Tuesday, September 19, 2006

A Land of Opportunities.

Although Nigeria must grapple with its decaying infrastructure and a poor regulatory environment, the country possesses many positive attributes for carefully targeted investment and will expand as both a regional and international market player. Profitable niche markets outside the energy sector, like specialized telecommunication providers, have developed under the government's reform program. There is a growing Nigerian consensus that foreign investment is essential to realizing Nigeria's vast potential. Companies interested in long-term investment and joint ventures, especially those that use locally available raw materials, will find opportunities in the large national market. However, to improve prospects for success, potential investors must educate themselves extensively on local conditions and business practices, establish a local presence, and choose their partners carefully. The Nigerian Government is keenly aware that sustaining democratic principles, enhancing security for life and property, and rebuilding and maintaining infrastructure are necessary for the country to attract foreign investment. Efforts are been intensified to make sure that our dear country remain a safe place for investment opportunities. We will all come back home someday, and we sure will fall back on something to be glad about. The time is now that we invest in our economy to complement Government efforts. the time to be more positive is now because we have to build a future that generations to come will be proud of. Be positive, be Nigerian for ours is a land of opportunities.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

The How to guide?

Just as willpower is an essential factor in achieving success, at some point in time, discouragement and lack of motivation may hinder you from reaching your goal. And it is up to you, and you alone to devise techniques that will help you keep that drive within ablaze.It is helpful to have visual goals. Whatever that is you are working towards, make it visual e.g. if your tryin to look fit and trim write your goals and paste it on your fridge.It may also be something material like a car, or a vacation you have been looking forward to for the longest time. Take or cut out a picture of it and post it at a conspicuous place at work or at home where you can see it often. So that when you feel discouraged, this will remind you of your goal and will help you keep your focus.Make a contract with yourself.

According to motivational researches, people who write down to-do-lists are far more successful in achieving their intended goals than those people who just keep mental lists instead. Putting something in writing somehow makes it more powerful psychologically speaking. This may also be the reason why most cultures have such a high regard in honoring contracts. In the contract, you may also include a certain reward that you will give yourself once you have accomplished the task. After all, everyone likes to be rewarded for completing a good job. Even a simple pat on the back, “good job”, or “thank you” may do the trick to give the person the extra push to carry on, but unfortunately, these may not always be readily available. Considering that these are also essential in keeping oneself motivated, you must learn to find a way to get that encouragement on your own through rewarding yourself.

Abusive people lower your self-esteem and bring you down. Get these negative people out of your life. Surround yourself with positive people. Emulate their example.Smile amply and think happy thoughts.


These will give you a brighter outlook and let you see a clearer picture of what you really want and a fresh mind to know what steps to take to get there. Rather than wait for things to happen, try to be proactive and MAKE THINGS HAPPEN. Inactivity idles the brain and stagnates your potential to achieve your goals.Read inspirational books and literature. These will help you improve your attitude and heal your mind. A book of success stories also proves to be encouraging. You will not only learn from others' experiences and derive confidence boosting insights from them but the story will be instrumental in motivating you to go for your goal and move ahead with your plans. If this still seems to falter, get training or education. Often times, not knowing how or where to start is frustrating. Knowledge is power. Having a clear understanding of how and where to start is empowering and it will provide the extra drive needed to hit the mark you are aiming at and follow it through.Having enumerated all these tips and tricks to attaining self-motivation, but still you seem to feel lacking that much needed drive, there is one last thing that you must try. Whatever it is that you have been meaning to do, or wanting to achieve, JUST DO IT! Keep on aiming high and go for it! Actually getting your hands dirty best solves the problem of motivation. By “forcing” yourself to just do it, your momentum will pick up slowly as you go along and before you know it you have finished the task or have finally achieved your goal. Divide and conquer is the key. Break down the seemingly unsurmountable undertaking to small doable steps. Not only does it become less overwhelming, but seeing the "in the meantime" results will further your confidence that it can indeed be done.


Lack of motivation happens to us all, but if you do not encourage yourself to accept opportunities and be challenged, no one else will. It is most important to keep your eye on the goal, find ways to keep going, and in no time, you shall reap its benefits. And if at the beginning you were just doing it for the material reward, you will also learn to realize that the fulfillment, satisfaction and self-achievement you derive from reaching your goal is a much pleasurable high that will keep the drive within continually burning.

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

To believe in yourself is to be confident in your convictions on whatever you choose to undertake. We live today in times of great changes, the changes we see in our behavioural parttern is what we create from within our inner self.
Believe in your maker, cos without HIM, all endeavours are run on faulty engine.
Believe in the possibilty of change in the comtemporary situation for as you believe, so you are.
Believe, believe then believe again because that is the first step to realising that you can be whom you trully aspire to be.
Believe that when you perspire, you dont have to retire, but refire, to acquire the success you desire.
What goes through your mind as you read this piece?
Do you feel that this is by chance? or a destined period of reflection for you?,
maybe the second thought is it!, the time for reflection is now.
As we move towards the period of actualisation of the millenium development goals, we all must believe that all the problems facing the developing world will be history!.
To believe this is to believe in yourself, for WE make up the people who will bring abut the change.
Believe in yourself for then, you would have believed that what you are reading is true.
I believe in my abilities, so i explore more opportunities for the betterment of others.
To believe is to create the foundation for success, the success of DSPN, the triumph of the nigerian youths at home and in the diaspora.
If you believe, then join DSPN, for its time to DOSUMTHING POSITIVE FOR NIGERIA.

