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Peace Habila Wins N100k For The #ValentineContest 

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The brain is very good at finding reasons not to attempt. But if you don’t attempt you will neither fail nor succeed. Yet failure is an integral part of success. ~ Cmoni The winner of our #ValentineContest emerged with 6 nominations but I would like you to read my commentary first. Let me begin by saying that I’m enjoying our sessions more and I’m sure you may be wondering why this is so. I will tell you. Following Seth Godin has been transformative in many ways. I don’t miss his weekly Akimbo podcasts. Please follow this him and thank me later. Godin made me realise that plurality is a myth.  You don’t need the numbers to be good at what you do. All you need is the smallest viable audience and the determination to show up consistently for them, and yourself too. Yes, when you teach, you learn. This is why I enjoy a session with 2 attendees as much as I do with a dozen people. Of course, I know about the saying “the more the merrier” but sailors also say “the fewer on board the larger the loot”. In any case, what I’m saying is that like fine wine, we are progressing fine! I intend to hold at least 12 sessions/contests this year. But not without your support. It can be 24, 36 or more but at the very minimum, we should have 12. Ok, let’s dive in. Do you know the origin of the word essay? You can look up the etymology on Google. Essay derives from the French word essai. It means trial or attempt. An essayist attempts. We try to convey our thoughts, ideas, and opinions as the case may be. Of course, not every story can be described as an essay but even your best fiction or poem reflects your thoughts..or at least some of it. Now it’s sad to see that some works didn’t qualify for this contest because they didn’t fully comply with the instructions. Some didn’t meet the word count or deadline while others were either not published on a platform or included digital products from other sources. I encourage you to learn from this unsuccessful attempt. That is the essence of what we are doing. Learning from attempts, both the successful and unsuccessful ones, and building on the lessons learned. However, it’s important to emphasize this; Writers should be able to comprehend and follow instructions or at least seek clarification.  One of my lecturers, Prof Igbigbi used to say that understanding or misunderstanding the question is part of the exam. In the first case, you will pass if you know the answer. If you don’t have the answer you can say what you understood by the question and earn some marks. (Medical students can relate) But once you misunderstand the question, you have already started failing. So always read, understand, and comply with the instructions. Seek clarification when you think it’s ambiguous or confusing. Furthermore, we need to allocate adequate time to tasks, or else we rush through and commit avoidable errors. For instance, I was planning a joint project with a friend. and we were to launch this 1st quarter of the year. Well, I did some reflection and realised I was moving too fast. I work 30+hrs/week. I am committed to work-related training until March 29th. I’m also writing a book in a year. I remotely run 2 businesses. I have an ongoing building project. I administer 3 platforms including this one. If you add regular chores like school runs, walks, gym, etc..whew! I considered all I had on my table and realised how tough it would be to add more. Thus, I suggested that we use the first quarter of 2024 to fully conceptualise the project, particularly the revenue profile, before launching. So consider all your engagements and allow adequate time to achieve tasks. I wrote about this here. Don’t postpone until the last day because you will make mistakes. I have also repeatedly advised writers to use editing apps like Grammarly to correct grammatical errors. At our level, it is disappointing to see works dotted with countless red marks. As an editor your first reaction is to trash such drafts and I do that all the time. I only edit drafts with few pardonable errors. Again we also agreed to get our domains on platforms like Medium, LinkedIn, substack etc It is for our good. If you don’t get published elsewhere at least you can do that yourself. And in doing this you will learn more about publishing online. You will learn to hyperlink texts, embed images and videos and other skills that enrich your work. Now let me tell you this. I get a lot of joy from reading my old stories because they remind me of my progress as a writer. Improve your social media presence. And by this, I don’t mean scrolling and chatting away your time. Be productive, engage and follow those who post about your interests. My stories titled Digital Holy Grail did justice to this point. Moreover, it is a great way to build your platform as a writer. This counselling may sound elementary, but it’s worth repeating because we are never too big for small errors. The craft can be simple but not necessarily easy and we know this because we chose it. As I said previously I’m committed to this journey and I urge everyone to put in the extra effort. It is simpler when we navigate together. Recall that at the end of last year, we agreed to reward excellence. It is a step forward after a period of paying out tokens of encouragement to many. This is the right path for many reasons among which are these 3. We have passed the beginners stage. Yes, we are writing a book in a year and will also pass that stage soon enough. (More on this later) In addition to writing, we are learning other skills like publishing,

Blog, Resources

A Book In A Year And Our Vision.

