10 UNIQUE STEPS TO SELF DEVELOPMENT

Do not get obsolete like an old technology, keep innovating yourself. - Sukant Ratnakar

FRIENDS 

Make friends with successful people and occasionally buy them gift and surprise them with lunch because successful people always give and hardly get, so when you give them, they value the gift a lot. 

Also make new positive friends as often as possible and ensure you keep the communication line open. Create a network of friends and not just connections.

LOVE AND KINDNESS 

Show love and kindness to everyone. Respect those above you and also those below you. Some small boys today will be big boys tomorrow. The biggest dog in the neighborhood was once a puppy. And keep the information/secret to yourself.

Also put control over your mouth, never say evil of any man, what you are not certain of should not be said. Say good of all men.

READING 

Make sure at every point in time you are reading a book. Any book, but mostly books about your field of study or work and inspirational books. If you spend 20 minutes reading daily, for 52 weeks you would have consumed 1,000,000 words.

Also make it a habit of keeping a pen and a writing pad handy because ideas come in the form of flashes. The smallest pen is bigger and better than the biggest brain.

TELEVISION 

Stay away from television as much as possible. You can watch educational channels. Men with big TV sits in front of them to watch men with big library. Remember anytime you are watching the television, the person on the TV screen is doing something better than you. 

LISTEN

Listen to speeches and messages from great teachers. Both religious and educational. Also attend seminars and training on any area you need to improve yourself. Train the trainer, personal development, public speaking, sales etc.

DEBT

Live a debt free life. What you can’t pay cash for is not your size. Give out loans that you can part with as gift, so that you don’t destroy your business and relationships over it. 

INCOME

Create legitimate multiple source of income. Save at least 10 percent of your income. Invest a portion of your income. And be patient to see it grow. If what you have in your hands is not good to be called a harvest then it’s a seed, sow it. Keep a good financial record of all income and expenses, so you won’t ask later “where did my money go”. 

MENTOR 

For everything you are about to do or achieve, there is someone who has already done it or achieved it. Great men in history all had mentors that made them what they are. 

So get a mentor and follow his instructions and respect the relationship. Never beg your mentor for money or disrespect his or her privacy.

EXERCISE 

Make sure you engage in exercise. Go for a walk or jog, engage in any sport activity, visit the gym. It keeps your brain alert and your body fit to enjoy your success. Also keep a good personal hygiene. For cleanliness is next to Godliness. 

PRAYER

The most important of them all - Prayer. Pray often, and know that for every success, there is a stronger being (God) that made it possible.

Am not all-knowing, I just laid out all I know and what is working for me. Please feel free to comment and add up any step you think i left out or even your own steps (what's working for you). 

For further reading, please download for free TALENT - THE BOMB by ALEXANDER BUSYBRAIN. 

WHAT IS SUCCESS TO YOU?

“What is success? To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty; To find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived; That is to have succeeded”. - Ralph Waldo Emerson 

One way to know the dream of someone is to ask him “What is success to you?” This question helps you outline your dreams and if answered correctly,  would certainly give your life a meaning, help you focus on your core-genius and become better at what you are born to do. 

Gone are those days, when I am asked “What is success to you?” And I will reply saying “Success is making so much money that my wife will not be able to spend it all in one day”. But true success in life is not measured by how much you make, but by how much of a difference you make. The rap artist Rick Ross once said “By how many people you bless, that’s how you measure success”. 

I quite agree with him. Right now, if I am asked “What is success to you?” I will reply the person saying “Success is helping that young man and woman discover and develop his or her talent; success is telling that man or woman in the street that Jesus so love him or her that He came to die for him or her; success is motivating and inspiring the young generation to be better people; success is feeding the hungry, praying for the sick and providing home for the homeless.  

Success is becoming the best husband and father in the world; success is making the world a better place in anyway that I can; success is making my neighbor feel blessed for having me as a neighbor; success is blessing the lives of my people and not just the lives of my parents and family members; success is sending a whole community of children to school. 

Success is when that young man or woman can say “Thank God, a certain Alexander BusyBrain walked this earth, for he has blessed my Life. Remember, this is what success means to me and it does not have to be yours. 

Herschel Walker said “I still say that I am a little different because success to me is not having the most money, or having the biggest car or the biggest house. Success is just being happy.” 

My question to you reading this right now is “What is success to you?” 

