“If” A poem for real men

Greetings blogren. This one goes out to all the men in the blogsphere and the women who have men they love. I think it’s beautiful in the description of what a real man should be. Be inspired. Be blessed. Be Men!

“If”

By: Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!

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Swine flu or just a rampant case of the sniffles?

I’m sitting at my desk with my nose dripping like a salivating doberman that hasn’t eaten in days. Three whole days i’ve had a serious case of the sniffles and yet to my greater recollection it’s been over 2weeks since I tasted the glorious flesh of swine. Perhaps I’m paranoid but it seems to me that everywhere I turn, people are sneezing, wheezing and coughing, don’t you think? I bet your unconciously reaching for your drenched hankie right now to wipe your sore nose, aren’t you? 

Now I’m not an expert in the field of medicine but isn’t this smacks dangerously fishyly smelly considering there is a worldwide Swine Flu Alert in place. Level 5 for that matter. That means like, nowhere in this solar system are you safe. Good grief. Well, despite all they say, I’m absolutely positive that swine flu just can’t be a problem in UG. I mean, the swine is held in culinary deity around these parts. Even the ruling government make no shame in using it as a metaphor when they say “Twa kuuba embundo” which loosely translates, we killed our pig and so now we’re enjoying it. Sorry opposition. But until you can come up with such cool metaphors, I suggest you find your own animal. As Sevo says, “when you get tired of digging, don’t tell the land to go away.” 

I digress. What was I talking about? Oh yeah, flu. My Archilles heel. The one thing that my body refuses to develop any form of immuninty to. Like superman, it’s great to have kyrptonite to remind you that you aren’t totally invicible. Three days of bed rest and Smallville Season 8 reminded me very clearly. But does it have to be so damned inconvenient for a disease that isn’t actually life threatening? The runny nose, the chinese eyes, the Darth Vader breathing, splitting migraines and a vampiristic aversion to light? I mean do you actually know of anyone who died of Senyiga..? I didn’t think so. 

But this post goes out to all the brave heros out there diligently sloggin onwards despite this incredibly annoying and mysteriously incurable irritation of a disease. Stand strong, keep eating that pork and no, you can’t tell the land to go away. Cause no employer in this town gives sick leave for senyiga. Hell, i should know, i’m my own damn employer and I can’t give myself the day off.  

Shalom

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And finally, Millionaire Habit 9: Respect Money

So we have finally come to the end of our series on the 9 Habits of Millionaires as i understood them from Adam Khoo’s e-book. Lets dive right into what is probably the most important of all the habits as it directly relates to money and how we see it.

Habit 9: Respect Money

Do you really respect money? If i was to ask you what you thought of money, I’d get several varying answers many of which would show an unhealthy view towards money. The most common beliefs about money are:

• Money is the root of all evil
• Money is elusive and fleeting
• Having money will cause me more problems
• Rich people are greedy, selfish and unscrupulous
• Poverty is a virtue
• Money will change you(into a bad person)
• You have to work extremely hard to make money
• If i become wealthy
• etc

Most of us want and desire to have lots more money but subconsciously, we walk around with these negative associations towards money and this causes a conflict. Essentially what happens is that we sabotage ourselves from getting money. For example most of us have been brought up to believe that money is the root of all evil. As such we feel guilty about money. So we unconsciously do things to get rid of the money in our lives. If you have 5million shillings on your account, you find ways to spend, lend, waste, give it away to abate the guilt you have in actually having that much money. Please note that as long as you have this disrespect for money, you will never be able to truly prosper. 

Millionaires on the other hand have a high respect for money. They see money as a tool, an ally and even as a friend. Millionaires know that money can do a lot for them. Millionaires realize that money offers them opportunity to do the things they really want, go where they want and buy what they want. Money to them therefore is highly respected. They don’t waste it. They don’t throw it away. They don’t feel ashamed of having it either. In the same breath, millionaires are not slaves to money. They don’t work for money. Money is a result of them offering tremendous value in the marketplace. They know that their true worth doesn’t come from money but with the value and ideas they have to offer. Money to millionaires is merely a way of keeping score.

So we must work on changing our beliefs and attitudes towards money into more healthy and empowering ones. I personally have chosen to adopt some of the following beliefs about money:

• Money is abundant and comes easily and frequently to me.
• Money helps me live the lifestyle I desire
• Money enables me to richly bless those around me
• Money is an effective tool that I use in my life
• Money is a reflection of the value I offer in this world
• Having money is generally better than not having it.  
• Money gives me tremendous influence for good
• etc

I’d definitely like to hear your new found respect and beliefs of money. I could use a few more myself. Recognize that most of your beliefs about money are myths that were unwittingly passed onto you by you parents and society. You want to be rich. You can be rich. Give yourself permission to do so. I know i have. And everyday I’m striving to develop all these 9 habits.

