On The Path Of Winners BY BAYO OGUNMUPE How To Connect Divine Treasury

On The Path Of Winners

BY BAYO OGUNMUPE

How To Connect Divine Treasury

THE way you can connect with the universal treasury is undying faith in your victory. You must believe in your goal, and by continuously working on it, it will eventually manifest, if you refused to give up. Whenever you are setting a goal, always remember: “Nothing shall be impossible unto you,” Mathew 17:20.

  Clarify is the key to your success. Your goals and desires must be clear. Never be distracted by things that are not going to get you what you want. Practice writing down every thought or idea you generate that is in line with your goal. As you commit your thoughts on paper, that way, you will be amazed at how quickly you take action and move toward the realization of your dreams.

  As you think about your objectives, always list what you need to accomplish them. That mindset will force you to take action and keep you focused at all times. While your thoughts determine the course of your life, your decisions, that is, the outcome of your actions determine the direction you will move in life.

  Many people avoid responsibility for their lives, saying, “God is in control.” I would agree with this only to the extent that you live according to the will of Jehovah, which is in total conformity with the laws of nature. However, you still have to create your own world within this universe He created. Everything that happens in your life starts with a decision you make. Your destiny is shaped by your decisions. By making your choice, you are exercising the prerogative Jehovah gave you: “Choose for yourself this day,” Joshua 24:15.

  Successful decisions have two allies: commitment and responsibility. Commitment sets a baseline standard of what is acceptable in your area of focus. Which is why you have to keep to your high standard and live by it no matter what happens. However, many people refuse to take responsibility for their decisions. They blame their weakness on the economy, failed matrimonial relationships or their poor health. They complain that obstacles placed in their way are the reasons for their failure to succeed.

  In your pursuit of success, letting the will of God prevail is crucial to your success. A case in point was Christopher Columbus. His failure to reach India led to the discovery of the Americas. Despite his failure to get to Asia, Columbus achieved a feat that changed the course of world history. So in making decisions, you need to clarify three things. One, focus on the will of the Almighty, two, focus on what is important to you, finally, focus on what to do to achieve your goal of becoming the greatest entrepreneur of your age.

  It isn’t what is happening to you now, or what has happened to you in the past that will shape your future. It is what you focus on now, it’s what you decide to do now that will determine what you become later in life. It was that decisiveness that made Bill Gates abandon a Harvard education to hitch a dream that made him the richest man in the world.

  At the time he left Harvard as an undergraduate, Gates wasn't focusing on becoming a millionaire like Narcissistic Nigerians often do, he merely wanted to build his dream. Here are some exercises in good decision-making. One, recognize the importance of your decision, a decision propels an initiative to act differently. Two, know that action follows decisions. There’s no decision without action. Three, never make decisions without adequate data supporting the premise for your action. Always think before you act.

  Four, be committed to your decisions. Failures usually change their minds many times over. But commitment allows for flexibility. Five, learn from the results of your decisions. The more decisions you make, the more proficient you become in decision-making. Six, present an attitude of expentancy in your decisions. Know that a decision can change your life forever.

  Seven, in order to make good decisions, exercise absolute control over your thoughts. Develop an action plan for achieving the desires of your heart. Be persistent in the pursuit of your goals. Eight, what do you want to do with your life? You should select a calling or occupation that makes the best use of your physical, mental and spiritual endowments. Nine, make a decision about those you will associate with in all areas of your life. To succeed at the highest level, you need the cooperation of people who are as focused as you are. Those with whom you interact influence your life. Associate with people who can get you to the next level. Being alone is better than associating with cynics.

  Ten, decide that you will practice your beliefs. Tap into the spiritual resources of your colleagues. Religion strips you of vanity, self-love, helps you live a life devoid of fear, hate and intimidation. A life of honesty and sincerity is more than a safe conduct into eternal life, it is also a passport to better life here and now. Eleven, the way you manage your time determines the ultimate direction of your life. How wise you manage your time will determine the amount of wealth you will achieve.

  Our champion for today is Philander Knox, the American lawyer, banker, senator and Cabinet officer in three Presidential administrations. Born in May 1853 in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, USA, one of nine children of David and Rebecca Knox. He was called to the Bar in 1875. He became a successful corporate lawyer.

  He was appointed Attorney General by his friend, President William Mckinley in 1901. Knox retained that office under President Theodore Roosevelt, serving until 1904. At the behest of Roosevelt, he instituted many suits under the Sherman Anti Trust Act resulting in the dissolution of the Northern Securities Company that dominated U.S. steel market at the time.

