Hello,

If you are reading this, then congratulations – you made it into 2010.

People seem to have the misconception that only a select few are able to unleash a steady flow of creative genius. Some even think one must attain a certain status in society before one can create an impact. That is not true at all. The fact is, creativity is very much like a muscle that needs to be exercised in order to consistently give out great results. If you don’t practice harnessing creative thinking, this skill will very much atrophy into inexistence. But keep working and this skill will soon come to you in a snap.

So how do you unleash your creative thinking? Well, the first thing is to become a human leech. No, we’re not talking about just sucking the blood out of every living being available. I’m saying that you should take in as much knowledge and learning you can find. Read everything available – good and bad, and keep your mind open to the infinite possibilities of the universe. The more you know, the more you’ll want to have, and the more your faculty of wonder will be exercised. Prepare to be amazed at little facts that add a bit of colour into your life.

Focus on a creative activity everyday. Yes, it’s an effort. Even doodling is a creative activity. Don’t let anything hinder you. Mindlessness may be a creative activity, but for people who are just starting out to unleash a little bit of creative thinking in their lives, it is helpful and encouraging to have concrete evidence, that, hey, what I’m doing is getting somewhere. So, why don’t you try it. Practice drawing for a couple of minutes each day. Bring out your old camera and start snapping photos like crazy. Keep a journal and make a point to write in it religiously. Another cool idea is to write by describing something with your five senses. Try to avoid vague adjectives like “marvelous”, “amazing” and “delicious”. Before you know it, you’ll have built yourself a tiny portfolio, and you’ll be amazed at the growth you’ve undertaken after amassing all those works of art. Who knows, you might actually take to liking those things you do everyday. Pretty soon those things will become a part of you and you’ll be addicted to these creative exercises.

Think out of the box – or don’t. Sometimes, constraints are actually a good thing. Limitations discipline you to work within your means. It enables you to be more resourceful. Creative freedom is great, but limitations enforce discipline.

Try something new everyday and let your experiences broaden your perspective. Explore a new area in your neighbourhood. Spend an afternoon in a museum you’ve not been before. Chat up someone on the bus. Opwn up to people around you. As you thrust yourself out of your comfort zone more and more each day, your sense of adventure grows and so does your zest of life. Think about it. When was the last time you did something for the first time? If it’s been a while, I tell you, you’ve been missing out on a whole lot of experiences that could’ve added to your growth, emotionally, mentally, physically or spiritually. Why don’t you try bungee jumping today? Not only will you learn, but you will also have plenty of stories to share, enabling you to practice your storytelling skills and making you the life of the party.

Embrace insanity. No, not to the point of practically admitting yourself into the mental ward. As John Russell once said:

Sanity calms, but madness is more interesting

Exactly! Every creative thought was once deemed insanity by other normal people at one time or another. Luckily, that didn’t stop the creative geniuses from standing by them. Creativity is essentially breaking through the barriers. Yes, this includes the bizarre and the downright strange. I’m not saying that you yourself should develop a creative personality that might go haywire. An example of such personality would be George Washington, who often rode into battle naked, or Albert Einstein, who thought his cat was a spy sent by his rival. It’s important that your creativity doesn’t get you detached from the real world completely. Of course, in simple terms, too much of anything is wrong.

I hope you are inspired to start thinking beyond your limits. If you take action, you’ll soon be living a life full of interesting adventures. Unleash your creative thinking this year and see life unfold.

Happy 2010 – My Year of IMPACT

Have you ever seen such a sign post as shown above as you drive on the highways of Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Accra, Johannesburg, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Paris or wherever in the world you may be? I doubt. However, it is interesting to note that in the journey of life, such sign post comes up every now and then. Here’s one sign post just coming up your screen:

I want to reveal a secret to you, please relax. You have already gotten to open this post, so you are ahead of a long line of people who wait a little longer to read. I’m going to share my heart with you. I hope you’ll read me with your heart as well.

Once our hearts believe, our heads can easily follow

I’ll also ask for your permission on a few things. If you can oblige me those things, this post and the mail you are about to read, will make a real difference in your life this year! Here are my few requests:

1. Before you continue reading, make up you mind to empty yourself of all prejudices and pre-conceived notions about referral based businesses. It might be tough I know, but your pre-conceived positions will limit you. Trust me. Read objectively, and look with fresh eyes.

“The uneducated in the 21st century is not one who can’t read and write, it’s one who can’t learn, unlearn and relearn” – Dr. Tunde Bakare

2. Don’t jump to the bottom, try and read this line by line and with an open mind.

3. Make your decision within 24hrs and take action. What you are reading will not be useful to you otherwise. Believe me though that it will make a difference if you consciously and delibrately make a positive move.