How to become more POSITIVE

17 steps to a more positive You.

1. Make the Decision to Stay U.P (Ultra positive). Nothing of consequence happens until you promise yourself that you'll become the most positive person you know. Raise your standards! Everything else flows from this key decision to cut yourself off from the 99% who blame, whine, gossip, and predict doom and gloom. Life is short. Take a stand.

2. Start U.P. then end U.P. every day One of the simplest ways to quickly transform or upgrade your attitude is to begin and end each day with what we call in The 1% Club, Positive Mental Nutrition. Feed your mind with inspirational, spiritual, or motivational ideas for 10-15 minutes immediately upon awakening each morning and right before drifting to sleep each evening. During these two time periods, your mind is extremely susceptible to programming, so make sure your inputs are positive, healthy, and goal-directed. Read, visualize, affirm, pray, rewrite your goals.

3. Summarize Each Day's Victories, Large or Small, in Writing This one practice alone can transform your attitude and generate quantum leaps in self-confidence. Start logging your accomplishments each evening in a notebook or hardbound journal. What a positive habit!


4. U.P. your Physical Exercise Another pillar of Ultra-Positive living is consistent, moderate exercise. This includes aerobic work to burn fat and improve heart health, weight work to tone, strengthen, and elevate metabolism, and flexibility work to stay loose and limber. Face the facts. When you're in terrific shape and feel better about yourself you feel better about your life. You're positioned to live U.P. to your full potential.

5. Break U.P. the Big Four Negative thinking leads to negative emotions which in turn, trigger more negative thinking and so the vicious cycle becomes engaged. The top 4 negative villains include fear, worry, blame and guilt. These emotions terrorize your potential and immobilize your efforts toward becoming Ultra-Positive. When you begin experiencing results you didn't want or expect, it's easy to get scared and start thinking more about potential losses than potential gains. This mindset triggers worry (reverse goal setting) where you vividly imagine what you don't want. To transfer the burden of worry, you'll often blame someone or something outside of yourself. Alternatively, you may exaggerate your role in negative events and experience guilt. Consider negative emotions to be lies from the enemy. Deal with them directly by refusing to entertain the thoughts that fuel them. Invest your time thinking about what you want instead of what you don't want.


6. Forgive Someone, Including Yourself, Daily Harboring grudges and hostility against anyone including yourself tends to attract more circumstances to be upset about. Practice forgiving somebody everyday for any real or imagined transgressions. The better you become at forgiveness, the more positive you can become as a human being. If you skip this one, I'll forgive you.


7. Quarantine Negativity if you can't Dissolve it Carve out a particular time and place to worry (Worry Time) and to complain (Issue Time) each week. This is extremely effective because the rest of your week doesn't get diluted with the minority of negative circumstances that can infect an otherwise healthy week. When you cut the spontaneity out of negativity you severely weaken it.

8. Focus on God. He's U.P. Remind yourself of everything you know to be true about God. God is All-Powerful. God is Love. God is Sovereign. God is always with us. God is Absolute Truth. God never changes. And so on..Thinking about God is good.

9. Schedule 4 Minute Positive Injections Every 2 Hours Think of these as Positive Pit Stops. Review your goals or mission. Practice affirmation or visualization. Pray. Read the Bible. Relive a positive memory. Write a thank you card or send an e-mail of appreciation to someone important.

10. Simplify and DeClutter to stay U.P. Complexity is negative. Simplicity is positive. Room by room, drawer by drawer, try tossing one tiny item of clutter everyday for 30 days. Break your sub goals and milestones down into even smaller components. Renegotiate, and/or downsize, existing commitments to lighten your load a bit for the next 30 days.

11. Get to Bed 60 Minutes Earlier for 10 Straight Days Fatigue, especially chronic fatigue, invites negativity and cowardly thinking. During periods of intense or prolonged stress, extra sleep will help your brain remain an ally in the war against mediocrity. Cut something out of the evening schedule and just drift to sleep with visions of victories dancing in your head. Your body, mind, and spirit will thank you.

12. Take a 24 Hour Mental Fast Become Ultra Positive one day at a time. You can rid your attitude of toxic thoughts through the practice of mental fasting. During your fast, abstain from all complaining, criticizing, excuse-making, gossiping and worrying whatsoever! Start with a 60-minute fast and gradually discipline your mind to repel all negativity for a full day. Focus on progress. Repeat as necessary.