  Then, Knox served as senator (1904-09), resigning to become the Secretary of State in the administration of President William Howard Taft. The foreign policy of Taft and Knox, called Dollar Diplomacy was espoused by Knox. Dollar Diplomacy sought to expand American influence overseas by increasing U.S. investments abroad. It sought to counter European influence in Central America or the Caribbean by encouraging those regions to borrow from U.S. rather than European banks. Though the policy was a success, it was roundly condemned. Knox was returned to the Senate in 1917, where he became the leading opponent of the League of Nations. He died in Washingt

On The Path Of Winners By Bayo Ogunmupe The Shortcut Route To Riches

On The Path Of Winners

By Bayo Ogunmupe

The Shortcut Route To Riches

THERE is a certain way to attain lasting riches. There is no known worthwhile accomplishment that has been achieved outside of this route. In walking this path to greatness, age, education, wealth or talent isn’t relevant. This shortcut route to riches recognizes that wealth is reward for diligent service to others.

  Conversely, this law teaches that it is futile to labour to be rich. The wealth you are after can only come as a reward for your labour of love, service to God and humanity. When you are following this route, in a little while, you will see your certain reward in an unending abundance.

  This path to success is certain, and it is non-discriminatory. All who have walked it since time immemorial have never failed to reach the desired end, regardless of their chosen field. The milestone on this shortest way to wealth isn’t my creation. Once you know the rules and you begin to obey them, you are on your way to outstanding accomplishments. If you take this short route to riches, already knowing your goal, you will steadfastly go towards your destiny regardless of temporary interruptions or the seemingly insurmountable challenges you may meet along the way.

  This achievers’ road to greatness is also known as the Power Pyramid of Achievement. This principle recognizes that power is given to man so that he can use it in serving others, and in return he is rewarded with the form of wealth he seeks. The seed of that power is in every man. But unless you apply this power, it isn’t functional on its own. For as long as you are alive this power will work for you as it did in the following story. There was a man called Milo Jones who operated a small farm in his town of Fort. Atkinson, in Wisconsin, United States. In spite of his good physical health, Jones seemed unable to make his farm yield more than his subsistence living. Late in his life, Jones suffered a stroke, which paralysed him into a hopeless invalid.

  Unable to move but compelled by necessity, Jones moved forward on the principles of the Power Pyramid of Achievement. He called his family to plant every acre of their land with corn. Then, to start raising pigs with the corn. Convert the pigs to sausages while the pigs are young and tender. They called them Jones Pig Sausages, which they sold to stores all over the country. Soon, Jones Pig Sausages became a household name. then, Jones and his family became extremely wealthy from the proceeds of their farm that had once yielded him barely enough to live on. They succeeded by applying the principles you will learn in this essay.

  The Milo Jones success shows that his future was not determined by his circumstances but by his application of the power that is at work in the affairs of men, the power that can take you to the heights beyond your physique. This power principle is based on four eternal milestones. They are: self mastery, serving others, the support system and the protective edge. Collectively, these principles assert that no meaningful success can be attained in any area of life without the would-be achiever first applying the power of making wealth to shape his life and then, using it to serve others. Thus, abundance is created through serving others and this abundance may be preserved only through your continuously serving humanity.

  Each of the four principles of the Power Pyramid of Achievement will be explained in subsequent columns. For now we shall explore the five secrets of Contentment, One, love people, not money, or possessions. This admonition is born out of the Biblical teaching: “The love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things,” Timothy 6:10. Here the Bible warns that a person who loves riches will never be content: “A mere lover of silver will not be satisfied with silver, neither any love of wealth with income,” wrote King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 5:10. Your way out therefore, is to practise giving because, “There is more happiness in giving than in receiving,” Acts 20:35. Contentment is the root of happiness.

  Two, don't compare yourself with others. Do your work well and you will be proud of yourself. See yourself as a unique being with a unique message to the world. All you need do is to exercise justice, and love your fellowmen and be modest in living out your life. Three, maintain an attitude of appreciation to God for your life and well-being. Four, choose your friends wisely. “He that walks with the wise will become wiser,” Proverbs 13:20. Good friends will add value to you, add to your contentment. Their attitudes and conversations will affect your outlook on life.

  Finally, satisfy your spiritual needs by being conscious of your relationship with God. “Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need,” Matt 5:3. As a Christian worship God regularly as prescribed by the Bible. But as a Muslim know the difference between prayer and supplication. To pray is to seek favours from God, whereas solat is supplication.

  Our champion for today is Benjamin Bibi Betanyahu, the Israeli leader and current Prime Minister of Israel..

