Daily habits that boosted my income

                    By Bayo Ogunmupe

    Explained herewith is how daily habits are influential in achieving our dreams.  After witnessing live on television the destruction of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre on 11 September, 2001, I decided to quit my job as Associate Editor of Newswatch Magazine, Nigeria. Thereafter, my wife advised I should not relent in finding a new job as long as they pay regularly. This time around, I tried to put into practice my theories on  multiple streams of income. That was when I changed my daily habits. Then I went to meet my friend, the late Doyin Mahmoud, who was then the Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Daily Independent newspaper. Mahmoud appointed me a part time member of their editorial board. He said that was what was possible within their organization.

    Now after 18 years of practising the daily habits, my life has changed a lot. I now wake up when I please which is one of the secrets of my enduring good health. I have added real estate agency to freelancing and blogging. I am also engaged in ghost writing, and the writing of feasibility reports for banking loans as a management consultant. All these happened based on my newly adopted daily habits. The following are salient habits of mine; I hope they will help improve your life and carry you to the next level of your career. Meditation is the first step for attaining your dreams. When you make meditation a daily habit, you will see a massive change in your life. It will help you conquer anger and stress. Your memory will increase in power. Your self awareness and self confidence will increase. The best time to meditate is before you go to bed at night. You may also meditate early in the morning if call to prayer by churches and mosques would not distract you. Thirty minutes of meditation is enough.

    Visualization is the second daily habit. Visualization will make you a manifestation magnet. You can only be as great as you imagine. You become what you think. The words you speak become the house you live in. Whatever you can conceive and believe you can achieve. All around you is trying to pull you down to second class citizen. Evade it. You won't escape mediocrity if you lacked the courage to cut the weight that's holding you back. If you were born into an environment you don't fit in; it means you were born to help create a new world. He whoever is hungrier to reach the top will always get there before the man of talent. Visualization should be practised after meditation. It should last up to 30 minutes daily.

    Gratitude journaling is my fourth daily habit. By journaling I mean writing in your daily diary all those things you are grateful for by that day. Many things you should be grateful for: food on your table; good health, the love of your spouse and for keeping your jobs. You should express your gratitude in writing in your notebook as a mark of thanksgiving to God. Write in your notebook anytime you are so minded. Do this for ten minutes or less. Reading your goals aloud is your next daily habit. Every morning you should read your short term and long term goals five times. You will be amazed to see all your written goals are achieved one by one. The best time to do this is in the morning.

    Acquiring a new skill or honing an old one is another important daily habit. When I adopted writing as the fulcrum of living, I used to write long hand for the pool typists to deliver to the editors. Not long after, almost simultaneously, all the papers retrenched the typists including half of the sub editors. Thereafter, every editor, correspondent or reporter has to write, type set and edit his report by himself. This was forced on stringers and columnists as well. That forced me to hone my typing skills which I have abandoned decades ago. Even then, it is only recently that I can type straight from the head. The adoption of my daily habits has helped me conquer  these challenges. It has increased my self confidence and doubled my creativity. You only need ten to twenty minutes daily to ruminate on new skills to conquer.

    My sixth daily habit is reading about five chapters of a book or about 10,000 words in newspaper articles or blog posts. This also includes scribbling some ten pages in diary recording of personal quotable quotes. Since English is a foreign language to me, I am compelled to read in order to maintain adequate vocabulary for my articles. Having a daily reading habit is a tough policy for many in this social media era. If you would enhance your life, the reading habit should be a fanimorous idea for every ambitious writer. Similarly, I started writing a minimum of five pages in diary keeping every day. To me writing is another form of meditation. Once you enter into that writing mode, you will be so enamored by the habit that you will indulge in it at any available opportunity. 

    In conclusion, all these habits are good for your mental health, they will enhance your creativity; improve your knowledge and finally improve your finances. I firmly believe in "what you think, you become." It has brought me and abundance of health and happiness. As we're stepping into a new year, try these habits as a challenge for the new year. These new habits will kick the bad habits out of your life, helping you to lead a peaceful and joyful life filled with abundance.

What you must do to be rich.

                    By Bayo Ogunmupe

    Why you need to keep doing hard things to be happy, healthy and successful. It is necessary because the hard things ultimately build you up; make you hardy; and change your life. If today, you are already feeling at the end of the leech, with only a little slack left to hold on to, be sure your mind is lying to you. it has imprisoned you by reciting self defeating stories in your head--stories about your mistakes and things you ought to have done differently. And you have begun to believe that you are truly stuck. But you aren't stock in any way. You are alive in an immense world with infinite possibilities. And you must always remind yourself of the fact that you are well and alive in an immense world. Your victories and defeats often serve to shake your spirit and shed light on your way forward.

