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The Winner Of N100k For The 21-Day Challenge Is…..

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Becky Peleowo! We had a peer review to select the winner of our creative assignment for the 21-day challenge on 7/01/2024 with the following criteria. i. No self-nomination ii. Nominate 2 ONLY and explain why they deserve the prize. iii. A tie will be broken by the publisher. After the contributions and nominations by some members of the community, Becky Peleowo and Victor Oladejo tied at 3 nominations each. Immigrants of the Turbulent Waters is a thought-provoking project that demonstrates Becky’s versatility as well as a testament to her progress in creating rich media content. Dear Netizens embodies Victor’s talent as a creative and its captivating cover image shows that our mantra of stacking up digital skills has been embraced by this young writer. As we agreed, the community will strive to reward the best works instead of paying out tokens to encourage everyone. Hopefully, we will start rewarding our intellect with millions of naira soon enough. To break the tie I considered participation and other factors but I will summarise my assessment by paraphrasing the honest appraisal of one of us. “Becky — I noticed that she attended the pre-21-day challenge meetings on Sundays and this helped her in chronicling her work. From her work, she worked on a vocalised poem and attended a skill acquisition which is a testament to her judicious use of time”  “Victor —  I like the fact that he listened to the advice to reduce his unproductive time on Twitter and created a work on Netizens. Hopefully, his next digital project will involve more forms of media production” The projects by Solomon Ekoja and Oluwaseun Osanyinro were equally good. We can be proud that our writers can now create multimedia content. It shows we have come of age. The baby step taken in 2020 has developed into adult strides that will eventually become giant leaps. The 21-day challenge will be a recurring fixture because it will form part of a digital product I’m developing. As we already know, the best part of our journey together is yet to come. By the end of January, we will meet again to chart the path for 2024 starting with our Book In A Year challenge which commenced in June 2023. I thank everyone for their support especially those who participated in this challenge. I’m fulfilled that we learned a thing or two. I also use this opportunity to appeal for more participation from our community. Happy New Year!

Blog, Lifestyle

Creative Assignment: For The 21 Day Challenge And N100k

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The 21-Day Challenge will form part of a product I’m developing for digital natives who wish to improve their online productivity. So it is proper to finish up with an assignment that reflects the learning outcome.  For the N100k cash prize, draw from your journal and create a digital product of your choice. Then write a commentary explaining; 1. Why you chose the product and the method/approach used to create it. 2. What you learned in 21 days and areas that could be improved. The word count is (750 )± 10%, preferably in Google Docs. Submit via email to admin@cmonionline.com on or before Wednesday 20/12/2023 at 11:59 pm.

Blog, Lifestyle

Your pathway to online productivity.: Disappear For 21 Days.

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Week 1: Welcome to our first meeting. I’m a stickler for punctuality but I usually give 10 minutes because we all know the frustrations with Nigerian networks. So after 10 minutes, we started with Becky Peleowo and Solomon Ekoja. The attendance was good enough for me to unpack my points without any feeling of disappointment. I’m experienced enough to know that doubts often follow disappointments. It is even more so in the early stages. Your response should be to hang in there with self-belief because you are creating value to build something bigger than yourself. The disappointment and doubts will eventually form an interesting part of your success story. So I thanked them for accepting the challenge and turning up. Now let’s dive in. I’m excited about this self-development step of having better control of your time. If you have been following my writing, you will know I’m interested in skills capabilities development with writing as the crucible. I develop compelling content including but not limited to articles that not only inform but also provoke thought and discourse. It’s a burgeoning passion fueled by the desire to give back to society. Before now, I wrote sociopolitical commentaries mostly on Facebook — arguably a complete waste of time. I could write multiple posts daily. It’s easy. I introduce the topic, smack down opposing views, then present my take and conclude. That’s it. Post done and arguments ensue! But if I have to be published in a newspaper — perhaps a worthwhile venture —  I take my time to research the topic, review the background, argue for and against it, and analyse the different perspectives before concluding with my opinion/suggestions. It’s a skill I learned in my Cardiff days studying Political Communication. It’s also a better way of articulating my thoughts in a more comprehensible manner. However, I decided to move on to scalable writing, investing my resources in building digital communities for knowledge acquisition that will enhance the productivity of our teeming youths. I no longer fall for cheap dopamine and the vacuous validation of uncritical minds. Now I derive real enduring pleasure in reading stories from writers in our growing community, in seeing their enthusiasm as we chat during Talkshops and in the vision I have for younger people to be more productive by creating solutions that add value. The cmonionline essay competition was a baby step I took during the pandemic lockdown of 2020 to improve the waning literary culture in Nigeria. Through repetitions and iterations, we developed consistency in writing and we keep growing. Already a member of our community Oluwaseun Osanyinro has published a book and more members will evolve into published authors at the end of our current “A Book In A Year” project.  We are also evolving into digital creators, educators and multiple solution providers as we acquire practicable digital skills through various e-tivities. It’s a process, and even though progress may appear slow now, I am certain the tune will be different sooner than later. By embarking on this journey we will reduce the distractions in a fast-paced world and increase our focus which of course is essential for improved productivity. During our meeting, I narrated my Facebook story which informed this challenge. I also shared my experience with Communities Of Practice, a module in my post-graduate studies at UCC which exposed me to the importance of group work and collaboration. Future write-ups will have these stories but for now, let’s focus on what we can start doing. Much of what we have to do in 21 days is in the text you read. In between we will meet thrice to discuss and learn on Sundays 19/11/2023, 26/11/2023 & 03/12/2023. If you haven’t read the post please find time to read it here. Let me repeat number 6 which will form the basis of the final creative project that will win the 100k prize. Journal: Finally, get a notepad/diary, traditional or digital and write down your daily routine/experience. As hard as it may seem, endeavour to write some words each morning. 100, 200 or more words will do as the following 3 weeks may well prove to be a turning point. And what better way to appreciate it than to record it for possible systemisation, productisation and monetisation! ACTIONABLE TIPS: You can start doing any or all of the following that require zero capital. 1. Create a routine if you don’t have one already. If your routine is based on your current job you need to modify it to integrate your aspirations. Don’t spend all your time working to achieve another person’s goal. 2. Start sanitising your social media TL Follow those who post value and your interests. Interact, engage. Social media is a mirror that works on algorithms. Your input determines your output. I follow and unfollow people daily. If you constantly tweet values like writing and other skills I’ll follow you. If you repeatedly tweet frivolities like betting and porn I will unfollow you. Read this post to understand more. 3. Use a reminder to think twice before you act online. eg I have a stop sign as my screensaver. It reminds me to stop engaging in frivolities when I pick up my phone. 4. Start creating online. I’ve written about this here. The creator economy is huge and guess what? It requires zero capital to start. You only need digital skills. There are tons of free and affordable knowledge tutors to learn from. Podcasts, YouTube videos, courses etc. 5. Use tools that aid your consistency. eg I use Buffer to schedule my posts every Sunday. If I’m driving or sleeping my scheduled posts are uploaded. You can start with free versions of these tools till you feel the need to upgrade. 6. Start learning a new skill or something. As you would expect I recommend writing ie if you are not writing already. But there are many other skills, especially digital skills to learn for free. Email and social media marketing, graphic design, copywriting, public