  Born in October 1949, in Tel Aviv, to Zila nee Segal and Professor of History Benzion Netanyahu. The middle of three children, Benjamin was raised in Jerusalem Israel. He serves as the Chairman of Likud Party, member of the Knesset, as Health Minister of Israel, Pension Affairs Minister of Israel and as Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.

  Netanyahu was the first Israeli prime minister to be born in Israel. He joined the Israeli Defence Forces during the 1967 Six Day War, becoming a team leader. He achieved the rank of Captain before being discharged. After his Army service, Netanyahu went to America where he studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He left school to serve in the Yom Kippur War for 40 days in 1973. He returned to the U.S. to complete his degree. He also did postgraduate M.S. in MIT Sloan School of Management in 1977.

  In 1976, Netanyahu lost his elder brother Yonathan Netanyahu when he was killed in action during a hostage rescue mission at Entebbe Airport, Uganda, Africa. In 1978, Bibi returned to Israel to run Jonathan Netanyahu Institute, an anti-terrorism foundation. Then he met Moshe Arens, who appointed him as his Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. This position he held between 1982 and 1984. Between 1984 and 1988, Netanyahu served as the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations.

  In 1988, Bibi joined the Likud Party, won membership of the Knesset and was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. Following the defeat of Likud in 1992, Bibi became party leader. After Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, his successor – Shimon Peres decided to call early elections. Netanyahu emerged Prime Minister in May 1996. In 1997, Netanyahu signed the Hebron Protocol with the Palestinian Authority turning Hebron to the Palestinians. In the following year, he signed the Wye River Memorandum with PLO chairman Yasser Arafat. As premier, Bibi emphasized a policy of three nos: No withdrawal from Golan Heights, no talks on Jerusalem and no negotiation under any preconditions.

  However, he was defeated by the Labour leader, Ehud Barak in the 1999 general election. Thereafter he worked with BATM consultants for two years. After the fall of Barak in 2002, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon appointed Bibi Foreign Minister. In 2003 he gave up Foreign Ministry to become Finance Minister. But after the 2009 election, Bibi returned to office as Prime Minister. The post he holds till today. New elections come up in January 2013. Bibi has two sons from Sara his third wife and a daughter from his first wife Miriam.

On The Path Of Winners By Bayo Ogunmupe The Nine Laws Of Supply

On The Path Of Winners

By Bayo Ogunmupe

The Nine Laws Of Supply

HUMAN life is guided by nine divine laws that predict the outcome of every action. So as to reap the benefits of these laws and avoid the penalties of disobedience, you must know what they are. Whether you acknowledge the laws or not, they are in operation. Right now they are either working for you or working against you, depending on which side of the equation you presently stand.

  Certainly, the condition you are now represents the outcome of the way in which you have applied those laws in your affairs to date. Moreover, your future depends on how you are applying these laws right now. These laws have been decreed by Jehovah and are eternal. Since you cannot alter them, your best option is to obey them. If you apply these laws judiciously, your life will be enriched and you will gain all of your heart’s desires. These laws are self-enforcing and you violate them at your own peril. As laws governing abundance, obeying them enables you to secure the plenitude of provisions from the Almighty.

  The first of these laws is the law of creation. This law of creativity and of thought states that visible things are made out of the unseen. It is encapsulated in “As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is.” This law shows that everything needed by man has been created. Thus, all you need was belief and desire for your needs to materialize for your use. This law propelled Henry Ford to create the family car; Thomas Edison to invent the light bulb and Sir Timothy Berners-Lee to create the World Wide Web.

  The law of harvest is the second law of supply. This is the law of sowing and reaping. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For every effect, there is a specific cause. Conversely, for every cause, there is an effect. For every harvest you desire, you must sow a seed. Since only the seed we have control over, we must ensure we sow the seed in keeping with the harvest we desire. “Where there is no vision the people perish,” Proverbs 29:18. If you want a secure and just country, elect visionary leaders. Until a cause is changed, this law works in perpetuity, in a never ending cycle. That means if causes of Boko Haram are not removed, insecurity will continue for ever, like the war between Palestine and Israel.

  Third law of Supply is the law of Reproduction. It is also known as the law of multiplication. This law states that every seed has within it, the capacity to multiply once planted. Thus, every seed produces a multiplicity of itself. A seed can produce thirty-fold, sixty-fold, a thousand fold, depending on the faith of the sower. Whatever we sow, good or bad, the harvest will come back to us in abundance. Also embedded in this law is the masculine and feminine gender and their interdependence thereof.

