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

As the Year 2009 winds down, I’ll like to leave you with an article I hope you’ll read carefully and then resolve to apply the steps therein; if you put these steps into ACTION, I guarantee you a 2010 loaded with solutions for every problem you will encounter. You can be sure of this, my friend – YOU WILL ENCOUNTER PROBLEMS IN THE NEW YEAR. Make no mistake about that. No amount of wishful thinking and prophetic release would take that away from you, because it’s only natural that problems must come.

However, what will make you stand out of the crowd of people who are swallowed up by life’s challenges is the simple application of the steps herein exposed.

We all face problems in our life. The only difference is your reaction to the problems. Looking at problems positively will make a world of difference in dealing with them. Do not view problems as obstacles to your growth. Problems are challenges in our life. They are opportunities for growth. That’s my psychology.

Here are the 7 steps to solving problems in 2010:

1. Be calm: Do not allow negative emotions such as fear to frighten you when you are encountering a problem. Stay calm and collected. A positive mindset will allow you to look at a problem fully and clearly.

2. Look at the problem carefully (Analysis): Closely examine the sources of the problem and gather enough information about the subject. Find out more about it from experienced people. Identify those that are beyond your control and find ways to tackle those you can deal with.

3. Take a break: When you are stuck, get away from it and have a break. Allow your mind to clear its clutter.

4. Find a solution: Based on the information that you have collected in the previous stage, look at ways to overcome the problem. Always find a simple solution to a complicated problem.

5. From the known to the unknown: Find out from your previous experience if you can use it to solve the present problem. Start with what you know about what to do and move on to the unknown.

6. The best solution: A solution should be beneficial to you and to others. Look at the solution impartially. You may not find the right answer, just look for a suitable solution

7. Action: Carry out the steps to solve the problem. Review the actions taken at regular intervals. Revise and make adjustment whenever necessary.

For each problem that you are able to find a solution, you will achieve a higher level of satisfaction and happiness

So, Welcome to Year 2010 – Bring It On.

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.

 

It’s exactly a week now since I painfully watched my dear friend, Rofem Emmanuel Enyieko, being laid to rest at a young age of only 24. Such was the pain and agony in everyone’s heart that no more tears could be shed. Infact, you could see it in everyone’s eyes, the one question that was going through every mind; “could this be happening for real?”. The previous day, before his body arrived from South Africa, I was with one of his sisters, and surprisingly, the person I thought I was going to comfort turned out comforting me. She was so full of talk of Rof, as though he were still alive. When I asked her why she didn’t seem to be in a sorrowful mood, she said “I don’t believe he’s dead; until I see his body, I don’t think my brother is dead”. Well, indeed, it was true, my friend was gone. A rising star had gone dim.

It’s taken me about one week to put my acts together. Finally, here’s a run-down of the life and times of Rofem Emmanuel Enyieko.

HIS BIRTH

Born into the family of Mr. & Mrs. Emmanuel Enyieko as a treasure from God on the 11^th August, 1984, Rofem Obhazi meaning “the heart of God” was a bouncing baby boy with a bright hope and a great future. Incidentally, he was the only male child of his parents. He grew up to become an admirable young man of intellect and moral standing, with the fear and love of God and all that had to do with His service.

EDUCATION

Rofem began his education at an early age. He was so bright, charming and grammatically very composed in his writing skills. He attended St. Patrick Nursery School, Ikom and later changed to St. Joseph International Nursery and Primary School, Ugep. He later moved with his family to Okirike in Biase and began his Junior Secondary School Education.

He began JSS 3 in Community Secondary School, Usumutong, his hometown when his father was transferred there as the Principal of the school. As a young student, Rofem was disciplined and focused. He later became the Chapel Prefect of the school; the contributions he made while in school were challenging and enormous.

After his secondary education, he got admission into the College of Education, Akamkpa to do his Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) programme in 2000. In 2001, when he was hoping to gain admission into the university, he took ill, with a nose infection that could not be handled in Nigeria. This put a hold on his education. However, Rof was never discouraged in life despite the situation he found himself. He held unto faith and always spoke positively for seven (7) years. Rofem lived with his challenges, facing it with joy although painful. Indeed, when hope was lost, and the Nigerian doctors gave him up for dead, Rofem was able to pull through those dreadful days. He was flown out to South Africa where he had plastic surgery to replace his damaged nose; he recovered pretty quick and life became normal once again.

During this period, Rofem discovered he had quality skills for business. Even at home, he had coined creative ideas, began the business of recharge cards and phone calls. The passion he had for business made him discover what he’ll study. He got admission in 2006 to study Economics in the University of Calabar, where he was doing his 3^rd year.