Blog, FEATURES, Lifestyle

Success Journey XXV: Digital Holy Grail 

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Make friends over the internet with people who are great at things you’re interested in. The internet is one of the biggest advantages you have over prior generations. Leverage it.~ Patrick Collison Follow People Who Inspire You. In September 2022 after several Facebook restrictions, I decided to quit the platform since I’m not one to be gagged. I need my freedom to write and say whatever I want. Moreover, Facebook banter consumed a lot of my online time and I figured it should be channelled to more productive areas. By then I had built quite a sizeable audience there with a community of many real-life friends that I enjoyed chatting with, but every beginning must have an end because change is constant. I had to challenge myself on what has become an addiction and I also needed to build elsewhere (on Twitter) for reasons I stated earlier here. I did quit. But that was till Messi lifted the World Cup in December. Having jumped back in, I had to stay on for the 2023 presidential election campaigns. But in January I decided to leave once the campaign was over. At least till I establish a stable source of income in Euros so that when and if I return, I’ll be in better control of my activities there. There’s definitely no way I’ll spend income-earning time on social media. Long story short I quit again. My last post was on 31st March 2023. And while I still engaged on Twitter, the lengthy political back and forth was largely absent because I had little personal relationship with most of my followers on the app. It was there I came across @Dankoe and others who have helped shape my writing and productivity. To be clear, there is absolutely no rocket science in what these guys tweet. But what attracted me to Koe particularly was his unique style of point-blank, almost narcissistic manner of lacing valuable philosophical and productive words together. He’s a man on a mission and really worth following. I set my Twitter notification for ALL his tweets, started reading his newsletters and gulped down every episode of his podcast. Now if I close my eyes and you read out his tweet I will tell you it’s Dan Koe. The one thing you can do is to follow those that inspire you. It’s not necessarily about what products or services they have to offer. Actually, some of them have no service or product to sell to you. Their products/services are those inspirational words/actions they offer for free. For instance, I haven’t paid for any of Dan Koe’s courses. Why? Because I know what to do but haven’t been consistent in doing it till NOW. It will be different for a beginner though. I mean I have over 2 decades of experience in business. Many of his concepts are not new to me. But I hear him now and the next thing I’m off to the gym to condition my body and empty my mind. Or I read his tweet and one line hits. I’ll go back to a story draft that resonates with the line to develop it further just like I’m doing right now. Don’t follow people because the digital platform allows them to give themselves the title “influencer”. A lot of them are influencing rubbish! Follow those who truly inspire you with the value they dish out regularly. It doesn’t matter whether or not they follow you back. If your messages start resonating with them, they will reciprocate. The journey toward improved productivity begins with writing, which is why our writing community was birthed in 2020. So in appreciation of the camaraderie and support, we have received so far I want to put these 3 points on marble to serve as your Holy Grail. Get your own domain. I have repeatedly said this and it gets easier each day. There are loads of alternatives to Medium like Substack, LinkedIn, Quora, etc. Curate your work and start building your platform. Write! Just do it! Don’t wait till there is a reward or competition. Reward yourself and inspire others by writing regularly. Stop worrying about the audience because you can’t have one without consistency. But if you write regularly, the audience will surely come. Share and engage. Sharing is caring they say and the icing is engagement. Learn and grow by supporting each other. Share ideas, resources, and publications. Engage each other and take advantage of this community. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. It is necessary to repeat this here; “Make friends over the internet with people who are great at things you’re interested in. The internet is one of the biggest advantages you have over prior generations. Leverage it.” You should see your online community as a team. The main characteristic of a team is that they are driven by a common interest/goal thus everyone has each other’s back. If there is a need for a volunteer, all hands should be raised. If we have no competition we should have 3..4..5 publications weekly from writers. If no one is leading 3..4..5 others should lead. Don’t believe the other person should do it when you can and should do it. It’s always easier when we support each other and activities in a community of practice are periodic so why shouldn’t you volunteer? Take a conscious decision to set and work towards targets. The worst gatekeeper is your monkey mind You can spend an hour worrying about a task that will take a minute to complete. Make an effort instead. Reduce overthinking and start acting! I’ll leave you with two seminal quotes. Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Day by day, and at the end of the day-if you live long enough-like most people, you will get out of life what you deserve. ~ Charlie Munger If you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to walk far, walk together. ~ Ratan Tata If you enjoyed this, please share it

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Your Values Become Your Destiny: A Book In A Year Month II