And thats it folks. Phew! Thank you for following this series, I do hope you were blessed by it. I will be anxiously waiting to hear your various feedbacks about how easy, difficult or practical it’s been for you to live out these habits. For your reading convenience here are all the Habits listed once again.  

• Habit 1: Give more than Expected
• Habit 2: Be Proactive
• Habit 3: Take 100% Responsibility
• Habit 4: Delayed Gratification
• Habit 5: Do what you love
• Habit 6: Act with Integrity
• Habit 7: Be 100% Committed
• Habit 8: The Ability to turn Failure into Success
• Habit 9: Respect Money

Shalom

JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL:
Wealth may be an excellent thing, for it means power, and it means leisure, it means liberty. 

WOODY ALLEN:
Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.

 

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Millionaire Habit 8: Turn Failure into Success

 Shalom blogren. Its time again to continue on our quest to learn the 9 habits of Millionaires. We are close to the end of our series. Today we look at something particularly difficult for most of us. And that is:

Habit 8: The Ability to turn failure into success

To most of us, failure Is a bad word. Infact, it’s an f-word. We don’t like to fail, so much so that most of us never try to do anything just so we won’t leave any opportunity for that f-word to appear. But this is the greater distinction between us and Millionaires. Most people think that millionaires generally never fail, I mean how else could they be millionaires, right? We’re not millionaires because logically, we’ve failed.

Here’s a truth for you. Millionaires fail a lot more than even you and I. Most millionaires have failed so many times it’s ridiculous. You all heard of Thomas Edison who failed 10,000 times in trying to make a working light bulb. Good grief, I’d have gotten the hint after the 10th time! But millionaires fail more than most of us because they inherently do a lot more, risk a lot more than most of us. The key difference is that millionaires don’t fear failure because they have learned to use it as an ally. Failure to them is simply feedback. It shows them what’s not working and this allows them to change strategy continuously till they eventually succeed.

I don’t know about you, but I’m the kind of person who fails and takes it personally and quits. 3years ago I failed in my first business and guess what I did? Yep, I quit. I didn’t see my failure as feedback that something needed to be changed. Right now, I’m back in the saddle and looking at my past failures trying to understand what I did wrong, correct them this time round and get a better result. Thomas Edison in an interview later responded to a question of how he dealt with such colossal failure, said “I never failed. I simply discovered 10,000 ways not to do it!”

A Chinese proverb says “Madness is doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different outcome” That’s how a lot of people deal with failure. They keep doing the same thing over and over hoping that they will achieve a different result. You can’t keep spending all your money by the 2nd week of each month and hope that after one year of this, you will be debt free?!

In becoming the millionaire or successful person you dream of being, be prepared to fail many times before you achieve success. The important thing is to remember that failure is an event, it’s not who you are. Learn from it, change tactics and commit 100% to doing whatever it takes to achieve success and you will be victorious. I know it’s hard. One of the greatest human fears is the fear of failure.

I personally battle fear in many of its different persona’s so this habit is a challenge for me. As an entrepreneur, I can’t help but find myself fearing that I’m going to fail like I did the last time. That I don’t know enough. I’m not stong enough. I remember the ripple effects my failure had and it sometimes stops me in my tracks sometimes. But the grace of the Master helps me to face my fears each day and know that I’ve learned a lot since I was a naïve young man and I should trust that knowledge will see me through. The Rogue king wrote something about failure.

So my millionaire blogren, lets learn how to turn our failures into success. Our next habit is the last and not least of them which is Habit 9: Respect Money

Later

BARACK OBAMA:

Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it’s not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. it’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.

HAVELOCK ELLIS:

 It is on our failures that we base a new and different and better success

JOHN DEWEY:Failure is instructive. The person who really thinks learns quite as much from his failures as from his successes.

LLOYD JONES:

Those who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try nothing and succeed.

MICHAEL JORDAN:

I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.

SAMUEL SMILES :

We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.

 

 

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Quick thought about life’s dreams

Hey people, I just thought I’d share this excerpt from the blog of John C. Maxwell-whose only like God’s gift to all things leadership. It makes you think about your lifes dreams abit more clearly. Enjoy.

