How to break free from your unhealthy addictions

Let's face it. People do what they want, not what they should do. That's why New Year's Resolutions are so infrequently fulfilled.
 People don't smoke because it makes them smell bad and gives them cancer. Painful relationships don't persist because of their disappointments and grief. Troubling habits endure because of what they do for us. Our motivation to change comes from getting more out of changing than staying where we are, which is the basis for an effective technique called Motivational Interviewing.
 Motivational interviewing is non-judgmental. No one is saying you are bad or shameful, nor that you should beat yourself up.Just motivate yourself and stop it.
 Whether you’re a heroin addict and you see an association to heroin, you’re a caffeine addict and you see a cup of coffee, you’re a phone addict and you see another person pick up their phone, or you’re hungry and you see some good-looking food, your brain rushes with dopamine and that is now caught on brain-scanning machines.
The question is,how do you break free from these addictions?there are solutions and you must follow it with your spirit, soul and body.

 Decide to Quit
 It might not feel good to acknowledge all the ways in which your addiction is harming you, but seeing the list on paper will help you resolve to stop as soon as possible. Take out a pen and a piece of paper and brainstorm a list that includes all the negative effects you've experienced since your addiction started.

Make a list of positive changes you want in your life. 

Now that you've detailed all the negative effects of your addiction, think about how much your life will improve once you've kicked the habit. Create a picture of your life post-addiction. How do you want it to look?

• Maybe you'll feel a sense of freedom you haven't had in years.
• You'll have more time to spend on people, hobbies, and other pleasures.
• You'll be able to save money again.
• You know you're doing everything you can to stay healthy. You'll feel immediate physical improvements.
• You'll feel proud and confident again.

Write down your quitting commitment. 

Having a list of solid reasons to quit will help you stick to your plan in the long run. Your reasons for quitting must be more important to you than continuing your addictive behavior. This mental hurdle is tough, but it's a necessary first step to quitting any addiction. No one can make you quit but yourself. Write down the true, solid reasons you're stopping this habit. Only you know what they are. Here are a few examples:

• Decide you're quitting because you want to have energy to live life to the fullest again.
• Decide you're quitting because you're running out of money to support your habit.
• Decide you're quitting because you want to be a better partner to your spouse.
• Decide you're quitting because you're determined to meet your grandchildren one day.

 Set a date to quit.
Don't set it for tomorrow, unless you're pretty sure quitting cold turkey will work for you. Don't set it for more than a month from now, because you might lose your resolve by then. Aim for a date in the next couple of weeks. This will give you enough time to become mentally and physically prepared

 Seek spiritual,personal and professional support. It might not seem like it now, but you're going to need all the support you can get during your journey to overcome addiction. Because so many people battle addictions, there are many wonderful institutions in place that serve as support systems, helping you stay motivated, providing tips for success, and encouraging you to try again if you have a false start.

 Identify your triggers.
 Everyone has a certain set of triggers that make them automatically want to indulge their habits. For example, if you're struggling with an alcohol addiction, you might find it difficult to attend a certain restaurant without feeling a strong urge to drink. If you're addicted to gambling, passing a casino on the way home from work might make you feel compelled to stop. Knowing your triggers will help you face them down when the time comes to quit.

 Get your environment ready.
Remove reminders of your addiction from your home, car and workplace. Get rid of all the objects that goes along with the habit, as well as other items that remind you of the habit.

 Stop the addictive behavior as planned.
When the big day arrives, keep your promise to yourself and quit. Those first few days are going to be hard. Keep yourself busy and stay positive. You're on your way to an addiction-free life.

 Don't give in to rationalizations.
The physical and mental pain of addiction withdrawal is real, and you'll likely start telling yourself it's okay to take up the habit again. Don't listen to the voice telling you to start back up and don't give up on yourself when it feels hard. Every bit of pain will be worth it in the end.

 Celebrate your accomplishments.
Do something nice for yourself when you meet the goals you've made, no matter how small. Kicking an addiction is incredibly tough work, and you deserve to be rewarded.

Culled out from www.wikihow.com

Five Ways to Succeed in a BAD Economy

These are important practices that have helped me not only stay in business but grow my business over the past three years which I feel are important to share. 
You have to be happy when the economy of your nation is bad because you have the solution in your hands.
Whether you are a business owner or executive or a salesperson or customer service representative you may find some benefit from these ideas.  I believe that the success of our great nation and continent is dependent on the success of small business.  Without successful small business and entrepreneurs we will lose innovation and drive.  In order for small business to survive in the new global economy we must adapt and act quickly, with these few ways.
1.    Remember Your Core Values 

Remember when you started your business or your new job?  Why did you start that business?  Why did you get that new job?  Did you find wrongful practices in your industry that you felt should be changed?

