When I was on the plane heading to Nigeria in January 2011, I really was not sure what to expect, but I knew God was with me. That was all I really needed.

A few days later, I was on the plane to Abuja to register for NYSC. That experience was my induction into the dogmatic, bureaucratic and sometimes sheer evil practices that occur in getting things done in this part of the world. One person just decided that no matter what I did on that day, he will not attend to me. True to his word, he did not. That evening, I prayed him out of the scene, such that the next day, he became irrelevant to my cause.

A few weeks later, I got my NYSC Callup letter, and Lagos here I come for my service year.

The 3 weeks orientation camp was fun. I mean fun. At first it felt like boarding school again, and many things were irritable, the water, the crowd and the food. I liked the exercise drill at 4am, adored the friends I made, participated in some activities (notably winning the parade competition with my platoon), and I joined NCCF. (Nigerian Christian Corper’s Fellowship).

ROOM 32 boys…. they were fabulous.

Platoon 1 Corp members were amazing.

My friends were great.

After 3 weeks of paramilitary training, we were given our posting letters and as God will have it, I was posted to LSDPC (Lagos State Development and Property Corporation). Big thanks to Mrs Amosun for being a caring mother. In my time at LSDPC I experienced many things, from acceptance to rejection, from love to hatred. I expressed creativity, broke boundaries, was active in fellowship, learnt a lot and with a dear friend too, we showed what is possible if you have a dream and are ready to pursue it irrespective of the problems that may arise, or the challenges to be faced, you can achieve it.

In the course of the service year, I also undertook a personal project in conjunction with NYSC, Lagos State Ministry of Education and the authorities of District VI. I was teaching creatively at Ilupeju Junior Secondary School. I loved every minute of it and happy to have been of service to my immediate community. You can check the project out here www.mathsandyourfuture.info

I will not fail to mention the exploits of NCCF family, the love, support and oneness of the big family. I love this family of God. It’s the Jesus Corper style-e. Rural Rugged is the village evangelism program of NCCF and it was simply stunning when I was in a village for 3 days just telling villagers about the love of God and watch many give their lives to Christ.

And now it has come to a glorious end. I am grateful to God for keeping me safe. Grateful for the family that accommodated me during this time, grateful for my colleagues and superiors, grateful to my family and grateful to a very dear lady (wink) who flew across the ocean just to say, you can do this.

When the steam feels like it is running out, you can always look back and see the crowd of people cheering you on, the Gateway Chapel family in London has continually done that. When I felt drained, PE showed up in Nigeria and the 3 days with him was refreshing.

You guys at Mind and Mouth have been incredible. In fact you are the only ones that had access to the first set of NYSC pictures that I took. Thank you for supporting me throughout the service year. You have made serving you through this medium very enjoyable. God bless you indeed.

The last few months, I’ve met great minds through the Avenues to Wealth platform and I use this opportunity to say thanks to Deolu Akinyemi and his wife (MI) and my own dear TPF (Tosin Praise Fowowe) and hubby, PFI (Praise Fowowe). Everyone at A2W rocks!

For the very first time, the service year pictures are now available on face book.. Hurray!

So you can head over there now, and comment away!.. lol.

You can watch the Camp Parade for the induction here

Another phase in my life started today, and you can all say a prayer for me!

“I just love GRACE”.

Many times, I know I am not up to scratch, not worthy to stand, not worthy to be counted, but GRACE (the unmerited favour of God) speaks for me.

It is very easy to get cocky and proud, especially when you have some achievements, but I am constantly humbled by these two verses:

John 15:5 “…For without me (Christ), you can do nothing”

Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ…”

I heard this story through a preacher recently and decided to pen it for you. So the question is will you hire this Pastor?

One of the toughest task a church faces is choosing a new minister (Ok, maybe it’s not a modern Pentecostal church).

A member of the church board grew increasingly frustrated after the church committee rejected applicant after applicant for reasons that are either real or imagined.

It was a time for a bit of soul searching for the committee and this board member stood up purporting to read a letter from another applicant. The Cover letter reads thus:

 

Re: Application for the role of the Pastor

“Gentlemen,

Understanding your pulpit is vacant, I will like to apply for the position. I have many qualifications.

I have been a preacher with much success. Also I have some success as writer. Some say I’m a good organizer. I have been a leader in most places I have been.

Other Qualifications

I am over 50 years of age and never preached in one place for more than 3 years. In some places I have left town after my work caused some riots and disturbances.

I must admit I have been in jail 3 or 4 times, but not because of any real wrong doing.

My health is not too good, though I still accomplish a great deal. .

The churches I have preached in have been small, though located in several large cities.

I have not gotten along well with the religious leaders in the cities where I have pastored. In fact some have even threatened me and attacked me physically.

I am not too good at keeping records; I have been known to forget whom I have baptised.

However, if you can use me, I promise I will do my best for you.”

The board member turned to the committee and said. What do you think? Shall we call him?

The good folks were annoyed, what! Consider a sickly, trouble making, absent minded, ex-jail bird?