  Thus you need others in order for you to accomplish your goals. This law also states that every seed has a gestation period, that in time it will be harvested. Every seed – thoughts, goals, ideas and other invisible forces of emotion and desire, has an incubation period before manifesting physically or materially. That creates the basis for perseverance while working on the achievement of a goal.

  Four, this law of Opposites states that everything has an opposite, that there are always two sides to a thing. As Apostle Paul put it, “When I would do good, evil is present with me.” No matter how bad a situation is, there is always a seed of goodness attached to it. Whenever a bad thing happens, look for the good in it. That is how you can ride out of it. By constantly looking for the good you desire in a situation, you profit from it.

  Five, this is the law of Reciprocity, this means you should “do unto others, as you would want others to do unto you.” The good you do to others you will gain in return. That may not come from the same source or be immediate, but certainly you will receive good in return. But the evil you do will surely return to you as well. Wrongdoers will always have their reward.

  Six, the law of seasons, it expresses that for everything there is a season. It implies that while things may go wrong, it is your reaction to them that determines their impact on your life. The law of Attraction is the seventh law of Supply. It says we attract into our lives the people and situations that are in harmony with our own thoughts and feelings. It is also known as: “birds of a feather flock together.”

  Humans are thought – magnets, as we send our thoughts as vibrations into the universe. In the same way, the thoughts of others are being constantly sent back to us. We perceive these exchange of thoughts as feelings. It is your obligation to replace negative thought forms with positive ones so as to stop them from spiraling into bad events. Eight, the law of Comparison is the eighth law of Supply. This law states that nothing is big or small, fast or slow unless it can be compared with another thing. This law shows everything is relative. It means everyone you meet is either better off than you are, or worse off, in any given variable. The proper response is to be grateful to God for whatever situation you are in, and decide to improve your life based on your own desires rather than on pressures from others. Find motivation and success from others rather than competing with them.

  Finally, the law of Harmony is the ninth law of supply. This law guides the consistency of the other eight laws. It states that all the laws work in unison with one another. If you use these laws collectively, you will notice significant changes in your situation, causing a quantum leap in your circumstances. Thus, if you are changing from your current situation or condition and moving into a new one, unless there is a continuous and rapid movement in the new direction, there is an automatic tendency for the former state or condition to be restored. Which is why a short-term application of these laws may produce only short-term benefits. Therefore, success may only be attained by a continuous, unbroken application of these laws.

  The practice of those laws will give you the winning edge in all situations. And your mastery of them will become your arsenal in the march towards the accomplishing of your life goals. When you organize your life and business according to these laws, you begin to gain advantage over all your competitors.

  Our champion for today is Cornelius Vanderbilt, the American shipping and railway magnate who acquired a personal fortune of more than one billion dollars in the 18^th century. Born in May, 1794 in New York State, U.S., Cornelius was the son of an impoverished farmer and boatman. Cornelius quit school at age 11 to work on the water front. In 1810, he bought his first boat with borrowed money, using the boat to ferry passengers from Stalen Island to New York City.

  Vanderbilt expanded his ferry services following the U.S. war in 1812. In 1818, he sold his boats to work for Thomas Gibbons as steamship captain. In 1829, he started his own steamship company. By cutting fares and offering unprecedented luxury on his ships, he gained ascendancy and control of the traffic, becoming a millionaire by 1846.

  The following year he formed a company to transport passengers and goods from New York to San Francisco via Nicaragua. With enormous demands owing to the gold rush of 1849, Vanderbilt’s firm proved a huge success. By the 1850s, he had turned his attention to railways. By 1873, he was able to offer the first rail service from New York to Chicago. Although never interested in philanthropy, he gave one million dollars to the Central University in Nashville which was later renamed Vanderbilt University.

  In his will, he left $90 million to his son William Henry Vanderbilt, $7.5 million to each of William’s four sons and a paltry sum to his second wife and his eight daughters. He succeeded in building one of the wealthiest and most prominent families in the United States. He died in January 1877, in New York City, United States.

On the path of winners By Bayo Ogunmupe Exert the force of strategic thinking

On the path of winners

By Bayo Ogunmupe

Exert the force of strategic thinking

IN your pursuit of success in life through personal happiness, financial freedom and gaining the desires of your heart, you need to concentrate on winning. To achieve your aims, you have to go and actually accomplish your wishes in the open market. That is why the skills of simulating, relaxing and visualizing are so important. Thus, you have to concentrate and do what you want, monitor your performance with feedback before you reset your goals again. Perhaps, the best lesson to learn about concentrated action is to focus all your attention on the desired goal, and dismiss the penalties of failure. In order to retain your concentration you have to adopt strategic thinking for success.

