW is very very bad. It often ensures perpetual socioeconomic oppression of the majority, regardless of merit or competence.

There is an extreme lack of a fair and impartial opportunity to succeed here in today’s Nigeria.

I do NOT like what I observe and experience in Nigeria daily today. So, when I see/hear any person BLINDLY justify or rationalise it, in a manner that indicates s/he is biased, I WILL rebuke him/her.

I WILL continue doing this, because years of deep thought and reflection have revealed to me that keeping quiet, or sighing and saying “Lef am for God”(i.e. leave it for God) , has never worked for Nigeria or Nigerians.

Those who do NOT like my approach should therefore simply avoid being associated with me. Period.

A Proven Solution That Enables Any African Write And Publish An International Quality Physical Book At Zero Cost!

This article is based on a letter dated 31st October 2005 written by Tayo K. Solagbade following a 2 week exploratory business visit to Accra-Ghana, during which time he met with the President of Pan African Writers Association(PAWA).

Tayo emailed the letter to Media Houses in Ghana (e.g. Graphic Ghana), Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, South Africa etc challenging them to do a story on how POD Publishing could enable African writers publish and sell international quality print books at ZERO COST.

I am writing to suggest a story about How Print-On-Demand (POD) publishing companies based on the Internet have made it possible for anyone, living anywhere in the world – including Africa, to:

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