July 10th

What July 10th Really Means to Me

July 10th happens to be my birthday and as far back as I can remember God always opens the heavens and showers his blessings on me and of course all others each year.

Seriously speaking, I have had to ask God why it rains where ever I am on the 10th of July yearly? Honestly, this one occurrence that keeps happening year after year from my days as a teenager. Truth is that I obviously don’t have any answers other than the fact that I believe it happens because of God’s special love for me and the rest of his children born on that day.

Its indeed a special day for me and I am super excited the for grace to see each July 10th up to this year’s.

It is possible someone says, “common CFA we are in the rainy season, what were you expecting?” I’d honestly not argue about that because the reality is that its indeed true but then again yesterday was 9th of July and it was an extremely sunny day in all the places I visited around the city of Lagos and again, this is always the case as far back as I can remember.

Also, based on Map Report’s publication, this special day of mine is yet to be recorded as a day when any of the world’s major disasters have occurred and I pray it remains so through out my life time.

What Each July 10th really means to me

  1. Time to STOP and reflect – life is worth more than all the hustle and bustle, its important to find out the true reason for your existence on earth.
  2. More Devotion to God Almighty – its important to seek to be a shinning light to a generation that has been sold a lie about the existence of the Creator. I choose to believe there is a God who created the heavens and the earth.
  3. Give more attention to what truly deserves it – one of the unfortunate mistakes we make through out our life time is to give attention to things that do not deserve our attention as such while neglecting what truly deserves our attention. This is one mistake that I don’t want to make indefinitely and I urge you not to as well.
  4. Finally, experience remains a great Teacher – this is one adage I have heard for many years and quite honestly didn’t take seriously while growing up. Now that 40 lurks around the corner, I can say for sure that experience truly is a great teacher. So if there is a younger person you know who refuses to take counsel, don’t stress it, just allow time go by and they will learn and agree with you much later in life.

Happy Birthday to all those who share this awesome day with me!

Maximum gratitude to my Creator for good health and special grace as well as a big thank you to all those who have sent in their birthday wishes and prayers. I pray that God will multiply you mightily in Jesus mighty name, Amen!

Dr. Myles Munroe

An Unforgettable Handshake with Dr. Myles Munroe

If you are one of my friends on Social Media, then you may have noticed that in the last 2 weeks most of my shares and broadcasts have been around notable quotes from Dr. Myles, who sadly is no longer with us.

Dr. Myles MunroeOh death! Where is thy sting? Indeed my heart was literally shattered when I heard about the passing away of this man of God who literally traversed the globe with the gospel of Jesus Christ, in a most unusual way. The Almighty God in his infinite wisdom knows best why he had to take him away – all we can do at this point is to pray for his family and congregation he left as well as pray that when our time comes too, we will be prepared.

I have planned this post about a day after his demise but I have struggled with finding time to fully develop it and choosing the most suitable topic for the post because it is simply mind-blowing talking about him and all his giant strides. Dr. Myles is one guy that thousands and possibly millions have written about across the Internet, so I would not exactly rehash all that they have said. Not very few men can carry out all that he accomplished during his 60 year sojourn on planet earth.

My first and last physical encounter with this great man was earlier in year when he visited Nigeria on the invitation of Institute of National Transformation (INT) as one of the speakers at their annual convention – I must say that INT is another organisation poised to make a difference in Nigeria. At that meeting, Dr. Myles Munroe spoke repeatedly about how the change we so desire in Nigeria is in our hands and how we should stand up and say no to corruption. His words were blunt and direct, yet so true, even a pin would sound like a bomb had someone dropped one because of the super silence in the auditorium that fateful day. Infact, it was a morning session and Myles was so loaded that a special appeal was made for him to return again later that evening for another session.

It was my first time seeing him physical so I watched in amazement at his level of wisdom and depth – I was glad that I attended that event because it was a life changing session. After the session, he made his way to the exit holding his dear wife, firmly with his left hand, as soon as he saw me approaching the exit from the left side of the auditorium, he stretched forth his hands and gave me firm handshake with a super body language that proved it was not just an ordinary handshake – I am not sure exactly what he said now, I think he said God bless you or something. But as soon he shook me, I received the anointing with all my hearts because I understood that this guy simply had the grace and favour of God upon his life.

