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Brief Report on The Rise of 100 leaders

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Due to the upcoming election process, the program had to take place virtually with consideration of all stakeholders. The highlights of day 2 and 3 classes focus on effective communication and the art of public speaking, respectively. Effectively facilitated by Ayo-Ajakaiye Oluwadamilola and Ekundayo Oluwadamilare, participants communicated effectively and corporately in different social setups like chat management, corporate gathering, interpersonal relationships, self-introductions, and many more. To grace the occasion, all participants had to take a communication self-evaluation test to grade their communication skills and seek room for improvement.

In light of the election period, participants were asked to assess the country’s leadership structure and decipher some possible model structures to solve those issues. Participants were also put through a defined way of communication in response to the unrest during the election process.

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Each class was rounded up with a task-based assessment of every participant. As they had to lead the upcoming generation, everyone was placed in a group to enhance collaboration and effective leadership. So far, the response rate has been high, with a participation of 60% during the virtual program, and we expect more participation when the physical classes resume.

Each class was rounded up with a task-based assessment of every participant. As they had to lead the upcoming generation, everyone was placed in a group to enhance collaboration and effective leadership. So far, the response rate has been high, with a participation of 60% during the virtual program, and we expect more participation when the physical classes resume.

YTOP Global is committed to raising leaders, and with this initiative, we are raising the leaders of tomorrow “TODAY.”

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Leadership in the 21st Century: The Rise of YTOPs – Nurturing Mentor-Leaders for a Better Tomorrow

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Leadership is a global topic in which many invest millions to learn to be better and exemplary leaders. Many need to know that the traditional functioning of leadership cannot be effective in the 21st Century times due to a significant gap in the tides of time.  

To be a leader in a global, fast-pacing, digitally enabled Century with a high speed of information transitioning and innovations, you either upgrade yourself or get stuck in the traditional pedagogies.  

Leadership in the 21st Century is defined by how you learn, what you learn, and who you learn from. This is why YTOP Global has carefully curated a leadership training initiative to equip upcoming potential leaders with the skills they need to be exemplary leaders in the 21st Century.

The Rise of YTOPs is a leadership training specifically for 100 selected potential leaders at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife. This is an exclusive event designed to train top-notch individuals across the 13 faculties of the University.

PROJECT 100 is an intensive 15-week program focused on nurturing, breeding, training, raising, and empowering youth with advanced knowledge and skills, efficient and effective capacity every young leader should have to function effectively as the “LEADERS OF TOMORROW” by being ‘LEADERS TODAY”.

These leaders are given the title MENTOR-LEADER such that they are trained, and coached by top leaders in the leading industry firms and mentored intensively during this period and engaged in community development projects. They are projected as leaders who will raise and mentor other leaders in the present and coming generation

This will be a platform to explore new ideas through action research and project work, share best practices, and network with other great leaders. We believe that this gathering of leaders will be invaluable in helping us shape the future of society as they will be fit enough to be leaders and representatives of the country and themselves locally, globally, and internationally.

The programme would cover a variety of topics, including leadership challenges and weaknesses, personal development approaches and methods, career development and advancement, the value of having an effective mentor, networking strategies, and much more. Leaders would be taught what leadership entails, how to form a workable and productive team, and how to take charge as change-makers, using their voice, skills, and innovation to project positive change for the betterment of society, with the help of a strategic coaching method from the top players of leading industries in Nigeria.

Participants in the programme receive group coaching, and also complete community projects and activities to put what they have learned into practise. After the program, each participant is connected to a top player in their field of interest.

YTOP Global (an acronym for Young, Talented, Optimistic, and Full of Potential) is a youth-led non-governmental organisation passionate about developing the competence of youths to make a sustainable impact that is geared towards SDG solutions. She registered as a corporate body under the Corporate Affairs Commission as the YTOP YOUTH EMPOWERMENT FOUNDATION with the Registration Code: RC179444.