  When you hear of strategic thinking, what comes to mind is war. In fact the word strategy means: the science of planning and directing large scale military operations, especially in maneuvering armies into the most advantageous position prior to actual engagement – with the enemy. What differentiates tacts from strategy is that tactics are actions taken in battle, while strategies are plans prior to it. However, strategy isn’t restricted to neither military actions nor business. Strategic thinking can make a positive impact on any area of life. When failure isn’t an option, nothing serves you better than strategic thinking. This is achieved by planning your life and then living your plan. At least, you should plan your life once a week. Then, review your calendar for the week, check your appointments, review your goals and then get to work. This way, you will generally out achieve most of your daily planning colleagues.

  Strategic thinking helps me to plan to become more efficient, to maximize my strengths and to find the most direct path towards the attainment of my objectives. Here are some of the reasons why you should adopt strategic thinking methods to achieve your goals in life. One, strategic thinking simplifies problems. It is planning ahead of problems. Strategic thinking takes complex issues and long-term objectives and breaks them down into manageable sizes. Everything becomes simple when it has a plan.

 Two, strategic thinking enables you to ask the right questions. Three, premeditated strategy prompts you to customize your plans. World War II U.S. General George Patton observed: “successful commanders make plans to fit circumstances but they do not try to create circumstances to fit plans.” All strategists are precise in their thinking. They match strategy with the problem. Sloppy thinking is an enemy of achievement. Customizing your thinking with the problem forces you to go beyond vague ideas. Strategy sharpens your mind to engage the problem in specific ways.

  Four, strategic thinking prepares you today for an uncertain future, strategic thinking is the bridge that links where you are to where you want to be. It gives direction and credibility to your success measures. It enables you to saddle your dreams before you ride them.

  Five, strategic thinking reduces the margin of error in your plans. It lines up your actions with your objectives. The better aligned you are with your target, the better the odds that you will succeed.

  Six, strategic thinking gives you influence with others. One company executive confided in another: “Our company has a short range plan and a long range plan. Our short range plan is to stay afloat long enough to make it to our long range plan.” But that’s no strategy. That’s the position most leaders put themselves, put their business or the nation. There are more than one problem with neglecting strategy in that way. Not only does it fail to build the business, state or nation, it also loses the respect of strategic thinkers.

  Another salient example of muddled thinking is the result of the just concluded Ondo State gubernatorial election. One party thinks of regional integration, that’s strategic thinking. Those without strategy won. Of course, the victors cannot lead the people anywhere. They can only lead them to their Golgotha, for the Bible says “for lack of knowledge my people are destroyed” Hosea 4:6. The one with strategy is the one with the power.

  Seven, in order to become a better strategic thinker, to be able to formulate and implement plans that achieve desired objectives, you must break down the issue, “yard by yard, life is hard, but inch by inch it is a cinch,” so says Robert Schuller, author of Tough Times never last Tough People do. The first step in strategic thinking is to break down an issue into smaller, more manageable units so that you can focus on them more effectively. You might break an issue by function. Just as automobile innovator Henry Ford did when he created the assembly line. That was why he said:” Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.” You can also break things down according to time.

  Eight, ask why before how the great American engineer Eugene Grace says: “Thousands of engineers can design bridges, calculate strains and stresses and draw up specifications, but the great engineer is the man who can tell whether the bridge should be built at all, where it should be built and when.” Asking why helps you fathom the right decision. It helps you to open your mind to possibilities and opportunities. If you jump to how so quickly, you might miss the reasons behind your decision. Nine, identify the real issues and objectives. Before a problem can be solved, it has to be clearly defined. We often rush to solutions, at the end we end up solving the wrong problem. Begin by asking what else could be the real issue? Discovering your real situation and objectives is the essence of the battle.

  Ten, review your resources. A strategy that does not take into account resources is doomed to failure. Take an inventory of your time and the money you have. Eleven, develop your plan. When planning, start with the obvious. Put the right people in the right places, which makes placing your team a part of the strategy an important issue. Moreover, keep reviewing the process to avoid errors. Your will to win is worthless if you do not have the will for thorough preparation. Spend time with people whose wisdom and discernment you admire, who have a history of successful problem solving.

  Our champion for today is Edward Prescott, the co recipient of the 2004 Nobel prize for Economics with Finn Kydland. Prescott was born in New York, United States to Mathilda Helwig Prescott and William Clyde Prescott. He received his bachelor’s degree in Mathematics form Swarthmore College in 1962, his master’s from Case Western Reserve University in Operations research in 1963 and his PhD in Economics at Carnegie Mellon University in 1967.

