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.

The Role of the Woman in the Family
The woman is the pulse of the family. She is the one that dictates the tone and direction of the home. As the manager of the home, the woman wields considerable influence in the ultimate productivity and performance of members of her household in the larger society.

The woman is also the moulder of the character and attitude of members of her household and these inform their level of adaptation into and contributions to the society for good or otherwise

The Keyword to Personal Growth (Part 2)

The word of Jim Rohn sheds light on the importance of self-grooming toward attaining those ends that are the target of the daily pursuits of most men. Success, wealth, promotion, balance and the rest should therefore not be your focus; rather you should be committed to a disciplined and sustained cultivation of your person.

To achieve this, you need to break out of your comfort zone, query some of your traditional mindsets and stretch beyond your imaginary limits to the realm of can-be. One word that must be your driving force – which I call the keyword to personal growth – is “more”, “more”, and “more.” To this end, you would need to:

See more: open your eyes wider and see on a larger scale. Open your inner eye and see beyond the present. See the big picture. See opportunities. See options. See avenues. See possibilities. See greatness. See seeds. See potentials. See, see, and see!

Ask more: ask more questions. Seek more information. Request for more explanation, more clarification. Increase your curiosity. Double your inquisitiveness about everything. By asking more, you get to know more and be more.

Read more: if you do not have a habit of reading, you need to cultivate it. And if you already have, then you need to read more, read wider, read over, read beyond your field. By so doing, you would be cultivating your mind for sound reasoning and better decision-making.

Learn more: you need to increase your bank of knowledge by consciously seeking information on different things, from different sources. Go out and learn more on what you already know, update your mind with the latest information. By learning more, you will become more.

Try more: you might have failed in an endeavour, try again. Explore more options. Try your hands on new things, you don’t have to get it perfect at first or even at all, just do something. Try this, try that, try here, try there. Don’t stop trying, it’s the key to growth and the best way to increase your capacity.

Work more: do more work than you are wont to do. Organise your life and time in such a way that will enable you to get more work done. Do more work than you are paid for. Whatever you are doing, work more at it and don’t rest on your oars.

Do more: take more actions. Expend more efforts. Do one percent more of what you are doing. Increase your action ratio. Go an extra mile; and you are on the path to self-development, happiness and success.

Give more: give more of yourself, give more of your time, give more of your resources to your family, your friends, your work, your church and your society. Don’t stop giving, it is the secret of getting and becoming. So give more.

Be more: be more than you are to yourself, to your family, to your friends, to your company, to your church/society. Be more than “me” to yourself, be your own resource person. Be more than a husband/father to your wife/children, be their mentor. Be more than a wife/mother to your family, be their inspiration. Be more than a friend, be a motivator. Be more than an employee, be a value-adder. Be more than a colleague, be an encourager. Be more than a member in your church/society, be a contributor. Do you understand now? So break out of the status quo and be more to all!

The keyword to personal growth and development is “more”. Always ask yourself ‘what more can I do?’, ‘What more can I be?’, ‘What more can I learn?’, ‘What more can I give?’ etc. You will be amazed at how fast you would grow as well as at what you are able to accomplish.

The Keyword to Personal Growth (Part 1)

Personal growth, or self-development, is a field of study that crystallised into an industry some decades ago. Ever since then, volumes of thoughts have been expressed on it in various forms, such as books, essays, CDs and multimedia tools, among several others. And many persons have risen to the status of expert in it, and thereby earn their living.

Personal development, in all ramifications (spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, social), is the foundation stone for all accomplishments. Many people are bewildered about how to pursue personal development because they tend to see it as an end in itself, and do not realise that it is the means to an end – be it success, wealth, promotion, balance etc. Adding credence to this, James Allen in his all-time classic, As A Man Thinketh, says, “Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound.”

Jim Rohn, a leading authority in the field of self-growth, says that the key to wealth and happiness is to ‘work harder on yourself than you do on your job’. He then expatiates thus:

What you become is far more important than what you get. The important question to ask on the job is not, “What am I getting?” Instead, you should ask, “What am I becoming? “Getting and becoming are like Siamese twins: what you have today you have attracted by becoming the person you are today… Income rarely exceeds personal development. Sometimes income takes a lucky jump, but unless you learn to handle the responsibilities that come with it, it will usually shrink back to the amount you can handle… It is hard to keep that which has not been obtained through personal development.

Discovering Your Potential and Living It (Part 2)

Notable Quotes on Potentials

Success is…knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others. John Maxwell The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence. Eddie Robinson The potential for greatness lives within each of us. The key to achieving greatness is found when we discover and then develop our dream. John Maxwell The potential consequences of any task or activity are the key determinants of how important it really is to you and to your company. Brian Tracy A dream without a positive attitude produces a daydreamer. A positive attitude without a dream produces a pleasant person who can’t progress. A dream together with a positive attitude produces a person with unlimited possibilities and potential. John Maxwell Adventure isn't hanging on a rope off the side of a mountain.