Was the board member a bit out of his mind to have accepted this application?

Who signed this application anyway? Who has the colossal nerve?

The board member eyed them all cleanly before he replied “It was signed

‘The Apostle Paul!’

And that’s the story of our lives, of my life, that I really am not qualified to do many things. In fact, the cover letter of my life is pretty disgusting too but when immersed in grace and the unmerited favour of God. I can walk into anywhere knowing well that

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

So when men say I can’t, Grace says I can!

When men say I am not, Grace say I know I AM!

When men say I am unqualified, Grace qualifies me!

Let us all assume that network marketing is a SCAM!  And it’s ok if you believe it is not, but let us take this ride together. So it is a big SCAM!

Have you ever heard of passive or residual income before?  – That sounds like those network stuff terminologies right? well, I like the way someone defines those two inter-related terms.

Residual or Passive income is income you make when you are sleeping i.e. when you are not actively working or actively involved in the revenue generation process.

I don’t know about you, but I want to be financially free. I want to attain financial freedom not just financial security. You are probably thinking so what’s the difference.

Financial security simply put is:

‘Knowing that you have enough to take care of your needs with your active income and passive income added together’.

Financial freedom however is being assured that:

 “The money you earn while you are sleeping is enough to take care of your needs when you are awake” (now I love that!)

Some of you may be puzzled and be asking does anyone earn while they are sleeping? Doesn’t everyone go to work or do a business or buy and sell before earning?

If you are asking such questions, then you must read this to the very end.

Also, if you are not financially free yet, then you must read this to the very end too

While financial freedom is desirable, the statistics are on the dim side. This is a survey take in the US of people aged 65. Statistics show that 96% of people by the age of 65 will be dead or dead broke. Let us take a sample population of 100 65 year olds, the statistics mean that:

54 will need some sort of support financially (social security, government or family)

24 will be dead

16 will still need to work

5 will be financially independent

1 will be financially free i.e. truly wealthy.

This simply means attaining financial freedom is not just mouth talk. I don’t think any active young person plans to be dependent on family or children or government when they turn 65, but majority turn out like that.

The question is what are you doing to be different when you turn 65?

Remember the definition of “Financial freedom that I used above which says

““The money you earn while you are sleeping is enough to take care of your needs when you are awake” and the money you earn while you are sleeping is called ‘passive/residual income’.

There are 5 business areas that you can earn passive/residual income. If you truly want to be financially free, then you should be playing or be planning to play in all these 5 areas. Let’s take a look at them.

1.)    Real Estate – Simply put, have money coming in for you in terms of rental income. Which means while you are sleeping someone is paying you rent.

2.)    Paper investments – Talking about shares, bonds and the likes. In this current economic climate, I’m sure you have your own perspective on it. But also, how much shares would you have to get dividends while sleeping that will take care of you while awake?. In spite of that, it is still passive income

3.)    Intellectual Property – Write a book, write a song, patent a technology, create a program, write a software application etc, and get royalties on it. A very popular example is Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

4.)    Own a business – we are simply saying have a business that generates income for you though you are not the one managing the day to day affairs. Say you get director’s bonus from the business.

5.)    Networking Marketing – With this, you are leveraging on other people’s time, energy and money. You build a team and every time someone in the team works, you get paid too. Someone put it this way, rather than getting paid for your 100% effort, it is better to get 1% from 100 people’s effort.

This is the other time I’m mentioning network marketing since I started this post, and remember we are assuming it is a scam business.

However, if you have been a student of financial education, you would have come across names like Donald Trump, Warren Buffet, Robert Kiyosaki, Richard Branson and many others. In context, one thing these rich people have in common is their support and active involvement in network marketing industry.

Some have called it the business of the 21^st Century, some have called it their best investments ever and some own network marketing industries. In the recent economic downturn, the Network Marketing industry have been booming, bringing in more revenues and creating more millionaires yearly.

I am not by any means suggesting that network marketing is the only way to financial freedom, it is one of the 5 ways highlighted above, and however it is:

• low investment
•  low risk
•  easy to enter into
•  has huge amount of leverage
• Training provided by most companies
• Gives you opportunity to own a business without costly overheads
• You determine your income
• Provides priceless financial education and leadership skills.
• Anybody can get started, you don’t need a university certificate, or any certificate for that matter

Are there scams disguising as credible network marketing companies? Oh yes. Therefore you need to equip yourself with information so that you don’t fall prey. But don’t for once think Network Marketing Industry is a scam; it’s like shooting yourself in the foot.

Have you ever referred a friend to a tailor, salon, shop, company, product etc because you used it and liked it? I think yes! we all do

Did you have to sell it to your friend? I think no. We don’t sell it, we just tell them and that we liked it.

Did you get paid or appreciated for telling a friend? I will think no.

Network marketing companies generally say because you told a friend, who eventually patronised us, we’ll reward you back in monetary terms. And when that person does it too, we’ll continue to reward you up to a certain extent.

I can sense you want to ask me, Ibukun, are you involved in network marketing too?