  Form 1966 to 1871, Prescott taught at the University of Pennsylvania. Then, he returned to Carnegie Mellon until 1980, when he moved to the University of Minnesota where he taught till 2003. Since then, he has been teaching at Arizona State University. The Research papers in Economics ranked him the 18^th most influential economist in the world as of August 2012, based on his academic contributions.

  Currently working as an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and as a professor at Arizona State University’s Carey school of Business, he is an authority in macroeconomics, especially in business cycles and general equilibrium. In their Nobel winning papers, published in 1977, Prescott analysed whether Central Banks should have strict numerical targets or be allowed to use their discretion in setting monetary policy. He is also well known for his work on the Prescott Filter, used to smooth fluctuations in a time series. Prescott has also expressed skepticism towards fractional central banking. His writings more recently have focused on the negative effect of taxes on the economy in Europe.

On the path of winners By Bayo Ogunmupe Exert the force of strategic thinking

On the path of winners

By Bayo Ogunmupe

Exert the force of strategic thinking

IN your pursuit of success in life through personal happiness, financial freedom and gaining the desires of your heart, you need to concentrate on winning. To achieve your aims, you have to go and actually accomplish your wishes in the open market. That is why the skills of simulating, relaxing and visualizing are so important. Thus, you have to concentrate and do what you want, monitor your performance with feedback before you reset your goals again. Perhaps, the best lesson to learn about concentrated action is to focus all your attention on the desired goal, and dismiss the penalties of failure. In order to retain your concentration you have to adopt strategic thinking for success.

  When you hear of strategic thinking, what comes to mind is war. In fact the word strategy means: the science of planning and directing large scale military operations, especially in maneuvering armies into the most advantageous position prior to actual engagement – with the enemy. What differentiates tacts from strategy is that tactics are actions taken in battle, while strategies are plans prior to it. However, strategy isn’t restricted to neither military actions nor business. Strategic thinking can make a positive impact on any area of life. When failure isn’t an option, nothing serves you better than strategic thinking. This is achieved by planning your life and then living your plan. At least, you should plan your life once a week. Then, review your calendar for the week, check your appointments, review your goals and then get to work. This way, you will generally out achieve most of your daily planning colleagues.

  Strategic thinking helps me to plan to become more efficient, to maximize my strengths and to find the most direct path towards the attainment of my objectives. Here are some of the reasons why you should adopt strategic thinking methods to achieve your goals in life. One, strategic thinking simplifies problems. It is planning ahead of problems. Strategic thinking takes complex issues and long-term objectives and breaks them down into manageable sizes. Everything becomes simple when it has a plan.

 Two, strategic thinking enables you to ask the right questions. Three, premeditated strategy prompts you to customize your plans. World War II U.S. General George Patton observed: “successful commanders make plans to fit circumstances but they do not try to create circumstances to fit plans.” All strategists are precise in their thinking. They match strategy with the problem. Sloppy thinking is an enemy of achievement. Customizing your thinking with the problem forces you to go beyond vague ideas. Strategy sharpens your mind to engage the problem in specific ways.

  Four, strategic thinking prepares you today for an uncertain future, strategic thinking is the bridge that links where you are to where you want to be. It gives direction and credibility to your success measures. It enables you to saddle your dreams before you ride them.

  Five, strategic thinking reduces the margin of error in your plans. It lines up your actions with your objectives. The better aligned you are with your target, the better the odds that you will succeed.

  Six, strategic thinking gives you influence with others. One company executive confided in another: “Our company has a short range plan and a long range plan. Our short range plan is to stay afloat long enough to make it to our long range plan.” But that’s no strategy. That’s the position most leaders put themselves, put their business or the nation. There are more than one problem with neglecting strategy in that way. Not only does it fail to build the business, state or nation, it also loses the respect of strategic thinkers.

  Another salient example of muddled thinking is the result of the just concluded Ondo State gubernatorial election. One party thinks of regional integration, that’s strategic thinking. Those without strategy won. Of course, the victors cannot lead the people anywhere. They can only lead them to their Golgotha, for the Bible says “for lack of knowledge my people are destroyed” Hosea 4:6. The one with strategy is the one with the power.

  Seven, in order to become a better strategic thinker, to be able to formulate and implement plans that achieve desired objectives, you must break down the issue, “yard by yard, life is hard, but inch by inch it is a cinch,” so says Robert Schuller, author of Tough Times never last Tough People do. The first step in strategic thinking is to break down an issue into smaller, more manageable units so that you can focus on them more effectively. You might break an issue by function. Just as automobile innovator Henry Ford did when he created the assembly line. That was why he said:” Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.” You can also break things down according to time.