    First reason why you need to keep doing hard things to survive is that everyday you are growing stronger from your struggles. According to my experience, life is perpetual struggle for what you want. Sometimes, it will break you. Nobody is immune to that. And hiding alone in a cave somewhere won't help either; for prolonged solitude will also break you with an endless thirst for  connection with humanity. You must dare to love and feel for others for that is the reason you are here on earth. You are here on earth to sacrifice your time, your life, and put your heart at risk. You cannot go through life without being bruised by it. And when it happens that you are hurt, or betrayed or rejected, sit yourself quietly in a corner with your eyes closed and remember all the good times you have had, all the sweetness you have tasted and everything you have learned. Tell yourself how amazing it was to live and then open your eyes and live some more.

    To never struggle was never to have been blessed with life. It is in the depth of darkness that you discover within you an inextinguishable light and it is this light that illuminates your way forward. Thus, your second reason why you should follow up the struggle is that the hardest days shine a light on what is truly important and what isn't. Adversity is like walking into a turbulent windstorm. As you fight your way forward, you not only gain strength, but it tears away from you all but the essential parts of you that cannot be torn. Once you come out of the storm, you see yourself as you really are; still holding the passions and ideas that move you. What remains of you are the lusts that matter- the loves that defines you. It is this kind of love that drives you forward even in tough times. it is this kind of love that should never be overlooked.

    Three, a time of physical stress can be a healthy guidepost for you to make positive changes. When the going gets tough, the world reels as if it is spinning to fast and you feel completely out of control. It is like you are losing your mind and going crazy; but you are not. You only need to pause and take a deep breath. It is like the onset of depression: anxiety and fear, triggered by stress. Stress impedes the ability to think straight and see the world as it is. Being stressed out isn't a sign you are going crazy. It is simply an experience of stress. The fourth reason why you need hard things to be successful is that you have something special to offer the world. And adversity and hard life will awaken your unique contribution to the universe. There is a capable person inside you, that wants to soar, create, build, love, to inspire and do far more than just exist.

    There are always great possibilities in front of you, because you are always able to take a step forward. Stay true to yourself. Never be ashamed of doing whatever you feel is right. Hold on to your values and passions. Feeling overwhelmed and tired is the natural part of being human. The simple fact that you are aware of this means you are able to turn things around, one day at a time, starting from now and henceforth. Blessed be.

Victor Oshisada, the passing of an icon

                    By Bayo Ogunmupe

     Victor Oshineye Oshisada, veteran journalist and educator passed away on the 22nd October, this year aged 79 years. Born in Lagos on 1st June, 1940 to the late Chief Matthew Osimosu Oshisada and late Christianah Oshisada of Ijesa- Ijebu, Odo- Ayanyelu; Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State. He atended Odo Oye Primary School, Mushin, Lagos (1949-1950); St Jude's School, Ijesa-Ijebu (1950-52) and Wesley School. Irolu (1953-54) in Western Region. He was also at the Local Authority Secondary Modern School, Odogbolu in 1957.

     Thererafter, he taught at St John Anglican School, Aroloya, Lagos before proceeding to the Teachers Training College, Surulere where he obtained his Grades One and Two teaching certificates between 1959 and 1964. Later, he taught at various schools among which were St Peter's School, Faji; and St John's Anglican School, Aroloya, Lagos. From there he quit teaching to work as a reporter on the defunct Morning Post, a government newspaper in Lagos. In 1972, he obtained study leave with pay to obtain the certificate in journalism at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Apongbon, Lagos.

     In 1973, he was enticed by Alhaji Babatunde Jose to join his newspaper, The Daily Times of Nigeria. He rose to the post of Deputy Editor at Home Studies; Headlines; and Periodicals in different years. He attended various courses here and overseas, obtaining the Advanced Diploma In Journalism from the Times Journalism Institute, Iganmu, Lagos. He retired from the Daily Times in 1993. Through his professional association with Chief Obafemi Awolowo, he worked briefly with in Alhaji Lateef Jakande's John West Publications in Ikeja.