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Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny. ~ Mahatma Gandhi LEADERSHIP: As a growing boy, I perceived leadership from a limited political prism. I believe it was the same for most of us. My model leaders were Mandela, Azikiwe, Awo..Ahmadu bello..Lincoln..Churchill..Martin Luther King..Sankara etc But with maturity, I realised that we are all leaders. There are social..religious..traditional..educational groups where you can lead. We lead friends and we lead our families too. The most important leadership, however, is self-leadership. When you are able to influence your thoughts towards laudable objectives and act to achieve them you will likely want to encourage others to travel that path. And in doing that, you build other leaders. We cannot build our own future without helping others build theirs. ~ Bill Clinton To lead we must participate. That’s what leaders do. They don’t sit in the back row. No! They learn, grow, volunteer, contribute and inspire others. I urge everyone to lead. Don’t wait for me or the other person. This is a community for skill and knowledge acquisition. Share your thoughts, ideas, writings, resources, tips, jokes etc. PARTICIPATE & LEAD. There are millions of books out there on leadership but for the purpose of our community and what we want to achieve, I recommend Tribes by Seth Godin. If you can’t get hold of it now check out a wonderful summary here. It’s a small but powerful book. Seth’s words will spur you into passionately pursuing your goal and sharing it with others. Getting them to believe in you as well. There are noble ideas and causes around which we might organize. But to achieve them, we need to be out there, making things happen. We can do it if we refuse to live with the fear that we can’t. If we aren’t afraid of embarrassment or failure. MORE ON OUR VISION: I previously outlined our vision thus: To be the leading platform for FREE and AFFORDABLE digital skill acquisition. To this end, I have reached out to a friend who is an experienced academic, writer, communication expert and thoroughbred professional for a potential collaboration. Of course, we all know the meaning but as usual, let me illustrate with my experience. When the volume of submissions for our essay contest grew too large for me to handle alone, I sought assistance from a young Nigerian, Chukwuemeka Ibeh, a staff writer with Brittle Paper.Brittle Paper. I never met him in person but his work impressed me. The power of the written word! In any case, he was too busy so he recommended Daniel Ogah, another brilliant young writer. You all know the great work Daniel did assisting me before he took a break to focus on his studies. That’s the type of collaboration I want to engage in going forward. Whatever venture I build now must have a system that can be macro-managed remotely because I’m a traveller. I can’t afford to be physically rooted in one location and the internet makes it possible. If my friend gets on board we may be launching before the year winds or early next year and we will definitely need capable hands. So guys if you have WordPress skills get ready. If you wish to learn then ask and I will send resources. It’s easy and in a short time, you can be proficient. PLATFORM/AUDIENCE: I mentioned consistency and platform as requisite factors that will help us achieve our vision. Let me hammer a BIG POINT again. To build a platform you need to have a domain of your own. Please get an account with Medium, Substack or some other platform. If you have noticed I publish almost all my stories on Medium as well as cmonionline. You need a personal domain to publish. Please do this. I’m surprised that many of you haven’t done so. How difficult is it? Then get active on social media. Frankly, I can’t imagine what any serious person wants to achieve without this. We live online and mostly on social media. You don’t have to waste time like I did in the past..no be strategic. You can check out Buffer and similar tools that can help you manage your social media accounts. Social media is addictive so you need to be careful to maximise its use to your advantage. It took me many years of wasting precious time to realise this. These days even though I still chat nonsense at times I’m more conscious and deliberate with my posts. Now let me elaborate more on platform building using Twitter as an example. Those who know me well know I spent years on Facebook. I built a large following there mostly by writing about socio-political topics. But at a point, I realised I had to take a break for two reasons. 1. Because it was a time-consuming addiction and 2. It was time to build a brand by doing more productive and scalable writing that needed Twitter. I will return to Facebook later because my audience is still there. That’s the great thing about building an audience..you will have loyal readers who keep asking after you when you take a break. Those years of building will not go to waste. The leverage of that audience must be converted from potential to kinetic. But for now, I want to concentrate on Twitter. You may not know but Twitter isn’t exactly similar to Facebook even though both are basically for engagement and connecting with people. Twitter has some specific attributes that make it suitable for my intent. It had more of the demographic I sought. It offers a faster way to reach a wider audience. As writers, we want to excel and also get published. But that is half the job as we learned from Bolaji who spoke to us on this platform. Marketing your book requires the same effort as

Blog, FEATURES, Lifestyle

Success Journey XXVII: Why We Offer Free Training In Graphic Design.

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If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.~Albert Einstein Last year Cmonionline sponsored the training of 5 people in Graphic Design. Then I approached about 5 trainers but Geneza had the best customer relationship and also offered a generous discount in appreciation of our noble initiative. The 5 people trained last year have since moved on and we hope they are utilising the knowledge gained. This year we promised to train 10 writers but only 4 wrote in for the challenge and we have now paid for the training of the following four writers. Chukwuemeka Oluka: The Trajectory and Influence of Digital Technology in Graphic Design Becky Peleowo: Hidden Millionaire Faith Oyadiran: I Came To Win Emmanuel Enaku: Being The Boss I congratulate them and hope they not only benefit but also utilise this opportunity going forward. You can search the internet for the benefits of graphic design but let me quickly illustrate this using my experience. When I started publishing I was using stock photos from Google. You know with that there’s always the right of copyright infringement but we take these things for granted in Nigeria. I studied media law as a module during my master’s, so I’m aware such things shouldn’t be taken for granted where I now reside. I had to use original graphics. On inquiry, I was introduced to a handful of designers and after trying them out I settled for Chuks because his designs creatively appealed to me a lot more. Then he would charge 2k, 3k or 5k max for a design. Usually simple designs for blog posts. But we always had one problem. I’m sure you can guess what it is. Yes! breach of the delivery deadline. If we agree on delivery for Monday I would zero my mind for Wednesday, not even Tuesday and sometimes the Wednesday will not be met. Every job with Chuks reminded me of tailors during Christmas! As the delivery disappointments continued it struck me that I could do the designs myself. Perhaps not as good but at least something I could use for my posts. They are simple enough really. Now Vodafone used to send me monthly freebies which I ignore but I remember getting one for a free graphic design course. I decided to try my luck. So I called them and luckily it was still available. Canva Basics, a 4-week course of about 60–90 minutes weekly. I can’t be too sure now but it wasn’t more than 2 hrs. I jumped in and the rest is history. I’m still learning but I now do all the jobs I usually outsourced to Chuks. And guess what? I can get most done in less than 20 minutes. After some months Chuks hit me up on WhatsApp and was like; “Oga good day sir. E don tey o” “Yep, longest time..how you dey?” I replied. “Good sir. Only say hunger de wire person”, he said jokingly. “I knoooow! 9ja is now the poverty capital of the world”, I said in agreement. He then asked why I wasn’t giving him jobs anymore and wondered if I stopped publishing. I sent him a design with a grin and told him to help me with clients. I bragged that I may even be a better designer than he is right now. We had a good laugh and agreed to keep in touch for possible future collaborations. Recently my friend in America needed a poster and asked me to recommend a graphic designer. I could have done it but I remembered Chuks and referred him immediately. 10k may not be much to me but it can take care of groceries for Chuks. That is the beauty of networking and it is part of what I encourage at Cmonionline. I can’t imagine what I’ve saved myself in terms of time and money (2 of the most valuable resources) since I started doing my graphics. If I have created 500 designs I could have paid for 200. At 5k each that’s a cool million. But more importantly, I saved myself the invaluable hours I could have lost chasing Chuks around. Now back to the juice. In a few years, there will be half a trillion dollars for the taking by content creators. And no, I didn’t make that up. The reputable global financial firm Goldman Sachs recently predicted that “as the ecosystem grows, the total addressable market of the creator economy could roughly double in size over the next five years to $480 billion by 2027 from $250 billion today”. These days anyone can be a creator. So long as you have a smartphone and data, you can post whatever you want and there may just be an audience out there. But the outstanding creators are mostly those who creatively deploy digital skills to produce unique content that simply and concisely delivers the message. Nevertheless, if you can play with audiovisual stuff, you can boldly claim to be a creator. Yet few realize that the first port of arrival for any original thought/idea is a blank page. Writing is the mother of all media creations! We all know that oftentimes writing doesn’t pay the bills. Many successful authors had to juggle between work and writing. Some even worked multiple jobs to make ends meet while still pushing the craft they loved. So it is normal that writers are asked to earn through other means even as they push the pen. These days you also have to work smart to save time and make your chosen vocation more enjoyable. There are a million ways to do this but the one I love especially is graphic design because it creatively stimulates my latent talent in fine arts. Yes! I was great in fine arts during my early days. I drew a wonderful picture of Samson slaying the lion from The Children’s Bible back then. That pic lives eternally in my mind and God knows I will resume fine arts soon.