When I started my business in September 2007 I saw many things wrong with my industry. I saw competitors price going higher and clients and providing less than professional services. I felt that businesses in our nation deserve better quality work and fair pricing.In tough times it’s imperative that we remember to stick to our core values.  If you value honesty, integrity, and loyalty to your customers then make sure you remember to apply these virtues every day.  You may have bad days and you may have good days; the economy may be up and down; your sales may be up or they may be down.  At the end of the day it’s your values that will drive your success. 

2     Stay Innovative; Don’t try to Re-Invent the Wheel

I recently attended a seminar in A Beachy environment about innovation.  The seminar reinforced my own philosophy of always doing things differently.  Keeping your methods diverse will help you become more innovative.  Innovation is the key to growing your business – coming up with new ideas and new methods will allow you to get ahead of your competition. 

Innovation doesn’t mean re-inventing the wheel.  If you have ideas that work and they work well then don’t waste your time trying to fix something that isn’t already broken.  Instead you should focus on areas that you know can use improvement. Always think outside the box.

 3.    Don’t Hide from your Customers

As the owner of a small business that provides professional services I deal with other businesses on a daily basis.  One of the biggest problems I’ve seen with businesses is that when the economy is down they will hide from their customers.  When business is slow the worst thing you can do is hide in a corner.  When demand is low and supply is high you must make yourself visible. 

So how do you make yourself visible?

There are traditional forms of advertising but as I’m sure you’re already aware they can be very costly.  It is important that you evaluate your advertising and marketing efforts regularly and measure your Return on Investment.  Additionally you should look for new effective methods of getting your name out there.

 4.    The Customer is Always Right, Always

Growing up my father always told me “The customer is always right”.  This is the golden rule of business and it is something that I live by. 

I remember when I was in Middle School my oldest sister worked at an ice cream shop.  At dinner one night she told my family about something that made her upset at work.  A customer had complained to the owner that the ice cream he was given was too melted to enjoy.  Rather than offering him his money back or giving him a new ice cream cone the owner of the store said “I don’t need your business.  If you’re going to complain then get out of my store and don’t come back.”   Well that customer didn’t come back and the ice cream shop went out of business later that summer.

 Customer service goes a long way.  Whether you are a large corporation or small business the most important part of business is customer service.  Without your customers you won’t have a business.
 So how can you improve customer service? 
You can start by coaching your employees regularly about customer service.  They may try to fight it at first especially if they think you are being redundant but as long as you make sure you get your point across then they should understand.  After all it’s not just your business they are representing but they are representing themselves as well. 

 5.    Stay on Target

The final practice I will leave you with is making sure you stay on target.  When you formed your business or started your new job you most likely had goals.  If you ever wrote a business plan then you came up with short term and long term goals. 

When money gets tight sometimes it’s easy to forget your goals.  If your short term goals seem out of reach then it’s okay to adjust your short term goals to adapt to the present situation while still keeping your long term objectives in place. 

When supply is high and demand is low you should lower your prices to keep sales up.  When supply is low and demand is high it’s okay to increase your prices to grow your business by implementing new technologies, hiring new personnel, or reaching out to new markets.  When you are doing well is when you should begin implementing marketing campaigns so that you won’t have to worry about breaking your piggy bank to advertise when business is slow. 

It’s good to set goals that are beyond your reach or the reach of your sales force.  It will keep you and your sales team on your feet and prevent you from slipping into a comfort zone.

Written by Israel Koffi Abrobah.

Israel Koffi Abrobah is a counselor and business man residing at Accra Ghana.He is a writer,a motivational speaker and a business consultant

When I started hawking at the age of three- A-pluz

Afolaji Abel know as A-pluz,  A-Pzee, born to the family of Afolaji  is a music producer, music artiste, Presenter, Actor and a publisher. he his the C.E.O A-pluz group of company,
C.E.O of D & L Media, C.E.O of A-pluz Recording Studios.
He has gone through the challenges of life because of poverty and lack. But he came out stronger.HE had the opportunity to chat with Chaplain Dipo Olatade(Yours Faithfully)and it was fun.
 
CDO: When did you start singing?

A-pluz : Well,singing is an ability that every man is possessed with, so i will say i started singing when i
was born. It all started at a tender age of 4 when i was playing drums for my school, after and gradually i discovered that i had the ability to sing so I joined the choir group in the church around 2005. From there i stated a music class, and i developed interest in playing the piano. After a while i started playing the bass guitar, lead guitar, acoustic guitar,drumset, conga, omele, Talking drum and some other instruments. And after a while i became the choir mater of the church, and so on like that.

CDO: When did you record your first song?

A-pluz: My first song was recorded in the year 2008. i could remember before recording, i had a little challenge in terms of finance,so i use to have a friend then that we use to work together in terms of song compositions and song writings, around 2007.We went to Tope Alabi’s recording studio but the money was much, we were unable to afford it,so we decided to step back, i said to my self that i can do it. In 2008 I went  to a studio and the engineer asked me that can i produce my song my self? he was just like,"can i really do this?", so i told him yes, that was how i started studio recordings and became a music producer. After producing my song the engineer loved it and told me to worK with him,so he got me several artistes in which i produced there songs.

