Tag: Inspirational

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Hurray!!! Today is My Fifth Anniversary

IMG_0006Well, my fifth anniversary as an off and on blogger.

I registered with WordPress.com this day, five years ago to chronicle preparations for my weddings and other spin-offs under the title ‘Help!!! I’m getting Married!!!.

Well, I was quietly discouraged by someone who thought I was putting out too much info. I later made a come back in 2013 with my blog ‘The Blossoming’  posting mainly inspirational articles. In 2014, I moved to The Storytela and that’s where we are right now.

It’s been an awesome experience blogging. I’ve met other great bloggers like
http://unwalled.wordpress.com,

http://www.eziaha.com and

http://ladyicons.wordpress.com to mention but a few.

I’ve also been greatly encouraged by my sister and mentor- Chika  http://chikaforafrica.com

Mrs. Oloidi
Mrs. Oloidi

A huge shout out to all our followers and readers from all around the world! Special recognition to:

Kim Sweeting
Kim Sweeting

Funsho Oloidi and Kim Sweeting, they’ve not only read every post, they’ve either left a comment or pressed the like button. Thank you so much for making the journey interesting.

So what to expect from The Storytela in the next five years? Lot’s of inspiring stories about people like you. Sit back, fasten your device belt, pick up a virtual bowl of popcorn and let’s take you for a ride!

Cheers to 5 years of blogging!!! Glory to God Most High!!!!

The Storytela

Life’s a journey, document it

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When you wake up by 3pm…

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There’s this popular adage in Igbo language that goes;

‘A man’s morning begins whenever he wakes up’

And that’s the way it is. A dream morning routine for me would be: Brush, Pray, Work-out, help everyone get ready for the day and then head to work. But sometimes I skip the workouts (oops!).

Now imagine if I woke up late, like say 7am and instead of rushing through all my routines and dashing out of the house, I start lamenting:

 ‘Oh! I just woke up late. Why did I wake up late?’

And then I pick up my phone, go through my chat list and I see different updates from different friends: example a friend might write;

‘Wow! Great morning, early start’

Then I start feeling bad and instead of getting ready for the day, I decide to visit my online fitness group page and read the various workout logs and I see different exercise logs from different people who woke up earlier and again I feel terrible and I continue my lamentation

‘What made me wake up late sef?’

And 30minutes later, I finally drag myself and start off. I get to work and attribute everything that goes wrong to waking up late.  In summary; I get to have a bad day just because I woke up late!

Now, compare this to people who feel that they ‘started out late in life’ maybe you are one of them. You probably didn’t finish school early,

Or maybe you didn’t get a job when others did,

Or maybe you didn’t get married when you expected to

Or maybe you did get married but didn’t have kids on time

Or maybe you are yet to have kids.

The examples are endless…

Whatever your case is, one thing you must NOT do is to waste time comparing where you would have been if ‘it’ had happened earlier to where you are presently.

Instead, invest the time and energy is making the best of the moment and preparing for a greater future. Thank God for his blessings in your life, including the ones you cannot see with your physical eyes.

AND GUESS WHAT?

God is never late! (2Peter 3:8-9) It is human beings that are time bound, counting days and years and trying to ‘catch up’ but the bible says that God makes everything beautiful in HIS time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Does that mean that God is inconsiderate? Absolutely not!

Let’s take a look at Jesus; he didn’t begin his ministry until he was THIRTY! Like seriously? I mean in today’s world people expect you to have achieved so much at the age of thirty! But the truth is that Jesus took time to prepare for his ministry and when it was the right time for him to launch out, he did and in three and a half years, he made the kind of impact that is still being felt more than 2,000 years later. 

Have you read the story of Mark Kay Ash? That would be in another article.

What does this tell you? What really counts is doing what God wants you to do, when He wants you to do it, where he wants you to be and how he wants it done.

So, quit comparing yourself with anyone. Rather seek God! What does God want you to do now?

A successful person is not just someone that has loads of money and fame. A successful person is someone who is doing what he was created to do, thereby making a success out of others around him.

The lives and destinies of men are intertwined with yours; you’ve got to fulfill your destiny, so that they can fulfill theirs.  It doesn’t matter what obstacles that have come your way, greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.

God says ‘I know the thoughts that I think towards you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

What are your expectations? What are your desires? What are you saying to yourself about your life? Or are you still wallowing in self-pity?

Just in case you are still feeling bad, then this bible verse is for you:

We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. Romans 8:28- Amplified Bible.

If you really believe that, you will never be discouraged or feel bad for one more second in your life. Rather, you will smile, think positive thoughts and find a way to encourage someone around you.

God bless you.