This are all that I require you to have in mind as you read further.

It’s one thing to read about something, it’s another thing to know it, and it’s yet another thing to practice what you read and know. I had known that there were broadly two types of people when it comes to difficult problems: the ones that walk away, and the ones that stay unreasonably to solve the problem. Where do you belong?

For a year, I refused to participate in a business opportunity that is currently transforming my life! Why did I refuse? I refused because I thought I had gotten enough of referral based businesses (Network Marketing, Direct Selling, Multilevel Marketing, Affiliate Marketing e.t.c.) and I simply had quietly decided to walk away, especially from the ones that needed “heavy cash” to join. I had made a few losses and some over exaggerated successes, but I didn’t feel good with the fact that a lot of people came out of those ventures as outright losers. I care more for value, a good name and great friends, than I could ever care for money – and these businesses were just not making it happen for me. I walked away from this opportunity for about 12 months.Thank God for the insistence of my business mentor, Solomon James.

After a long while, I decided to ask myself a fundamental question. I decided to ask for support to practically answer these questions by the company. The answers to these questions, and the position I could take made me take action. I’m hoping you see them as well.

What is the problem of referral based businesses, and can they be solved?

Problem1: The owners of the companies often times are not credible, they stay invisible, they don’t come to Nigeria, have no local registration in Nigeria and might one day just shut down their systems and dissappear into thin air.

Solution: Can we ensure that the leaders of the company are known to a lot of Nigerians? Can we ensure that they come to Nigeria? Can we ensure the companies are locally registered in Nigeria and allow Nigerians to part own the company? Can we ensure the involvement of a local credible entrepreneur like Prof Pat Utomi as the Chairman of the Nigerian company? Can we ensure that Nigerians meet all the board members and that the Chairman also meets all the foreigners?

Status: 100% Done. Agreements were concluded with Chairman in August 2009 in Mauritius and today, Prof. Pat Utomi, a revered entrepreneur is the Chairman of Holidays and Cash, Nigeria.

Problem2: Usually these companies sell products that are of no value to Nigerians. Nigerians participate only because of the financial possibilities from referring others. People end up feeling scammed when they buy products they don’t intend to use, and refuse to market to make the money they planned to make.

Solution: Can we ensure that there are many options of products? Can we ensure that once you buy a particular product you get amazing discounts on the rest? Can we ensure that people can get laptops for as low as N29,000 and get it bundled with other great products? Can we get people an opportunity to develop themselves with e-books worth $3000 as an add on? Can people buy landed property at discounted prices and still earn from referring others to any of the products? Can people buy personal branding kits? Attend special trainings as product offers? Use their privilege packs to book local flights at ridiculous prices? Save up to $800 on just hotel bills for one international trip from a pack that costs less than 1/3 of the savings? Can we make this like a real online market with a baseline of refer and profit?

Status: 101% Done. And much more to come… inverters, cameras, e.t.c.

Problem 3: These companies or “schemes” as many see them look easy before you start, but they end up being too much work. It’s as if you should never stop, ‘cos once you stop, you do not earn anymore. The boards keep splitting and you have to keep running around and “getting people”. They have absolutely no passive income potential, and it’s difficult to predict what you need to do before you earn. The bad part is once you have gotten so many people, they split so far away from you, that it doesn’t even pay you to help them.

Solution: Is it possible to have a model that actually has the possibility of generating passive income so that this doesn’t become another JOB and slave camp? Is it possible to predict exactly what needs to be done to get results? Is it possible to get results without depending on other people, just on one’s own efforts? Is it possible to help people, hear thank you and still directly help yourself? Is it possible to earn even when the person you are helping is 2000 generations and 5yrs away from you?

Status: 100% Done and Yes to all questions!

The company is far from where it was when I joined, it will be far from where it is today if you join and come in with other brilliant ideas. Without you, we have built this business into having over 6,000 Nigerians on board with people earning in dollars weekly including me. I earned $161 in my first 3 days of joining. Many of our members are also joining in Nation building initiatives – in Education, in the Power Sector, in Electoral Reforms and even in Politics. You know why it’s easy for us? Because we are free! We are not free as we want to be yet, but we determine our own timetables.

The words of William Wallace (modified) echoes in our spirits –

“You came to fight as free men, free men you are! Run, and you will live. At least a while. But years from now, you will die, in your beds on the roads, anywhere! Are you willing to stake all the days from now till then for one chance, just one chance to stand here and tell our enemies that they may take our time (5am to 10pm every weekday) and our current choices (determine were we live, when we break, when we take our vacation) but they will never take away our Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeedom!