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Let’s talk about 3 things. Our ongoing writing project The graphic design course Our vision Punctuality is a big problem with Nigerians but I allow for just 10 minutes. Again it’s easy to feel discouraged when you don’t have the numbers for an event but I long learned to keep pushing with what you have. That’s exactly what my essay on the plurality myth talked about. If you keep waiting for the right moment or numbers then progress or even starting at all will remain elusive. So at 17:10hrs, we started the meeting with 2 members in the room but we were later joined by others. A BOOK IN A YEAR: I know some of us may not have started writing while some would have written for a month. Life is like that and we may well have valid reasons for lagging behind but no time is late. I also didn’t start immediately because I fell ill and did some training for a new job when I felt better. But I have started and believe me I’m flying. So you can start now and still finish before everyone. The most important thing like every other thing in life is to start. Having said that let me begin with my own project. I am doing a series on self-development which I publish as The Success Journey. I initially started writing it based on eternal principles with real-life examples to make it more relatable. Along the line, I read Attention Span by Gloria Mark which offered a different perspective on digital distraction and productivity. I reckoned I should adapt my writing to reflect the internet world we live in. So I am now interrogating more resources on digital productivity, books, podcasts, stories etc. I also started following people that talk about related topics to fill my cognitive resources. In the end, I will sort what I have produced, develop it more and arrange it into chapters and bang I have a draft! I write daily now but of course, I can’t publish everything. However, I try to publish at least 2 stories each week. Even though I have deleted all my drafts on politics I still have over 20 left. Some 50 and some 400 words. This is even with my workload which is now clocking about 40hrs. As a matter of fact, by the end of today, I would have done 48hrs for the week. Yet, in between I still find time to oversee my businesses in Nigeria. My hack is this: I wake up by 5:15 am and do deep work for over 2 hrs before I start the day. If you know you really don’t own the rest of the day and that you must work to earn then 2 hours daily is certainly more than enough to keep building towards goals and objectives that will define your lifetime. Faith Oyadiran is working on a project he described as a kind of hybrid between fiction and non-fiction. I encouraged him to keep up his writing practice by trying out other topics every now and then. Life is not linear and even though you are writing a book there are still many other issues to discuss. Emmanuel Enaku has about 10000 words in a story where he is trying out a character that isn’t Messidinho. I believe he can create as many characters as he likes because we all know he has a knack for creative fiction. He also has over 5000 words in another native story that will require more work and research. It was delightful to hear about these huge strides. Surely we will have more published authors after 365 days. On the reward process, I think we are yet to make enough progress, after the 2nd month we can discuss that. Already we have ideas like book reviews noted down from our previous meetings and I am also searching for a practicable weekly short contest that will replace my defunct Twitter #SundayPuzzle GRAPHIC DESIGN COURSE: I have shared that I got the same price as last year for the training and that is great news considering the rate of inflation and the worsening economic hardship. If my friends don’t come through with their pledges I will fund the training. It is not a big deal after all only 4 people wrote in and I can decide to fund those 4 if my pocket is feeling choked. VISION: You may have come across the paraphrases in my writings but here is where we are headed in a nutshell. To be the leading platform for FREE and AFFORDABLE digital skill acquisition. Starting with writing we will keep acquiring complementary digital skills that are vital for improved productivity in our world today. We are still a long way but we are on the right path. They say two good heads are better than one and that is why I encourage contributions. We are building something that will exceed our expectations. A tribe that will collectively add greater value to our society than we can do individually. However, achieving this will depend largely on two major factors I sing about daily and please pay particular attention to them. (i) Consistency: If you are working towards a target try not to lose focus till it’s achieved. One way you can achieve this is by being consistent. If you decide to write daily then write daily. I have already written on this and you can peruse it here. (ii) Platform: Get your own domain, I can’t say this enough and I also wrote about growing your Platform. Read, like, share and engage texts, ideas, resources, and publications. Take advantage of this community and other networks to grow by supporting each other. Be deliberate about this because all the hard work will amount to nothing if you have no platform that will serve as your launch pad as well as a support system. Patrick Collison said; “Make friends over the internet with people