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Success Journey XXV: Why Writing Is The Crucible Of All Media Creations.

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Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. ~ Stephen King   I’ve had a few people question why I chose writing. Why not create audiovisual content like others are doing and start earning money? I mean writing doesn’t pay much, does it? It should be easier to convince and convene people to learn content creation that will earn them good money. Before I unpack my points let’s get two things straight. Firstly, it is erroneous to think that writers don’t make money. And secondly, writing is the root of all content. Now I am not a fan of those ads/articles that ‘reveal’ how you can make millions from writing etcetera simply because I know a majority of them are false. The aim is usually to sell something to you or worse still, sell you as a product by collecting your data. But don’t get me wrong people earn good money by writing. For instance, David Perell. But he will be the first to tell you the plain truth. You don’t become JK Rowling or Stephen King in a year or even 10. These bestselling authors were once like us, struggling to fill those blank pages and at times to pay the bills. The abraxas is that writing is a process. You just have to keep doing it by following the right path ie learning and implementing the strategies of those who succeeded before you. Then the millions MAY roll in. But even if you don’t earn big money you will still get the most important thing, fulfillment! There are innumerable reasons why writing is important and most people want to write for bragging rights. Of course, I want to belong to that elite societal class but I chose writing because of 3 things; 1. I love reading good stories. 2. It is a craft that gets you reading, thinking, and of course, writing MORE! (all components of learning). 3. Ultimately every creation started with an idea that must be written and acted on. So if thinking is the father of creativity ie the means of conception then writing is the mother that births it ie the delivery path. Writing is the mother of all media creations. There is practically nothing you can build or create without writing. Books, songs, movies etcetera. This is trite knowledge. Before now I used to scoff at Instagram slay queens who are all about skimpy wear and dancing as content. But I realised that many still write to describe their intention. Be it modelling, marketing or whatever, they write at least a line or two. So writing is critical. It is the crucible. If thinking is the father of ALL media conception then writing is the mother through which it is delivered. I hope I’m beginning to make sense. You can see that as a writer you already have the foundation to grow many branches. Your work can be converted into books, songs and movies. As writers, we join communities and interact because we want to keep improving our craft. Yet as as members of a larger society we equally want to acquire knowledge and skills in other areas that will improve our productivity. Learning from those who are doing it and willing to share free knowledge is a huge plus. Now even if we don’t set out to make money by writing we still want to earn some income from it. Money is the lifeblood of any society. It’s the sad truth but many make the mistake of prioritising the pursuit of money over value creation and end up disappointed or worse still, fall into greedy traps. But if you acquire essential skills, and create value/solutions the money will definitely pursue you. From writing to e-learning to languages and even foreign education and scholarships. I write about all these all the time because I want to learn and enhance my productivity with people who have the same goal. Through learning and networking, we can add better value to society and ultimately earn more. Now you can stack up these complementary skills and take a holistic approach to whatever you wish to create. Or you can niche down to the area that tickles your fancy the most. Either way, the ever-burgeoning creator economy is yours for the taking. You can brand and monetize your product and service after gaining the requisite experience. In the nearest future, this community would have metamorphosed into an institute for knowledge acquisition that will be either free or at the most affordable for anyone who desires to be intellectually productive. And the great thing is that by being part of our community you would have a diverse network of digital creatives as your support system. CAVEAT!!! There are no quick hacks. It’s a gradual process of trial and error. Learning and unlearning. Iteration and evolution. But believe me, it will be fulfilling and well worth it. In the meantime, we keep pushing with our current project of writing a book in a year. Reach out via our contact form if you want to join us or collaborate. If you enjoyed this please share it and hit the follow button to join our community of digital creatives let’s grow together. Thanks for reading.

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Success Journey XXIV: You Don’t Need Plurality, It’s A Myth.