The Right and Wrong Picture of a Dream

I’ve studied successful people for almost forty years. I’ve known hundreds of high-profile people who achieved big dreams. And I’ve achieved a few dreams of my own. What I’ve discovered is that a lot of people have misconceptions about dreams. Take a look at many of the things that people pursue and call dreams in their lives:

• Day Dreams – Distractions from Current Work
• Pie-in-the-Sky Dreams – Wild Ideas with No Strategy or Basis in Reality
• Bad Dreams – Worries that Breed Fear and Paralysis
• Idealistic Dreams – The Way the World Would Be If You Were in Charge
• Vicarious Dreams – Dreams Lived Through Others
• Romantic Dreams – Belief that Some Person Will Make You Happy
• Career Dreams – Belief that Career Success Will Make You Happy
• Destination Dreams – Belief that a Position, Title, or Award Will Make You Happy
• Material Dreams – Belief that Wealth or Possessions Will Make You Happy
• Seasonal Dreams – A Short Term Target You Try to Reach

If these aren’t good dreams-valid ones worthy of a person’s life-then what are? Here is my definition of a dream that can be put to the test and pass: a dream is an inspiring picture of the future that energizes your mind, will, and emotions, empowering you to do everything you can to achieve it.

A genuine dream is a picture and blueprint of a person’s purpose and potential. Or as my friend Sharon Hull says, “A dream is the seed of possibility planted in the soul of a human being, which calls him to pursue a unique path to the realization of his purpose.”

***

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Millionaire Habit 6: Acting with Integrity

Wow, we’re ever coming closer to completing this series on the 9 habits of Millionaires. I am blessed that you guys have been continually following with me as we explore these fascinating habits. I am glad that you guys like me, really want to turn our lives around for the better and not be just average. So right to it then.

Habit 6: Acting with Integrity

Integrity is about being totally honest with yourself, with others and holding a high moral standard. It’s about doing what you say you will and acting consistently with what you say you believe. When you act with Integrity, everyone around you, your family, friends, customers, staff will trust endearingly in you. That’s because they always know where they stand with you. Your customers will always beat a path to your doorstep because they know you’ll give them the highest value for money and not cheat them. Integrity means fulfilling your promises even when it’s going to cost you to do so. It means actaully working 8hours a day that you are paid to and not just playing with facebook, blogging and reading newspapers on the job. 

I must confess, I am appalled at the lack of integrity in Uganda today. It’s extremely maddening that people will lie and cheat like they eat & breathe. Even kids now have no problem in cheating on their exams and copying each others courseworks. If there is a reason why Uganda’s progress has slowed and even seems to be reversing, it’s because of a great lack in integrity. Reputation means nothing to people anymore. Look at your global funds, GAVI, election fraud, massive corruption. I wrote about this last year here.

Millionaires are people of Integrity. The word of a millionaire is worth millions. Sure there are a few(an in our case, seems like the majority) of millionaires who have lying, cheating, scum of the earth but as a rule of thumb their wealth will not last. The book of Proverbs 13:11 says

“Wealth gained dishonestly dwindles away, but he who gathers by hand makes it grow.”

I’m personally learning each day to live with Integrity. It’s not easy but it must be done. In a country like ours, the millionaires are going to come from the few individuals who are absolutely trustworthy in the midst of the insane dishonesty and corruption. I am working to make sure that I am one of the few, how about you?

I’ll close with this interesting fact. In the bestselling book ‘The Millionaire Mind’, author Thomas Stanley interviewed 733 multi-millionaires and asked them what were the key factors that contributed to their wealth. Ranked number one was ‘being honest with people‘. This factor was ranked way ahead of factors like ‘making wise investments’, ‘working hard’ and ‘having a competitive spirit’. Think about that till we next meet to discuss habit 7: Be 100% Committed.

 Shalom

“Integrity is the essence of everything successful” Richard Buckminister Fuller

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Millionaire Habit 5: Do what you love.

Hello people, I hope you are enjoying this series on the 9 habits of Millionaires. Lets continue.

Habit 5: Do what you love

All successful people in this world have one thing in common. They do what they love.

In Uganda, most of us are looking for shortcuts to getting money and we’re constantly looking for the right business or career path that will get us there. For a while I recall that IT was considered the choice career and then it was Procurement so that people could be on tender boards and eat “enjawulo”.

Let me make this clear, you can never be successful unless you wake up everyday excited & full of passion for the work your going to do. People who love what they do don’t even see it as work. They enjoy themselves tremendously and eat, sleep, breathe what they do. As a result, they become the absolute best at what they do. They are walking encyclopedias about their particular field.

