PROVISO Spp.

A 'proviso' can simply be reffered to as a condition or stipulation in a statement. It is more or less a condition which must be satisfied before a statement or anything of that sort can effectively work. It is a popular legal term and held in very high esteem.

I am borrowing 'proviso' here to mean, 'unless something is done, a result would not be achieved.' In this sense, i am appealing to the hearts and minds of rising, up and coming or future leaders. What i bring to the table are suggestions or conditions that ought to be fulfilled before one may become an effective leader.

Firstly, as a rising leader you'll need to have humility. You will need to learn how to serve, how to take orders and perform them to the best of your abilities. The chances of humble servants becoming very successful leaders have been verified by history to be very high. Many religious books including the Holy Bible prescribe this kind of attitude; for example, David, who became King of Israel after years of diligently caring for his family's few sheep. Humility to one's superiors, colleagues and even juniors go a long way to shape a successful leader. This is mainly because, once you become a leader you are conversant with the experiences of your followers or subordinates and you do everything possible to make them work wholeheartedly because you've been in their shoes before.

Secondly, you'll need to associate strategically. This means placing yourself in 'opportunity-prone zones.' These may include community keep fit clubs, study groups or even old school associations. You may need assistance from any of them to get to the top. There are many instances when people are given preferential treatment in Supermarkets, Banks and Business deals just because of belonging to a particular association. Usually, you'll need to surround yourself with like-minded people who share your ideas and aspirations. These people must challenge your creativity and criticise you constructively. Strategic associations may also mean getting useful inputs into your life by your affiliates, so that if any of the friends or groups you spend your valuable time with do not add value to your life in anyway, you find nice ways to do away with them. This is a very important pre-requisite(proviso) if you'll have to be a leader one day.

One more Proviso(condition) you'll need to consider as a rising leader is to test before you commit. You'll have to conduct your own assessment of the viability of a project before you embark on it no matter how juicy the fruits of the results may be or how easy its seems to accomplish. Experience has shown that men stumble on stones, not mountains, so you need not underestimate any task. Period!

Now, the above conditions are just a few of what emerging leaders in this world need to know at very young ages. They apply to every vocation or profession; teaching, medicine,politics, law or business. It is however very important to note that after successfully getting into your dream leadership position, you need to impact the world positively. Bear in mind, you need to retire with a good name and a clean sheet. Men are usually remembered for the problems they created or the solutions they brought.

MY PLAN FOR THE FUTURE...

It is often said that, 'failing to plan is planning to fail.' This statement suggests that without planning, one is bound to fail. this makes it incumbent on us , the up and coming youth to put on our 'thinking caps' and plan for the future.

Numerous discoveries and life-changing decisions have been made since Adam and we do not have to go about re-inventing the wheel. What we need to do is to add to what we have in place and introduce novelties, whether individually or collectively.

Your plan for the future should be a life-changing phenomenon, a unique agenda. An agenda which is not to be of individual benefit but of societal well-being. You may decide to replicate something which already exists but it will be better if it has a 'personal touch', if it has some other flavour of its own, so that it appears new.

A plan for the future should be a challenge to all; it should be difficult to beat. You need to elevate the bar, above what already exists. You need to raise the standards, in your academics, sports or any worthy endeavour you undertake.

Your plan for the future should have the ability to cause change. It should have a positive effect on society so that it is acknowledged by all and sundry. It should be appreciated in various ways including being awarded honours. A good plan for the future challenges the status quo and is also dynamic.

You need to be passionate about your plan, giving it your all, knowing that great struggles bring great victories. you should be time conscious and be a respecter of time. Patience counts but to have a sense of urgency also puts you on your toes and prevents procrastination.

My plan for the future has begun, you can start yours now, knowing that there is a place for everybody's contribution in the world. Make it unique, make it the best, make it now!

STEPPING INTO THE ACHIEVERS' LANE (SITAL)

Stepping into the achievers' lane will mean joining the host of successful people and not falling back. Success or achievement has got to do with embarking on a mission and completing it.

I think everyone has got a mission in life. Targets are set at every stage of life. Some are long term, others are to be achieved in the short term or immediately.They may be very utopian or very simple. In either case, one thing usually rans through; a person conceives some targets and works to achieve them. Some of these targets may be, becoming an astronaut, becoming the president of a nation, becoming the richest man in the world, setting world records in sports, becoming the national best teacher or even graduating with the best results in school. No matter the kind of mission one sets, it should be ardently pursued to bring it into fruition. One is supposed to take all the necessary steps to make it happen otherwise one finds him or herself in failure, unfortunatly. It takes a lot of patience, endurance, correction of errors and humility to be successful. It is not an easy road but the mindset of a winner will make it look like one.

Your mission is the mission you give yourself. It is best if as an individual you set personal targets independently. Although you may solicit other people's views about what you can do or achieve, the final decisions should always be made by you. You do this because you will bear the costs in case there is failure in your quest to succeed.

Stepping into the achievers' lane will require a new mindset. A new mindset of positivities and possibilities. This is the mindset of winners and hopeful people. There should be a total commitment to success, everything one does should be success focused, so that they are not done anyhow. Succeeding in smaller tasks will guarantee success in bigger tasks.