DREAMS

Rofem was a young man full of dreams, ambitious and innovative ideas. He was outstanding in everything he was determined to do. He was very committed, dedicated and optimistic about his way of life. His best dream in life was to become the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor come 2025. He did all that was needful to sustain his goals and vision. Reading became his best hubby in life. Infact, his business name “Macduff” in Fastecash and Successful Entrepreneurs Network (SEN2020) was a character he admired in one of the writings of Shakespeare. He was so inspiring to his younger ones and a mentor to many.

Rofem refused to be pitied. He always had a way of going through his tough times as an adage says

“Tough times never last, but tough people do”.

Brave Rofem kept going even when it seemed as though all hope was lost on him. He was always very hopeful that he will make it. Few days to his departure into eternity, he spoke with his friend, Duncan, of his business proposal which he was coming soon to execute for the forthcoming Calabar Christmas Carnival. He sounded enthusiastic and enticing. Little did we know he had an eternal journey ahead. By the late hours of 9.00pm, June 12^th, 2009, Rofem gave up the ghost. It had been on-going. But to God be the glory because the good works of Rofem has not died with him, it will continue to live with us. A brother amongst brothers, a friend amongst friends, a companion amongst companions, one who stood out amongst his friends.

MY LAST MOMENTS WITH ROFEM

I became friends with Rofem, sometime in 2000  after a great performance in church, where he’d magnificiently interpreted the significance of the Bible from Genesis through Revelation. Such was his performance, he was awarded a scholarship by the church. However, since I was schooling then in Delta State, our friendship wasn’t so solid until sometime in 2006 after I’d returned from my National Youth Service. By then, he was already recuperating from the first surgical operation in South Africa. It was clearly evident then that Rof was going to make a good business man. Infact, often times, we discussed some of his business plans and he sought my advice before making some moves. When in 2007, the Successful Entrepreneurs Network was launched by Success Attitude Development Centre, Rofem signed up based on my referral, and months later, I convinced him to upgrade to Authorized Resellership, a responsibility he executed well.

Since December 2008 when Rof left for South Africa for medical checkup, we’ve been in touch online, always chatting and updating each other with happenings in Nigeria and South Africa. In February 2009, when Techclick Ltd, owners of Fastecash organised the Maiden Edition of the Fastecash Blogging Contest (FBC I),  while I participated as a contestant, using the platform to launch this blog, Macduff participated as an ardent voter and made many useful comments and suggestions on almost all the contesting blogs. For me in particular, he made lots of constructive criticisms that kept me on my toes and ensured that I was on top of the game at all times. If anyone ever wondered how I managed to stay at the top of the charts throughout the duration of the contest, here’s the answer: MACDUFF!  He kept pushing me, and did all he could to bring out the best in me.

When the contest finally ended on April 1st, with the tables turning around on that very last day and I took the third position, I think Rof was more disappointed than I was. Not so much that I hadn’t put in my best, but that he suspected there had been some foul play. I did convince him though that taking 1st wasn’t the ultimate goal in the contest. Howbeit, what I was unable to do in the contestants’ chart, Macduff did on the Voters’ Chart. He emerged FBC I’s Topmost Voter with 431 points, a feat which he accomplished despite his ill-health. For that, I doff my hat for you, Rof.

Lately, we were preparing for the Second Edition of the Fastecash Blogging Contest and I’d asked Rof to participate this time. He’d considered it and was looking forward to another wonderful time. Little did I know it was not to be. One of the final transactions we did together was when he requested I send him 30 Fastecash SMS Units. There was some delay in getting that across to him but I finally did. Looking back, I assume he used those units to send his final farewell messages to his friends. 

As Rofem Emmanuel Enyieko was being laid to rest on Thursday, June 25 2009, with onlookers comprising mostly of people whose lives he’d touched in his short stay, I couldn’t help but think: “there goes another rising star, there goes another dreamer”. He sure would have made a great man. He certainly would have touched many more lives. Nonetheless, I salute my dear friend, who’d fought a good fight,and kept the faith. It was a great honour knowing you, it was a great honour working with you. I will certainly miss you, we all will. But like was rightfully said on the poster that bore the sad news, Rofem Lives On.

Adieu, my friend!

Hi,

Today, I would like to share with you this absolutely incredible and mind-blowing short interview with a great mind – Rick Warren, ‘Purpose Driven Life ‘ author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California. In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:

People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body– but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act – the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn’t going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you’re just coming out of one, or you’re getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that’s not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys – you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don’t believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it’s kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems: If you focus on your problems, you’re going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain. But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others. We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her- It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don’t think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence.. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72. First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church. Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation. Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God’s purposes (for my life)? When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don’t get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn’t put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He’s more interested in what I am than what I do. That’s why we’re called human beings, not human doings. Happy moments, PRAISE GOD. Difficult moments, SEEK GOD. Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD. Painful moments, TRUST GOD. Every moment, THANK GOD.

What a great problem-solving mindset!

Do you agree with Rick? Your comments are highly welcome.