Advice for Entrepreneurs, by Francisco Dao

I came across this article by Francisco Dao where he gives entrepreneurs 7 items of street-advise... Thought to share.


You are not entitled to anything. This should be obvious to everyone but we now seem to live in a world where everyone feels they deserve special treatment. On the streets there is no special treatment. If you want something, it’s up to you to go out and get it.

Nobody cares about your problems, they have their own to deal with. Too often I see people complaining about trivial bullshit as if I’m supposed to care. The world is not your personal complaint desk. In fact, I don’t care at all, and odds are nobody else does either. Your problems are not my problems so handle your business and stop bitching.

My relapse years, by Sarah Heplon

...Lately, I have been trying to do things I am bad at, simply to remind myself that it’s OK. Right now, I’m learning to play the guitar. I’m awkward, which is embarrassing, and the other night I was sitting on the floor of my bedroom in Dallas (which is painted with eccentric diagonal stripes, like it was designed by ’80s new wave robots, or Blondie), and I was cursing my inability to properly make a C chord. I thought to myself: I am never going to play this guitar. And I would be 100 percent right about that if I did what I felt like doing in that moment, which was to send that guitar hurtling across the room in frustration.
Instead, I took a deep breath, and continued to fail...

Great article by Sarah Hepola, articulating a different perspective on failure... Read the full article here.

Thoughts From a Funeral

I like cemeteries.

I like to walk amidst the graves and calculate the ages at which the buried died. I like to read the epitaphs: poems, bible verses, and sometimes prose that family and friends write in honor of the dead. I like the quiet: the rustle of dry leaves underfoot, the sound of birds singing, the distant look of a mourner who has come to honor the memory of a relative long dead.

I cry. I always cry when I visit a cemetery, or attend a funeral.

Sometimes I cry quietly. At other times, I wail noisily. I leave sad. I always leave sad. But I leave more grateful for my life, for my friends and family, and for the opportunities I have.

Yesterday, I attended the funeral of Sanmi Awodogan, a young and promising man who lost his life in the Dana air crash. As always, I spent an hour walking round the graves - lost in thought. I will now share those thoughts with you:

Indescribable (Lyrics) by Chris Tomlin

I would like the share the lyrics of the song Indescribable by Chris Tomlin... The song really speaks to me at this moment... You may download it here.


From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea,
Creation's revealing Your majesty,
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring,
Every creature unique in the song that it sings,
All exclaiming:

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name,
You are amazing, God
All powerful, untameable
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim,
You are amazing, God,

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go,
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow,
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light,
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night,
None can fathom:

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name,
You are amazing, God
All powerful, untameable
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim,
You are amazing, God

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing, God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing, God
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are amazing, God
You are amazing, God

The two mouths of Farouk Lawan.

On Sunday, June 10 2012, Farouk Lawan wrote:

"My attention has been drawn to several newspapers and internet stories alleging that a prominent member of the House ad-hoc committee on petroleum subsidy demanded and received the sum of $600,000 as bribe from an oil marketer.

I wish to categorically deny that I, or any member of the committee, demanded and received any bribe from anybody in connection with the fuel subsidy probe and I believe this is evident from the thorough an in-depth manner the investigation was carried out and the all encompassing recommendations produced there from as approved by the whole House.

...

"This clarification is necessary in order to clear all the insinuations being bandied about and, more importantly, to enable the government concentrate on the implementation of the report. The present mudslinging is not unexpected in view of the calibre of people whose actions and inactions were found wanting in the report. 

I am aware that in their desperation to discredit the report and divert the attention of the public from the real issues of large scale fraud in high places established in our report, a video footage displaying a caricature of my person allegedly having a dealing with a marketer reminiscent of the military era when dignitaries were invited to the Presidential Villa to watch a video clip of a phantom coup involving Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is already in circulation..."

And on Tuesday, June 12 2012, he confesses to journalists that he collected the money after Otedola approached him, and that he informed the police and his colleagues about it.

This new confession is confusing.

Seeing as I was so excited when his report was first released, even writing a post about it - now I feel so disappointed.

In the end, all of them are thieves. :(

The Myth of Job Security (One)

This morning, I saw on CNN that Olympus, the camera makers, have announced a 5 year growth plan that includes cutting 2,700 jobs. Only a few weeks ago, HP cut 27,000 jobs. Look around Lagos today, and you see lots of eBanking outlets - with GTBank a clear market leader in this regard. With an increasing number of ATMs that dispense cash and accept deposits, more jobs are set to go in the Nigerian banking industry.