So, friend, I ask you again: Are You Interested in Financial Freedom?

If your answer is YES, then Congratulations. All you need to do is CLICK HERE and read the information package I have provided. Once you are ready to make your purchase, click on the BUY NOW button. After then, you can fill your details to be registered for the business opportunity. You can call me to guide you every step of the way – +2348068941578.

Ekpo Ekpo

www.holidaysandcash.com/glorioussolutions

P.S.S:

This is a win-win opportunity and you can’t lose – except of course you ignore this message. Remember, if you always DO what you have always DONE, you’ll always succeed in getting exactly what you’ve always GOT! Also, don’t wait till your friends tell you, be a first.

Today is a very special date that carries many memories, memories that were more often than not, unpleasant. Today is the 11th Day of November, the 11th month. What’s so special about the date, you may want to ask. Here it is; in my secondary school days in the great Hope Waddell Training Institution (HOWAD, for short), an all-male school founded in 1895 in the ancient city of Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria, 11-11 was the most dreaded of all days for any new student. It was popularly called “Foxes’ Day”, a day in which the “foxes” were formerly initiated into the school community by having their tails cut off. Who were the foxes? Another good question – simply, the just admitted Junior Secondary School(JSS) 1 students, who were usually about 2-3 months old in the secondary school system as at this date.

At exactly 11.00am Nigerian time, the Senior Secondary School (SSS) 3 students would troop enmasse to the classroom blocks of the JSS1 students and bring them all out for the initiation ceremony – “the cutting of the foxes tail”. “Cutting off the foxes tail” could entail any kind of punishment that the SSS 3 students dimmed fit to be meted out to the poor little chaps. Traditionally, the ceremony began by attaching a long piece of tissue paper to the shorts of the students – to depict a tail – and then flogging the foxes until the tails cut off. Other punishments ranged from frog jumping, lying in the gutter to bizarre acts such as being drenched in urine. I’m serious – I witnessed this in my very first year in school, 1992. It didn’t matter what day 11-11 fell on. If it was going to be a weekend, then the Friday before or Monday after, the ceremony was held. Every set had it’s ardent executors of the Foxes Day.

I still remember my saving grace that very year when I was a fox, 11-11-1992. I was in my class, JSS 1P (we were that many, we even had JSS 1W, each class filled with no less than 30 students) and the ceremonies were just about getting started when an SS3 student, Mr. Godwin Inyang, a dear family friend, came and picked me out of the class. As we took a stroll together, I could see my colleagues who were getting the beating of their lives; I clung unto Godwin’s arm even closer. It wasn’t a pleasurable sight, to be sincere.

As the years went by, the foxes day became an even more dreadful day, not just for the JSS1 students, but every class below SS3. I clearly remember that the worst beating I got in school was on 11-11-1996, when I was in ss2A. Our class was suddenly invaded by the most Senior Students and we got the beating of our lives from every Tom, Dick and Harry. This tradition had become enshrined into the school system such that it more or less became a norm and there was absolutely nothing the school authorities could do about it. Well, nothing anyone could do until a new administration came on board, an administration that choose to be it’s brother’s keeper instead of tormentor.

First, sometime in the early part of 1997, a new principal was posted to HOWAD, then Elder Nsa E. Eyo now Revd. Nsa E. Eyo. Then, against all odds, after a rigorous screening exercise, I became the 102nd Senior School Prefect of HOWAD, leading a team of over 40 prefects and a population of over 4000 male students. We were so many I’m sure I didn’t really get to know all the prefects working with me until we left. Don’t ask me how the tenure went; I believe others will have a better assessment. But, I must say, I did enjoy myself and much of the leadership skills I learned from my experience still guide me till today.

Well, a couple of days to 11-11-97, we had started considering what to do to reverse the trend. Our thoughts fell just in line with those of the Principal, who summoned us to an urgent meeting to discuss how we could break the 11-11 jinx. In the meeting, he explained to us how disturbing the whole tradition was and charged us to find a workable plan to stop the “menace”.

So, therein lies Step #1 to breaking the jinx – Appreciating the Problem. This first step is very vital if you must find a solution to any problem you are encountering. You must appreciate that there is a problem, in the first place; otherwise, why look for a solution? Many people usually turn a blind eye to the fact that an unfavourable and recurring situation in their lives is a deep-rooted problem. In fact, sometimes they become so comfortable with the situation that the abnormal becomes a norm. That’s when you start hearing statements like “that’s the way it used to be”; “it’s been like this for years, you cannot change it” etc.

