ALLAN'S

John Wooden, legendary basketball coach, always emphasized to “make each day your masterpiece”. That means focusing entirely on the present, and not worrying about the past or future. It’s recognizing that what has happened in the past is done with, and you can only affect the future by the work you do today.

We are the painters of our own canvas. Every day, that canvas is a blank slate that we have the power to paint how we’d like. At the end of the day, we can look at our brush strokes, colors, and styles that we chose, and look at our masterpiece. We can evaluate our art, and change it for the next day need be.

All you’re worrying about is making that single canvas beautiful. Make that one a masterpiece, the one in front of you. It’s the same for life: make the day ahead of you beautiful. Don’t dwell on the past and don’t anxiously think about the future. Rather, paint your canvas today. You will have a gorgeous masterpiece by the end of the day.

Don’t end the day with no masterpiece, because today can’t be made up for by tomorrow. You can’t make up for not living your life today by living extra hard tomorrow. Live today. The opportunity to paint your masterpiece today is only here now, in the present moment.

Achieve this through preparation and discipline, two of Coach Wooden’s prominent values. Define goals and create a schedule, then attack. A masterpiece is just your daily actions summed up on your canvas. Make those actions great, and your masterpiece will be great too. Focus today on making a masterpiece. Not what it looked like yesterday or what it could look like tomorrow. Paint the canvas today.

When life starts going your way, maybe you are now “successful” or have a lot of money, always stay humble. Nobody likes a self- centered, arrogant person. They’re energy drainers, and people you don’t want to be around. It’s so clear when somebody feels like they’re better than everybody around them. They put people down and make people feel bad about themselves.

Humility always wins. The people who you look up to yet they make you feel equal to them. The people who genuinely love to see you win and know life isn’t a zero-sum game. The people who seem like a normal person when you talk to them. Those are the real, kind people you want to be around.

At the end of the day, the humble people know we are one team, no better than their fellow humans. I love seeing people who have “made it” that are still so down to earth. At events, they stay for hours after talking to everybody, because they genuinely care. Or, respond to emails when people look for advice. That’s how we should all strive to be.

The people with the most humility are often givers, rather than takers. They feel indebted to the world around them, and want to give back however they can. They’ll meet you, talk to you, anything to give you that push forward on your own journey. Now that’s special.

No matter the money, fame, or success, always stay rooted. Remember where you came from. The people, the circumstances, the lessons that shaped you. Be yourself. Be kind. Be a giver. Give back to the world that lifted you up. Be humble.

1) Unlearning Who You Are Not
Everyday you’re bombarded by millions of impressions.Social media, Tv, Ads, marketers,and people are dying to get your attention.Your reality is nothing but a collection of these impressions stored in your subconscious.
So it’s not about learning more,It’s about removing the garbage to understand who you are.



2) Knowing What You Want
You can only achieve a goal when you know what you want.
Most of us are groping in the dark, without any focus and direction.
And that ‘Knowing’ comes when you know in great detail exactly what you want.



3) Focusing Your Energy
Your energy is distracted and wasted in needless actions, thoughts, and emotions.
When you learn to save that energy,you can channel it towards achieving
whatever you want in your life.

“Like a tiger knows how to hunt,
A seed knows how to grow,
Humans have the Power of intuition.”

Cults are formed under spiritual personalities and religious ideologies. We have many cults and some mature to be occultism. We also have many spiritual organisations with cultic tendencies. Some four thing to watch out for in any organisation.
1. Authoritarianism.
This is where you have one spiritual leader almost in the level of being deityfied. He is treated as a dami-god. His words are final and no one can question his words or deeds.The person could be operating under some charismatic gifts hence the endorsement. Some recruit their members through extreme teaching of the doctrine of honor.
Remember no man is above God and no man is above the standards of scripture.
2. Isolation.
The first phase of Isolation is to criticise every church, every pastor and every minister hence creating an image of the church being the only true church.
Second level is secularisation of everything, school, media, family, society.This is the recipe of brainwashing and manipulation. Many cults thrive on this concept. Some people are in cults but they think they are in a spiritual movement.
Remember Jesus never left a church but a body hence there is no monopoly of truth.
3. Strange spiritual encounters
Some will claim to have encountered Jesus, Angels or patriarchs of old. They end up giving extra biblical citations and teach what cannot be verified scripturally. This is a strange area and many end up teaching strange doctrines. The rule of faith can be summarised under solar scriptura which means if it’s not written its not of God. Galatians 1:8