I want you to sit back and really think of what success means to you and share it with me on the comments below. 

For further reading on this topic, please download and read for free TALENT - THE BOMB by ALEXANDER BUSYBRAIN. 

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. WHO SAID YOU CANT?

Who said YOU CANT?

To be a champion, you have to believe in yourself when nobody else will. - Sugar Ray Robinson

Back in the Garden of Eden, when the world was still very young, just after our father Adam and our mother Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they hid themselves from God. In the cool of the day, God came to them and said, Adam, Eve, where are you? They said, God, we are hiding because we are naked. God immediately knew that the enemy the devil has been talking to them. So He said, Adam, who told you that you are naked?

God is asking the same to you right now, who said you cant be great, who said you cant be successful, who said you cant be rich, who said you cant be a blessing to this generation, who said you cant achieve that goal, who said you cant find true love, who said you cant be the best father or mother and husband or wife in the world?

Who said you cant discover and develop your talent, who said you cant preach the gospel, who said you cant heal the sick, who said you cant help the poor, who said you cant give scholarship to a community of children, who said you cant love your neighbor as yourself, who said you cant impact lives in a positive way, who said you cant drop those bad habits of yours?

Who said you cant write your name in the sand of time, who said you cant live a righteous life, who said you are not beautiful or handsome; who said you cant graduate with first class, who said you cant overcome that challenge, who said you were born a mistake or an error?

who said you wont travel to places or tour the world, who said you are lonely, who said you are suffering, who said you are sick, who said you are going to die, who said you cant be a hero, who said you cant be the best child or parent in the world and who said you are a failure? Who! Who! Who said it? If it is anyone, be it your father, teacher, pastor, doctor, friend, sibling, boss etc then it is a big lie from the pit of hell.

If it is you that said it then, am sorry my friend because it might just be true. We are the only ones that can define our lives, not any other person. Brian Tracy wrote You are the architect of your own destiny; you are the master of your own fate; you are behind the steering wheel of your life. There are no limitations to what you can do, have, or be. Except the limitations you place on yourself by your own thinking. You are confined only by the walls you build yourself. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.

If you are going to be successful, you need to give up the phrase I cant and its family members like I wish I were able to, People like me dont do it, Can I really do this? etc. The words I cant actually disempower you. They make you weaker than you were when you said it. Remember Success comes in cans'. Failures come in cants'. 

For further reading, please download TALENT - THE BOMB by ALEXANDER BUSYBRAIN. 

WHAT IS AN EDUCATION WORTH?

"Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one." - Malcolm Forbes

Now get this right, am not in anyway saying that education is not important or compulsory. It is very important and I can’t start stating the important of education here because it will take more than half the space provided in this book for other things. But am going to share with you what Brian Tracy said in his book “Create your own future”. 

He said researchers in the Department of Labour in USA found that a person who completes high school would earn about $600,000 over the course of his or her working lifetime. But a person with two-year community college degree will earn about $1,000,000 in his or her lifetime. This work out to an additional $400,000 more than a high school certificate, or about $200,000 more of lifetime income for each additional year of study. 

A university graduate with a four-year diploma will earn about $1,400,00 on average, over the course of his or her lifetime. A person with a master’s degree, equal to approximately five or six years of college education, will learn about $2,000,000 in his or her lifetime. A person with a Ph.D., which requires two to four additional years, will earn an average of $3,000,000. 

Every additional year of schooling after high school will increase your annual income from 8 percent to 25 percent per year, depending upon the relevance of the courses that you take. Brian Tracy wrote “Commit yourself to life long learning. The most valuable asset you will ever have is your mind and what you put into it.” 

 

Education has also made many men and women great and successful. But think about using both education and your God given talent. Think about discovering your talent now and going into the university to read a course that is related to your talent. 

Even if you are in the university now, think about developing your talent now and later using it to work and impact lives, then the sky will be your stepping stone. If you are out of the university, think about finding where your talent is needed and work there, I assure you getting to the top will be easy and smooth. 

Your talent gives you an edge in life. A career is where most people will end up using their developed talent. Can you imagine graduating with a degree in a course that engages your talent? You would be passionate and fully engaged at work because you’d love what you do. Why get a job just to earn a paycheck when you go to work to make a difference? When you are not in your talent zone, you are most likely not passionate about your job. 