Blog, Resources

Overcoming Negative Feedback & Social Media Criticism.

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Worry less & Keep Posting Your Content. The journey to success is long, with lonely roads, epic failures, mad efforts, and experiences that come with joy and pain. The world is growing fast, and we are now in the era of technology & social media. As a result, digital skills are highly in demand. Every day, more people are getting into tech, now that the field is broad and competitive, with experts and newbies all striving for success. The use of social media has increased dramatically in recent years & has become a vital part of our daily lives by allowing us to connect with people by sharing our thoughts and experiences online. Many people get their first gig through social media, and while the story is different for others, social media is like a nightmare to them. The truth is it can’t treat everyone the same. If others make friends, others will make enemies, others will be uninspired and intimidated, and others will see hope and get inspired. Social media is another realm on its own. I recently realized that social media is an open platform, a no man’s land which makes people free to express themselves through their words and deeds. You could be a Content Creator on Tiktok or Instagram, a Writer, a Programmer, or a UX Designer. Social Media will connect you to people with similar skills, they will view your post, comment on it and react to it, and you will do the same. You will be flattered while also terrified by cyberbullies’ unpleasant comments. What you see can either make you or break you. It all depends on how you respond to it. The comment and reactions people get after sharing their content play a huge role in their life and the development of their skills entirely. It also determines how their relationship with people will be online. What you create is yours, but the moment you share, it becomes part of the world, and people will react. We return to the shell whenever we read negative comments about the work we shared online. Those with a fragile mentality stop creating and sharing, while those who are shy keep Creating but don’t share, all because someone said something we didn’t expect to hear or read. People developing a skill feel criticism is a way of telling them they’re not good enough. You accept compliments with flattery but hate negative feedback, criticism is unavoidable unless you aim to be nobody and do nothing. What people say or will say in your comment section could be a point of view you implied as criticism, sometime it could be constructive criticism, but because you are at the receiving end, you resent those feedback and term it as fault finding. Well, maybe the critic sees what you don’t see, not all critics are faultfinders, and some are problem solvers. Accept your imperfections, be more patient with your result, and keep sharing your work with positive energy, love, and enthusiasm. Having negative comments and criticism shows you’re not alone. Courage does not reside in the opinion of others but in your own heart, the courage that has no fear of criticism and cyberbullies. Recalibrate your view, Stop living for other people’s approval, and live for your purpose. It is better to see a comment about my work rather than none at all. Many of us make the mistake of sharing our work to be validated, only to receive criticism that hurts our feelings. Whenever you upload content, is not everyone’s responsibility to adore everything about your content. Someone must drill you by asking strategic questions and judging your skills and the quality of your work. The bitter truth is Internet bullies are here to stay, I got used to them, and I strongly suggest you do the same. Becoming socially awkward will only make you drift away; it should be more about pushing limits and going beyond your emotions and personal ego to achieve your goal. My mentor once said he sometimes shares his work with deliberate mistakes so he can get the attention of someone better than him through criticism. That’s a good strategy that shows desire, humility, and willingness to learn. The starting point of all achievement is desire, keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat- Napoleon Hill. Did the last comment traumatize you? Is your Self-esteem threatened? You think you’re not good enough, don’t you? Whenever you pay unhealthy attention to criticism, your emotions will interpret wrongly, and it begins to plant a seed in your mind. You stop working on yourself, and you stop chasing your dreams by accepting Yes, I’m not good enough, and I can’t be better. That is self-doubt speaking because you’re not ready for the emotional battle that comes with the job. What we create is excellence in our eyes, but it could be average in the eyes of someone. We can’t blame them; they have a better experience, or probably they’re just here to make you learn the hard way. Take corrections, accept you’re not an expert, own your mistakes, embrace your ignorance, learn from it, and improve on it. Keynote Critics have the right to criticize your work whether you deserve it or not. It doesn’t necessarily represent oppression but a right to openness. Some of the negative comments you read about your work are a reaction from someone that wants you to improve and do better. Considering the source (Who’s criticizing you is vital), the scrutiny can be from an expert with more ability and experience than you. They saw the flaws in your work and pointed them out, be wise and pay less attention to their choice of words and be teachable. Criticism leads to interactions between subordinates and provides directions for corrections. It’s more like a paradox. Ask questions after reading comments and feedback, and be curious to hear someone’s suggestions