CDO:What are your greatest challenges?

A-pluz: My greatest challenge among’s all was when I started hawking at the age of three it was hell because I use to follow my sister.it continued like that till I finished my secondary school, I was made from those challenges. there were times I cried but today and rejoice over my past.


CDO: Can you mention the high profile people that you have worked it?

A-pluz: To mention a few of them, I did the birthday song of popular actress Madam Shaje, Birthday song of actor Aina Gold, Birthday Song of Otunba Dr, Gani Adams, The official song of M.K.O Abiola, e.t.c





CDO: Thank for having you on this edition.

A-pluz: A pleasure is mine.  

LET US BUILD OUR NATION WITH LOVE

Beloved students of the bible,have you read through the book of Nehemiah deeply before?,especially chapter 1,2,3.if u read d 1st 3 chapters,you will see some deep mysteries.
 Nehemiah was just a simple man like u and me but on thing i saw in d life of dis man made me cry and that is,he had love and great care in his heart.
Nehemiah had concern in his heart for d people of Jerusalem when he heard that they were in captivity and reproach,even in great affliction and u see beloved,u will discover that the reason why they were in affliction was because their walls were broken down and gates burnt with fire.

Once the walls of love is broken down and d gates of protection is burnt with fire,there will always b problems.
Love which is a great gift from God entered his heart to help.The reason why there are lots of violent brutality and hatred in our society is because d walls of love and gates of protection are broken down.its high time for us here in Nigeria and and the rest of the world to come together in love to build our walls and gates with change of attitude.i don't know how you all will feel but d truth is that the topic of love should always be shared amongst our selves so that the character of love can be seen in us and through us.

Nehemiah and the people came together in unity and love to build d walls and gates of Jerusalem.for us to live like kings,we need to come together in true love and change of attitude and have a caring attitude in unity and build up our walls and gates.let us remove tribalism and religion and love ourselves.

Like Nehemiah,we should come together in unity and build up d walls and gates of love and care,the walls of unity and acceptability and the gates of protection.lets come together in love and change our world to be
a better place to be and we will be unbeatable in Africa and the world

I remain Yours
Dipo Olatade

9 Things Every Father Should Teach His Son

Being a father means more than providing all of the physical needs in life, it also means having the responsibility to teach his son the most important lessons in life that will help him become a better man.
So, in order to prepare your son for manhood and give him the knowledge that will help him through many common situations in life, consider these top 10 things that every father should teach his son:


Self-discipline. Whether it is for education, work, or fitness discipline is one of the most important lessons to teach your son. Knowing how to work hard, motivate himself regardless of the situation and having the willpower to push through tough situations will greatly help him become strong.


Confidence. A solid handshake and confident personality is one of the very definitions of manhood. Having confidence is simply a way to show yourself and others that you are a strong and capable person who can handle most problem or task that may come your way.

Responsibility. One of the great lessons in manhood is taking responsibility for yourself and your actions. This will not only reinforce your self-respect but also gain respect from others. Being responsible for every choice and action builds character and builds an image of trustworthiness for others.

Independence. One of the markers for reaching manhood is being able to do things on your own. Teaching your son early what it is like to be independent will help him become a resourceful man. Learning through experience and trying things on his own will build his character. It will also provide him with real world knowledge that can help him in every avenue of life.

Humility. Just as confidence is important in manhood, so is humility. A good balance between the two creates a strong leader who can succeed in many ways in life. Confidence alone will not build good relationships with people but by combining humility, people will naturally gravitate to you.
 
Respect. Reaching manhood means earning respect from others for having the qualities that deserve it. Respect is honoring someone for the good qualities they have and showing them their importance in life. Teaching your son to respect others while also demanding respect from their actions and manly qualities is a way to help them grow up to be well-rounded individuals.

Sensitivity. Although some may think sensitivity is a weakness for men, it's a quality that every man should have. It is a way of showing compassion and taking a softer approach to situations that require it. It is a quality that all greatly loved leaders have, which is why so many respect and follow them.

Honesty. An honest person is one who is comfortable with themselves and has confidence in their actions. An honest man has an honorable manhood, which is something that every man should consider to succeed in life.

Finesse. One of the top qualities that all men should have is finesse. It involves having the proper skills to handle difficult situations in a careful and calculated way. A successful man will always have some level of finesse to help him through the times in life that may seem difficult.
While not all of these skills are easily taught, the best way is to teach by example and reinforce actions with important lessons. With these ten important lessons, your sons will be prepared for manhood and the experiences that come along with it.

  Written by Jason Bettinger