In any industry/ profession there will always be a minority who earn millions and the rest of the majority who earn just enough to get by. Why? Because those who earn the millions absolutely love what they do while the rest of us simply do it because that’s what you studied or it’s where you were told the money is.  There is no perfect millionaire career path. Whatever it is you choose, you can be a millionaire. You simply have to be absolutely 12o% committed to being the best in that particular field. And you can only do so in something that you love doing.

Tiger Woods is the best golfer in the world because of his intense love for the game and his obsessive commitment to practice and improvement. The same was true for Michael Jordan. He wasn’t the most gifted basketball player. Infact, he was rejected from his high school team the first time he tried. But his love for the game and commitment to training made him a legend. Steven Speilberg loves making movies, Tom Clancy loves writing about all things military, Museveni loves to rule 🙂

Realise one thing about all these people is despite the fortunes they’ve amassed, they still continue working. That’s because for them, it’s not about the money per se; its about their passion and being the absolute best at what they do. They love what they do so much, they would do it for free!

If you’re wondering why you aren’t successful, why you aren’t motivated or focused, the reason is very simple. You’re not doing what you love. Find what you love. We have been taught by our parents that in order to be successful, you gotta find a good job and work real hard for 30years. Simply put,

go to school > work hard > make enough money > do what you’ve always wanted

but the millionaire principle is

find what you love > become real good at it > make tons of money > continue doing what you love.

Again, it really doesn’t matter what it is you love. It maybe technology, sports, clothes, cooking, baby sitting, writing, nsenene, gonja, whatever.You can be a millionaire doing anything you choose as long as you’re the best in the business.

So let us ask ourselves the following questions:

1. What do I love to do? What would I do even if I’m not getting paid?
2. If time, money, resources were not an issue, what would you be doing on a daily basis?
3. Who are the people who have made a fortune around my passion?

Answer these questions and get serious about making your fortune doing what you love. Next up, Habit 6:Acting with Integrity

Shalom

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Millionaire Habit 4: Delayed Gratification

Greetings dear bloggers and what a short weekend it was. Before I get into this session, let me first send a shout out to my bro the RogueKing whose blog is finally back online after a brief hiatus. So welcome back man, we missed you.

Now, we continue in our series the 9 habits of Millionaires. So far we’ve looked at the habit of giving more than expected, of being proactive and of taking 100% responsibility. As we come halfway in this series I’d be most glad to hear your personal opinions on each habit and how you may or may not challenged in implementing them. So, lets move on shall we.

Habit 4: Delayed Gratification.

Gratification, what a word! Almost conjures up images of sordid carnal pleasure. Well that’s really what it is. Most of us prefer instant gratification which is enjoying right now and to hell with waiting for future benefits. As a result, we spend so much more than we ever invest. By spending on that new car, new flat screen tv, exorbitant rental house or even chips & chicken, we get our instant gratification. But when it comes to saving, investing in land, stocks or even books & training we feel like “Oh Gosh, do we have to?”

 People who want instant gratification will always look for quick and easy ways of making money rather than building a sustainable business that adds value to customers. They tend to cut corners on quality add deliver shoddy products to save money and boost short term profits. As a result, their profits rarely last and they will soon go out of business. A very typical Ugandan trait, I have observed.

Millionaires on the other hand, are in the habit of delaying their personal gratification for a future time when they can very easily afford it many times over. They prefer to invest their money in things and ventures that will make them more money in the future. If a millionaire got 1,000,000 shillings, he would find something that could in future turn that into 2million or 4million or more. Yes, even spending it on a good course or training in business, personal development or just buying books would result in multiple returns for the millionaire. If I gave it you right now, I’m sure investing it would be the last thing on your mind. You’d be paying off debts, buying rims for your car, taking a month off from work to lounge or some other form of instant gratification.(No offense:)

Millionaires invest far more than they spend. They know that with patience, their money will multiply into a fortune in the future. According to the New York Times Bestseller, The Millionaire Next Door, most millionaires are actually extremely frugal, i.e. they spend very little on personal luxuries and pleasures. They will rather buy a suit of 250,000/= and invest 750,000/= unlike most of us who would just dash for the 1M Vialli Suit and matching cufflinks! That’s not to say millionaires are cheapskates, they just don’t waste their resources.

Millionaires never take shortcuts in business. They look at always giving the best value to their customers, even if it means earning less at present. They know that by building their reputation, it will lead to huge profit streams in the future.