Blog, Resources

Success Journey XXVI: Brain Dump, Get It Off Your Chest!

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A brain dump is an idea you have but need to remember for later. Brain-dump your thoughts to get your work done. ~ Anon I was a bit hesitant in doing this because I thought hell there are loads of articles on the topic which anyone can access but on second thoughts I remembered I had my own audience and if I want to serve them why should I refer them to others? Surely I can articulate the few ideas I have in my voice and recommend further readings. In On Writing, best-selling author Stephen King also stated that writing became easier in his later years as he rarely spent beyond 3–6 months on any new project, at least for his first draft. He said he struggled to understand how writers spend years writing one book/novel when all that was required was just pouring out those thoughts. Let us examine this a bit more. I liken it to the popular advice in writing; Write daily. Some advise us to embark on “word dump” this with brain dumping). Yes, we can dive in and dump everything. It’s a strategy that helps in many ways but most significantly in overcoming the dreaded writer’s block. The fact that many best-selling writers attribute their success to the brain-dump/writing-sprint method doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for you but it does work because I have tried it and I just did a dump before starting this post. I usually wake up with a clear head at 5:15 am. I used to wake at 4:50 am until I asked myself where I was hurrying to so I decided to add an extra half hour. No, I cut 5 minutes and added 25 more minutes. Back to the topic. I woke up with an unusual cluster of thoughts even though I had a good rest and I just couldn’t figure out why. My thoughts were running wild with different issues competing to be at the fore. I figured this was because I had a jampacked weekend of work including on Sunday and in between I had 3 scheduled meetings. One with the cmonionline community and two with business concerns. I had to clear my head! So I decided to do a brain dump instead of my usual Morning pages. Yes, I do a brain dump multiple times but I do Morning Pages once a day. I set my timer for 15 minutes. I usually do brain dumps for less, max 5 minutes. Most times I just use a voice recorder and pour out my thoughts for 3 minutes. More often this serves as a reminder than to clear my head. As I started dumping my thoughts I soon realised that the recurring worry was related to my unpreparedness for the meeting I scheduled with my staff at Newross & Co. By the time I finished, 3 out of the 4 pages I wrote had almost everything I should need for the meeting. I knew I had done enough. I can develop the points further while speaking during the meeting. My head was clear and I faced my laptop to write what you are reading now. That is really one of the primary purposes of doing a brain dump; to clear your cluster of thoughts and allow your conscious mind to focus on the Most Important Task MIT. It is a great technique for beginners as well as experienced writers because we all have millions of thoughts roaming through the brain in high entropy. And the sweetest part is that there are no RULES! Some writers will advise you to do it on screen or in longhand. Others will tell you to use a speech recorder. Yet some will advise you to set out a time of the day. These tips are all worthwhile but just do you. Do what suits you. There are other benefits and like I said at the beginning this is the time to refer you to other texts. You can read them up here and then check out more tips in my repertoire of writing resources in a digital era. We live in a time when it is easier to do many things including writing more than ever in history, so why not utilise the available tools to improve the craft you love? Before I leave you, hear this. I recently came across a mind-blowing software that makes you bang out words at a breakneck pace. The write-or-die app created by Dr Wicked is designed to delete your previous words if you don’t churn out more at a certain rate. Can you beat that? Of course, you can! The app is over a decade old. We now have ChatGPT from Elon Must and other AI text generators with seemingly limitless possibilities. The future is scary looking at the speed of these technological innovations. But we won’t run away. We are here to stay so we will definitely adapt because that is what humans do. If you enjoyed this please share it and hit the follow button to join our community of digital creatives at cmonionline.com let’s grow together. Thanks for reading.