YTOP Global, as an organisation that works on youth development believes that everyone has talents and is filled with potential, and if given a platform to learn, share, collaborate, and explore, goals will be easily achieved. YTOP Global is created to influence teenagers and youths positively, enhance self- and purpose-discovery, and channel discovered abilities into proper and efficient use.

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THE STRUGGLES OF A GIRL CHILD

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The Girl Child is a biological female offspring from birth to the period before one becomes a young adult. During this period, the girl child is malleable, she has to build and develop her personality and character. She is dependent on significant others on whom she moulds her behaviour through observation, repetition and imitation.

 

In our society today, the Girl Child is seen as the lesser and weaker of the two beings of the human species. The Girl Child is not only being considered the lesser of the human species but is also neglected. The Girl Child struggles to survive and be heard in the society because boys are given preferential treatment over her. She is discriminated against in access to educational opportunities, food and nutrition.

 

The Girl Child is prone to being victim of so many social vices. She is prone to rape, early marriage which interferes with her education or acquisition of skills needed for survival, poor nutrition which contributes to greater vulnerability to diseases and poor physical and mental development. She is prone to a greater risk of prostitution, child labour, unwanted pregnancy, kidnapping and human trafficking.

 

There is an adage that says ” educate a man, you educate an individual, but educate a woman, you educate a nation”.

Children are future leaders of tomorrow and mothers are guardians of the future, the first aim of every family and society should be to raise healthy and productive individuals who are physically, psychologically, socially and mentally well developed. This can be achieved through the education of the girl child who is the mother of tomorrow.

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A girl child who is neglected, exposed to all forms of social vices and denied education cannot raise a nation because she is helpless herself. Beliefs must be changed about the value of the girl child. Rapid economic development is dependent on the elimination of gender bias. Parents have an important role in helping the female child achieve the basic necessities of survival and development.

 

The Girl Child suffers from inequality. Her voice is not allowed to be heard because society has placed so much importance on the boy child so much so that the girl child is viewed as not being able to contribute to the growth and development of the society. More resources are allocated to the boy child than the girl child. Most people believe that political positions should not be given to the girl child due to the stereotypical opinion that women are incapable of leadership. Government must focus more resources on reducing the inequalities between boys and girls, change discriminatory laws and establish political stability.

 

This is where the United Nations comes in with the International Day of the Girl Child. The United Nations recognized October 11th to be the International Day for the Girl Child in December 2012. It’s been ten years already.

 

The International Day of the Girl Child is celebrated on October 11 to raise awareness of girls’ rights and the particular difficulties they encounter around the world.

 

It was the thought that girls had no place in school and no say in important policies affecting the whole of humanity that brought about the need for awareness.

 

As we celebrate today, we see that with tenacity and resilience, there has been increased attention on issues that matters to the girl child amongst government, policy makers and the general public. More opportunities have been created for the Girl Child to have her voice heard on the global stage.

 

More work still needs to be done but we need to reflect on ourselves. What do you think You as an individual, are doing that harms the Girl Child? What are you doing to enhance the development of the Girl Child?

 

The answers to these questions would determine if you support the girl child or if you are against it. The feminine gender is strong, and can do more if given the chances and opportunities.

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YTOP and Friends day 1 beep

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A lot of questions were asked and the responses were power-packed. 

Kudos to our Host and Co-host: Ayopelumi and Oladepo Praise and to our panelists: Tolulope Oguntayo, Oyediran Samuel, Stella Arowolo, and Ekundayo Oluwadamilare for the beautiful sections. 

The virtual class kicks off with Ayopelumi talking about how the origin of the topic came to be. She said the inspiration for the topic was brought about by the global strike affecting the university student and what would be the next step to make things happen and to make young minds like you and I have relevance in this evolving world. 

She continued the segment by asking our panelists her first question. 

QUESTION: How will you define purpose and how has purpose helped you develop your global relevance so far? 

Tolulope Oguntayo answered the question first saying “ I am a Christian and I would relate the definition of purpose to Christianity.” 

She continued by saying Purpose discovery can be found in and outside God, he has deposited your purpose inside you and it’s left to you to discover it.