After that encounter, I stood outside for a while until they both entered the car that brought him to the meeting place. Little did I know that will be the first and last time I’d get to see Dr. Myles Munroe in person or even shake his hand. I thank God he lived a life of purpose and I believe his death is heaven’s gain.

I’d live you with this illuminating video of Dr. Myles Munroe and our own Victor Oladokun as they discuss purpose, so the question is; have you found God’s purpose for your life?

As a Christian, I am consoled by this scripture and having lost a dear little sister, I know how painful the death of a loved one can be……..

1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 (NKJV)

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.[a]

15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

My last advice is “live everyday like it is your last!”

JCI TOYP Award 2014.

CFA’s Abridged Story after receiving the JCI TOYP 2014 Award (Part II)

Thanks for stopping by, I honestly do appreciate your presence on the CFA blog 🙂 Have you read the part 1 of the story behind the JCI TOYP 2014 award that I received? This is the part 2 of what I believe to be the brief story behind the JCI TOYP Award that I received recently.

JCI TOYP Award 2014
CFA’s JCI TOYP 2014 Plaque

I ended that article with a flash back of how tough it was trying to make a headway as an entrepreneur. It was pretty challenging due to a number of internal and external reasons but particularly because of some silly mistakes and poor business judgement as a result of inexperience or over confidence.

Recommended Reading:

Today, most my colleagues in the telecommunications industry have probably “enjoyed” life more than me at this point, which simply proves that CFA is still largely work-in-progress. Despite the graceful smiles you see, I am yet to enjoy the fruits of my labour. I last had a major holiday in 2007, that was a week or two after leaving Globacom and up to this point, its been work, work, work!!!

I clearly recall that 2 years after exiting Glo, I experienced a major business upset that left me penniless in all ramifications and that singular experience necessitated my foray into the world of Blogging which is the genesis of all that I been able to do within the ICT Industry. Between April and July 2009, just before I started my blog, I spent countless hours scribbling and designing how I believe my online world will be and how I would grow my personal brand into one of great substance.

So from the moment I started, I had a clear plan and direction. I focused on giving out free information on any subject I wrote on, holding nothing back. This did not go down well with some folks who thought I should not disclose all available information on those subject matters to the public so that they will come back to you for consultancy on the aspects not disclosed.

Fast forward>>>>>>> Below are some of the web properties that are the results of a mustard seed:

  1. ICT Clinic, The Punch – https://punchng.com/topics/ict-clinic/
  2. ICT Radio Show on 99.3 Nigeria Info FM – http://www.CFA.ng/radio
  3. Tech Trends on Channels TV
  4. CFA’s Monthly Digital Marketing Training services
  5. And of course the JCI TOYP 2014 award which for me is also a formidable platform.

How about my intellectual contribution? I have written well over 2,000 articles across various platforms on the Internet. My efforts in this regards, earned me the coveted Platinum Author Status by Ezinearticles.com. Today, I speak on various ICT-related topics especially on how ICT can improve the lives through the application of the various helpful tools that exist online which they can tap into. This I have done with much success for those that have taken steps to carry out the things I speak about.

From my various speaking engagements, I also ventured into outright Training of individuals and businesses on how to grow their brands and products online for profitability, productivity, client contact and retention.

As an author, I have written a number of books on ICT as well as co-authoring one with another ICT enthusiast.

Some of these books include the following:

  • Powering Your Business On The Internet And Social Media – A Guide For Today’s Business Owner; (This book has sold thousands of copies both locally and internationally)
  • Towards A Smaller World – How The World Transits To Our Palms – (This is a free e-book available at Okadabooks.com, Amazon.com and smashwords.com)
  • Teachers, The Internet And Money Making – (This is an e-book that I co-authored with Joe Oye, an ICT enthusiast)
  • Becoming a Blogging Professional – The Complete Step By Step Guide.
JCI TOYP 2014 awardees
L-R: Austin Osibor, Chief Visionary, Erne Group Limited; Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. “CFA” Founder, ICTwithCFA.com; Olayinka Thomas-Ogboja, Founder, Thomas O. Women Network and Lanre Olagunju, Curator, Omojuwa.com (representing Japhet Omojuwa) all recipients of the JCI TOYP 2014 Award.