Blog, Resources

What To Do About Bogus Bank Charges.

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  Account maintenance fee palaver. This frustrated client was so livid that he threatened to stop accepting naira. Now let’s be clear: The banking sector in any society is a necessary evil. Banks are all the same everywhere any day and at any time. But it is important to understand that banks are just like middlemen. They are financial intermediaries who still need to make profits. Besides the shareholders’ funds they don’t own the money they trade with. They basically receive from the surplus economic units and lend to the deficit economic units at a margin. I am not defending our banks. I’ve had my fair share of troubles with them and I’m currently tackling one with Keystone bank However, just like with many things I’ve stopped comparing Nigerians banks with their contemporaries over here..and the reason is simple; Our banks operate in a tougher economic environment. So what to do? 1. Periodically, the CBN releases guidelines stipulating the maximum charges for certain services. Click to see the latest approved charges here. This is to ensure that no bank charges arbitrarily for services rendered. Visit cbn.gov.ng to arm yourself with this info because our banks are ever willing to exploit the ignorant. 2. Always engage your bank via your account officer first to resolve the matter..move up the ladder and if you are not satisfied move to another bank with a better package.  

Blog, FEATURES, Lifestyle, Resources

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

Blog, Lifestyle, Resources

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

Blog, Diaspora Diary., Resources

How You Can Change The Narrative by Enkay Nwangene.

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Is nursing the only profession for Nigerian immigrants in the US? I asked a question some time ago on Facebook and got some very interesting responses. Some said it was the vocation of choice for many who seek to start earning as soon as possible while others suggested it is one way of skipping the endemic racial prejudice in many other sectors. There were varying reasons but the aforementioned two formed majority opinion. Perusing through Facebook recently I saw this interesting story by US-based Enkay Nwangene and decided to publish it. Read on and share…. No Need To Start Life From Scratch While Living Abroad. Do This Instead. “My people, I Dey Greet Una. Let’s get practical here, gone are the days when starting life afresh abroad with new certificates was the norm. You know, the usual enrolment for the ‘high-demand’ professional courses/programs (healthcare, business analyst, information technology, you name it). You may still do so if that’s truly your calling. Most of us know it’s more to get out of that survival mode that we find ourselves in upon arrival in a strange land. Thankfully, the new norm is actually Entrepreneurship. Yes, I said it, Entrepreneurship. Most economies in the western world reward passionate, solution-driven individuals and families as history record how Entrepreneurs or employers of labor impact any economy much more than employees. In fact, it doesn’t matter if you’re just arriving or been abroad for decades. The fact is that leaving the familiar (your home country) to the unfamiliar is a huge step outside your comfort zone. If you already did that, what then is stopping you from harnessing endless privileges available to better your life abroad? Every government needs assets not liabilities. Be an asset. Be different. Build wealth. It takes courage to be different. While you’re here, start a business rather than spending on things of less value or borrowing and getting into more student loans for courses that you may never use. If you must, borrow to build a sustainable business that would out-live your extra certificates and diplomas. On the average, most careers need skills upgrade every 3-5 years. So how long would you keep doing that? In my case, almost 3 years ago, I made a decision to start a digital business that completely changed the course of my life. Little did I know that 16 months later, I would be in charge of my own time. I don dey Canada 10 years, my people. My only regret be say I wish I see this business much earlier than I did. While building a digital business from my laptop, I was able to: -Retire early from my nursing career -Clear off ALL borrowed consumer obligations -Travel around before the global crisis hit -Acquire properties in various destinations -Fulfill one of my ultimate goals which I was just not able to do during the 10 years prior All happened in my early 30’s! The best part is these days, I spend my time impacting lives positively. My calendar is now filled with things I want to do. Living the way I want to. I’m excited to share my journey, as well as to give you a wake up call. Well, it’s your turn to learn! Find out how by signing up for a free one on one coaching and mentoring program that would help you until you feel independent and start living how you want. All you need is just 10% personal effort and the system does the remaining 90%. Full Training Is Provided. No experience is needed. It all starts with our introductory webinar, which is offered at absolutely zero cost. Access that on my webpage: WWW.OASISCONSULTINGINC.NET and check your inbox or spam/junk folder for more info. I can’t wait to connect with you! I tell you, you can actually start enjoying that greener pasture sooner than you anticipated.”