Photo credit: http://www.buzberry.com

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Have you been in a Pressure Pot before?

ImageYes, that’s exactly my question. Have you ever been put in a Pressure Cooker, spiced up  and cooked nicely till you are all soft and ready to eat?

If your answer is ‘No’ then you need to get someone to put you into a Pressure Cooker and get you cooked and done nicely.

This is because you are not going to really get far in life if you do not go through pressures that will bring out the best in you. Ever heard of the Refiner’s fire?

So instead of feeling discouraged, feeling low, feeling de-motivated or feeling down because of the things you are going through, you ought to stand up! Shake yourself up and move forward! It’s time to make progress! It’s time to make advancement and it all begins with your mind.

You’ve got to change your thoughts, don’t think victim, rather think victory. Instead of seeing your environment as an obstacle, see it as a stepping stone. Think how you can make things better.

See, a car is made to run irrespective of the environment it finds itself. Whether in New York City or in Haiti, a Rolls Royce would move, this is because it is wired to move from inside and not from the ‘poshness’ of it’s environs.

Take a moment to do this, bring out a currency note, what is the value of the note in your hand? Throw it on the floor and step on it. Pick it up again and crumple it in your hand (currency abuse you are thinking, right?) Bring it out and look at it again. Has the value changed?

The answer is NO! A hundred dollar bill is a hundred dollar bill no matter what you do to it. It would actually appreciate in value if taken to some environments.

What does that say about you? You are not an ordinary person, there’s more to you than the flesh and blood that everyone sees. It’s the inner man. That inner man does not depreciate in value ever!

You’ve got to make up your mind never to be discouraged or de-motivated for one more second! Don’t waste your energy being angry with the system. The system was created by men like you, look for ways you can increase in relevance and very soon you would have opportunities to positively impact the system.

Whatever you do in life, you are really doing for yourself.

Think about that for a moment and decide if you want to continue on the paths you’ve chosen.

If you decide to make a change for the better, then do so now! Stop the procrastination because the Clock is moving and so is the time.

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Against All Odds: A Story of Tenacity, Hard Work, and Higher Education

jbheKenya Hicks, Tashea Stanley-Dixon, Khadija Darr, and Kenji Kuykendall grew up in Waukegan, Illinois, about 40 miles north of Chicago. They have all been close friends since they were 12 years old. All four girls became pregnant while in high school and all four gave birth to sons. All four fathers abandoned the teenagers before they gave birth. All four girls were obliged to go on welfare temporarily so that they could provide for their children. Kenya and Khadija dropped out of high school. One might have bet these four teenagers were doomed to a life of poverty in single-parent homes. If you took that bet, you would have lost.

The four teenagers made a pact to support each other and succeed despite the fact that the odds were against them. Through education and hard work, they were determined to give their children a better life. All four went back to school, worked when they were not in school, and received help and support from friends, family, and each other.

Today all four women are in their 30s. They all have graduated from college. By the end of next year, all four will have MBA degrees.

Kenya Hicks was supported by her parents, grandmother, sister, and friends as she completed an associate’s degree at Robert Morris University and a bachelor’s degree from Columbia College in Missouri. It took her 12 years to complete college. She is currently pursuing an MBA at the Keller Graduate School of Management. She is in the process of starting up a home service agency. Hicks states, “We inspired and supported each other relentlessly to finish college no matter what challenges we faced so we could change the direction of our journey and rewrite our destiny.”

Tashea Stanley-Dixon enrolled in a community college and worked at night calling homeowners who were delinquent in their mortgage payments. It took her eight years but she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Columbia College. She too, is enrolled in the MBA program at the Keller Graduate School of Management. She is now a certified paralegal.

Khadija Darr earned an associate’s degree at Robert Morris University and a bachelor’s degree at Columbia College. Almost 90 percent of her course work was completed online. She is currently enrolled in the MBA program with a concentration in accounting at Concordia University in Chicago. She currently operates her own T-shirt company and has a tax preparation business. She plans to become a certified public accountant.

While working various jobs and taking care of her son, Kenji Kuykendall attended a community college part time over an eight year period and earned her associate’s degree with honors from the College of Lake County. She then went on to complete her bachelor’s degree in 2008 with a specialization in workforce education development from Southern Illinois University. She graduated magna cum laude. Currently Kenji attends Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and will earn a MBA with a specialization in organizational behavior in January. It was a 14-year journey to complete her education. She now is works in human resources for a major pharmaceutical company in Chicago with aspirations of becoming a human resources executive officer. She lives by the motto, “Hard work does pay off.” She could not have achieved her goals without the support of her family and friends.

Excerpt from http://www.jbhe.com/ (The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education)

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