One of the many truths that have hit me in the past few months is that job security as our parents knew it, is a myth.

In today's world, there is no such guarantee for the average worker.

Updates on the Dana Air Crash...

So a member of staff at Dana Air called in to a Channels TV program to confirm that the plane was faulty, management was aware, and they were 'forced' to fly the plane... Watch the YouTube video above... One would expect a number of arrests and prosecutions to follow this. The Nigerian government needs to take a strong stance!

Also, Daily Times put together a report detailing the history of the crashed plane, and proving that it was just a disaster waiting to happen... Read it here...

Linda Ikeji has collected a couple of pictures from the crash site into one blog post... See them here...

Lastly, a former Executive Director in Air Nigeria, John I. Nnorom, has warned Nigerians to stay away from Air Nigeria flights, describing them as 'Flying Coffins'... Read all about it here... Also see Air Nigeria's rebuttal here. Given the back-and-forth, I would expect the Aviation Authorities to take this up and investigate thoroughly.

As expected, the Senate has temporarily suspended the DG of the Civil Aviation Authority, Dr. Harold Demuren. They have also suspended operations by Dana Airlines. Read all about it here. I expect the Senate to take this one step forward by establishing a Nigerian version of the National Transportation Safety Board - with the responsibility to investigate all traffic accidents and make clear cut policy and safety recommendations.

Foreigners Reactions to the Plane Crash

Every one needs to read the comments (particularly those by foreigners) on this Yahoo! article...

Regards,

Koye

The Brevity of Life

The brevity of life.

I am confused. I can't think straight. I can't focus. I am in shock. The more I think of it, the worse it feels.

I have never been in an airplane, not even on a Primary School excursion. Right now, I almost wish I never see the inside of one...

As much as I try to be optimistic for my country, now it takes all my effort to keep from descending into despair... Nothing seems to work around here! Insecurity is rife as ever... Government has taken on businesses it has no business being in, neglecting the more focused regulatory role it should be playing...

It is widely reported that the Dana airplane had been undergoing repairs for weeks. Isn't there a system in place to ensure flight-worthiness of the many planes that fly the Nigerian airspace? Isn't there a responsive authority that the Nigerian staff who knew the plane was faulty could have complained to after the Indian management insisted on flying the plane? Is there a functional Nigerian equivalent of the National Transportation Safety board?

We know what will happen next... Mr. President will order a full-scale inquiry into the cause of the crash... Our flags will fly at half-mast for the next three days... He will ask the Aviation Minister, Princess Oduah to leave no stone unturned... Maybe Dana Airlines will be sanctioned, maybe not... The Distraction Committee will come up with something drastic to take our minds off the incident, like renaming the University of Ibadan... We will forget... And it will happen again...

Someone needs to tell the President that we don't need one-off inquiries... We need a system that works! We need our own NTSB to systematically investigate accidents, publish reports to the public, and make clear-cut policy and safety recommendations!

I know an eight month old baby, who is now fatherless. I know a woman recently married, who is now widowed... Families thrown into mourning... Breadwinners killed... Husbands, wives; fathers, mothers; children, lovers - gone in the twinkle of an eye.

Here this moment, gone the next; fading away like the stars of the morning.

More than ever, I am convinced that the only way to live is with a full consciousness of the brevity of life... There is no use postponing the achievement of our dreams and visions till some time in the future... There's something you want to do and be, do it now... Don't wait till you can sponsor a hundred kids, sponsor the one that you can now...

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my savior..."

Life can be difficult to understand...

On Growing Passive Income...

I was recently re-reading my worn copy of the timeless classic, The Richest Man in Babylon, and I re-discovered the following paragraphs I would love to share:

"...To the building of an estate there must always be the beginning. That start may be a few pieces of gold or silver which a man diverts from his earnings to his first investment. I, myself, am the owner of many herds. The start of my herds I did begin when I was a mere boy and did purchase with one piece of silver a young calf. This, being the beginning of my wealth, was of great importance to me.

"To take his first start to building an estate is as good luck as can come to any man. With all men, that first step, which changes them from men who earn from their own labor to men who draw dividends from the earnings of their gold, is important.  Some, fortunately, take it when young and thereby outstrip in financial success those who take it later or those unfortunate men, like the father of this merchant, who never take it."

Many of us, desiring to be rich, forget that Rome was not built in a day...

Think on these things... :)