  Eight, ask why before how the great American engineer Eugene Grace says: “Thousands of engineers can design bridges, calculate strains and stresses and draw up specifications, but the great engineer is the man who can tell whether the bridge should be built at all, where it should be built and when.” Asking why helps you fathom the right decision. It helps you to open your mind to possibilities and opportunities. If you jump to how so quickly, you might miss the reasons behind your decision. Nine, identify the real issues and objectives. Before a problem can be solved, it has to be clearly defined. We often rush to solutions, at the end we end up solving the wrong problem. Begin by asking what else could be the real issue? Discovering your real situation and objectives is the essence of the battle.

  Ten, review your resources. A strategy that does not take into account resources is doomed to failure. Take an inventory of your time and the money you have. Eleven, develop your plan. When planning, start with the obvious. Put the right people in the right places, which makes placing your team a part of the strategy an important issue. Moreover, keep reviewing the process to avoid errors. Your will to win is worthless if you do not have the will for thorough preparation. Spend time with people whose wisdom and discernment you admire, who have a history of successful problem solving.

  Our champion for today is Edward Prescott, the co recipient of the 2004 Nobel prize for Economics with Finn Kydland. Prescott was born in New York, United States to Mathilda Helwig Prescott and William Clyde Prescott. He received his bachelor’s degree in Mathematics form Swarthmore College in 1962, his master’s from Case Western Reserve University in Operations research in 1963 and his PhD in Economics at Carnegie Mellon University in 1967.

  Form 1966 to 1871, Prescott taught at the University of Pennsylvania. Then, he returned to Carnegie Mellon until 1980, when he moved to the University of Minnesota where he taught till 2003. Since then, he has been teaching at Arizona State University. The Research papers in Economics ranked him the 18^th most influential economist in the world as of August 2012, based on his academic contributions.

  Currently working as an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and as a professor at Arizona State University’s Carey school of Business, he is an authority in macroeconomics, especially in business cycles and general equilibrium. In their Nobel winning papers, published in 1977, Prescott analysed whether Central Banks should have strict numerical targets or be allowed to use their discretion in setting monetary policy. He is also well known for his work on the Prescott Filter, used to smooth fluctuations in a time series. Prescott has also expressed skepticism towards fractional central banking. His writings more recently have focused on the negative effect of taxes on the economy in Europe.

On The Path Of Winners By Bayo Ogunmupe The Benefit Of Good Thinking

On The Path Of Winners

By Bayo Ogunmupe

The Benefit Of Good Thinking

GOOD thinking separates you from those who never seem to get anywhere. Those who embrace good thinking as a lifestyle understand the relationship between their level of thinking and their level of progress. They also realize that to change their lives, they must change their thinking.

  Changing from negative to positive thinking is not always easy. For some, it is a life-long struggle. Do you know what people’s challenge is when it comes to personal changes? It is how to change their feelings. They don't know how to get past their emotions in the effort to change their feelings. But since your feelings come from your thoughts you can control your feelings by controlling your thoughts. If you change your thoughts, you change your feelings. And by changing your feelings, you change your actions – that changes your life.

  Most people look for change through education. Many people believing that formal education holds the key to improving lives and reforming society. Unfortunately education often can not deliver on such promises, which is why many dropouts have become very successful like Bill Gates, Thomas Edison, Federico Fellini and Steve Jobs. But the problem with most educational institutions is that they teach people what to think rather than how to think. But knowledge alone is not power. Knowledge has value only in the hands of a man who can think well. People must learn how to think so as to achieve their dreams and accomplish their full human potential.

  Where success is concerned, people are not measured in inches, pounds or university degrees. They are measured by the size of their thinking. Becoming a better thinker is worth your effort because the way you think impacts on your life. Good thinking will help you to become an achiever. It will make you a better executive.

  One, good thinking creates the foundation for good results in your life. Good thoughts and actions produce successful results. Scientists believe that poor thinking produce poverty, average thinking leads to stagnation and great thinking produce great progress. However, a reason why people don't achieve their dreams is that they desire to change their lives without changing their thinking. If you don't like the crop you are reaping, you need to change the seed you are sowing. To make progress in your life, you must take action. But the success of your action depends entirely on forethought. Successful people have won through their thinking with their hands helping their brains.