There may be distractions one the way to success, so many that you might want to give up in many instances, but perseverance and hope that you can also make it as others have should drive you through. You will need to focus on the brighter side of life. There is a saying that if you face the source of light, all darkness is cast behind you. So that if you are optimistic, you cast away all fear of failure.

Stepping into the achievers' lane will also require you to mark landmarks in your life and improve upon them. You need to set goals and strive to achieve them. Mark the progress you are making and often times ask people to assess you. This will help to smoothen all rough edges of your mission and also spur you on to greater heights.

You will find yourself in the Achievers' Lane when others will want to be like you, when your life becomes a good example and when your existence on earth is appreciated by mankind ,even if it is one person. I invite you today to take a step into the Achievers' Lane.

SPRINGBOARD - the power within you!

Whatever a man thinketh, so is he....
Positive thinking has been identified as very vital to successful living. It keeps one going and helps suppress pessimism. Most people often are too busy worrying over negativities ,that they do not see anything good in this world. It is about time we take time to reflect the goodness of this life, the good times, no matter how few they may be.
You are what you think. People may see you in different angles; some positive, others negative, yet, the most important view of yourself is what you perceive yourself to be. Take this analogy for instance, there are many types of mirrors, some reflect the exact image, others refract, and others either diminish the size of the image or increase it. This can pass for how different people may hold different views of you, so that you can not know which one is really true, thus your own analysis of yourself would be the best. In this case, it means you have the sole responsibility of either projecting yourself into the limelight or quenching your hopes in life.
It is important to be happy with yourself. Accept your present situation and make moves to better it. Know that life is in stages and that your present situation will not last forever. Be happy with yourself and others will also find it proper to appreciate you. Delight yourself in improving your lot too.
See the beauty in you. You should know that you are beautiful in your own special way. You don't need anyone to tell you. You should be the first to notice that, so that if anyone tells you again you'll not be surprised or overwhelmed.
Be at peace with yourself. Often times, we have internal struggles with ourselves. Our thoughts compete within us. There are several things we think about and these things all compete for a chance to be realised. Fortunately, you have the sole responsibility of selecting which of these thoughts to put into action. It is difficult though when our thoughts confuse us for hours, days and even weeks. Sometimes our thought can imprison us into confusion, boredom and inaction. Being at peace with yourself will mean to bring sanity and calm within your thoughts. You need to relax, meditate or ponder orderly over your thoughts. Sometimes you may need a quiet place, listen to some kind of music, close your eyes or even take a walk to do this successfully. Inner peace is all that is required as you choose which thoughts to put into action. This is the way to generate great ideas and discoveries which will make you a better person.
It is therefore clear that in order to appreciate ourselves we need to renew our mindset and look within us for answers to life's challenges. In order to soar higher, we need to take a leap on the springboard (that is a positive outlook of life).This will make others see our worth in this world. It's within you!

2010 WORLD CUP TO UNITE AFRICA?

It was the dream of many to see Africa united under one flag or government. Prominent amongst the lot were Marcus Garvey, George Padmore and Kwame Nkrumah. They were of the view that Africa would be stronger and better off if united and that staying divided in small unviable states will only spell our doom. These Pan-Africanists however died without realizing their dream.
Many years afterwards, many African scholars have acknowledged some wisdom in the fight the early Pan-Africanists put up to see Africa united but only scores of present-day African leaders have shown some sort of commitment to making United Africa a reality.
Weighing the merits of such a union against the demerits shows that it will be a panacea for most of Africa’s problems that is if one should consider how the shadow union of Europe (European Union) blesses its members economically and socially.
The 2010 World Cup in South Africa (the first of its kind in Africa) has shown considerably that the African masses would love a United States of Africa. It is marvelous how Africans of different nationalities support enthusiastically any African team that plays another team from outside Africa. In the media, both print and electronic, African opinion resounds in unison, ‘WE WANT AN AFRICAN TEAM TO WIN!’(sounds good to hear right?). Now, imagine all of Europe wishing an European teams wins the Cup, (that will sound weird right?) Of course, this shows how unique Africa is and how right it will be to come together as one.
Do Africans support other Africans because they are blacks?
Will others be right if they called us racist?
If all of Africa presented and supported only one team, will our support be regarded nationalistic or racist?
Does this World Cup re-echo the strain of Garvey,Padmore, Nkrumah and others?
Is it our time to unite?

To me, it is long overdue that Africa united under one flag. All our actions and words make this evident.
"No independent African State today by itself has a chance to follow an INDEPENDENT course of economic development, and many of us who have tried to do this have been almost ruined or have had to return to the fold of the former colonial rulers. This position will not change unless we have unified POLICY working at the CONTINENTAL LEVEL. The first step towards our cohesive economy would be a unified monetary zone, with, initially, an agreed common parity for our currencies...When we find that the arrangement of a fixed common parity is working successfully, there would seem to be NO reason for not instituting one common currency and a single bank of issue." Address to the Conference of African Heads of State and Government, May 24, 63 can be found at page 242 of the book Revolutionary Path

AKWAABA, WELCOME

THIS IS ELVIS ATO SEKYI AND I WELCOME YOU TO MY BLOG(THE BLACK STAR CORNER).

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