Beware of the company you keep

                  By Bayo Ogunmupe

    What most people don't appreciate is the extent to which people influence you emotionally. This spans across every strata of your life. This includes intimate relationships,friendships, colleagues, those you hang out with and family.  Who we surrounds ourselves with impacts on us beyond our habits and behaviours. It physically affects the way we feel. As we shall see later, this isn't restricted to in-person relationships alone. It has even been observed through online social media. have you ever hung around someone whose enthusiasm was infectious and inspiring? What about a person who always complains about everything? Didn't you yourself start becoming agitated and compelled to moan without any real reason? How about a relationship with someone lazy but lovable?

    This phenomenon is called emotional contagion. And nearly thirty years of research have proved its validity. Catching emotions is a real concern, especially if you are building relationships and helping others. This exercise is dedicated to showing you how emotional contagion works, where it may be affecting you and what you can do to protect yourself. As defined by Elaine Hatfield, a pioneering researcher within Relationship Science, Emotional Contagion is "the tendency to automatically mimic and synchronize expressions, vocalizations, postures and movements with those of another person's and consequently, to converge emotionally."- Hatfield 1993.

    A groundbreaking study conducted in 1992 by one, Guacomo Rizzolatti discovered brain cells that responded equally when we perform an action and when we witness someone else perform that same action. In other words, seeing someone sad could fire off those same cells and create the same sensation within us. In Neuroscience, those cells are referred to as 'mirror neurons' and they have provided the foundation of studying emotional transfer ever since. According to this study, emotional contagion leverages neurons through three stages. One: mimicry- people tend to automatically mimic the facial expressions, vocal, posture and behavior of those around them. Two: feedback- people feel a pale reflection of other people's emotions as feedback. Three: Contagion- the result is that people tend to catch one another's emotions.

    When we breakdown the circumstances, it becomes apparent how important rapport and intensity of emotion are for facilitating this process. The more rapport you have with someone, the more likely you are to mimic his behaviour and feel his emotions. Likewise, the stronger the emotion, the more impact the transfer will have on you. As we move forward looking for scenarios that could be relevant in tour life, please consider that awareness is the first step for fending off mimicking bad behavior from others. In order to prevent unconsciously assimilating emotions; paying attention is a critical step in being able to prevent unwanted transference. Here are areas of life that can be affected by the unconscious spread of emotion.

    Emotional contagion occurs in relationships, romantic ones in particular. Note the strong relations prevalent in your interactions. You may be fond of your partner, despite her being inherently prone to negativity and pessimism. The question you need an answer to is whether your partner's emotions are affecting you frequently. You may be attracted by the idea of fixing people. Rather than hoping for your partner to change, why not consider finding someone whose emotions are beneficial to you? It has been established people seldom change, so never bank on changing people's behavior. Instead associate with someone whose passion, positivity and ambition drive you to be the best you can be.

    For friendships, if you love helping others, it is even more critical that you protect yourself by taking tough decisions on who you spend your time with. I have had to excuse myself from a group of friends recently. I stopped hanging out with them because, most of them have become beggars. Most of them, younger than me, lost their jobs for various reasons but from my observation, they are dishonest. They smuggle, engaged in extortion and racketeering. They shamelessly enter beer parlours expecting you to pay for them. They like to blame their incompetence on bad governance. We met at the workplace before, but they have now lost their jobs owing to dishonesty. Thus, I quit spending time with people who don't want to help themselves. You provide them with suggestions of how to move forward, but they bat them away with a barrage of excuses without ever trying anything tangible.

    In order to shut out unwholesome influence, here are what to do. Raise your energy and positivity to an overwhelmingly infectious level. Make a conscious decision to surround yourself with successful people. Lastly, allow these captains of industry to pollute your emotions. You must respect yourself by having more say in who you allow into your life. Sadly, emotional contagion isn't limited to in-person interactions. It exists in social media particularly facebook. Facebook conducted a controversial study in 2014 to investigate emotional contagion through social networks. Its results suggest that emotions expressed by friends via online social networks influence our own moods, constituting evidence for massive scale emotional contagion via social networks. It also provides support for previously contested claims that emotions spread via contagion through a network.

    In this time of global crisis and worldwide turmoil, from Donald Trump to Brexit, our feeds are increasingly full of anger, hatred, anxiety and conflict. Take an appraisal of what you are consuming. Look for more positive content to elevate your mood. Finally, emotional contagion is real and it is affecting your life whether you like it or not. Accept its existence and decide what you are doing about it. You need to review the people in your life and evaluate your consumption of social media. In life it isn't selfish to set yourself a high standard and put your needs and self first. Don't be shy to distance yourself from toxic people. Be a person who takes responsibility and who chooses to surround himself with positive, ambitious and passionate people.