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In business, once you decide who you aren’t going to serve, you are free of tyranny. So also in creating..if you try to appeal to everyone you may end up with no one. The plurality mindset is a myth..those who your product/service resonates with are all you need to succeed. ~ Cmoni I love Seth Godin because of his consistency which is built on repetition. In the Akimbo podcast, he repeatedly exhorts us to aim for the SMALLEST VIABLE SIZE and watch the multiplier effect from those we impact. Just do your best to create value and share it generously. If you rinse and repeat this process it is a guarantee that the ratchet as he calls will take over. He exemplified it thus; “Starbucks doesn’t serve coffee to the majority of the people in the United States. The New York City Crochet Guild appeals to just a small percentage of the people who encounter it. That’s okay. You don’t need a plurality or even a majority. In fact, in nearly every case, trying to lead everyone results in leading no one in particular.” For instance, you are reading this because my caption attracted you or you’ve read my previous essays. Either way, you want to get something at the end. If a line, paragraph or entire message resonates with you the likelihood of reading my next post will be high. Otherwise, you will scroll away next time. This is equally so in business. Products and services that offer value are purchased and repurchased over and over again. There will come a time when your customers/audience will start recommending you to others. They invariably become your advertisers for FREE! When I started the cmonionline writing contest, I only wanted to revive a waning literary culture. And since I planned to fund it as a way of giving back to the society that groomed me, I didn’t want to spend on publicity because I had no plans to profit from it. The initiative received tremendous support from friends and soon enough ideas and suggestions flooded in. Many recommended increased online publicity. A friend advised me to up the ante and take it to the broadcast media. Others asked me to seek corporate and government funding. Conflicting thoughts on strategy threatened to overwhelm me and I began to imagine that we could be the African version of Reedsy. Following tips on social media marketing I increased ad spending to grow page my social media pages, attract more writers and reach a bigger audience. Of course both the writers and audience grew in numbers. By the time we had published close to 1000 stories from over 50 writers the symptoms of inorganic growth became manifest. The engagement level didn’t reflect the followership numbers and some writers just wanted to write for the prize even though I repeatedly made it clear that the aim was not to win but to improve our chosen craft. I started having doubts about the viability of the project. I was certain about my mission initially even if the vision wasn’t vivid, but now there seems to be an increasing lack of clarity on both. In every endeavour, you will likely encounter frustrations but try not to let it dim your determination. I stopped the social media ads. It was time to take stock. Fortunately, the period of rumination was during my Post Graduate Diploma in Digital Arts & Humanities with modules like teaching & learning online, digital techniques and communities of practice. While the interdisciplinarity of the course exposed me to digital tools and methods that can be applied to solve various real-life problems, its hybrid nature prioritised learning through discussion forums like Canvas, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet etc. It didn’t take long for me to apply the knowledge gained. We moved from judges to peer review and that automatically streamlined the group because the selection of winners involved the writers themselves. If you are passionate about writing and improving you are going to partake in these activities. So while some writers moved on to other things those who mainly wrote for the money also left. The ones who wanted to progress remained and that was all the niche I needed. THE SMALLEST VIABLE SIZE. Since then we have moved from weekly writing contests to periodic competitions. In addition, we hold regular Talkshops on related topics and sponsor training in digital skill acquisition. Recently, a member of our community published a book and we are currently writing a book in a year. We can now publicise the project with confidence and hunt for public/private sector funding because it is easier for others to support you when you have gained some mileage. And we have the results to show for our efforts. As you can see, the path is usually not so clear at the start. I mean you can’t possibly have a picture of the route your journey will take but embark on it nevertheless. Learn and unlearn along the way, repeat worthwhile processes, iterate and use the feedback to progress. So long as you have an idea, a basic take-off plan and the resolve to keep pushing you will eventually succeed. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that publicity or paid ads are wrong. Of course, they are great ways of attracting leads and growing your audience. What I’m saying is that if you believe in the value you are creating then you don’t need plurality or publicity, especially at the start when your resources are limited. In business, once you decide who you aren’t going to serve, you are free of tyranny. So also in creating, if you try to appeal to everyone you may end up with no one. The plurality mindset is a myth. Those who your product/service resonates with are all you need to succeed. Whatever you are trying to create doesn’t need those numbers you dream of to be successful. People will come and leave. The key is

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Success Journey XXIII: Consistency

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When you look at people who are successful, you will find that they aren’t the people who are motivated, but have consistency in their motivation.~Arsene Wenger In my university days, the big boys are often the loaded guys and great spenders who command influence and loyalty through acts of benevolence. Then came the era of quick bucks. You could break into the big boys club when you suddenly hammer in the Nigerian parlance. But my friend Joly Papa will only hail you as a Chairman if you maintain that status for long. Predictably few eventually qualify to be addressed with that title. The reason is simple; it is easier to hammer than to be CONSISTENT. Consistency is a vital characteristic of success and it’s about repetitions that often involve iterations which ultimately lead to evolution. Repetition: My dad told me that the average Onitsha trader is a millionaire because of consistency. Let’s take Main Market for instance. The traders (ndi oga) and apprentices (umu boy) wake up in the morning, shower and proceed to their respective shops at 6 am. The next day they repeat the same thing. Monday through Saturday, week in and week out, it is rinse and repeat. They rest on Sundays and use it for social engagements too. By the time you know it they would have marked 52 weeks. I used to think this was a boring lifestyle till I had a discussion with my cousin who lives in Lagos. For an educated and sophisticated Lagosian, I found it odd that he had the same routine. His business is located on the Mainland and his home was just about 3 kilometres down the road. When he eventually moved to the Island after many years he continued driving to the Mainland daily. When I asked why he did this, his response was concise. “I get bored at home if I don’t leave the house by midday”. I queried further, “Isn’t being at the shop daily monotonous?” He replied, “Nope because no two days are exactly the same”. “Ok, but you have two experienced shop attendants who run the day-to-day business, so why would you need to be present at the shop?” Again his simple answer floored me. “Well, my business often requires a personal touch for premium clients”. He explained that try as much as they may, his shop attendants will never replicate the marketing style he has perfected over the years. So to him, it is like killing two birds with a stone; eliminating boredom and making money. Iteration: In dynamic system analysis there is what is called the Chaos theory which states that; within the apparent randomness of chaotic complex systems, there are underlying patterns, interconnection, constant feedback loops, repetition, self-similarity, fractals, and self-organization. Though a computation terminology iteration is basically the repetition of a process in order to generate a (possibly unbounded) sequence of outcomes. Each repetition of the process is a single iteration, and the outcome of each iteration is then the starting point of the next iteration.~Wikipedia Consistency isn’t about immediate results neither are repetitions about buxom gains. Rather these habits are about incremental progress over an extended period and these small gains are usually the outcome of iterations from errors, feedback or even distractions. For instance, let’s consider the typical example of a football team. Each weekend a team of players engage each other in a contest to entertain us for 90 minutes. But what we don’t really get to see are the regular training sessions that go on during the week. Through repetitive practice, these players improve their skills and technique. By iteration (weekend contest) they either apply the skills/technique and win or commit errors and lose.  The coach then draws from the feedback to do better next time. This is exactly why teams that have stuck together for longer have better win rates. There is little sense in repeating the same process over and over again if you don’t learn, unlearn and adapt to make progress. Evolution: When you repeat the process and iterate for incremental gains, you will ultimately evolve. Consider a case in point like if you set a target of losing 5kg in a month. You can target 30-minute runs to burn 200 calories daily. But if you discover that you have shed only half a kilo in a week it’s time to iterate. You can adjust your nutrition to consume fewer calories and perhaps increase your jogging time to 40 minutes. I can assure you that by the end of another week, you would have shed over 1kg. So you keep on improving and by the end of the month bang! You have lost 5 kg. You have evolved into a new weight category and it will be time to move on to the next fitness goal. But guess what? Whatever target you set next, it will still be the same process of rinse and repeat. Steps You Can Take: Just like bad habits are tough to break good habits are equally hard to develop. But the good thing is that you can make the process simple not necessarily easy. However, once you get into the flow it becomes a part of you and thus easy. I’m a work in progress and success is a journey so I share what is working for me and many others. There are countless ways to develop consistency in working towards your goal but in the last few months, I have found the following 5 methods to be the most impactful. Set visible objectives/reminders: Be it your goal for the day/week/month/year or even your daily routine. Write it down and paste it somewhere you can always see it. Keep in your face! It is easier to get distracted in our digital world but you can leverage the affordances of this same era to achieve your aims. I use reminders and google calendar. Rise early: I call it the golden rule without which nothing will be achieved. My