The people who grow fastest and get the most done at work are those who love what they do and are good at what they do. This is their talent zone. 

If you know what your natural talents are, you can focus on developing them into strength. Any of you can devote your life to work that is congruent or in harmony with your natural talents and strengths. Most likely, this will be a much better use of your time and generally will make you happier, more effective and more successful. 

Incase you don’t know what your God’s given talent is, don’t worry that is what my book TALENT - THE BOMB is all about. Helping you discover and develop those talents of yours. 

EIGHT SIGNS YOU HAVE FOUND YOUR CALLING

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” - Martin Luther King Jr

1. IT'S FAMILIAR: A calling comes not just by looking forward to what you will do but by also looking back at what you have done. 

2. IT'S SOMETHING OTHER PEOPLE SEE IN YOU: Sometimes, our vocations are more obvious to people who know us best. It is something you must have received few compliments from people for. 

3. IT'S CHALLENGING: It must be difficult enough that not everyone can do it. It is said that what you can do better than 10000 people is your gift or Talent. 

4. IT REQUIRES FAITH: It cannot be something so obvious that you can easily explain it. It must be mysterious but at the same time, you are sure deep down even if you can't explain it. 

5. IT TAKES TIME: You have to fail your way in the right direction before you find it and this requires a lot of time and patience. 

6. IT'S MORE THAN JUST ONE THING: It integrates well with the rest of your life, not competing with but complementing your top priorities. 

7. IT IS BIGGER THAN YOU: The task must be so large that without a team of people,  you cannot complete it on your own. And it must be about helping a vast majority of people. 

8. IT MAKES YOU HAPPY: Finally, it must make you really happy, gives you a sense of belonging and fulfillment whenever you are carrying it out.

If you have found your calling, Please feel free to add how you came to be sure it was your calling. 

For further reading, freely download TALENT - THE BOMB by ALEXANDER BUSYBRAIN. 

SEVEN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES TO LEARN FROM AN EAGLE

The eagle has no fear of adversity. We need to be like the eagle and have a fearless spirit of a conqueror! - Joyce Meyer

1. Eagles fly Alone and at High Altitudes.

They don't fly with sparrows, ravens, and other small birds.

MEANING Stay away from narrow-minded people, those that bring you down. Eagle flies with Eagles. Keep good company.

2. Eagles have an Accurate Vision. They have the ability to focus on something as far as 5km away. No matter the obstacles, the eagle will not move his focus from the prey until he grabs it.

MEANING Have a vision and remain focused no matter what the obstacles and you will succeed.

3. Eagles do not Eat Dead things. They Feed only on Fresh Prey.

MEANING  Do not rely on your past success, keep looking for new frontiers to conquer. Leave your past where it belongs, in the past.

4. Eagles Love the Storm.

When clouds gather, the eagle gets excited, the eagle uses the storms wind to lift itself higher. Once it finds the wind of the storm, the eagle uses the raging storm to lift itself above the clouds. This gives the eagle an opportunity to glide and rest its wings. In the meantime, all the other birds hide in the branches and leaves of the tree.

MEANING Face your challenges head on knowing that these will make you emerge stronger and better than you were. We can use the storms of life to rise to greater heights. Achievers are not afraid to rise to greater heights. Achievers are not afraid of challenges, rather they relish them and use them profitably.

5. When a Female Eagle Meets a Male Eagle and they want to mate, she flies down to earth, picks a twig and flies back into the air with the male eagle in hot pursuit. Once she has reached a height high enough for her, she drops the twig and let it fall to the ground while she watches. The male eagle chases after the twig and catches it before it reached the ground, then bring it back to the female eagle. The female eagle grabs the twig and flies to a much higher altitude and drop the twig again for the male eagle to chase. This goes on for hours with the height increasing each time until the female eagle is assured that the male eagle has mastered the art of picking the twig which shows commitment. Then and only then will she allow him to mate with her.

MEANING Whether in private life or business, one should test the commitment of the people intended for partnership.

6. Eagles Prepare for Training

They remove the feathers and soft grass in the nest so that the young ones get uncomfortable in preparation for flying and eventually flies when it becomes unbearable to stay in the nest.

MEANING Leave your Comfort Zone, there is No Growth there.