To cap it up, in the next couple of weeks ahead, I will commence being host of Tech Trends, and ICT Television show, on Channels Television, one of the best Television stations in Africa. All these achievements that I have made on ICT all started with just one Laptop and internet connection coupled with my determination to research and study hard online.

This, in short, is my ICT success story. I hope it inspires someone out there?

Many thanks to JCI Nigeria for deeming it fit to acknowledge and recognize my very modest contributions to the advancement of technology development – this indeed serves as an impetus to BE and ACCOMPLISH more. I am proud to be a JCI TOYP 2014 receipient.

Watch out for Part III

JCI TOYP Award

CFA’s JCI TOYP Award & the Journey So Far (Part I)

JCI TOYP Award 2014
CFA JCI TOYP Award Plaque

In this part of the world, we often hear people attribute everything to God which is a good thing but where we miss it completely, is when we do not chronicle the events that took place before the recorded success.

I don’t know about you but I believe that Success is neither mystical nor magical according to Jim Rohn. It is certainly a process and just about anyone can replicate the process or at the very least learn from it. The God that I know and serve is not and will never be a magician, He is an orderly God by any classification, the same way he carefully described the creation of the universe and mankind in the bible is the same way I believe he wants us to be able to describe our success stories and achievements albeit modestly so that those coming behind us can learn a thing or two.

In order not to make this post too long, I am gonna cut this post into 2 parts because most internet users have poor attention span, so reading long (non-gossip) articles online have gone out of fashion. Be that as it may, I’ll do my best to make it as interesting as possible because I am gonna just chronicle my experience so far (of course the much I can remember) and end with some of the principles that help me to stand out.

The JCI TOYP Award

I am indeed grateful to God, my family and everyone who has supported this dream of mine in one way or the other. It’s been a pretty challenging journey but I am grateful that I stood tall despite the pressures that almost made me cave in.

I am not so much of an award or recognition guy even though I admit it helps in many ways than one, I have never competed or entered into any competition until early this year when I accepted to enter for the Easy business Millionaires Hunt after much persuasion. In the same vein, when I first received the email that I have been nominated for the JCI TOYP Award in the science and technology category, I simply ignored the email thinking it was a mistake and asking myself “what have I done to deserve an award?” After a while, the 2nd email came to confirm or reaffirm that it was indeed me, it became clear that someone was noticing that I have been indeed contributing my quota to the advancement of ICT in Nigeria.

The JCI TOYP award ceremony took place held at the massive Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta. It gave me a rare opportunity to meet all the other remarkable awardees who are also making massive impact in their respective fields of engagement.

The lesson here is that you are not the only sharp person out there, there are many more sharper people who can deliver great results – always have this at the back of your mind as you hustle on.

It all began as a Child

I have always been restless even as a child. I remember one of the badges I was used to seeing on my report card term after term is “he is brilliant but he plays too much or there is room for improvement but he plays too much” – I received these sort of feedback too often back in the days. I remember my parents tried to curb this side of me and got me the strictest teacher I have ever met, this guy was so strict that his face alone sent fear down my spines, not to talk of when he opened his mouth to say a word. I clearly remember how he would beat the living day light out of me just so I can stop playing. Wow! Memories of old indeed! Don’t ask me if I stopped playing?

I clearly remember that Technology was indeed a strong part of me while growing up, I remember I use to fiddle with any electronics or gadgets that came my way, I would unscrew them just to see how they were made and how they functioned. I so much loved to play with these gadgets. My father being an Engineer used to come to my rescue by either scolding me or helping out either way it was indeed fun. At that early age, I thought I would grow up to start a career in either the Engineering or Computer field largely due to his influence. I did try to study sciences in SS1 but I had to move to Social Science by SS2 simply because I could not cope maybe because I would not give up my play for anything in the world.

A More Mature CFA

After writing JAMB 3 consecutive times, waiting for University of Lagos that never came, an Uncle of mine suggested to my parents that I should go to University of Ado-Ekiti, then Ondo State University (OSUA), at first I resisted but seeing that I had lost 2 years already, I decided to go for it. Little did I know that accepting to go that far into the West lies the key to one of my greatest treasures of my life – Oluwatosin – the gentle spirit who has brought balance and sanity to my restless soul. We have been together since 2001 to date.