 She ended her answer by advising young minds not to mix purpose with career because discovering your purpose comes with clarity and clarity has helped her achieve her purpose. 

Ekundayo Oluwadamilare continued from where she stopped by also mentioning God. 

Saying “I asked God why I was here on earth?” He stated that God made him focus on the right thing. 

He ended by saying purpose discovery lets you do the right thing. 

Ayopelumi the Host continued from there and asked the second question. 

QUESTION: How do you manage your time with purpose discovery? 

Arowolo Stella answered the question joyfully saying “Doing the right things that align to your purpose helps you do the right thing and manage your time rightly.” 

She stated that once you don’t know your purpose, you won’t be able to manage your time. 

Oyediran Samuel continued from where she stopped saying “Time management depends on self-discipline.”

He further stated that you can manage your time well by making use of TRELLO (Trello is a project management app) for your task and setting an alarm to back it up, you can also make notes of your schedule for the following day because that will make you prioritize and help you filter out the relevant task and the ones that aren’t relevant. 

He ended by saying “When you grow, you lose friends, and don’t be worried as the friends you lose are not aligned with your purpose.” 

Ayopelumi continued by asking another interesting question. 

QUESTION: Tell us about competence development, the things you are doing in developing competence, how you have been developing competence, and how this has influenced you. 

Ekundayo Oluwadamilare started by saying “Competence Development is Capacity Development, Capacity Development is Personal Development.” 

He continued by saying “Responsibility will stretch out your potential; Get yourself doing something productive.”

Ekundayo ended it all by saying he took up responsibility and initiative from people, which has helped him discover his global relevance. 

Tolulope Oguntayo picked up from there by saying “ Have it at the back of your mind that learning never ends.  If you are doing something and you are getting fired then you need to go back to the place of learning.”

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She further stated that “In building global competence you should understand that learning never ends.” If you see people in your field doing perfectly well and you want to achieve the same, you have to ask yourself, do they stop learning? So never stop learning. 

She ended by saying In competence building you have to learn to check yourself, If you want to build your competence, you must know how to make research. 

Samuel Oyediran also has something to say, he said: “Skills are not the certificate you get but the ability to do a work the right way.”

He continued by saying your skills are the professional expertise that will bring out your Global Relevance and if you want to develop global relevance, you need to know what you want. 

When Samuel was asked about how he developed his Global Relevance, he said and I quote “I don’t joke with networking, any program I join I make sure I have something to offer.”

He also backed what Tolulope Oguntayo said by saying “never stop learning if you want to develop your global relevance.”

He further stated that youths should focus on the process of Competence Development because the process is like a map and you must have a track record first. 

He ended by saying “Know what you want in this world, though you will be used but it will be your strength.” 

Oladepo Praise the Co-host continued from there by asking a powerful question. 

QUESTION: What are the pot-holes to avoid in building competence? 

Tolulope Oguntayo made a straight answer saying “Avoid pressure as you go into the Global Relevance”

I agree with her and I believe with how things her in this world, we should avoid pressure. 

Oladepo praise forwards her next question to Ekundayo Oluwadamilare. 

Question: What are your definition of friendship and the effect of a relationship in building an impactful life? 

Ekundayo Oluwadamilare answered by saying “Friendship is coming together of like minds that have the same alignment of work and doings” 

He further stated by supporting Samuel on his point which says “you tend to lose your friends as you grow” but be rest assured that it’s a major thing of growth as the friends you lose do not align with your work and doings. 

Oladepo praise directed her 3rd question to Oyediran Samuel.

Question: Impact of environment on Global Relevance. 

Oyediran Samuel answered by saying “Environment matters and what you see matters. You need to see the bigger picture in any environment you find yourself. 

Oladepo praise asked Stella Arowolo another question. 

QUESTION: For Introverts, what advice do you have for them in developing global relevance? 

Stella Arowolo said and I quote “Attract value to yourself because value attracts value.” 

She further stated that value is never silent and there is always a platform for you to explore what you are doing for people to discover you even as an introvert. 