13. Stay U.P. and Rewatch Your Favorite Funny Movies Laughter is fabulously positive. Research indicates that people who laugh more actually have more fun. Isn't that surprising? Consider building your own comedy library on DVD. Watch often. You'll stay healthier, more creative, and less stressed and that's a great alternative to the medicine cabinet.


14. Have a Counter-Attack Plan U.P. and Ready Become hyper-sensitive to your thought life. Since you can only be negative when you're thinking negative thoughts, you can quickly become positive by thinking positive thoughts. Be prepared to fight back if you have to. The split second you notice any negative thought running through your mind, replace it emphatically with something like, "I am responsible" or "I trust God" or "I can do it". Repeat, Repeat, Repeat! Be ready with your comeback before the heat of the moment. Make negative, limiting thoughts unwelcome in your mental household.


15. Re-Engage an Old Hobby to stay U.P. Make sure it's positive of course. Involve yourself in an activity that used to be important to you, but may have gotten squeezed out of your life due to other priorities. This will be both therapeutic and rejuvenating. Consider it a gift to yourself. And gifts are positive.


16. Intentionally Cultivate Ultra-Positive Company This one's mandatory. It's next to impossible to become or stay U.P. when the people you live and work with are petty, negative thinkers. Nothing equals the influence of your habitual associations. Be deliberate and purposeful. As you become more positive, you'll attract more positive people in your life and that's good.



17. Help Someone Else UP Donate your money. Donate your time. Volunteer. Simply serve someone less fortunate or contribute your talents and gifts to a worthy organization. Helping those who need help reduces self-centeredness and puts your own challenges into a much more positive perspective. Remember, every situation can be positive when you view it as an opportunity for growth and self-mastery.



Oh and one more thing,

Its not how many times U fall that counts but how well you rise from a fall.

Do Sumthing Positive Events Blog

Hi guys,


Another blog to check out is

http://dosumthingevents.blogspot.com/


This blog is specificaly for Positive events, both past and present. The aim is to simply create awareness that there are youths in our midst organising positive events.

If you have an event coming up, let us know

Thanx

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

More youths making a difference

Have you guys heard about AYA Foundation? If you haven't and don't know who they are, read on.

AYA Foundation, Aspired young artists foundation is all about TALENT and ARTS. AYA is using this project to bring back the arts to Nigeria and Africa as a whole by hosting talent shows for 5 - 18 year olds. AYA Foundation hosted a talent show on the 12th of August 2006 at Fantasy Land.

AYA Foundation team is run by a group of young individuals. Kike Soyode and Ify Ojekwe are on board this project too and they are doing a very good job.

It was a great show, there were all kinds of performances dancing, singing, piano etc. AYA Foundation will be teaming up with DSPN Project to host a Talent and Fashion on the 23rd of December 2006. So don't miss out, if you would like to perform or model just send an email to miss_ojekwe@hotmail.com, dosumthinng@hotmail.com, dosumthingevents@yahoo.co.uk.

The DSPN project- www.dosumthing.com


Join the online forum or just leave your comments in this blog. We need your support and input!

Youths making a difference

2006 is coming to an end already, it has flown by very quickly its unbelievable. I remember New years day like it was yesterday, so let me ask this question; Can you list a few positive things you have done this year? If you cannot think of anything, don't worry cause its never too late. There are still 3 months to the year ends and there is also a new year coming up!

So get yourself together, sit down and think about the positive things you could be doing. Positive can mean anything, helping someone who is lost and needs direction, giving alms to the poor or organising a charity show for Aids victims in Africa.

For example:

A group of youths from Loyola Jesuit organised a Fashion show to raise money for the only survivor of the SoSoliso crash, December 10th 2005 to perform facial reconstruction. We thank God for her life and hope more people can donate money towards her operations.

Another example of doing sumthing positive is another group of youths who organised a charity football match and donated the money to Charity.

Be Inspired, Be an Achiever, Be Sumthing!!!
www.dosumthing.com

Do Sumthing Positive Nigeria- Youths

Do Sumthing Positive Nigeria is about making a positive impact in our lives, in the way we think and Nigeria as a whole. Many intelligent and talented youths are sent abroad to finish their education but many do not come back because of the issues and problems back in Nigeria. The problems range from bad roads to a poor healthcare system. We can achieve our aim using public education to reach Government Officials, Authorities and Our Parents - we have to remind them that we are the future of Nigeria, that our needs like that of youths living in Nigeria are important and we have a role to play. We can participate in reach out programs for value change and re-orientation, promote and engage in skills and knowledge transfer. We have to drive change through alliances (both at home and in Diaspora), which will assist our youth who are talented and intelligent, who can be leaders of tomorrow but are held back by failure of the system. Millions of children today are dying because of poverty, discrimination, conflict, poor governance and sickness and we have all it takes and can put them to use to make a change. Do Sumthing Positive Nigeria will be joining forces with Aspiring Young Artists Foundation to host a Youth Event in December 2006. The event will cover undiscovered talented youths from all parts of Lagos. We will be inviting people from all walks of life to give motivational talks and speeches. If you are interested and would like to perform just holla. dosumthinng@hotmail.com