4. Sell fear.
Part of cultic teachings are centred on Apocalyptic books and eschatology which is the study of the end times.Two approaches are used.
News paper eschatology which entails assembling of latest news and using scriptures to justify end time realities. Secondly they use escapism eschatology theology. The concept of we are going to a better place where there is no suffering hence we will escape this world of pain. This doctrine disengage members from being vibrant in life and death becomes their motivation as a channel of exit and entry into a dimension of bliss.
There are many cults and many churches with cultic tendencies. Remember the berean church, they were grounded in truth. You need to be a student of scripture and test every spirit. Many will come in His name but some are wolves in sheep clothing. Stay awake spiritually.

Our parents, relatives and guardians have probably told you, “Don’t talk behind your friends backs. It’s not good.” They were right. It’s not good. But if you want to be productive it can also be an opportunity for a win.
In How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie talked about giving people a reputation to live up to. Others call it identity building. If you constantly praise a particular skill or character trait, a person will manifest it more often. The praise, in turn, is repeated by that individual and becomes part of his or her character.
Let’s take an example of an employee called Fafa. I tell another employee, Gilla
that Fafa is exceptional at following requests, that he never lets things slide and is upto the task assigned. Invariably, Gilla tells someone that I told her that about Fafa, and someone else tells another employee until it gets back to Fafa.
When Fafa hears what I told Gilla, he gets excited about the recognition. I like to think of it as a positive friction. You can compliment someone like Fafa directly, which is a positive feedback, when it reaches him through other employees, it gains a lot more weight. Fafa knows that others are aware of the boss’s attering remarks about his ability, and it solid positive connection. He’s going to be confident and productive.
Process this issue relative to your own employees. Who has talent but lacks aggressiveness or confidence? Have you tried and failed to encourage that person to be a stronger negotiator? What if you were to mention something positive about that person to another employee: what would you say, and how would you say it? Wait a few days, and see what happens. You’ve been trying to figure out how and when to motivate that employee in an impactful, lasting way. Now you know exactly what you have to do.
Make it a habit of saying good things about others behind them and not only once a year. If you don’t do it, it will cause friction which doesn’t produce positive creative thinking and peer pressure. Let’s create a culture in which you spread good words about people.

Compiled by Allan.

Becoming productive in life involves developing good habits and implementing effective strategies that help you manage your time, prioritize your tasks, and stay focused on your goals. Here are some changes you can make to become more productive:

1. Set clear and specific goals: Identify what you want to achieve in life and set clear, specific goals that align with your values and aspirations.
2. Prioritize your tasks: Make a list of your tasks and prioritize them based on their importance and urgency. Focus on completing the most important tasks first.
3. Manage your time effectively: Use a calendar or planner to schedule your tasks and activities. Set aside specific times for work, rest, exercise, and leisure activities.
4. Avoid distractions: Eliminate or minimize distractions that can interfere with your productivity, such as social media, email notifications, or unnecessary meetings.
5. Develop good habits: Develop good habits such as waking up early, eating healthy, getting regular exercise, and practicing mindfulness.
6. Learn to say no: Don’t overcommit yourself and learn to say no to requests or tasks that don’t align with your priorities or goals.
7. Continuously learn and improve: Continuously learn and improve your skills and knowledge through reading, taking courses, or seeking feedback from others.

By implementing these changes, you can become more productive and achieve your goals more effectively. Remember, it takes time and effort to develop good habits, but the rewards are well worth it.