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Six Atypical Tips For Staying Trim.

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I have just returned to my regular workout routine after a six-week hiatus and surprisingly I added just a little over one kilo after all the eating, drinking and the usual overindulgence that come with festive seasons. I looked back and said well done to myself because 1KG is something I can lose with my eyes closed. But the ultimate key is some of the habits I‘ve inculcated these past few years. Here are just six of them for not just your reading but also doing pleasure. Dancing: Dance when you can. At social functions, clubs or parties, during breaks in the gym and when you are happy just dance away. It is fun and healthy. Studies show that dancing can burn up to 300 calories in half an hour and wait. there are other benefits too. For instance, it has been linked to an increase in white matter, especially in the brains of ageing adults and we are not getting any younger. Mobility: Make sure you move a lot. It doesn’t matter where. In or outdoors just move your body. Try and do the chores that you would normally call on helps to do like cleaning, washing your briefs or the bathroom. These chores usually don’t take up much time but you will surely sweat especially back home in Nigeria. Park far-off: When you go to those grocery shops like Shoprite, Spar or Roban park at a distance from the entrance. Most times we want to park very close to that entrance to avoid carrying heavy shopping bags or trolleys the little distance but we are actually avoiding burning some calories. Drive less: Yes ditch your car for short distances. I know some people who will drive to the bathroom if they could but that is not healthy living. I usually walk to the local mall here and if I’m in Amawbia I walk a lot too. Everywhere in Amawbia is within a walking distance so I walk most of the time to see a cousin or buy groceries from a nearby shop. These are mostly 5–10 minute walks but they all add up. Sleep more: There is a common but erroneous belief that sleeping makes you gain weight. But that is pure hogwash. Sleep deprivation will reduce leptin, the hormone that regulates energy balance by suppressing appetite. So lack of sleep will likely make you eat more and add weight. I used to stay out late but now I try to limit that to weekends. I stay back at home during the weekdays and rest, watch a movie or read until I fall asleep. Get 7–8 hours of sleep daily. Tea: For ages, teas have been the universal beverage choice for relaxation. Lately, there’s been increased popularity of herbal teas around the world as natural sleep remedies, making most pricey. Well, I say tea is tea. If you can afford the herbal ones go for it but Lipton yellow label will still do the job. Drink tea before bedtime for a relaxed and calm night’s rest and have another when you wake up to open up your bowels.

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Success Journey XXII: On Influence

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Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another. ~Napoleon Hill  The post was inspired by a brief interaction on Instagram recently. A young lady posted a video that seemingly eulogized wealth without enterprise. Singing about what Nigerians popularly refer to as hustle, the man in the clip bellowed “Until we secure the bag we can never retire, once na money matter we follow am bumper to bumper… He continued with how he doesn’t need a mugu’s advice since the mugu neither hustled nor did jail time with him. He then concluded by urging you to go abroad and see where hustling is about “nekwe ego, nekwe nga” which literally translates to ( see money, see jail). Unfortunately, this mentality is popular among young people. Don’t get me wrong there is absolutely nothing wrong with the first part. Determination is a vital ingredient of success. Time and time again people who did not give up often achieve their goals. However, reducing success to 2 options (jail or riches) is a warped mentality that we must discourage. As I wrote at the beginning of this series success is; “the progressive realization of predetermined worthwhile goals stabilized with balance and purified by belief”. My dad used to say that every Igbo man should trade. Indeed in his over 3 long decades in the corporate world, he ran many businesses by the side. Poultry, haulage, spares, electricals, pharmaceuticals, oil & gas, and even real estate. My versatility is obviously his genetic handover. So one day while we chatted on the office balcony overlooking the sprawling stretch of electrical shops along Hospital Road Aba, I asked why he keeps saying that every Igbo man should trade. He replied that trading is a natural talent of the Igbos and even if it isn’t OnataluChi ie a special blessing from God, the fact that we are surrounded by traders makes learning by proximity inevitable. He then concluded with; “Nwokoma, trading is a great fallback option because even if you are a lawyer, doctor, engineer, or professor, there will come a day when you will find the regular income from trading invaluable regardless of how small it may be”. That lesson stuck. It inspired me to co-own an okada (motorbike) business while at Uniport to earn extra income. And in Unimaid I made clothes from Colchoclob Aba to sell to fellow students for the same reason. By the time I graduated and plunged into the oil & gas industry, I already had the mindset of gradual growth. However, by 2000 Yahoo Yahoo was on the rise among jobless youths. I saw young men who became suddenly rich without any verifiable means of income. I was in my twenties and quite impressionable so I was tempted or at least fascinated by this phenomenon. Then one day, I was having a drink with a pal and he mentioned that his boy seated with a group at the other end of the bar will pick up the tab. I was curious because as of last year, he sponsored the boy’s trip to NYSC camp. “Your boy don hammer?”, I asked. “Na high sea”, he replied. He told me the boy was now the nouveau-riche in town and recently bought a Toyota 4runner. I seized the opportunity and asked him to invite the guy over to our table so that we can inquire about his strategy. Taking a deep breath, my friend took a long hard look at me before replying. His words will stick for a lifetime; “Enyia olekwanu ihe anyi ji 419 eme? (my friend what will we benefit from fraud?). Look at you for instance..you have a filling station, 3 cars including a V-Booth, and you are about to complete your house in Enugu. How many of our mates can boast of these things? God has blessed us abundantly so let’s not give Him the cause to take back these blessings” I was speechless for a while. I knew my friend came from a devout Anglican family, but as a young man, I was amazed by this fear of God. It was something that was missing among many young folks because we take it for granted that God will always forgive our sins. One thing became clear to me then; That God will forgive does not mean your transgressions will not have consequences. We are what we are because of the influence of our associations and interactions over the years. Ever since that conversation, I always give a second thought to proposals that look too good or easy. And we see them daily. Think about all the mouth-watering investment schemes you receive via social media. MLM products, Real estate deals, Crypto this and that, you name them, the list is endless. Most are fraudulent. The old adage “if it sounds too good to be true it probably is” may not always be correct but it is OFTEN correct. There are 2 things you can do after reading this. 1. Make acquaintances that will INFLUENCE you positively and add value to your life. 2. Curate the content on your screen through the lens of your desire. These are deliberate steps that will help you GRADUALLY achieve your goals. It’s time to stop deceiving yourself that you will buy that Benz before December. Stop cutting corners and start focusing on creating value instead. Start building from scratch. That’s how people like Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger became rich. By compounding small amounts of money and skill they were able to build wealth which gradually transformed into huge conglomerates and business empires over the years. Remember, most “get rich quick” schemes OFTEN get the seller rich, not you. And the alternative to prosperity is not jail if your hustle is legit. Slow and steady will always win the race.

