THEY DARED THE ODDS

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A young girl was thrown off the school choir by her teacher because she sounded like a goat, hurt yet she went on to become one of the most phenomenal musicians ever with her song 'Waka Waka' which was one of the songs for the World Cup in South Africa 2010, nobody remembers the teacher but we all remember Shakira.
   A young African American boy was written off by his teacher when he disclosed that we wanted to become a lawyer, after years in crime and six and a half years in prison he rose to become on of America's most fiery and feared speaker by the name, Malcolm X.
   Another teacher simply told a young African American boy that he would never amount to anything because of his brightness and also his humiliating the teacher in class, just like Shakira's teacher nobody remembers the name of the teacher but people will for a long time remember Christopher George Latore Wallace popularly known as Notorious BIG.
  Friend, never allow people build your world for they will always build  it too small, your destiny is too big to be comprehended by the masses who don't even know who you are let alone know what you are made to become. Just like these mentioned people and even more that time will not permit us to mention, go on and succeed, dare the odds just like these three other people did.

LIVE IN THE PRESENT

OVERLOOK THE OPINIONS

GOLDEN BOOT, BRONZE BOOT

ALL HAIL THE KINGS

The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria, made history by clinching the cadet trophy for the fifth time, winning two more times than Brazil, they defended their title against their West African neighbours, Mali who are current African Champions, and also made history by being the first African team to successfully defend their title after narrowly losing out to Switzerland on home soil.
    This is also the first time that Nigeria will win the cadet tournament on South American soil after winning the others on Asian soil, China 1985, Japan 1993, South Korea 2007, UAE 2013. Nigeria has proved that they are the undisputed king of the cadet championship. Congratulations lads, we are really proud of you as we sall 'ALL HAIL THE KING OF THE CADETS'

DON'T PUT ALL YOUR EGGS IN A BASKET

PRICE AND VALUE

NO PASSION, NO LIFE

FOLLOW RULE NUMBER ONE

WATCH YOUR REPUTATION

THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE

HOW TO BE RICH

INTEGRITY, INTEGRITY, INTEGRITY

HONESTY IS EXPENSIVE

PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

HOW WINNERS WIN

Winners are not superhuman people with extraordinary abilities rather they are ordinary people who have developed good habits to extraordinary levels. There is a way that all winners act and here are just a few of those 'sacred' ways

1 Winners learn from defeat: Dr. Mike Murdock wasn't babbling when he said that, 'Winners are simply ex-losers who got tired of losing'. Winners learn more from their defeats than their victories because victories make them arrogant and cocky while defeat makes them curious to know what made them fail. Thomas Alva Edison after successfully creating the incandescent lamp on the ten thousandth attempt was asked how he felt failing a number of times before he succeeded. He responded by saying, 'I never failed ten thousand times rather I discovered ten thousand other ways not to do it'. Henry Ford said' Restlessness is a sign of discontent which is a sign of progress, show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure'. Winners don't take their defeat personal rather they take it in good strides just like current world champions Germany who after losing the World Cup to Brazil in 2002, came third in 2006 which they hosted and 2010 in South Africa yet went on to become champions in 2014 in Brazil, the team they lost to twelve years earlier.

2 Winners go the extra mile: Michael Jordan will ever remain a basketball legend because he went the extra mile in all his games, he was usually the first at the basketball court to practice as well as the last to leave just to add that little 'extra' to his ordinary. David Beckham practiced his free kicks to an extent that people coined a statement 'Bend it like Beckham'. Winners rather than stop where others have stopped still go the extra mile in delivering 'the goods' which makes people marvel.

3 Winners help others win: There is an African proverb that goes thus, 'To hold a man down, you have to stay down with him. One unique quality about winners is that rather than knock others down, they lift others up. Don't be a cloud because you didn't become a star, rather help others win. Though this is not the easiest thing to do in a world where everyone is playing King of the Mountain but trust me it is the best thing to do. A protege of mine walked up to me and informed me of her intention to have a site of hers, rather than discourage her I gave her the necessary support which she deeply appreciated till today and mind you she said if I had kicked against it, she would not give it a second thought and I am glad I did because she is one of the reasons I am operating this blog which you have been visiting for some time now.