With that, we came to the end of the panelist questions and answers segment, and the floor was opened for the participant to ask their questions. 

Participants asked a lot of questions and they got their responses. Among the participant, we have Peter Adeleke’s question. 

Question: How do you decide what to focus on as a multitalented person? 

Ekundayo Oluwadamilare responded by saying “You need to build competence and strength first on a major thing then you pick one at a time to further develop yourself.” 

Tolulope Oguntayo added saying “You can decide what to focus on by making use of the necessity and important analysis.” 

With that, we came to the end of day one and I believe you agree with me you missed a lot if you were not part of us. 

The program continues tomorrow, another chance to join our panelists and bring those questions you have about Global Relevance. 

Same time, the same place. See you soon. 

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Twelve proven methods to overcome psychological stress on the journey to self-discovery

by with 3 Comments Personal Development

The road to self-discovery is tasking and can get stressful and frustrating. How, when, where, and what kept popping up in the brain and heart. It gets more worrying when there is no proven success on how much you have worked.

Every man has a specified purpose in various sectors in our world today. Annually, more people graduate from school and don’t even know which direction to go outside the school community, hence the stress of where to begin their lives.

Stress is a common word every youth says indirectly as, “I don’t know what to do.” Or “I don’t know where to start from.” Or “I feel frustrated about everything. “. This stress gets even worse with a lack of resources materially or financially. The six-lettered word, stress, can affect man psychologically, thereby bringing about confusion, anxiety, and depression. Meanwhile, some stress is not avoidable, but it can be managed.

 Today, the most common stress is money, work, and poor health and statistics by the American Institute of Stress, about 33% of the world population suffers from work stress, what to do, or what they are doing presently, and about 77 percent of those stressed experience a decline in physical health.

 

Now the purpose here is not to scare you but to help you realize a better way to manage yourself wherever you are either you are just starting the journey of self-discovery as a fresh graduate, and you have been on the journey for a while.

1.       Take your time; the first mistake most people make on this journey is that they rush into whatever they can do with the motive of making enough money and living a comfortable life. Now, taking your time is different from wasting your time.   During this period, you want to know who you are, what you do to the best of your abilities and efforts, and what makes you happy. You give yourself to understand, observe and develop yourself to solve societal problems. Medically, meditation is encouraged because it’s a period where you can be calm. The moment of calmness is the ability to think clearly. Amidst the chaos, demands, troubles, and economic situation,  take your time reviewing the pros and cons.

 

2.       Identify your stressor; a stressor could be a person, place, or situation, and stress could be a combination of any. After taking your time to meditate, settle down to identify why, how, when, and what gets you stressed out. Answering these questions would help you get a better understanding of your personality.  

 

 

3.       Schedule your worry: Yes, you can schedule your worries at a specific time of the day. It is similar to a to-do list you strictly implement into your day-to-day activities and helps you focus on solving one problem at a time and help place priorities.

 

4.       Take a step at a time; resist that part of you that seeks to accomplish multiple tasks within the same time frame. It is the reason the majority feel so stressed as they focus on many problems together.  After you schedule your worries, solve them one at a time to reduce how much you stress and help you accomplish more than you imagined in a shorter time frame. A great nation was not built in a day.

 

5.       Set limits: cutting off unnecessary visits or journeys, eating unnecessarily, wasting resources,  buying unnecessary stuff, and more could help reduce mental stress. On the journey of self-discovery, discipline is required, that is, setting limits on what you want and focusing from what you want to what you need. Setting priorities right would help reduce stress psychologically.

 

6.       Develop a hobby; be it playing games, strolling, chatting with friends, and more, develop a hobby that takes your mind off your troubles. Interestingly, every game on the Web today has an advantage for the brain, for example,  candy crush is a game that tests your patience and persistence, watercolor sort helps you in problem-solving, and 2047 helps you helps to test your level of concentration, exercising relaxes you. Whenever you feel overwhelmed,  take a break from work to help the brain cool off and keep a clear mind.