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Success Journey XXI: On ‘Cruise’

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When you’re on a computer (screen) you’re more likely to be consuming than creating. So much of what’s online isn’t valuable — it’s just clutter. And if you’re reading too much of it you don’t have space for creativity and original thought. ~Tero Isokauppila As I’ve come to understand it, cruise is the local parlance Nigerians use to describe ‘having fun’ online. It can be anything really and for clarity let me say here that it is not trolling. The former is usually to elicit a response while the latter is usually a response. Most people troll others for attention, revenge, and in my case sadism. It can be part of cruise but it is actually worse. It is idiocy. Yes, you read right, idiocy, that’s what it is. After reading Gary Bishop’s Unf*ck Yourself I decided to communicate in a more relatable manner. Now back to cruise. You wake up and see nothing better to do and you decide to post some bullsh*t for traction..cruise! You see a caption and post your warped opinion without reading through the details..cruise! You post nonsense to malign a person, group, or tribe…cruise! You post a pornographic thread to attract attention to the rubbish you intend to market..cruise! You post a claim that contradicts studies and well-researched positions from authorities…cruise! The examples are endless and most of us are guilty of this. We post nonsense that can’t be rationally defended and we call it cruise. It is not. It is silly and unproductive and it’s time to curtail your cruise. We have a responsibility to make cyberspace and by extension society a better place by putting out useful, positive content. I know our online activities are often reflex actions as we practically live on the internet these days. Still, that doesn’t mean they can’t be controlled gradually and with time eliminated entirely if we so desire. Consider the time and words you waste in catching cruise. If you spend over 3 hours daily arguing over trivial issues on social media like the average African, it means you likely waste about 1–2k words daily. Those words can be put to better use for a story, an article, or even a novel. Hemmingway wrote only 500 words daily and that is when he has a project. Guess what? It usually takes him about 4 hours! Think about the time we waste too. Time is the most valuable and irreplaceable resource that can be used to learn something new and helpful. Choose a skill and start learning it. Learn a second language or learn graphic design, video editing etc. Just start learning something that will help you create rather than consume. No knowledge gained is lost and there are many online resources that offer free and affordable knowledge acquisition. I always use myself as an example. Now check this out. If you write 1500 words weekly you would have written a 200-page draft in one year. In January 2022, I started writing this series with the aim of churning out enough to publish a book by the end of the year. If you aim for the sky and hit an eagle that is considered bullseye in every measure. I’ll be damned if I don’t have at least a draft by the end of 2023. So you see, it’s achievable. Also, in the last month or so that I left Facebook, I started the Adobe Indesign course. It’s a 16-week online course but I’m already halfway through. I attribute this to having more time and it’s likely the course designers considered time wasted online in setting the course duration. Either way, it’s a win-win for me. I should add that certification to my portfolio in a month’s time. I am not saying you quit entirely but I said curtail. Moreover, we can’t possibly drop habits like this entirely. It’s just like asking me to stop elbow bending. Impossible! I will drink but moderation will always be the key. There are no shortcuts to these things as old habits die hard but with gradual additions, we can considerably replace them with new ones. It won’t be easy but it’s doable. After all, anything that comes easy is usually not worthwhile. So come on, give it a shot. Not later, not tomorrow but now.

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Between AY, Basketmouth and Friendship.: Success Journey XX : On Friendship