BE A VISIONARY

STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD

WHYWINNERS WIN

Someone said, 'Success is a matter of luck ask any failure' another mused that, 'Success is when preparation meets opportunity. We look at winners and with some envy wishing that we were in their shoes. The bitter truth is that winners didn't just stumble into victory, they paid a great price for the great prize which you stare at enviously. Winners are not super human neither are they beings from another dimension but they do know a couple of things that we don't know, know and yet ignore or even know and are too lazy to practicalize it. Here are a couple of reasons why winners win which is not as easy as rubbing Alaadin's magic lamp but also not as difficult as rocket science.
1 Winners have winners as mentors: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is both an A-list actor and wrestler is the definition of success as he is continually hitting the pinnacle of his careers both in wrestling and acting, the secret of his success as a wrestler apart from hard work and commitment is his mentor in person of Bret 'The Hit Man Hart' who was picked all the titles in the WWE, as well as being the first ever winner of the King of The Ring. It takes a winner to raise another winner for only giants can raise other giants. Winners go out in search of other winners to help them achieve their goals and aspirations.

2 Winners have other winners as friends: Charles 'Tremendous' Jones said it best when he said that, 'Where you will be in five years because of the books you read and the company you keep'. Take it friends, you can't have a loser as a friend and expect to win because eagles don't keep company with the chickens or the turkeys.Your friends are like the buttons on an elevator that either take you up or bring you down. Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan are the best of friends because they are the best in their sports and even in their businesses. They help each other to grow complimenting each other along the way. When one falls down the other will pick him up

3 Winners raise other winners: Winners are not just winners because they are successful in their fields of endeavours but because they contribute to the success of others. True winners are not content in winning alone but go the extra mile in growing other winners because success without successors equals failure. Winners are not only mentored by others, they mentor others and an example is Eddie Murphy who was mentored by Gregory Hines of blessed memory who was mentored by Bill Cosby who was mentored by Dexter.

4 Winners are persistent: Winners don't quit and quitters don't win, this was the advice of Sir Winston Churchill to a group of graduating students, 'Never, never, never,never, quit. Heroism as a Norwegian proverb said consists of hanging on a minute longer. Winners become winners because they don't quit,just like President Muhammadu Buhari who became president after contesting elections a good number of times before winning ousting the incumbent president, a record that had never been broken before in sixteen years of democracy in Nigeria.
Friends here are just a few reasons why winners win.

NO TO GOOD YES TO BEST

WHAT REALLY MATTERS

DO THE IMPOSSIBLE

DON'T LOSE FAITH

SUCCESS TAKES TIME

BE INNOVATIVE

INVENTING AND INVESTING IN TODAY

FOLLOW YOUR HEART

YOUR PRECIOUS TIME

LEGACY LIVING

THE PATIENCE KEY

LIFE'S NOT FAIR

SUCCESS, THE LOUSY TEACHER

WORD POWER

Whoever made the statement that, 'Stick and stones can break my bones but words can't harm me' got it all wrong because there is enormous power in the words that we speak to others and most especially the words to speak to ourselves.If you think words don't mean anything then pay attention to these examples.
A twelve year old many years back boasted to all who cared to listen that he would be New York's most powerful gangster that turned out to be Alphonse 'Al' Capone popularly known as Scarface.
A twelve year old African-American boy promised his friends that he would be the greatest boxer ever, that boy turned out to be Muhammad Ali tagged as the 'World's Greatest'.
The principal of a told a sixteen year old that he would either end up in prison or become a millionaire, not surprisingly the words came to pass as the young man went to prison and is now a multi-billionaire who goes by the name Sir Richard Branson.
   The words we speak are loaded power because what we say is what we end up seeing that is why caution should be exercised because a teacher said to a young African-American boy in class that he would never amount to anything on March 9th, Christopher George Wallace was shot in the streets of Los Angeles by a unknown gunman from which he died in the hospital, Christopher is popularly known by his stage name Notorious B.I.G whose killer has never been found till today eighteen years after his death so much for his teacher's talk.
Only those who talk success eventually success and those who say nothing but failure end up as failures for our words have power to make or mar us. A little boy watched while the landlord forcefully ejected what remained of his father's property but vowed that he would make it in life, that boy is no other person than Pastor Sam Adeyemi, the Senior Pastor of Daystar Christian Centre. What you keep saying to yourself over time you will eventually see so speak words of success ot yourself and be successful.