7. When the Eagle Grows Old,

His feathers becomes weak and cannot take him as fast and as high as it should. This makes him weak and could make him die. So he retires to a place far away in the mountains. While there, he plucks out the weak feathers on his body and breaks its beaks and claws against the rocks until he is completely bare; a very bloody and painful process. Then he stays in this hiding place until he has grown new feathers, new beaks and claws and then he comes out flying higher than before.

MEANING We deliberately need to shed off old habit no matter how difficult, things that burden us and add no value to our lives should be let go of.

YES, NEVER GIVE UP,

BE AN EAGLE, NEVER EVER GIVE UP !!!

For more download TALENT - THE BOMB by ALEXANDER BUSYBRAIN 

WHEN LAST DID YOU SHARPEN YOUR AXE?

If I am given ten hours to cut down a tree, I will spend the eight hours sharpening my cutlass.  Abraham Lincoln

Once upon a time, a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant and he got it. The pay was really good and so was the work condition. For those reasons, the woodcutter was determined to do his best. His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he supposed to work. The first day, the woodcutter brought 18 trees. Congratulations, the boss said. Go on that way! Very motivated by the boss words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could only bring 15 trees. 

The third day he tried even harder, but he could only bring 10 trees. Day after day he was bringing less and less trees. I must be losing my strength, the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on. 

When was the last time you sharpened your axe? the boss asked. 

Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees... 

Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we dont take time to sharpen the axe. In todays world, it seems that everyone is busier than ever, but less happy that ever. Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten how to stay sharp? Theres nothing wrong with activity and hard work. But we should not get so busy that we neglect the truly important things in life, like our personal life, taking time to get close to our Creator, giving more time for our family, taking time to read etc. We all need time to relax, to think and meditate, to learn and grow. 

If we dont take the time to sharpen the axe, we will become dull and lose our effectiveness.

For more reading about discovering yourself and those seeds of greatness that God had planted in you right from birth read and download for free TALENT-THE-BOMB by ALEXANDER BUSYBRAIN. 

DO YOU EVEN KNOW YOU ARE TALENTED?

"I believe that every person is born with talent." - Maya Angelou

Talents are natural abilities, special endowments and God's gifts to us. Talent is God-given skills a person easily performs without formal training. A person regardless of his belief in God is given a natural talent as a result of a combination of genetics (some have ability in music, art or mathematics) and surroundings (growing up in a musical family will aid one in developing a talent for music), or because God desired to endow all of us with certain talents. 

When God created man and woman, He designed them to fulfill a certain function and gave them certain qualities and characteristics that enabled them to perform His intended purpose. These abilities (talents) are yours before birth. They do not come to you when you receive Jesus as your Lord and personal savior. These abilities are your natural talent. They dominate about 70% of you. When you ignore it, here is what it says Cant breathe! You are choking me. 

When talent is discussed, most people think about music, sports or movie stars. Why? Because this is what society celebrates? People find it hard to label certain things as a talent. Anything in which you are naturally above average is a talent. Thus, your natural abilities to socialize with people or to seek solitude, to think with your mind or to do things with your hands, to communicate with words or to express yourself through the various art forms, to come up with the ideas or to put them into action, to lead or to follow, to inspire or to manage, to calculate or to demonstrate, to be good at counseling people, helping people, making others laugh and happy. 

Do you find it convenient bearing the burden of others; do you have the patience to listen to others while they unbar their heart and burden? Do you find it easy to pray for others and they are healed? Do you work with tools and you find it adventurous and pleasurable? Do you find it easy to organized people, events? 

The list is endless. These are all talents given freely to us by God. They are all part of your makeup and your personality from the time God chose to make you and designed you in a particular way. They relate to your purpose, which is a natural, innate, intimate part of who you are. You are designed for your purpose, without accomplishing that purpose you will not be happy and you need to discover your talents to be able to accomplish that purpose.

If your answer to the question above is no or I dont know. Am not really surprise, but then again, that is why you should download and read this free ebook TALENT - THE BOMB by Alexander BusyBrain and am sure your answer will be different at the end of the book. Just make sure you get to the end and apply the principles.

YOU WERE MADE TO BE UNIQUE

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. - Psalm 139:14

The account of creation in genesis tells us that the whole world was created by God. Everything in it was spoken into creation by Him in just five days. But, when it was time for God to make you, He took His time. God almighty created you in nine months. From the first day of your life He began his creative work in you.