  Two, good thinking exposes your potentials. You can only be as great as your dominant aspiration. And to paraphrase it in the words of King Solomon, the wisest man of all time, “As people think in their hearts, so they are.” Thus, progress is just a good idea away. The level of your success tomorrow is determined by what you think today. The man who can think will always be the master of the man who can do. If you keep growing in your thinking, you will constantly outgrow others in what they are doing.

  Three, good thinking produces more good thinking. Renowned mathematical genius – Albert Einstein observed – “The problems we face today cannot be solved on the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” Which is why the world is getting more and more complicated. Make a habit of changing your habit. Habit is the enemy of success. Success comes from the habit of good thinking. Unsuccessful people focus their thinking on survival.

  Mediocres focus their thinking on maintenance. But winners focus their thinking on progress. Knowing what you want and paying the price to get it is the cornerstone of success. So, how do you pay the price to become a winner? Indeed, winning consists of several thinking skills. Thus, becoming a winner means developing good thinking skills to the best of your ability. The battle for the control of the world has always been waged most effectively on the idea level. That is why you have to learn to think creatively.

  Changing your thinking isn’t automatic, you have to work at it. Two, changed thinking is difficult. The only people who believe thinking is easy are those who don't think. Of course, there are people on this planet who are merely drifting. Albert Einstein asserted,” Thinking is hard work; that’s why so few do it.” Three, changed thinking is worth the investment. When you take the time to change your thinking, you are investing on yourself. Gold mines dry, stock markets crash; real estates go sour but a mind with the ability to think is like a diamond mine that never runs out. It is priceless.

  Four, changed thinking is the greatest gift you can bequeath to others. Changed thinking effects your circumstances. Only when you think right do your circumstances change in unison. The only way to change a person is by changing the way he thinks. Five, changing your thinking changes your beliefs. You cannot attain what you cannot see yourself achieving. As you strive to change your thinking, tell yourself these three things: change is personal, so I need to change; change is possible, I am able to change and change is profitable, I will be rewarded by change. Indeed, no matter your circumstances you can change your thinking. When you change your thinking, you change your beliefs.

  Six, changing your beliefs change your expectations. American billionaire entrepreneur Richard Devos says, “The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible.” A belief is not just an idea that you possess. A belief is an idea that possesses you. A belief is powerful because it changes your expectations. Seven, changing your expectations changes your attitude. Our expectations have a tremendous impact on our attitudes. “Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall receive it,” quipped Benjamin Franklin, an American hero. Eight, changing your attitude changes your behaviour. Our emotions are the driving forces of our lives, excitement, conviction, desire, confidence and energy all of these propel you to greater abundance and success. That which holds your attention determines your action. Nine, changing your behaviour changes your performance. Don't ever be too impressed with your goal-setting, be more engrossed with goal-getting. Finally, changing your performance changes your life. If you keep improving your thinking, it will impact on your beliefs, change your expectations, alter your attitude, change your behaviour, improve your performance and thereby change your life. Progress always requires change. If you want to live on a new level, you have to think on a new level.

  Our champion for today is Sir Timothy Berners-Lee, the British computer scientist and inventor of the World Wide Web. He was born in London in June 1955, one of four children born to Conway Berners-Lee and Mary Woods. Sir Timothy’s parents, computer gurus themselves, who worked on the first commercially built computer, the Ferranti Mark One. Sir Timothy made a proposal for an information management system in March 1989 and on 25 December 1990, with the help of Robert Caclliau, he implemented the first successful communication between a Hypertext Transfer protocol (HTTP) client and server via the Internet.

  Burners-Lee is the director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) which oversees the Web’s continued development. He is also the founder of the World Wide Web Foundation and is a senior researcher and holder of the Founders Chair at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). He is a director of the Web Science Research Initiative (WSRI) and a member of the advisory board of the MIT Centre for Collective Intelligence.

  In 2004, Berners-Lee was knighted by the British queen for his pioneering work of founding the World Wide Web. In 2009, he was elected a foreign associate of the United States National Academy of Sciences. He was honoured as the inventor of the World Wide Web during the 2012 Olympics in London, United Kingdom. In his early life, Sir Timothy was educated at Emmanuel School, London and Queen’s College, Oxford University (1973-76) where he received a first class degree in physics. After graduation he joined communication companies around Britain where he gained experience in computer networking. Thereafter he invented the World Wide Web. In November 2009, Sir Timothy launched the World Wide Web Foundation in order to advance the web to empower humanity by launching transformation programmes that build local capacity to leverage the Web as a medium for positive change. Now 57, he is waiting on the Nobel Committee to receive his prize for physics before the end of this decade.