Some Daring Moments

When some cultists tried to cajole and coerce me to join their fraternity, I boldly informed them that I was in school to learn and besides my Christian background makes it impossible to join any other association outside it. I remember looking the Don of Eiye back then eyeball to eyeball and saying these words;

I can only fear someone who can hurt both the flesh and soul and not someone who can hurt only the flesh.

This was a well dreaded guy in school but I was able to look him in the eyes and utter those words. Was I scared when I was saying that? Absolutely! Did I go ahead and say it? You bet! What if it had backfired? Then it would have been God’s will but I wonder what kind of world it will be without the dynamic, always smiling CFA 🙂

JCI TOYP Award
CFA along with other recipients and top members of JCI Nigeria

As I grew older, I began to play less except when the opportunity arises then I maximize it especially if it is the kind of play that will help me laugh out loud. What you see in my pictures is really no joke, I love to laugh. Back in school, I sometimes laughed so hard that my lecturers will stop to ask what was funny. Do you know what this trait others thought was silly has helped me achieve?

The ability to laugh at myself and situation is definitely something that has helped propel and keeps me success minded.

This child-like attitude has helped to conquer rejection as much as possible, I am willing to accept no for an answer with a big smile on my face. I can’t count how many times my friends will laugh me to scorn because I don’t take alcohol or when the security guy at Globacom laughed at me when I said I wanted to work there on my first visit. Read more about that story here. I simply laugh over these sort of situation whenever they arise.

And so the Story Goes………….

I left Globacom in 2007, to chart a course in this uncertain world of business and entrepreneurship, which meant leaving  the comfort and certainty of a monthly income to a situation with no guarantees – looking back I can simply reiterate; It wasn’t easy but it was worth it…….

In the concluding part, I am just going to tell some more stories and then conclude with some of the success principles I live by. Thank you for being part of my evolving success story (as there is so much to do) and I therefore dedicate my JCI TOYP award to all my readers.

EFFECTIVE SOCIAL MEDIA Marketing.

Thank you for the Birthday Wishes – Take Advantage of this Offer!

It’s amazing what happens to me every July 10 – I really do feel so special after reading all the loads and loads of public and private birthday wishes I receive year after year. Yesterday was no exception as the messages kept pouring in from all channels, some were brief, others were simple, heart touching birthday wishes with various expressions mostly the popular HBD but some stopped to tell me how much my life has been a blessing.Birthday Wishes for CFA

Glory to God Almighty for making me a blessing to my generation and I am trusting God that it only just the beginning because I am paying the required price for building a lasting legacy. Read these posts specifically written for my birthday Now 35, then what? ….Just gonna enjoy my birthday? and If I were 22 (*35), I’d create a Vision Board

Once again, I appreciate everyone who sent me a birthday message either through sms, social media platforms or even via a phone call and to all those who forgot to send me birthday wishes for one reason or the other – it’s all good. I love y’all!

Let me also wish you all of God’s blessings and may all your dreams come true today and always, Amen!

fayo williams birthday wishes to CFA

Take Advantage of this Offer Today!

For all those based in Lagos and its environs, I’d like you to take advantage my birthday celebrations and attend the Social Media Training I am organizing in partnership with CVL – it promises to be super exciting and educating.

The early bird discount ended on the 9th of July but we have decided to extend it until close of business Monday (14th), just to encourage as many people as possible to attend and learn from CFA. So hurry and take advantage it! See payment details on the programme flyer below:

social media workshop by CFANote: Only 5 seats remaining and you can only be guaranteed a seat if you make payment before the d-day.

See you at the CVL & CFA Social Media training 🙂

DAGDivad Biz Card

How Your Shoe Reveals Your Temperament by Idagu david [Chief Shoe Maker]

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Clique Africa team led by Lekan Badmus invited me to come share some thoughts with them.

DAGDivad Shoes.
Hand crafted shoe by DAGDIVAD – proudly Nigeria!