Don advocates Economic Policy Institute

                    By Bayo Ogunmupe

    A Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics and development Studies, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Professor Philip Alege has advocated the establishment of an Economic Policy Institute as a framework that will lead to the appropriate policy advice in response to societal problems. According to him, the world is changing rapidly, factors and means of production are not static and national economies are perturbed by internal and external shocks that needed to be addressed.

    Alege gave this recommendation amongst others while delivering the 22nd Inaugural Lecture of the University held on November 29, 2019. In his lecture titled: 'Rethinking the Methodological Approach to Contemporary Macroeconomic Analysis in Nigeria,' Professor Alege showed the need to prepare and equip future economists appropriately. He said in Nigeria's dynamic setting where everything was susceptible to changes and uncertainties, a policy formulating research institute was inevitable. He contended that such initiative should be accompanied by evidence based tools that can address economic policy issues of the future. "It is time to move away from old and obsolete tools of analysis in order not to be disrupted," he asserted.

    Among other recommendations, Alege called for a review of the curriculum of macroeconomics; proposing to Covenant University as the best university in West Africa, to lead the revolution and that the time has come to jettison static, piecemeal and single equation approaches to policy making in Nigeria. Earlier in his opening remarks, the Vice Chancellor of Covenant University, Professor AAA Atayero, described the inaugural lecture as a platform for distinguished academics to avail policy makers and the general public with insights on what turns to make in the nation's development drive in order to achieve economic growth and development. With statistics from the World Bank, Atayero noted that since 2015, Nigeria's economic growth had been snail paced, with 1.9 percent growth achieved in 2018; stabilizing at 2 percent by the first half of 2019. He added that private consumption stagnated because of two digit inflation rate (11percent) which prevailed in the first half of 2019.

    Professor Atayero said that the economic growth achieved this year was mostly driven by the service sector. "From the World Bank perspective, Nigeria's economic growth is constrained by a weak macroeconomic framework with high persistent inflation, multiple exchange windows and foreign exchange restrictions, distortionary activities by the Central Bank, and the lack of revenue driven fiscal consolidation results," the Vice Chancellor stated.

How the poor can become rich

                    Bayo Ogunmupe

    For the poor man to become rich he has to unlearn his wealth rejecting habits and focus on what is left. A European polling organization, Credit Suisse counts the rich to be 42.2 million in its 2018 Global Wealth Report. Divide that by the 7.7 billion people currently inhabiting this planet, and you will get about 0.5 percent. And just like you get to that percentage, we think 'getting rich' is an activity.  That it is about movement, action, struggle. It's implied but not exactly about how we use the word 'get' in how we get coffee; get a job or get to the top of a mountain. 

    Though it is true that getting rich requires years of hard work; you will have to learn a lot, build skills; make the right decisions at the right time and have a whole bunch of luck in the process. But if that's all we focus on we will miss the most important factors involved in seeking riches. Understanding that you are most likely to build wealth on the back of something that grows exponentially is a huge perspective shift. But it is an important shift in perception. Otherwise, you might always be working on something, be so busy hustling that you forget to build the stakes in your ventures that can still work out after you have left them.

      However, it is harder to point out a set of wealth building patterns than it is to spot what keeps people from getting rich and rid yourself of them.  Once you have unlearned your wealth rejecting habits, all that's left is taking action and waiting for exponential growth to set in. Here are five wealth rejecting habits uncovered by research. One, stop telling yourself money is evil.  When it was discovered in the United States that those who claim that money is dirty never have any; it led to the rise of prosperity preaching, the end time religious movement. Money doesn't come in different ethical flavors because it doesn't have any flavors. It is a tool without any inherent intentions. Money can only be a consequence of ethical or unethical behaviour.

    Two, stop playing status games. Think of the most popular person in your high school. Where are they now? Chances are the peaked early and got stuck playing status games. The problem with status games is that they are zero-sum games: the only way you win is if someone else loses. Politics, fame, prestige, these are the platforms of status games. For you to move up a notch another person must move a slot down. To win at a status game, you have to put another person down. Which is why you should avoid status games in your life, because they make you an angry combative person. You will always be fighting and putting others down, to put yourself up. Building wealth by making things people want, however, is a positive sum-game: the more you do it, the better.