Back to our story. So, we had an in-house emergency meeting and did some serious brainstorming on how we could turn 11-11 to a happy day. I still remember some suggestions that were made including one that we should assemble the JSS1 students, in particular, in the Assembly Hall and have them entertain themselves. I think we jettisoned that idea because it left the rest of the classes (JS2 – SS2) still vulnerable to attack. After a long session, we finally arrived at a technique we thought would work.

So, Step #2 – Brainstorm on the Problem and possible solutions. It has been said that “two good heads are better than one”. Well, in recent times, it’s been modified to “two good heads are better than one”. When faced with a difficult task, do yourself some good by gathering a team of persons you think can help you brainstorm. You’ll find out that the solution will come out much easier than if you tried to do it yourself.

Here was our plan and here’s exactly how it turned out on D-day. At exactly 11am on 11-11-97, the big bell was rung as a signal to all students to remain in their classrooms. It was a “No-Loitering-Allowed Day”. Any student that was outside his class a minute after the bell was doing so at his own risk. Then, we stationed prefects at every block of classrooms to ensure that none of our classmates got close to those classes. The school authority, on her part, led by the Vice Principal (Admin), the tough Mr. Ugbaja, stationed teachers beneath the SS3 block (popularly called the Aso Rock), making sure that not even the senior students could step out. It was a strategy that worked far beyond our wildest imaginations. About 30 minutes after D-hour, I stood with the Principal and his vice and viewed the classroom blocks around the big field. We could hardly see a single student outside. It was a sight to behold and I’ll never forget the feeling of accomplishment that ran through my spine. We had done the impossible. We had broken the 11-11 jinx!

Step #3 – Work out a plan and follow it to the letter. It is important that when you put together a plan, you must do your best to work out and walk through the plan. Many people sometimes leave their plans half-way because it may not seem to be working out initially. You have to learn to give something a try first, before looking for the perfect touch.

Today, as we mark yet another 11-11, I can’t say what’s going on in HOWAD but I really do hope that some good kind-hearted leaders can follow our example and make it a most memorable day for all the students.

I’ll like to sign off this article with our usual shout-out in those heydays. HOWAD Wee!!!! Waaaa!!!!

GLORIOUS

Wow!!!

It’s the last day of March 2009. Hasn’t the good Lord been faithful? Indeed, it is a good thing to thank God for His mercies. I look back at the last 30 days of this month, and I just can’t say anything else but “Thank You Lord”. Thank you for all the provision, protection, good health, money, favour, life etc. Can I say thank you for all the problems I faced? Sure, Lord, thank you for all the pains, heartaches, challenges, sorrow, tears and all I didn’t hope for, for in them you showed me that you can pull me through it all and in overcoming, I have the courage to face bigger challenges tomorrow”.

That’s right, dear friend, in as much as we don’t pray for problems, be rest assured, in this world, troubles will always come. But as Norman Vincent Peale would say;

How you think about a problem is more important than the problem itself – so always think positively

You see, history is full of great men, whose births were not heralded by angels, nor family members, let alone the world. However, generations yet unborn will continue to hear and mention their names because in spite of their backgrounds, they did one thing – they solved great problems. This is how John F. Kennedy puts it;

“Great crisis produces great men and great deeds of courage”

It’s not as if the moment they tackled the problem, they were able to solve it. Far from it. Let’s take Sir. Thomas Edison for example, the inventor of the electric light bulb. Do you know how many times it is said Edison failed to solve this problem? Many people, most notably Sir Joseph Swan, had tried to invent an electric light using an incandescent filament, or wire, enclosed in a glass bulb, but had not been able to create a filament that could withstand intense heat over long enough periods oftime to be practical. Even Edison had a tough time of it, going through a long, trial-and-error process in which he tested thousands of materials. Undaunted by failures, Edison finally found that a scorched cotton thread would work best. When heated in a vacuum, it produced a white glow without melting, evaporating, or breaking. Although Swan came up with a similar light bulb around the same time, Edison patented his idea more aggressively, promoted his product more effectively, and sketched out a practical system of power supply which could support its use on a large scale. On New Year’s Eve of 1879, Edison gave a public demonstration of the new bulb, lighting up his laboratory and a half mile of streets in Menlo Park before of thousands of spectators. Edison had not only invented an economical light source, but developed an entire system for generating and distributing electricity from a central power station.

