Sunday, August 25, 2019

15 Important Reminders for Your Darkest Moments of Self-Doubt


1. When your marriage, parenting, faith, etc. gets tough, it’s not a sign that you’re doing it wrong. These intimate, intricate aspects of life are toughest when you’re doing them right – when you’re dedicating time, having the tough conversations, and making daily sacrifices.

2. On particularly hard days when you feel that you can’t endure, remind yourself that your track record for getting through hard days is 100% so far.

3. Have a little faith that the universe has a plan for you, and it’s all being revealed in the right time frame. Something you will eventually learn through all your ups and downs is that there are really no wrong decisions in life, just choices that will take your life down different paths. Sometimes you must get hurt in order to grow, or lose in order to gain. Sometimes the lesson you need most can only be learned through a little pain.

4. Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.

5. Life is not about maintaining the status quo. Life is not about playing it safe every second. Life is not about standing still and wallowing in self-doubt. It’s about connecting with your soul, respecting your integrity, and telling yourself that you’re able. It’s about taking a few steps, regardless of how hard and small they may be, so you can move forward and evolve.

6. You must make a firm decision that you’re going to move forward. It won’t always happen naturally or automatically. Sometimes you will have to rise up and say, “I don’t care how hard this is. I don’t care how disappointed I am. I’m not going to let this get the best of me. I’m moving on with my life.”

7. No matter what’s happening, you CAN efficiently fight the battles of today. It’s only when you add the battles of those two relentless eternities, yesterday and tomorrow, that life gets overwhelmingly complicated. Realize that it’s not the experience of today by itself that devastates you, but the regret and resentment about something that happened yesterday or the fear and dread of what tomorrow might bring. It’s necessary, therefore, to let yourself live just one day at a time – just today – just right here, right now.

8. When you stop worrying about what you can’t control, you have time to change the things you can control. And that changes everything.

9. Don’t worry about mistakes and failures, worry about what you’re giving up when you don’t even try.

10. Making mistakes means you’re actually DOING something in the real world and learning from it. Listening or reading is often just listening or reading. It’s not real learning. Real learning comes from making mistakes. And mistakes come from gradual implementation.

11. If you never go after it again, you’ll never have it. If you never ask again, the answer will always be no. If you never step forward again, you’re stuck right where you are.

12. In the space between “I’ll try again” and “I give up” there’s a lifetime. It’s the difference between the path you walk and the one you leave behind; it’s the gap between who you are capable of being and who you have become; its the legroom for the fairy tales you’ll tell yourself in the future about what could have been.

13. Everyone has a little talent. What’s rare is the courage to follow it into the dark places where it leads, and beyond.

14. Courage doesn’t always roar; sometimes it’s simply a whisper at the end of the day that says, “I’ll try again tomorrow.”

15. If you’re still sitting there thinking, “Things should be different right now,” take a deep breath. That’s not true and you know it. Because if it were true, things would be different right now. Stay present and focus on what you can create today. And tomorrow will reveal itself exactly as it should, just as yesterday already has.

(MARCANDANGEL).

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Obi Invictus And The Nigerian Dream (satire)


Remind me again, why is there so much hullabaloo about Obi Invictus and the FBI indictment of him for fraud running into 12 million dollars? Is he not supposed to be the poster boy of the Nigerian dream? Is he not supposed to be the media darling for whom there is no erring? Why are the streets of social media in a rush to pull this great young man down? The damning report from FBI Special Agent, Marshall Ward, must have been the contemplations of Obi’s detractors and sworn enemies. They must have sponsored the FBI malicious investigation to spite him, to cut him to size, to remind him that his ‘village people’ still have the mojo.

Obi is the model Nigerian entrepreneur. He built his Invictus Group company with grit, blood, hardwork and handy knowledge from his degree in Forensic Criminology.

Forget what you read, Obi Invictus is still your ‘Man Crush Monday (MCM).’ He hasn’t killed anyone. He was only trying to get by in a tough economy. When he made a quote that ‘Mindset is everything, be it in entrepreneurship or daily life,’ he was reminding us all that there is no holy grail that the mind cannot attain. He was also admonishing us to expand our mind to accommodate cybercrime, or how else will the big club owners’ make their fortune? Afterall, the ‘Bentleys’ will not drive themselves either. Those that say that Obi’s indictment will put a stain on our global image are all just waxing lyrical and making no sense. What image? Do we have one for starters?


Obi has aspired to inspire, then decided to conspire and now he has been forced to perspire in his new quagmire. He is at crossfire with the FBI, but this is not his fault. The Americans simply hate young astute black people that are doing well for themselves. Let it also be noted that it was the same Americans that poured encomiums on him on their Forbes ‘30’ list. Shame on you, America. Shame on you!

Say whatever you may, but Obi Invictus lived the Nigerian dream. The Nigerian dream is 'hustle.' For this dream, there is no template. The end often justifies the means, and whatever you do, be inspiring to validate your hustle. Suffix every social media post with 'God did it.' Afterall, the Nigerian god is ever willing to lavish us with sudden wealth or how else will he get our praises in this part? Obi is not a victim. Obi is what majority of young people in Nigeria aspire to. He will be fine. His ‘god’ will deliver him and put all his enemies to shame!

Sunday, August 4, 2019

10 Things to Start Telling Yourself on Hard Days


1. Allow yourself to be a beginner. No one starts off being great. Do the best you can until you know better. Once you know better, do better.

2. Stop running away. Breathe. Be where you are. You’re where you’re supposed to be at this very moment. Every step and experience is necessary.

3. Use disappointment and frustration to motivate you rather than annoy you. Be mindful. You are in control of the way you respond to life.

4. You are not a product of your circumstances. You are a product of your decisions. It’s about deciding to NOT let your frustration or fear decide your future.

5. Don’t compare your progress with that of others. We all need our own time to travel our own distance. Focus on the step you are taking now, and make the best of it.

6. In a culture that seeks instant results, we must learn the beauty of effort, patience, and perseverance. Be strong, present, and steadfast. Stick to your positive daily rituals.

7. Patience is a genuine expression of confidence, acceptance, serenity, and faith in your own ability. It’s a sign of strength. Practice it.

8. As you face life’s inevitable obstacles, remember, it’s far better to be exhausted from lots of effort and learning, than to be tired of doing absolutely nothing.

9. Your struggle is part of your story. Being rejected from something you want often means you are being directed toward something you need…to take the next best step forward.

10. No life story is one chapter long. No chapter tells the whole tale. No mistake defines who you are. Keep turning the pages that need to be turned.

(MARCANDANGEL).

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