I was scheduled to speak around 4:15pm and I got there on time but unfortunately I did not get to speak until after close to 2 hours. At some point, I felt like staging a walk out because I had to cut short an event I was attending with my wife to keep the appointment. Well I stayed back and waited patiently just to support the group of young people behind Clique Africa.

At some point before I came up to speak, a young man was given an award by the Clique Africa team in recognition of his outstanding stint so far as an entreprenuer. Besides, the fact that he is a serial entrepreneur who has garnered experience in a number of sectors, he still doubles as the Chief Shoe Maker of DAGDIVAD 🙂 – I proudly introduce Idagu David.

Now, here is the surprise part after my speech he gave me this pair of lovely handcrafted shoes that was a perfect fit after I tried it on at home. I honestly was not expecting anything from the organisers but the guy had it all worked out; whether coincidentally or not it was simply a very smart move and he has won me over to his side big time. What’s more? This shoe is simply cool, classy and comfortable. Thank you David for this gift!!! (I am sure you weren’t expecting this!)

Here is the Ted speech he gave titled; “how your shoe reveals your temperament.” As you can see David is also a public speaker – enjoy the speech & please patronise this enterprising Nigerian! Contact Idagu David on 08098023336, @DagDivadShoes, dagdivad[@]gmail.com

PyB Book Cover

CFA’s New Book is a Top Seller – Konga.com

Who does not have an idle time on the Internet? 🙂 I suppose that it is pretty normal for us to experience this every now and then. However, the difference I believe is how we use our idle times online, some use it to feed the negative aspects of life while others use it to strengthen the positives which I highly recommend. A few days ago, I was faced with an idle time, I couldn’t work neither could I write, so I wandered around the Internet and then it struck me to go shopping.

By the way, my 2 favourite eCommerce shops owned by 2 ultra talented Nigerians are Adibba.com (owned by Chris Udeji) and Konga.com (owned by Sim Shagaya), these are 2 fine gentlemen I respect a lot and I truly admire the value they are adding to the tech space in Nigeria. Incidentally, they are the only 2 eCommerce sites that I partnered with to sell my latest book titled “Powering your Business on the Internet and Social Media – A Guide for Today’s Business Owner”. 

So, I stopped by Konga.com on that fateful day and behold, I saw a notice in the books/stationery category that showed my book as Top in Category……… Below is the screenshot:

powering your business on the Internet on Konga.comBoy, was I glad to see this? Yes of course. This is indeed very cool because I know deep down that I put in a lot of efforts to come out with the book, I wanted a book that will add real value and deepen our growing knowledge base. I know that it will certainly stand the test of time, so my goal is to push out a 100,000 copies to homes, businesses, secondary and tertiary schools all through the federation and beyond. Yes, I believe!!!

My Little Secret

Those who know me can attest to the fact that I love marketing (value oriented marketing I mean) so dearly, which means that I am probably contributing more to the success of the book on both Konga.com and Adibba.com as well other bookshops that I have chosen to partner with, simply because I make it a point of duty to promote the book hard every other day and I mention my partners so people naturally make a choice and check them out. Below is a screenshot from the personal marketing/sales site (book.cfagbata.com) I setup for the book:

screenshot from book.cfagbata.com
screenshot from book.cfagbata.com

A BIG Thank you to everyone out there for supporting me in one way or the other and to you for always stopping by to check out what I have to say. I deeply appreciate y’all 🙂

Final Take Home: no one can tell the world what quality stuff you are made of expect you. So don’t be afraid to share your knowledge story and experience, certainly some will laugh but eventually others will listen and that is all the opportunity you need to make a difference in life. I wish you all the best!!!

[hr]

Now, here’s how you can order “Powering your Business on the Internet & Social Media – A guide for today’s business owner”

  • Order Online

    1. www.adibba.com
    2. www.konga.com
    3. book.cfagbata.com
  • Buy from Bookshops in Lagos

  1. Laterna Ventures, 13, Oko-Awo Close, Off. Adetokunbo Ademola Street,. Victoria Island,. Lagos State, Nigeria. Tel: 234-1-7730515
  2. Terra Kulture Plot 1376, Tiamiyu Savage, Off Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island 01 270 0588
  3. Patabah Bookshop, Shoprite Complex, Surulere, Lagos.
  4. Centre for Values in Leadership, 6 Balarabe Musa Crescent, near 1004 estate, Victoria Island, Lagos.
  • Buy from Bookshop in Abuja

  1. Silverbird Galleria, Plot 1161, Memorial Drive, By Musa Yar’adua Center, Central Business District, F.C.T, Abuja.
  • Order by phone (Home Delivery)

  1. Wale: 08053533156
  2. Okey: 07065644849

Nationwide delivery available!!!