Blog, Resources

In The Netherlands, You Get Much More Than A Degree.

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Many do not know how beautiful The Netherlands is, I know much has been written about the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam with its fabulous red light district and their cycling culture, but there is so much more to that wonderful country and I can tell you that it is better experienced than heard. Now, why study in the lovely little kingdom? At an average of about €8,000 per annum, tuition for non-EU students is much lower than about €15000 which is the average in the United Kingdom. What’s more, some of the courses are taught in English. In addition, you get to study in a harmonious environment and one of the most culturally diverse countries in Europe. Additionally, the cost of living in the Netherlands is comparatively lower than in other western nations of the same standard. On average, a student will need between €800 and €1,000 per month. To fund this, you can combine part-time jobs and study finance. You can also enjoy discounted rates on many public amenities and sometimes there is free public transportation for students either during the week or at weekends. So you see, you get much more than a degree when you study in The Netherlands. You can explore further here or send a mail to admin@cmonionline.com with NETHERLANDS STUDY as the subject and we will be glad to assist you with the requisite resources. Now here is a bonus FACT: Norwegian, Swedish & Dutch are among the easiest languages for English speakers to learn. Many Universities in EU countries have free/affordable tuition but many Nigerian students don’t know this. You can learn any of these languages online and with a recent ruling by the EU Court of Justice that the European Commission cannot restrict the choice of a second language to English, German, or French in its recruitment process your chances of landing a job are even greater if you are proficient in any other European language.  

Blog, Resources

Cmonionline Talkshop: Digital Creativity & Social Media

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Plus FREE Graphic Design Course For 10 Attendees. In a few years, there will be half a trillion dollars for the taking by content creators. 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. Now we 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 doing the craft they love. So it is normal that writers are asked to earn through other means even as they push the pen. Yet getting a job let alone a well paying one can be more arduous than writing itself. But that was then because thankfully the affordances of the digital era are innumerable and the burgeoning creator economy adds to the rich tapestry of the writer’s life. Smart people with digital skills are earning good incomes by leveraging social media. This is why I never stop writing about the need to acquire these skills. So in line with this, we will have a Talkshop on Sunday, June 25th, 2023. This time we are delighted to have two enthusiastic content creators Ada @lightwoxng and Ifunanya @iphie_explores as guest speakers. They will share their thoughts on digital creativity and social media. In the past, we trained 5 people in Graphic Design and this time we have decided to double the figure. Attending this session and training in graphic design will definitely give you the foundation to start creating and added to your writing skill its fair to say that the sky will be your beginning. Why do I say this? Because writing is the mother of all creation and in this internet era, content rules! So why not join us via Google Meet to discuss Digital Creativity & Social Media on Sunday, 25 June · 6:00 pm Video call link: https://meet.google.com/nty-inoc-scq It’s IMPORTANT to know that attending the Talkshop is part of the criteria for choosing 10 beneficiaries of the FREE Graphic Design course.

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