15 Steps To Cultivate Lifelong Learning (Part 2)

(2) Keep a "To-Learn" List

We all have to-do lists. These are the tasks we need to accomplish. Try to also have a "to-learn" list. On it you can write ideas for new areas of study. Maybe you would like to take up a new language, learn a skill or read the collective works of Shakespeare. Whatever motivates you, write it down.

(3) Get More Intellectual Friends

Start spending more time with people who think. Not just people who are smart, but people who actually invest much of their time in learning new skills. Their habits will rub off on you. Even better, they will probably share some of their knowledge with you.

(4) Guided Thinking

Albert Einstein once said, "Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking." Simply studying the wisdom of others isn't enough; you have to think through ideas yourself. Spend time journaling, meditating or contemplating over ideas you have learned.

(5) Put it Into Practice

Skill based learning is useless if it isn't applied. Reading a book on C++ isn't the same thing as writing a program. Studying painting isn't the same as picking up a brush. If your knowledge can be applied, put it into practice.

15 Steps To Cultivate Lifelong Learning (PART 1)

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands, but in seeing with new eyes." - Marcel Proust

"I don't think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday." - Abraham Lincoln

"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain

Assuming the public school system hasn't crushed your soul, learning is a great activity.

It expands your viewpoint. It gives you new knowledge you can use to improve your life. Even if you discount the worldly benefits, the act of learning can be a source of enjoyment.

But in a busy world, it can often be hard to fit in time to learn anything that isn't essential. The only things learned are those that need to be. Everything beyond that is considered frivolous. Even those who do appreciate the practice of lifelong learning can find it difficult to make the effort.

Here are some tips for installing the habit of lifelong learning:

(1) Always have a Book

It doesn't matter if it takes you a year or a week to read a book. Always strive to have a book that you are reading through, and take it with you so you can read it when you have time. Just by shaving off a few minutes in-between activities in my day I can read about a book per week. That's at least fifty each year.

10 Reasons why People Fail

1. Holding on to the past

2. Fear

3. Negative Attitudes

 4. Poor People Skills

5. Lack of Focus

6. Sin and Compromise

7. Excuses (Focusing on Who instead of Why)

8. Non-Adaptability to Change

9. Lack of Plan

10. Giving Up Too Soon 

Becoming and Unbecoming

No man is an Island. We oftentimes feed off other people for our excitement, love, affirmation, survival, and so on. That is why our best moments in life are usually tied to the activities of other people; the same way our worst times can be spin-offs from the doings or undoings of fellow humans. Such is the dynamism of life.

For good or bad, we are all products of our environment, and that includes the residues of our personal/virtual interactions with people in our lives, family, work, associations, communities, and institutions. We are either the best for mingling with these people, or we are the worse for it.

Yes, people bring out the best and the beast in us to various ends. But we can always manage these dynamics and remain true to our ideal self, even though it can be very difficult.

This May, the focus of discussion at Thrive Academy shall be Becoming and Unbecoming: how people bring out the best and the beast in you and how you can hold true to your ideal self.

You simply cannot afford not to be there.

Venue: 1A, African Church Close, off Coker Road, Ilupeju, Lagos.

Date: May 26, 2017

Time: 4:00pm

Attendance is free, but pre-registration is compulsory. To book your seat, please click www.bit.ly/ThrivewithBabs or call: +2348110832280, +2348188708026.

What about Asking "What do Men want"? (Part 2)

Going by the origin and the order of creation, it is pertinent to note that a woman was created for the man, not the other way round. I guess that requires reiteration, God created a woman because of the man: to help and complement him in his assignments. I hope our sisters would learn from this and not regard it as some chauvinistic positions.

Having established this foreground, the onus then lies on the woman is to find the man whom she was created/meant to complement; while the man has to seek the woman who will be comparable to him in his God-given assignments.

How each party goes about doing this is a discussion for another day. But suffice to say that this primarily hinges on the discovery and fulfilling of one’s PURPOSE in life [You may read my blog post on the phenomenon of purpose here http://macbethology.blogspot.com/2008/06/23-facts-about-your-purpose-in-life.html).

A man that has discovered and is living his purpose in life will be able to identify the woman who will be comparable to him as a wife. Similarly, a woman who knows the calling of God upon her life will instinctively know “the man” when he surfaces in her world. This is beyond such superficial factors, such as physical and/or mental attributes, that are being bandied around in email forwards and other public spaces.

My thinking is that if women (especially those who are yet to marry) can take time to reflect on these and do an honest appraisal/inventory, attracting and identifying the so called Mr. Right will not be an incubus.

Please let’s take our attention off the shadows and focus on the substance.

Shalom!

Babatunde

What about Asking "What do Men want"? (Part1)

This is my response to an email in the NIGERIAN CHRISTIAN SINGLES FORUM [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nigerianxtiansingles/message/4384]. I hope you'll find it helpful.

Hi Guys,

I have followed some of the threads in this House with keen interest, especially the ones that are gender-sensitive as this particular mail. I also read with similar gusto all the arguments thrown back and forth, nodding at some, imbibing some, and discarding some altogether.

However, am quite alarmed to realise that since the inception this Forum some four years ago, virtually all of the gender-sensitive mails we have received herein are more inclined in favour of the women; it is either "How to Treat a Woman", "What Does A Woman Want", “How To Take Care of A Woman”, "How To Love/Show Affection to a Woman", "How to Choose Your Man" etc etc (There are about 888 mails focused on Women, what they want, desire, like, aim, should go for, should choose, among others, on the message board). And the heated debate that usually ensues when there is a slight counter opinion, especially when a brother flaws some of the positions, is always amusing. No doubt, most of our sisters here are very eloquent; they know how to marshal their arguments and defend their folks. Perhaps this is because women are more vocal than men and tend to express themselves more freely in comparison.

However, after reading this last mail by our dear sister, I began to ruminate over a number of things:

1.   Aren’t the women being too self-centred by their obsession with what/who they want, and how/where/why/when they want him?

2.   Do women take time to find out what the kind of man they desire want and try work on or adjust themselves to give it/them to him the way he wants it/them?

3.   In fact, who should do the wanting/desiring the most, is it the man or the woman? It seems that the clamour of the wants/desires of the women have muffled the voice of some men and bludgeoned them into trying to be desirable and acceptable to the woman at the expense of their own distinct identity.

THE WOMAN, THE ECONOMY & THE FAMILY

The Woman
The woman has often been described as “a man with a womb.” She is the specie of mankind whom by virtue of her peculiar physiological features (e.g. the womb) keeps the human race going.

The Role of the Woman in the Economy
The woman is the unseen influence behind every successful man in the society. Therefore, as the mother, the wife, the sister, the daughter, or a relative of the men at the corridors of power, the woman is better positioned to influence certain economic policies that will turn out in the best interest of all.

The woman, by virtue of her natural intuitiveness, is more equipped to pursue certain courses that will enhance the economy than the man who is usually more logical in reasoning and action.

The woman performs the dual role of a driver as well as a support system in the economy.

As a driver – the woman facilitates the economic chain through her enterprise in business and in the workplace. The woman also functions as a support system towards the growth and development of the economy.