CFA and Prof Pat Utomi

What Prof. Pat Utomi has to say about CFA?

Recently, I was invited to speak at Prof Pat Utomi’s Role Model Forum along the Chairman of Access Bank and CEO of C&I Leasing. As you would expect I was the last speaker but I delivered with some much passion and wisdom that most likely led to this letter of appreciation.

God Almighty has been so kind in ways I cannot explain. I am not the smartest or wisest kid out there so I understand and accept the place of grace in the life of any man.

Am I sharing this to blow my trumpet? Not at all.

So, why am I sharing it? I am sharing it for two reasons;

  1. Help people strive to become the best they can be because you see most times people get lifted when they read stuff like this which is the idea behind this blog.
  2. Also, let people understand the power of goal setting. I set a goal for a 100 speaking engagements this year and from nowhere I am receiving various invitations to speak.

Am I a great speaker yet? Not really, I am WIP (work in progress) but here is what Prof. Pat Utomi had to say after my speech at the Centre for Values in Leadership’s Role Model Forum:

The Founder and Management of CVL wish to express our sincere gratitude to you for honouring our invitation to share your experience with our young professionals at the January 2013 edition of the CVL Role Model Forum.

The story you shared and lesson drawn from it has been described as a masterpiece that will remain a point of reference for all time. Thank you for sharing your presence and thoughts with us. We are proud of your acceptance to be our partner in sowing the seed for a better future – a just, fair and humane society for us and for our coming generations.

Our participants were really inspired by your life experience. We look forward to more collaboration with you.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

For: Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL Ltd/GTE)

Pat Utomi (Founder/CEO) and Uchenna Achunine (COO)

Happy New Year from CFA Leverage Card B

Welcome to 2013 – Happy New Year!!!

I am so excited that it is a New Year because it is indeed a great opportunity to start afresh not just for me but for you also!

Please put behind your past failures and mistakes and push forward.

I wrote about my 4 biggest failures of last year (I suggest you read it right away), that post has generated a lot of comments from my until now quiet followers 🙂 simply because we all fail but too afraid to talk about it, forgetting that someone out there would certainly learn from that experience. Dare to be different this year!

Last year, I set a goal to shoot lots of videos and I failed at it too 🙂 – this year I am starting out with this short video to let you know how much I appreciate you for your love, support, friendship, patronage and criticism (both constructive and otherwise).

One behalf of my family and the entire CFA Leverage team I say; Happy New Year and God bless you and yours, Amen!

Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog, so you can always receive updates because I will be publishing my goals for this year in a few days and also review my 7 Commitments of last year.

All in all, my goal is to get more testimonials like this in 2013 (I was glad receiving this feedback from Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa);happy new year from mazi sam ohuabunwa to Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr

As always thank you for your support and I love to hear what you think about the video and 2013. Remain blessed!!!

mentor and mentoring

Feedback from Ezekiel Solesi, CEO of LIMBsimple after 2 hours of Mentoring

A few weeks back I got a request from a young man who requested to have a meeting with me. I decided to grant him audience something I usually don’t have the luxury to do because to my busy schedule.

Accepting to see this young man was a huge sacrifice to me. Well he did not disappoint me because he was prepared. How do I know? He took out time to write with his iPad as we interacted. I love the fact that this guy is in his twenties and so full of passion and energy, he reminds me of my younger days 🙂

ezekiel solesiAllow me to introduce Ezekiel Solesi, CEO of LIMBsimple, a prolific author, insightful speaker and a serial entrepreneur. I truly admire his swag and approach because it is very similar to mine, so it was no surprise after exchanging pleasantries, he went straight to tell me a bit about himself, his accomplishments so far and his mission, summarized as;

  1. To learn
  2. To leverage
  3. To collaborate

I was blown away with his simple and straight forward requests because others would go; I need your help to get a job, please borrow me money or how can I get a free website or how can you help me go my business online? Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with these requests but the context might make everything about them wrong.