A solution after 1000 failures

The story goes that “Thomas Edison failed more than 1,000 times when trying to create the light bulb. (The story is often told as 5,000 or 10,000 times depending on the version) When asked about it,
Edison allegedly said,

“I have not failed 1,000 times. I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways to NOT make a light bulb.”

What a great mind!

So, my dear friend, do you really want to be great? Albert Einstein, arguably the most referred of all scientists, has this to say:

“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer”.

Know what that means? He goes looking for problems and finds ways to solve them. That’s the pathway to greatness.

And that’s what the Glorious Solution Centre is all about. We desire that people will bring their problems here and great men, like you, will provide solutions. Oh, you don’t think you are a great man?

“Don’t wait until you’re a man to be great. Be a great boy or girl”. How about that?

So, once again, do you really want to be great? Seek for and conquer great problems. I’ll see you at the top.

GLORIOUS

Money is Not Your Problem

First and foremost, let me apologize for the 3-day communication gap since my inaugural post. I wouldn’t make the mistake of giving you an excuse, no matter how genuine it is. Instead, please accept my sincere apologies and here’s my promise: It’ll never happen again.

I also appreciate the wonderful and encouraging comments I have received so far for my very first post. It’s gladdening that in just a day or two of beginning work, I am already getting an eager audience. Unyime’s closing comment “I just hope you have a matching solution” is quite thought-provoking. That’s exactly what we are here to do, my friend Unyime. I believe no man is an island; I can’t claim to have the perfect/matching solution to our problems, rather I believe that if we start asking ourselves this question: “What must I do to be part of the solution” instead of “What should they do” – they implying our government, leaders etc – we will indeed be closer to solving our problems. Again, I say, it begins with you (and I).

So, having said that much, let’s get down to the business of the day. Money! I am certain that if I took the statistics of the people that listed money, in our previous exercise (remember?), as their No.1 problem, I should be getting no less than 80 – 90%. I stand to be corrected anyway. Howbeit, it is no gain saying that majority of people in our world today think that if they had money, then all their problems would be solved. Chief Zeburudaya of the New Madquerade fame would say Foul Foul Foul Foul!!! How wrong you are. See my friend, money is the least of your problems. Hold on a second, we’ll tackle that argument pretty soon.

So, if money is not the real problem, what then is? Let’s refer back to my inaugural post, last but one paragraph. I still stand to be corrected, but I believe that all our problems can be categorized into three which I have tagged: The Bedrock, Foundation and Pillar of Problems.Let me illustrate this in a minute.

In building a house, there are three key areas that MUST  be gotten right, otherwise the house won’t last. 

Number 1: The Soil on which the house will stand. I am no building engineer, but I know that before a house is built, a proper soil analysis (or whatever it is called) is carried out, to ascertain if the soil will be able to carry the entire weight of the house after it has been eventually built. If this is not properly done, then what you get is what we’ve seen happen in Lagos for many years unending. The problem of collapsed building in Lagos is simple: No proper soil analysis is done. Besides, some landlords, due to greed, continue expanding and enlarging their buildings from one room to bungalow, then upstairs, then storey building, then skyscraper. It’s only a matter of time before the building collapses, because that is not the weight the soil was meant to carry.

You ask, “how does this relate to what we are discussing?” I see the soil here representing Your Mindset. For as long as your mindset (your attitude, values, character, belief system) is wrong, you are going nowhere. Trust me, problems will continue to come, day-in and day-out. You can’t stop them, no Sir/Ma’am, not in this our world. And as they build up, it’s only a matter of time before your problems overwhelm you. That is why in recent times, we have seen some very rich men, simply because of a little setback such as the ongoing Global Economic Meltdown, commit suicide. What they are simply saying is that they hold the belief that their life is worth less than the few million dollars or naira they’ve lost? Now, that’s a terrible state of the mind. On the other hand, we’ve also seen men, who despite their losses, continue to live their lives as though nothing had happened. Why? Because their soil is solid. There’s no better example I can think of than the man, Donald Trump, who in the last couple of years has filed for bankruptcy a couple of times, yet  he bounces back everytime on top and stays there amongst the world’s richest.

So, once again, I put it to you, my friend, money is not your problem! The real battle lies within your mind. Win that battle, you overcome your problems with ease. So, here’s what we will do. For the next three days, we will be dealing with Our Mindsets.  We just have to get it right, my dear, otherwise, it’s not worth it. Get ready, it’s a journey you’ll never forget for the rest of your life. So help us God!

What about Number 2 key area? Don’t worry, I didn’t forget – we continue from there next time.

Till I come your way again, keep winning!

GLORIOUS