So my dear readers, to be a millionaire, you need to learn to put off the now and invest your resources wisely and reap the rewards in the future. I close this session with a story that best eschews what I’m talking about. I was once with a friend and we observed and elderly Indian man driving an S-Class Mercedes Benz. To be honest, I was shocked cause it’s not a sight you see very often or even expect to given the rep Indians have for being frugal. I remarked to my friend and he told me something I’ll never forget. He said that by the time you see an Indian drive such a car, just be sure that he can afford ten of them.

Moral; a true millionaire doesn’t blow money they don’t have but rather only a small portion of their net worth. So next time your going to waste money on yet another pair of shoes you’ll only wear once, why not but a good personal development book that will multiply you as a person for the rest of your life?

Next habit number 5: Do what you love

Shalom

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Millionaire habit 3: Take 100% Responsibility

Ok, moving on to the next critical habit in the series 9 habits of Millionaires. So far we’ve looked at habit 1: Always exceed expectations and habit 2: Be proactive. Today lets look at one of my personal favorites. This doesn’t apply only to Millionaires but to all of us. In order to live well and live truly, we must practice the following;

Habit 3: Take 100% Responsbility

If there is one habit that we all absolutely need to get in life, it is certainly this one. Taking 100% Responsibility for our lives is absolutely key for being successful. It basically says, whatever I am in life, wherever I am In life, whatever I do in life, is simply because I’e chosen so. To put it more bluntly, the results in your life are absolutely your fault. You choose to be average or excellent, you choose to be married or single, you choose to ignorant or educated. You even choose to be poor or rich. 

Millionaires know this very well. It ties back to our last habit of being Proactive. Sadly the majority of us prefer to blame everyone and everything else for their current position in life. No money, no time, poor background, no education or whatever. You may say I didn’t choose to be born in a poor family. True, but you can choose if your going to remain poor. You say, I didn’t choose to be married to a spouse who later became abusive. True, but you can choose to stay in that relationship and be abused. 

Everything in our lives is a result of a concious or unconcious decision on our part. If you choose to disregard this, then you have made a choice and your life will always be dependent on your unconcious choices and other peoples choices. You cannot go around blaming everyone and everything else for your circumstances and expect to be a millionaire.  Take 100% responsibility. 

Millionaires realise that if they don’t take responsibility, then they are at the mercy of othersor circumstance and therefore are powerless to do anything about. Millionaires believe that they alone are responsible for their wealth and results in life and that they have complete power to change their lives by changing their strategies and actions. When you do the same,take 100% responsibility and get rid of all the excuses and accept that your life is a result of the choices you’ve made so far, then you will be free to become the wealthy person you dream of being.

This applies in all areas of your life, not just your career or finances. Everything, your relationships, your faith, your health. You are responsible in one way or another. So step up and do what must be done.

Till next time when we look at Habit 4: Delayed Gratification (another one that most people will hate:) God bless

Shalom

There are two primary choices in life; to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them. Denis Waitley

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The Apprentice comes of Age

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy birthday dear Apprentice…..

Ok ok enough singing for myself but i couldn’t help it cause today is a vary special day for me; not just because its my birthday but it’s my 30th birthday! This is  of great significance because in the Bible, the 30th year was considered the coming of age year when a boy becomes a man and begins to fulfill his ministry or purpose in this life.

Let’s look at Joseph. He had a calling on his life but it only came to be when he became 30. King David, annointed King of Israel but only actually became so at 30. And most importantly, our Lord Jesus. His official ministry began when He too became 30.

So, I’m pondering and asking the Master, what is my ministry/ purpose that I’m to embark on now that I’ve hit the big three-oh? Perhaps its simply the ministry of Fatherhood as my daughter is due in a month and half? Perhaps it’s as an entreprenuer with my business? 

For most men, this age brings an onset of the midlife crisis which is basically a man desperate for some meaning, direction and hope for his life. Wondering what happened to his dreams, how he got to being who and where he is currently, and more importantly is this mundane, unsatisfying life going to go till he dies? These questions really cause us problems and for the longest time, I asked myself such. I even started feelin this hopeless when I hit 25!!!

Anyways, whatever it is, I choose to walk boldly into this new era of my life and trusting that God is true to His word that His plans for me are many, they are wonderful and beyond anything I can dare think, ask or even dream. So let it be unto me according to His Will.

Happy Birthday Kiddo. You a man now.

Aging is not ‘lost youth’ but a new stage of opportunity and strength.
 Betty Friedan

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