    Getting the life you want depends on your playing wealth games, not status games. If you are always busy trying to look good, you will have no time and energy left to actually do good. Though doing good is a thankless job, you still have to keep doing it to succeed. Three, stop rejecting responsibility. Great financial rewards are the result of taking asymmetric or great risk. Asymmetric risk is when what you stand to lose is disproportionately different from what you stand to gain. Many employees in big corporations only play games of shift-the -blame. They want to point to their boss when things go wrong. Sadly in the pursuit of riches, without responsibility there cannot be any rewards. This means when responsibility comes you must take it, taking responsibility isn't dangerous, it is only uncomfortable. In life you must stand for something.

    Better still, don't wait for responsibility to show up, just take some. Choose the right responsibilities and live up to them. Four, stop wasting your leverage. Working hard is a requirement of getting rich, though it isn't the deciding factor.

Unlearning your wealth rejecting habits

  

                  By Bayo Ogunmupe

    In the world today, one in 185 million people is a millionaire. But it is true that getting rich requires years of hard work. You have to read a lot, build skills, make the right decisions at the right time. Which means you have to hone your intuition. But if that is all you focus on, you will miss the most important aspect of how to build wealth through compound growth. This compounding happens through your choices, judgment and financial decisions. It is also affected by the assets you own, often without your being aware of it.

    Understanding that you are most likely to build wealth on the back of something that grows is a necessary perspective shift.  Otherwise, being busy working on something, might make you forget things that are necessary for your enrichment. In life, getting rich is equally as much, if not more about what you did not do, as it is about what you say yes to. At the same time, it is much harder pointing to a set of wealth building patterns than it is to spot what keeps people from getting rich and rid yourself of these habits. Once you have unlearned whatever wealth rejecting habits you have, all that is left is to take action and wait for growth to set in. Here are the wealth rejecting behaviors experts have spotted in people over the years.

    One, stop telling yourself money is evil. The love of money is the root of all evil. It isn't that money is the root of all evil. Take note that, it is the people who claim money is dirty that never seem to have any. They reject money in order to keep themselves poor. Money doesn't come with any ethical flavor. It has no flavors at all. Like the computer, it is a tool without any inherent intentions. In order to judge something as ethical, or unethical humans have to be involved.Only human intentions matter in such circumstances. Thus, money is just a consequence and amplifier. Profit or riches can be a consequence of ethical behaviour or of unethical behaviour. 

    When you think someone does not deserve his money or he must be doing somethil evil; that is jealousy in disguise. With such a comment, you are the one with questionable ethics. Instead, you should be happy for them and get to work so that you too can become rich for money like water, has no enemies. It is at that point that you should focus on yourself and become rich. Two, stop playing status games. Think of the most popular person in your high school. Where is he now? Chances are he peaked early. He got stuck playing status games. The problem with status games is that they are zero sum games: the only way you win is if someone else loses.

    Politics, fame, prestige are all ranked hierarchies. For you to move up a notch another person must move one down. The India born American entrepreneur, Ravikant Wiki explains: "The problem is that to win at a status game, you have to put somebody else down. That is why you should avoid status games in your life because they make you into an angry combative person. You're always fighting to put other people down, to put yourself and the people you like up." Building wealth by making things people want, however, is a positive sum game: the more you do it, the better and richer you become. Fulfilling your dream by getting what you want depends on you playing wealth games, not status games. If you are always busy trying to look good, you will have no time and energy left to actually do good. Sometimes, doing good is a thankless job. But you will have keep doing it to succeed.

    Three, stop rejecting responsibility. Great financial rewards are the results of taking great risks. Most of the time, when the responsibility of taking a good risk comes, it isn't dangerous taking it. It will only be uncomfortable. You must stand for something, though chances are you might stand for the wrong thing. But it is rarely something you cannot recover from. Better still, don't wait for responsibility on your doorstep. Search for and take some. Four, stop wasting leverage. Working hard is a requirement of getting rich but is not the deciding factor. Good judgment garnered from experience is very important. leverage multiplies the results of your decisions. Through investing, acquisition of skills and name recognition, you accumulate leverage. These translate to money eventually.

    When someone starts working for you, that's leverage. Once your vision is sharp, you will feel comfortable focusing on specific goals. Getting rich is a game but not a hectic one. Playing it the humble way might not guarantee winning, but if you do, you are likely to succeed from a move you long forgot. And through humility, you avoid harm.