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Those who quickly show the marks of friendship to each other wish to be friends, but are not friends unless they both are lovable and know the fact; for a wish for friendship may arise quickly, but friendship does not.~ Aristotle I actually started this draft after watching AY on Chude’s show last week and subsequently got distracted. But then I read a tweet about Basketmouth’s reaction yesterday and decided to finish it. Even before I watched Basketmouth’s recent interview with Nedu Wazobia and his crew I already wrote that the two comedians were neither good nor true friends and may never be. Basketmouth just confirmed this. I mean why would you owe me and I will be begging for forgiveness? For ages for that matter? Even gatecrashed your wedding? What offence are we even talking about? For using the available means to try and get paid money I earned? Oh come on! The animosity between them is definitely deeper than 30k but that is their headache. It only brings me to my point of latching on to the keyboard this morning. Recently, a friend who seemed concerned about my sudden inactivity on Facebook rang to check up on me. After exchanging pleasantries he asked if my sudden inactivity was because my ‘friends’ now avoid my page since I became Obidient. I laughed long before reminding him of our previous discussion some years back. Then he was also worried that I appeared to be losing ‘friends’ over my adamant support for the Buhari administration. You see friendship is one thing I cherish. For many years I had a plaque on my door that read “Friends make the world go round”. The Encyclopedia Britannica defines friendship as a state of enduring affection, esteem, intimacy, and trust between two people. Notice my emphasis on the word two. Friendship isn’t really for three people because as they say, three is a crowd. It is a bond between two people. My late dad added that it is often one party that bears the burden of friendship. Let me break this down a bit. Over the years I’ve seen many cases of one party doing more than the other in a friendship and I will use myself as an example. If there have been a thousand calls between me and my best friend, I can tell you that he rang 900 times. Had we maintained the same frequency of reaching for the phone to ring each other we could have had only 200 calls. That is 800 fewer discussions and of course, you know what that means. But does it show he cares more or that I care less? Definitely not! If friendship is measured by who cares more or less then in my dictionary that is no friendship. Ours can be likened to Aristotle’s model of friendship. We are not bonded together through need, utility, or familial duty, but rather through long years of kindness, mutual respect and loyalty. Aristotle described this thus: “Now those who wish well to their friends for their sake are most truly friends; for they do this by reason of own nature and not incidentally; therefore their friendship lasts as long as they are good-and goodness is an enduring thing.” It is the good virtues like kindness, mutual respect and loyalty we represent over the years that provide the incentive for sustaining the bond of friendship. So back to the convo with my worried friend. I told him that many of those who avoided my page a few years ago are now my ‘friends’ and in the same vein if I switch my political support tomorrow those ‘friends’ who are now avoiding my page will sneak back and start clapping. You see social media makes it easier to have friends these days. Friend requests/suggestions are usually made according to algorithms like common friends and shared interests. And some people mistakenly assume they have made friends. That is why you see people bringing confidential issues to social media with the laughable caption “Friends what should I do?” True friendship is neither based on a few years of social media interaction nor built on shared socio-political ideologies. The fact that you and I believe Nsala is the best soup in the world will never trump the experience of enjoying it together at Ada Enyi’s restaurant. Think about it, your ride-or-die friends who always have your back are usually those who have travelled the same path. They are those that have shared secrets, drank and even did a blood oath with you. As a disciple of the time-tested theory of 5 close friends, I usually describe people I meet on social media as what they are; social media friends. This is because I know that many are what Aristotle described in Nicomachean Ethics Book VIII as utility friends (where both people derive some benefit from each other) and pleasure friends (where both people are drawn to the other’s wit, good looks, or other pleasant qualities). It then follows that as these needs, beliefs and principles evolve, this type of friendship begins to fade because we no longer receive the benefits. But should I write off decades of a relationship based on loyalty, shared experiences and mutual trust because a friend supports what I term to be a failed administration? Or should my friends discard me because they no longer get dopamine from my posts? Of course not. Doing so will mean we placed a higher value on transient beliefs and benefits above inherent goodness, individuality and trust. In reality, some of my best friends are not even on social media. And those who are there value our relationship above whatever ideological differences we may have. I say this because my definition of authentic friendship is based on the famous Kate Angell saying; “A good friend will come and bail you out of jail, but a best friend will be sitting next to you saying, ‘Damn, that was fun’!” Nevertheless, all I have

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Success Journey XIX

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On Writing And Attention Span. How vain it is to sit down and write when you have not stood up to live. The above quote by Thoreau in his vote of confidence for writers like me who decided to take on the craft a little late in life always inspires me. I can tap into my wealth of experience and produce stories for the rest of my life if only I can find the time and put pen to paper. A friend once asked, “Cmoni where do you get all these posts you write?” “From my head” was my sarcastic reply. “Of course, I know it’s from your head but how do you come up with the ideas?”. Oh, that? “Bros I read a lot”. “You, Cmoni, read a lot? How do you have time to read when you are on social media arguing with us every day?”. “Hahahaha bros I de read o, I don’t only read but I also study. Have you forgotten I just completed a diploma recently? It was one full academic year of blended learning. But I get where you are coming from so I will tell you, but not now. I will put it down in writing so as to answer your question practically”. So here goes. I read a lot. And I read everything and everywhere. I read the news, social media commentary, books and mags. I often read the dailies first when I walk into the library. I listen to audiobooks and podcasts even more. When I jog I play music but when I walk I listen to texts. I read in the loo, bus, train and plane. Still, in addition to regular reading, a good writer should be a good observer. I’ve always known this but following two writers (Julia Cameron & Natalie Goldberg) who markedly influenced my creative journey reinforced this belief. So oftentimes when I walk along the River Lee banks, I deliberately observe. I can stop for minutes to watch a dog play fetch with its owner or take time to feed the ducks and admire their silky white plumes. On one occasion I noticed an otter which was displaying its swimming skills didn’t have whiskers or perhaps I wasn’t close enough to see it clearly. A lady that had been watching with me was equally unsure and said; “It could as well be a beaver”. “Well, it is possible but I believe beavers are usually larger than this” I replied. That brief incident prompted a simple google search to distinguish between the two furry creatures. Among other things I was amazed to learn that otters are mainly carnivores while beavers are herbivores. If I develop this experience and add the discoveries made I could have a full story of over 1000 words. If I want to write about a trending or particular topic, all I need to do is follow the argument and in a matter of hours I will come up with an article. I learned this doing my master’s degree in media studies. Australian writer Caitlin Johnstone did not only become prolific by deploying this tactic but has effectively carved a reputation and built a buxom audience. Despite knowing all these, I neither read nor write as much as I should or I’m capable of doing. I rarely concentrate and do deep reading except on weekends and for academic work. I also don’t write regularly as I keep pledging to do. But wait! Of course, I write daily and most of us write daily too. Yes, we chat, reply to emails and churn out thousands of words arguing over frivolous sociopolitical issues. If you add up the number of words we type daily you could have a book each month. Unfortunately, this form of writing is usually not effective. It is the by-product of the internet era where almost everything can be done through screen devices. This dependence on these tools of our age impacts our attention span and it would seem there’s no escape from this as technology proliferates even more. By way of definition, attention span is simply the amount of time spent concentrating on a task before becoming distracted. While distractibility occurs when attention is uncontrollably diverted to another activity or sensation. Thus focus becomes a problem. And I’m neither alone in this struggle nor am I the only one who is searching for a solution. So a few nights ago when I plugged on my earphones to savour my daily free blink from Blinkist I was treated to Attention Span, a book by @GloriaMark_PhD. It was so interesting that I listened twice. It is not as if I haven’t read books around this subject matter. I have studied minimalism, decluttering, mindset and all that but none has been this specific. That is why I am practically bouncing off the walls on this one. So I have just renewed my audible subscription to read the entire book and I promise to dissect and digest the contents as we progress in our Success Journey series. But let’s start with this YouTube interview.  Thanks for reading and see you next week.

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