 

7.       Learn to ask for help;  I understand that you have been refused many times and have developed this independent mindset that you can do everything on your own. This is where the importance of association has emphasized the type of people you keep in your association, what your association offers positively from the friendship factor, what you gain or give to your association, and who your mentor or role model is. No man is an island.

 

8.       Have an open mind to learn and unlearn: On the journey of self-discovery,  you need to be open-minded and flexible. The journey is not about what you know in-depth but a time for you to learn new things and become a better individual.  Keep your mind open and seek opportunities to learn new things every day. Being open-minded helps keep a clear mind towards achieving your goals because an outdated individual who cannot meet the positive changes of time gets outdated in society.

 

9.       Journal your track record; I understand that keeping up with your set goal can be overwhelming and hard sometimes, but you can reduce the stress by keeping a journal or a calendar to record how close you are to achieving that goal. You compare what you have done to what you are yet to do and plan. This is not to stress you but to know how well you are doing. Not having a comparable record result in mental stress most of the time.

 

10.   Refuse to be compared: on the journey of self-discovery,  you are to discover who you are, not what the people around you want or what they see. Resist living the illusion people create about you. When you determine what you want to be, how to go about it becomes clearer and having a defined goal and imagery of yourself helps you work towards achievement.

 

11.   Build your self-esteem; the common saying, “the way you dress determines how you are addressed,” is not about dressing in a typical sense but about your composure to your goals and responsibilities. Being wealthy with low self-esteem is no different from a mediocre.   In our world today, your self-esteem defines how you view yourself. Take time building your self-esteem and confidence in who you are and want to be.

 

12.   Change your perspective; your mindset determines your approach. A change in your perspective would help to see things differently and approach a situation Skillful and vice versa. Take part in self-talk, read positive books, watch positive videos, and engage in productive activities.

 

 

One or two of the methods listed above are probably missing when you are seeking what to do in meeting ends means. Search through and ask yourself which is missing and engage it productively and you’ll be amazed how much progress you make on your journey to self-discovery

WHAT PERSEVERANCE IS ALL ABOUT

by with 4 Comments Career Developmenmt

Each of us thrives on achievement, and in doing so, we frequently overlook the challenges that lie ahead. We pen down our goals and want to fulfill them immediately, but we are only human, so we may fall short. Failure at the start might cause frustration and damage your self-confidence. You may be tempted to abandon your ambitions because you do not believe you will ever achieve your goals.

Despite common opinion, success is not a one-way street or a straight line. It’s a winding road with many ups and downs, and you should proceed with caution. You may trip or become disoriented. If you keep going, however, you will eventually arrive at your target. In other words, Persevere.

Perseverance is defined as sticking to a plan of action despite obstacles, without succumbing to discouragement, opposition, or previous failure. It means sticking to your goals and not giving up no matter the obstacle, you have to face it.

Perseverance is a characteristic that is required to instill one of the most important soft skills in the development of individuals: interpersonal relationships. This quality enhances basic communication abilities. Distinct people have different characteristics, personalities, attitudes, and ideas in the world. Some people are calm and composed, while others are impatient and irritable; dealing with them all requires effort. You can’t expect everyone to be on your side and agree with you, so you’ll have to be patient.

IMPORTANCE OF PERSEVERANCE

Perseverance is crucial as well as important, its sole aim is to make you succeed if you are persistent and ready for change. It will push you to a limit and you will learn things from it.

  1. Employers reward endurance in their employees because they require people who can work through difficult situations while remaining calm.
  2. Success requires perseverance. Never give up if you want to succeed. There is no one-way street to success. It’s a journey; you succeed at times and fail at others. Your failure may break your hope and confidence, but it will not prevent you from succeeding. You may figure it out in various ways; you may need to take a step back at times, but never give up. You must maintain a positive attitude even if you do not believe you are advancing or thriving as you would like. When presented with a challenge, keep your eyes on your goals and recall why you started and how you got through difficult times in the first place.
  3. Perseverance boosts your motivation, leads to amazing discoveries, and broadens your understanding of your aims and ambitions. Your efforts will undoubtedly pay off. Quitters are never winners, and winners are never quitters.
  1. Mastery comes through perseverance. The more you try and pursue something, the better you will get at it. Over time, your efforts can lead to mastery. To obtain quality, you must make use of the resources available to you.
  2. Perseverance is a quality that promotes progress. One who perseveres develops essential attributes as a result of their abilities. Giving up is our greatest weakness. The most guaranteed way to succeed is to give it another shot.