SERVE YOUR CUSTOMERS WELL

ON TOP OF THE TOPPERS

IRONY OF LIFE

DON'T DIE POOR

REAL LEADERS EMPOWER OTHERS

BE UNIQUE, BE YOU

LAZY MEN MAKE IT EASY

LIVING YOUR OWN LIFE

William H. Cosby popularly known as Bill Cosby got it right when he said that,'I don't know the key to success but the key to failure is trying to please everyone'. We live in a world that is filled with people suffering from a disease which is more psychological than it is physical, it is called the 'Approval Addiction'. People will do everything and anything to gain the approval of families, friends and peers alike. It is a natural tendency for people to want to be appreciated for who they are but many take it overboard by doing so many things they would not on a good day do but just because they want to prove a point like the young man who begins smoking because he wants to prove to his friends that he is a man or a young woman who wears skimpy dresses just to gain the approval of her girlfriends. A wise man said, 'People are the funniest of God's creations because they spend money they don't have to buy things they don't need to impress people they do not like'.
  Trust me when I say that nobody wants to be left alone even in the midst of the crowd but it is best to be alone and be safe than to be in the wrong crowd reminding me of an innocent sixteen year old who got twenty years because he was in the company of his friends who unknown to him were robbers.
 Friend God performed the biggest miracle and that miracle is the one to who I am speaking to at this moment, of the over six billion people on earth, you are unique, nobody has your ideas, gifts, skills or talents anyone who attempted to be you would only be second best.
  The word is to begin from this moment to begin to live the life your Maker arranged for you not the life others believe you should be living for no one else knows you more you know yourself. A man of God at a seminar I attended years ago made a profound statement which still rings in my head till today, 'Never allow people build your world for they will always build it too small.
 When Chief Nduka Obiagbena declared that he would make an all coloured newspaper, he was seen as crazy but he did it anyway in spite or despite the naysayers and This Day Newspaper stands as the testimony of one man's resolve. So friend live your live and though people may mock you at the beginning they will celebrate you at the end. To your success.

ENTREPRENEURS, WHO ARE THEY?

Entrepreneurs are no magicians but they create what people call 'magical'..When left alone in the desert, they will dig water out of the sand, when faced by mountains, they will create a tunnel or reduce them to molehills.
Entrepreneurs can create parks from desolate lands, cities out of forests. To those who only see an empty vacant piece of land, they see and go ahead to build estates. On the swamps, entrepreneurs create skyscrapers that soar to the heavens. The job seeker sees a stone but the entrepreneur sees a statue within the stone.
   Entrepreneurs don't just look, they see not just what is but create what is not. Give entrepreneurs sand and they will turn it into gold, these special beings have transformed garbage sites to gardens. An entrepreneur can start a shop and turn it into a supermarket. He or she can with a laptop create a cybercafe. When pushed over the cliff, entrepreneurs develop wings and soar. An entrepreneur when pushed into the river will learn how to swim and bring along fish with him to the shore.
  An entrepreneur has dreams, aspirations and ideas that continue to live even when he or she is no more. Entrepreneurs are the best selling authors whose bitter experiences become the best books read. They not only motivate themselves but serve as motivators to others, they are seemingly ordinary people that produce extraordinary results.
 Entrepreneurs are not just dreamers but doers as well. Entrepreneurs may not have seen the four walls of a classroom or may have even dropped out along the way but are educated and enlightened for most of the world's richest entrepreneurs were school dropouts. Entrepreneurs start with nothing but end up owning everything. Entrepreneurs are those who bring ideas from the world of the invisible making them both visible and tangible.
Entrepreneurs are those who dream and never go back to sleep until their dreams are lived. Entrepreneurs are first seen as madmen before they are hailed as great men. They are people who give life to their ideas creating wealth from nothing. Entrepreneurs are people who can put everything on the line for what they desire. They don't waste precious time, energy and resources reinventing the wheel rather they improve on it. They reproduce themselves and help others reproduce themselves. They discover the talent in themselves and others and harness both to the maximum.
Entrepreneurs are those who employ the best heads and hands from the best universities all over the world though they never went to the university.

DARE TO 'THINK FOOLISHLY'

A song book vendor selling his goods ringing a bell

A disastisfied worker at MacDonald's whose fracnhise plan had just been politely turned down

A worker at MacDonald's

A banker who left her job to start selling poff poff

A journalist who read Yoruba in the university hiding from the hit group of a bloodthirsty tyrant

You may wonder why this list of unknown people and how it concerns you, let us take of the veil and see who they are now

Ayo Animashaun, the creator of the Hip Hop World empire

Prince Dona Okonkwo, owner of Tetrazzini restaurants

Don Jazzy, Africa's leading music and producer

Quincy Ayodele CEO of Quincy Herbal Slimmers

Dele Momodu, creator of Ovation Magazine

The above persons and even more dared to go against the accepted norm, they dared to 'think foolishly' and just look at where their seemingly foolishness got them.
To anyone who will make it in this world, you must be willing to look foolish to the whole world who will laugh at you at first but will want to reckon with you when you become successful. So dare to look foolish before the world and trust me you will be having the last laugh

A WORD OF HOPE

On behalf of all of us at Aspire Magazine, we commiserate with our brothers and sisters in America and all over the world who lost loved ones fourteen years ago on this fateful day which in 2001 was on a Tuesday morning there in America but evening in Nigeria. Only God Almighty can heal the pain on the wound opened fourteen years ago. It is well with you and God Bless America

WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE

I am sure most of us if not all of us have watched this game show or even played it online with thousands of contestants battling for the ultimate prize which only one person takes home at the end of the day.
The big question still remains, 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' one which everyone can answer.
First, who is a millionaire? A millionaire is not just someone who has a million dollars or pounds, euro, rand, yen or naira in the bank but someone who has sold one item to one million people and has made a gain of minimum a dollar on it.
It is that simple, rather than wait to get to the hot seat which is like playing the lottery with one million other people in line, go out there and see how you can meet the needs of a million people with a target of making a dollar gain on it.
Friends, it is the gospel truth that there a long list of people waiting to hand their money over to you in exchange for a product or service. Here are the simple steps
1 Find a need that people cannot do without
2 Create a innovative way of meeting the needs of your clients
3 Get feedback from your customers
The world is filled with entrepreneurs who are meeting the needs of their clients from all works of life and are reaping the dividends, you are the next millionaire in awaiting.
Now Who Wants To Be A Millionaire

FROM STREET TO PULPIT- THE TARIBO WEST STORY

The streets like a farm has always produced fruits, some delicate and others hard. While it has produced many villains it to a great extent has produced heroes from all walks of life some of them being the likes of Ghetto General Daddy Showkey. Daddy Fresh, General Pype, Oristsefemi, not to mention the likes of Sunday Oliseh, Emmanuel Amunike, Taribo West amongst many others.
   Taribo lived what Jay Z called 'a hard knock life' growing up in the dangerous streets of Shomolu which he likened to the Bronx. The gangs ruled the streets and if you were not with them, you definitely against them and for young Taribo who did not want to incur the wrath of the mob stuck on them like white on rice.
Taribo got by on his proceeds from his share of their crime deals but was more interested in street football until one day that things took an unexpected event, his best friend and fellow member in the gang was stabbed to death by the members of a rival gang for failure to return a bag of money which they claimed belonged to them. He watched powerlessly and helplessly as his friend bled to death which made him run back to Port Harcourt, his place of birth where he turned a new leaf focusing more on the round leather game which earned him a place in the Flying Eagles Squad of 1991 and losing out narrowly in being selected among the USA 94 Squad.
 From that moment there was no stopping the young man as he got a contract to play in the French League with first division club Auxerre where he won the French league under the management of Guy Roux.
Taribo was among the victorious team at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 clinching the gold medal from the favourites Brazil and Argentina and played for the senior national team, the Super Eagles from the year 1998 till 2006 when he hung his boots after an illustrous career in Internazionale and later rivals AC Milan and then Partizan Belgrade.
 He is now Pastor of a church as well as a role model to young people from the streets as he said that God had changed him from an arrogant footballer to a humble servant of God
Friend if he could make it from his rough background so can anybody else.

SWEET VICTORY

FROM REJECTED ATHLETE TO CELEBRATED GOLD MEDALIST

Born on the 25th of December 1970, Chioma Ajunwa Opara, a native of Anambra state made history as the first African woman to win a gold medal in the track and field event at the Atlanta 96 Olympics in the long jump event beating Italian Fiona May and American Jackie Joyner Kersee to second and third position respectively.
Chioma was the first and only athlete to play for the female national team, the Super Falcons who went to their first ever World Cup hosted by China in the year 1990.
 She also competed at the All African Games between 1989-1991 beating defending champion Mary Onyali Omagbemi into second place. But her world came to a crashing halt when in 1992 she received a four year ban over a drug allegation which she maintained her innocence for. Chioma became a literal leper nobody wanted to touch even with a long pole, a move which she said pushed her to move closer to God
 On the 31st of August, she made history by becoming the first Nigerian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal erasing the record held by Nojeem Mayegun who won the country's first Olympic medal of bronze.
 On her return from Atlanta, the nation stood still to pay its honour to the heroine who had done it proud, the Head of State General Sani Abacha promoted her from an inspector to Assistant Superintendent of Police as well as other honours.
Chioma is also a proud mother of triplets given birth to in the year 2011
Friend if you are feeling rejected, cast aside and treated like an outcast, then draw inspiration from this story which is as real as life because nobody contols your destiny, you do. It is not over until you win.

A LEGEND'S LEGACY LIVES ON

On this day nineteen years ago in Antrim, New Hampshire United States of America, a legend in the person of Og Mandino took his final bow off that stage called life yet his legacy of inspiration lives on in his books and the people whom he has impacted especially me for that is the reason why I created this blog.
   Sir though I never got to meet you let alone speak with you yet I have been greatly blessed by your from grass to grace story as well as your books and I make you that solemn promise that you will continue to live on in the lives of people through me. I miss you, the world misses you yet you will continue to live in our hearts as a legend who will never ever die. I love you Sir

PERFORM YOUR PURPOSE

THE NEW KINGS OF THE COURT