For the next nine months He worked daily right inside your mothers womb. He was working just to make you perfect and unique. David understood this thats why he said in Psalm 139:13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mothers womb. Which also means God was thinking about you before you were even born. When God was through with His work on making you perfect and unique; just before your beautiful mother gave birth to you, God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good Gen 1:31 (KJV).

So think what a remarkable and miraculous thing it is to be you, God made you Himself. You are a product of Gods consistent, conscious and careful handiwork of nine months nonstop. Of all the people who have come and gone on the earth, since the beginning of time, not one of them is like you! No one who has ever lived or is to come has had your combination of abilities, talents, appearance, friends, acquaintances, burdens, sorrows and opportunities.

No ones hair grows exactly the way yours does. No ones finger prints are like yours. No one has the same combination of secrets, jokes and family expressions that you know. The few people who laugh at all the same things you do dont sneeze the way you do. No one prays about exactly the same concerns as you do. No one is loved by the same combination of people that love you. No one can reach out to others in the same way that you can. No one can speak your words. No one can convey your meanings. No one can comfort with your kind of comfort. No one can bring your kind of understanding to another person. No one can be cheerful and lighthearted and joyous in your way. No one can smile your smile. No one else can bring the whole unique impact of you to another human being.

God needs you because your purpose is unique. He has designed you specifically to meet his requirements. Enjoy that uniqueness. You do not have to pretend in order to seem more like someone else. You werent meant to be like someone else. You do not have to lie to conceal the parts of you that are not like what you see in anyone else. You were meant to be different. Nowhere ever in all of history will the same things be going on in anyones mind, soul and spirit as are going on in yours right now.

Treasure your uniqueness. Let it inform, nudge and inspire you. It is one reason why you should feel a sense of destiny and value. God designed you as you are for a purpose. You are not ordinary. Quit being negative and critical towards yourself and begin to enjoy the unique creation of God. YOU ARE UNIQUE!

Discover more about yourself from TALENT - THE BOMB by Alexander BusyBrain. This book is available for free reads and downloads from Smashwords,  kobo, Amazon and Scribd.

THE GREATEST GENERAL OF ALL TIME?

I believe that God has put gifts and talents and ability on the inside of every one of us. When you develop that and you believe that you are a person of influence and a person of purpose, I believe you can rise up out of any situation. - Joel Osteen

A man died and found himself in Heaven where he met an angel. He asked the angel saying I have been interested in military history for many years. Tell me, who was the greatest general of all time? Oh thats a simple question. It is that man right over there The angel replied pointing his finger to a man dressed in a shining white dress, standing next to other people dressed in the same apparel. They all seem to be very happy. 

The man then said in surprise You must be mistaken, I knew that man on earth and he was just a common labourer. The angel replied him with a broad smile saying He would have been the greatest general of all time, if he had been a general. He was given the necessary tools but he never became a general. 

What a tragedy! I dont want you to end up like this man that was given everything he needed to become the greatest general in history but ended up a common labourer. You have been given everything you need both physically and spiritually. God has programmed you with everything you need for a great and victorious life (Ephesians 1:3). 

Such great amount of talent has been deposited in you to make you the greatest teacher, singer, dancer, leader, footballer, mathematician, etc. in history. The scripture teaches that we have a valuable treasure on the inside. You have a great gift. You are a child of the Most High God. God has breathed His life into you. He planted seeds of greatness in you. You have everything you need to fulfill your God-given destiny. 

God has already put in you the talents, the creativity, the ability, the discipline, the wisdom and the determination. It is all in you. You have something to offer that nobody else has. You didnt just show up on planet earth by accident. You were handpicked by Almighty God. He saw you before you were formed in your mothers womb and placed you here for a reason. You have an assignment. There is something that God wants you to accomplish. Someone somewhere needs your talent. Somebody needs your touch. Somebody needs what you have on the inside.

All you have to do is to discover and develop those great talents of yours; impact the world with it, fulfill your purpose for being in this world. That is the whole essence of this book. Read on and am sure you will discover those unique talents of yours.

Who is the greatest general? You! Yes. You! You can be greatest general in your sphere of influence and in any field that has to do with your talents because working with your talents is what you are here to do. It is what God has programmed you for and He has given you all you will ever need to do this.

For more please read and download for free TALENT - THE BOMB BY ALEXANDER BUSYBRAIN