FIVE REAL-LIFE PERSEVERANCE EXAMPLES

1. Muhammad Ali

Everyone is aware of the fantastic Muhammad Ali, When preparing for battles, he would push himself to the limit and refuse to give up when things got tough. This distinguishing feature is what made him a boxing legend.

2. J. K. Rowling

The bestselling author of the Harry Potter series, struggled to finish her first draft. Her novel was rejected by a number of agents once it was finished. She did not, however, quit up. She eventually found someone who would take her on. Her agent quickly found a publisher, and her works went on to become international bestsellers that have been adapted into a number of blockbuster films. She is now one of the world’s wealthiest women.

3. Albert Einstein

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Although Albert Einstein’s name is now almost solely connected with genius, he was not considered a promising scholar when he was young. His parents and school began to believe he was mentally challenged and socially uncomfortable because he did not speak until he was four years old and did not read until he was seven. After being expelled from school, Einstein was denied admission to Zurich Polytechnic School.

4. Walt Disney

For nearly a century, Walt Disney has amused children all around the world and built a multibillion-dollar marketing empire. Mr. Disney’s first employment at the Kansas City Star was terminated because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” Years later, with the purchase of parent company ABC, the Walt Disney Company acquired the Kansas City Star in an ironic turn of events.

5. Thomas Edison

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The innovator, who was considered unteachable as a child, revolutionized the world with his development of the electric light-bulb. Edison explored nearly 1,000 ways he couldn’t make a light bulb before this tremendous achievement.

BENEFITS OF PERSEVERANCE

In the end a lot is gained from perseverance, it will not let you down if you use it wisely.

  1. Perseverance helps you to be patient. Patience is not a skill, it is developed, perseverance helps you to develop patience.  It makes you trustworthy because people will be able to depend on you to hold your forte when in troubling circumstances. Perseverance increases your value. It builds up your self worth. Perseverance is a result of our habits. The more you overcome your fears and challenges the more resilient you become. When the world tells you to quit, hope whispers to keep trying one more time.

 

  1. Perseverance helps to mitigate crisis, it teaches you to focus on the solution to a crisis and not the problem. Perseverance takes you out of your comfort zone , helps you to focus on your goals.

 

Perseverance helps you to face your fears and build up your courage. It increases hope for a better tomorrow and strength in you.

FIVE BOOKS ON PERSEVERANCE

Widen your knowledge about perseverance as it will help in helping you control it and use it to your fullest potential. 

1. Finding Chika by Mitch Albom

The Liars’ Club and The Art of Memoir author Mary Karr Tuesdays by the #1 New York Times bestselling author Mitch Albom’s most personal story to date, Morrie, is an intimate and heartwarming memoir about what it means to be a family and the young Haitian orphan whose short life changed his heart forever

2. Drop the Ball by Tiffany Dufu

A daring and inspiring memoir and manifesto from a well-known voice in the women’s leadership movement that teaches women how to cultivate the one skill they really need to thrive: the ability to let go.

3. Mindset by Carol Dweck

Dweck discusses the fundamental difference between development and fixed mindsets in simple terms. These beliefs have far-reaching repercussions. She, too, builds her arguments on sound research while demonstrating how we may change our beliefs.

4. 30 Devotions for Faith that Moves Mountains by Unknown

It could mean one thing to you and another to your friend, colleague, or family member, depending on your current circumstances. You may not be going through any difficulties right now, but rest assured, they will come. If there is one universal truth, it is that life is unconcerned about who you are. It causes suffering to everyone.

5. Kaizen by Sarah Harvey

This is a great book that discusses how the Japanese approach to improvement is steady and incremental.