Adventure is an attitude that we must apply to the day to day obstacles of life - facing new challenges, seizing new opportunities, testing our resources against the unknown and in the process, discovering our own unique potential. John Amatt No one fulfils his purpose, develops his potential, or consistently help others without goals. Your goals determine your priorities – and your priorities determine whether you’ll reach your goals. John Maxwell Nothing is more effective when it comes to reaching potential than commitment to personal growth. John Maxwell Continuous effort -- not strength or intelligence -- is the key to unlocking our potential. Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British prime minister during WWII I’d rather reach 90 percent of my potential with plenty of mistakes than reach only 10 percent with a perfect score. John Maxwell To keep moving to a higher level and reach your potential, you… have to be willing to… trade security for significance. John Maxwell We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential. Ellen Goodman 

Discovering your Potential and Living It (Part 1)

What is a Potential?

Capacity to develop: the capacity or ability for future development or achievement. – Microsoft® Encarta® Dictionary Natural abilities or qualities that may possibly develop and make someone or something very successful or useful. – Longman Dictionary The inherent capacity for coming into being. – WordWeb Dictionary

How Can You Discover It? - By self-examination and reflection - By self-expression in various activities as occasion demands - At formal avenues, such as trainings, workshops, conferences etc - Through Divine revelation - Through informal avenues e.g. among families, friends etc - By chance and unpremeditated happenings.

How Can You Live It? - By setting life and project goals - By drawing a roadmap for set goals - By holding yourself accountable for living out your potential - By adopting a steward’s posture toward your potential, knowing full well that you will have to give account to God, the Depositor (remember the parable of the talents) - By making the most of time and opportunities, and wasting none - By giving of yourself whenever occasion demands. 

After The “Aha!” What Next? 14 Questions to Help Clarify Your Steps after a Flash of Inspiration (Part 3)

9. What is my source?

Knowing what gives you inspiration, energy and drive will help you know what to do/where to go whenever you are running dry and need to replenish. So it is in your best interest to identify your source of creative energy before launching out so as not to get bewildered and cut off in the middle way. You should also be able to identify how best you access your source of creative energy.

10. What are the resources?

Knowing the resources that are needed to effectively perform your tasks helps you to know what to look for and what to spend on. By having a holistic inventory of all you need to fulfil your assignment, you are better positioned to kick off on a sure footing. Even if you don’t have all of them at the moment, you know when you would need what and what you can do to improvise along the way.

11. Who are my mentors?

A careful consideration of all the factors above would help you to identify who you need to seek for counsel in your set assignment. You would have also determined what you need to take them on so that you don’t get there and start rambling on irrelevances, wasting both their time and yours in the process. It is always advisable to have highlighted all the other factors before rushing to mentors.

12. Who are my partners?

Taking time to answer all the questions above will also help to determine the kind of people you would need as partners or running mates. Knowing your own areas of strengths and weaknesses is also a critical factor to determining who you seek to partner with you and what skills set you require to deliver on the assignment.

13. What preparations are required?

You will also need to determine the kind of preparation you would need in order to deliver effectively on your assignment. What skills you need to acquire, what training you need to do, what habit you need to acquire/shed etc etc.

14. What knowledge is required?

Acquisition of relevant knowledge is an aspect of preparation. But it deserves to be treated as an independent factor so that it is not abandoned altogether. You need to know the range of information you will require to execute your assignment successfully. You also need to know where you can access this information, whether they are formal or informal settings. What are those things you need to know even before you start? What are the ones you need to acquire on the go?

All these are the questions you would have to answer verifiably to insure your inspiration and ensure that it does not end as “one of those ideas” we all have and don’t give attention to until we see someone else thriving with it.

After The “Aha!” What Next? 14 Questions to Help Clarify Your Steps after a Flash of Inspiration (Part 2)

4. Who are the targets?

You must be able to define your audience, your market or the class of people whom your assignment (campaign, products, and services) will benefit. This is a very critical aspect because the success/failure of your offering, nay your fulfilment/frustration as a pioneer, are largely dependent on identifying the group of people who need your idea or would benefit from your assignment, and then taking your campaign to them.

5. What is the scope?

Knowing the scope of your assignment will also save you a lot of stress and frustration. The scope of your offering may the within your locality, it may also be within your state, region, nation, or continent. Knowing this will help you to plan your move and your scale of operations.

6. What is the platform?

The platform is the means/channel through which you want to execute your action or pass your message to your audience, target, market etc. You need to determine what platform is most suitable to reach your target. And you can’t determine this until you have taken time to study your audience very well that you know their tastes and preferences.

7. What are the modus?

You need also to take time to plan your modus operandi. How do you intend to pass your message across in a way that it would be effectively understood? How would you deliver your offering so that it would be warmly received by your target? How…? How…? How…? The modus questions help you to take care of all matters pertaining to impact in your delivery.

8. When is the time?

Timing is a strategic factor in all endeavours that can either make or mar its outcome altogether. Knowing the time to start, the time to move, the time to charge, the time to pause, the time to withdraw, the time to quit et al requires more than an average thinking.