Remember, you may never get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression. (I added “may” because never is not an empowering word).

Since I already sacrificed my time to see him, I decided to pour out my heart into the life of this young man and make it one of the best encounters of his life. Did I achieve that? You wait and see for yourself……..

Here is one promise I usually make to myself and students, you can’t have an encounter with me and not be positively influenced. Except of course there is more to it than the eyes meet. I have lived up to this promise each time I stand before an audience at FATE Foundation or anywhere else.

My Joy…..

Ezekiel Solesi left that brief mentoring session excited and grateful. Thank God for the Internet and social media, he poured out his heart on twitter (by the way you can follow him @Ezekiel Solesi).

Here are some of Ezekiel Solesi’s tweets + lessons after the encounter:

Earlier on, I wrote an interesting post about business partnerships – it is a must read!

I give God the glory that few days to Christmas, he gave me the privilege to sow a seed of greatness (however small) in the life of  Ezekiel Solesi.

How are you spending Christmas? Are you spending it alone having all the fun or making out time also for someone in need?

I sincerely appreciate your love and support. Feel free to use the comment box. Thank you!

wpid-20120930_184706-1.jpg

My first Visit to Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

I am writing from hotel room in Port Harcourt Rivers state, Nigeria’s garden city. This is my very first visit to this state and I am enjoying every bit of my stay here 🙂

I am here on the bill of the a New Life Baptist Church who invited me to come and speak at the inauguration of the Life Leadership Academy cum Entrepreneurial summit.

Port Harcourt Rivers State

Life leadership Academy is an initiative (a laudable one at that) of the New Life Baptist Church.

The theme of the event is “The Making of High Impact Leaders – Building young people for transformational leadership.”

Rev. T.O.A Adeleke, the Pastor of the church, who has been most receptive and kind, taught me a few life lessons from his message today, that was titled “the search for high impact leaders.” Let me share some of them;

It takes a whole man to be prepared for leadership; the spiritual, physical, emotional and educational components are all important.

                    
Characteristics of High Impact Leaders (based on Nehemiah 1)

  1. Channel of comfort
  2. Highly intelligent
  3. Genuine concern for the people
  4. Clear Vision
  5. Commiserate burden to drive the vision  Neh 1:4
  6. Deep knowledge of God
  7. Action driven

Leadership maturity is not a function age. – Eccl 10:16   

This is an interesting visit for me because this is the first time I am visiting Port Harcourt Rivers State and also the first time I am worshipping in a Baptist church – to say I enjoyed and blessed by the service is an understatement 🙂

If you are in PH and looking for a bible believing church to attend, then look no further, visit NewLife Baptist Church, Federal Housing Estate, off Agip Road, Rumueme and you will be glad you did.

Flying is always an Experience

On my way to the airport, I received a black berry message asking me to pray for a Qatar Airways plane that was about to make an emergency landing. How do you think I felt? Anyway, I said a word of prayer because I would be flying shortly too and who knows?

I sat next to a lady who was in the same Qatar plane, all through the journey she was restless, apprehensive and at a point, I had to ask her; are you ok? She smiled and said yes but you need to see her face and body language, it was screaming no 🙂

Truth is that, I was a bit scared because of my friends that were killed in the Dana air mishap but I simply held on to God because whether in death or life, He remains God of all creations.

The flight however was smooth with very mild turbulence but we arrived Port Harcourt Rivers State safely to the glory and praise of God Almighty.

For some reason, this blog has always ranked for the keywords “rivers state entrepreneurs” and “entrepreneurs in rivers state” – these are keywords that I have not consciously ranked for. But I think I know why now, there is a huge market to be tapped in Port Harcourt Rivers State and I would start targeting them using seo services.

A big thank to Joel Osebor of Con-Edge Limited (who is also speaking at the event) for making my visit a worthwhile experience. Joel and I share a lot of things in common but most importantly we love God and his son Jesus Christ 🙂

More to come after the event ends…….. To God be all the glory!