It delves into the philosophy’s cultural roots before demonstrating how we might apply it to our own lives.

TIPS TO PERSEVERING

You might lose hope while trying to achieve your goals, therefore in persevering;

  1. You need to be self disciplined.
  2. You need to believe in yourself.
  3. Have a strong mindset towards success and be optimistic.
  4. You need to develop a growth mindset.
  5. Think about your goals and remember how you pulled through trying times from the onset.

Polishing and improving yourself as an individual takes time and effort, so you require perseverance to do so. So while you might feel lost and want to give up, you have to remember that it is all for a good course. Remain focused and you will surely achieve.

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WHAT DO OTHER PEOPLE AROUND YOU PERCEIVE AS YOUR PERSONALITY?

by with 3 Comments Personal Development
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The word ‘intentional’ means done on purpose and deliberate. Intentional highlights our goal to continue growing. It acts as a compass for our personal development.

According to Wikipedia, “Personal development consists of activities that develop a person’s capabilities and potential, build human capital, facilitate employability, and enhance the quality of life and the realization of dreams and aspirations.” Personal development can also include developing other people’s skills and personalities.

In your absence, what can people say about you? Have you asked your friends or close relative what they think about you? How well are you building your reputation?

One way to do that is to be proactive about developing your brand.

One of the student we met during our outreach to The Apostolic Grammar School, Modakeke, Ile-Ife, Osun state, who was a sculptor and realized he had been working for a long time and had started making sales

Personal branding is the effort to communicate and present your value to the world. Your brand is how others perceive you. Gary Vaynerchuk (An Entrepreneur) notes in his article (2019) about personal branding, “Your personal brand is your reputation. And your reputation in perpetuity is the foundation of your career.” In his article, Vaynerchuk notes, “You can’t have ‘multiple personalities’ for business, family, and everything else. You are who you are now, in this world.”

You must make sure you are conveying who you are with clear, consistent messaging.

Unless people know you personally, what people think, feel and, in turn, say about you is based on how they see you from afar or what they find online. When developing your brand, it is essential to be you.


Be aware that your brand is what people think of you, not what you think of yourself.

Our self-perception always differs from how others see us. Lyons stated that “people will judge you based on the results you deliver, not on what you promise to deliver, so be sure to articulate your value in concrete terms”.
Lyons identified four elements of a personal brand: Appearance, Personality, Competencies and Differentiation.

If the idea of developing a personal brand is daunting or uncomfortable, keep this last point in mind: “Every single one of us has an unfair advantage because we are all unique.”

Do you find this helpful? Then you should share.

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3 WAYS TO TAKE YOUR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT JOURNEY PERSONAL

by with 8 Comments Personal Development

A lot of times we fail to understand what personal development really is and just copy what other people we like are doing. Whereas you are unique and your combination of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are different compared to other people.

 

Have you ever wondered how siblings who grew up in the same environment, with the same parents and near-equal opportunities have different personalities? This is because aside from their environment, their biology is also a major determinant of how they will perceive things and interpret situations.

 

This is what developmental psychologists and human development professionals will call nature vs nurture. You cannot overlook the effect of your nature (genetics) and the environment you grew up in which includes the people you’ve interacted with up till now, the words you’ve heard, the places you’ve been to, the ideologies that have formed your mindset, and every other external influences that have contributed to making you.

 

This is why you are unique and why you should take your personal development journey personal because it is personal. No one can understand how you feel even if they say so, they might have a clue but not feel the same way. So how can you take your personal development journey personal?

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1. Take a personality test to understand your personality: different personality tests exist on the internet such as the Myers and Briggs 16 personality types, DISC and Big Five. A personality test helps you understand why you do things the way you do them also gives you a glimpse into how you relate with people and jobs/careers that fit you. Your personality is truly not a permanent stamp on you. With a test, you know more about your strengths to make plans on getting better.

Don’t focus on your weaknesses too much because the more you work on your strengths, the smaller your weaknesses look. For example, if you are a shy person and one of your strengths is offering hope and encouragement to people. When you start working on reaching out to people, your shyness will diminish with time.

2. Draw out a personal plan for yourself: the personal development journey is indeed a lifetime journey and your life is also time-based. So it is always advisable to draw out a career, financial and any other personal plan for yourself while still keeping an open mind. How do you make this plan?

Write a list of things you need to know as a professional in what you do by doing a thorough research and looking out for interview sessions of people you admire when they share their stories. This plan will serve as a guide and help you stay on track.

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For example, if you are studying to be an accountant. As an accountant, you need to have certain professional knowledge and certifications. Draw out a plan on how you want to achieve them. Maybe you will take one or two certifications yearly, then read books in and outside your field monthly or quarterly. You also need to attend events and network with people, which means your plan should include the number of events you’ll attend, where you’ll find them (eventbrite is a good source) and how often you’ll attend these events.

Your plan can be for 6 months, 1 year, 5 years or a decade. What is most important is that you draw out an evaluation plan in the course of that duration. For a 1 year plan, you can review it quarterly or monthly to know how much you’ve achieved, note the challenges and how you overcame and other important details that will help you in the future.

3. Celebrate yourself as you progress: let’s say you are working on your interpersonal skills and you successful had a conversation with someone for the first time, it’s ok to celebrate that. Celebrate your small wins because it is the little things that make up the big things.

Ensure that as much as you have role models, don’t compare yourself with anyone or beat yourself down because someone achieved something earlier than you did. You are a unique person and what matters in growth and development is a change in comparison to who you were yesterday.

Cheers to a bigger you!

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5 KEYS TO GETTING BETTER IN YOUR TALENT DEVELOPMENT JOURNEY

by with 20 Comments Career Developmenmt

Talent development is a big deal and talents are natural gifts within every human given to make life easier and foster collaboration.

For example, if you are talented in writing and another person has a talent in music, you can easily write songs for the singer. In essence, talents are not meant to serve as a source of competition but a source of complementing each other and getting better as we collaborate for change.

Talent is like an ore that has to be discovered, mined and refined before it is fit for use. And the more refined metal is, the greater purpose it can serve. This also applies to your talents.

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As much as talent discovery is essential, it is only through talent development that you can make your gift more useful.

So the question is, how do you develop your talents?

1. Identify people who have similar talents as you do and try to know their history: it is easy to get carried away by the prowess of writers like Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka and to fall in love with Simi’s voice and Chike’s talent. But there is a history behind beautiful talents. There are moments of practice and conscious learning that everybody does not know about. You should find out about this and not just love your role models, learn their history.


2. Do thorough research on what it takes to be a master in your talent and draw out a plan on how to achieve it: the best way to describe this is knowing where you are going, identifying what you need to do to get there and give it all it takes to reach that goal. No journey is easy but when you know what to do at every junction, the journey is easier.

3. Understand the place of time in talent development: like the old saying goes “Rome was not built in a day.” You might not have to go through the tough times others went through, you may have learned about the pitfalls to avoid and the things you need to do but understand that time is an essential factor in talent development. It might take you 6 years to become a better writer while another person will start publishing books after 6 months of conscious learning and practice. So before you compare yourself with others, identify what they are doing differently, and give yourself time. No need to rush.

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4. Understand that you are unique: there’s a saying that “life is a race and you should focus on your lane”. Avoid unhealthy competition with others. You are built differently, your personality, environment, background and many other factors are different. This is why you shouldn’t beat yourself down because someone who is your age is doing ‘better. That will be unhealthy competition. The best competition on your journey of talent development is who you were yesterday versus who you are today. Do a consistent evaluation of your capabilities periodically and see how you are improving and what you need to do better. At the end of the day, what matters in your talent development journey is you getting better at what you do every day.

5. Relax, make new friends and enjoy life: as much as you want to focus on your talent development, you should understand that the essence of life is living. Avoid the urge to become a workaholic. Take time to play, relax, attend events, read a novel or see a movie. These relaxing activities help your brain rest and can also help improve your thinking skills as you have conversations with people and analyze what you read or see.

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