My answer to that is “I’ll be a disobedient student and a rebel if I am not”. The people I look up to as mentors in financial education have showed me a way to start learning how to play in all the 5 areas; I’ll be pretty dumb to not be involved in Network marketing. So yes I am.

If you want to know about the one I am involved in go to www.mindandmouth.info put in your details, click submit. On the opened page, scroll down and click on continue tour till the end of the slides. If you are interested, then drop me an e-mail.

May I ask you a few questions?

Are you currently playing in those 5 business areas?

If not when do you intend to start?

Join a network marketing industry and start from there. As you grow and learn financial education, you’ll be able to play in the other four areas.

I can sense some of you have many excuses such as no time, no money, I can’t sell, I don’t like sales, It’s still a scam, I’ve done many before that did not work, I was duped, I am shy etc. this post is not designed to answer those questions, however, e-mail me your questions/objections/queries and I’ll do my best to answer you.

This is the business of the 21^st Century. Your Network = Net worth.

Commonwealth Shared Scholarships are for taught Master’s courses only. All courses undertaken must be demonstrably relevant to the economic, social or technological development of the candidate’s home country. Awards are available at participating institutions in the UK only.

Commonwealth Shared Scholarships prospectus 2012 – includes full details of the UK institutions offering Shared Scholarships in 2012. A hard copy of the prospectus can be obtained from the Shared Scholarship scheme administrators.

Please note that participating universities are required to support the student stipend for the award holder (at the rate set by the UK government). The CSC funds the cost of tuition fees (at overseas rate), return airfares, and other allowances.

• Former Shared Scholars’ views

Eligibility

Applicants must:

1. be nationals of (or permanently domiciled in) a developing Commonwealth country, and not currently be living or studying in a developed country (please see the Shared Scholarships prospectus for a list of eligible countries)
2. hold a first degree at either first or upper second class level
3. be sufficiently fluent in English to pursue the course
4. have not previously studied for one year or more in a developed country
5. be able to confirm in writing that neither they or their families would otherwise be able to pay for the proposed course of study
6. be willing to confirm that they will return to their home country as soon as their period of study is complete

How to apply

All enquiries should be addressed to the university at which you wish to study and through which you should therefore apply for a Shared Scholarship, not to the CSC. The university will advise you on eligibility issues and how to make an application. There are two options:

Option 1
Most universities will handle advertising and recruitment directly using their own application form, and you should therefore apply to the university direct. Following their closing date for applications, the university will ask those candidates which it selects to complete the CSC’s application form using our Electronic Application System (EAS). Please note that candidates must complete their application via the EAS by 17 May 2012 at the latest, in order to be nominated to the CSC by their host university.

Option 2
Some universities request all of their Shared Scholarship candidates to apply via the CSC’s Electronic Application System (EAS). You will be advised by the institution if this is the case, and should then access the EAS once it is open for Shared Scholarship applications by the end of October 2011. Applications must be submitted in time to meet the university’s own deadline, which will be made clear in the EAS and is listed in the Shared Scholarships prospectus. (Where a university has not specified a closing date, you should contact the institution to ascertain the latest date that applications will accepted).

All institutions are asked to forward their nominations to the CSC no later than 31 May 2012 using the EAS.

Further information about Shared Scholarships

I’ve taken a close look at the current situation in the world in general, and I find this one thing is stamped over individuals, stamped over businesses, stamped over corporations, stamped over nations, and that thing is GREED!.

The current economic downturn in the world can be traced to high level of greed prevalent in our society.

The question to you is, “are you greedy too?”

I asked because if you are greedy, then it might be very difficult to understand, utilise and profit from the ‘power of free’. Greedy people don’t just get it.

A quick look through your life will give you an indication of your greed level, or if you find the next paragraphs hard to do, maybe it is saying something to you.

Imagine you’re about to get on a train during rush hour and everyone (I mean everyone) was in a mad rush to get a seat, so it was very chaotic. You’ve been talking to a friend you just met on the train platform who lives a lot further away than you on this train route.  As people rushed to get a seat, your new friend hustled and secured a seat. You didn’t get a seat. Because he is going further than you, you were happy for him, but instead, he reached across to you and offered you his seat saying “I can give you my seat till you get to your alighting station and I will take over for the rest of the journey. In a packed train where everyone was out for their own gain, your friend sounded like an angel. Your friend stood out!

The power of free is a formidable weapon in the Market place. Because the majority of the people/businesses/organisations/corporations are greedy, they love free things. In fact, they lose their sense of logical evaluation when free is on the table. How many times have you registered for a free trial that eventual costs you a lot of money because you forgot to cancel, forgot to downgrade, didn’t read terms and conditions, or just simply loved it and upgraded to a paid service?

The words in bold capture the essence of the power of free. “An enjoyment bundle that costs little or nothing to give the recipient a taste of your offering that will propel them towards becoming a paying customer”

If you are part of the greedy group, to give free will be a big problem, because not everyone that gets free progress on to become a paying customer, so be ready to lose some things, however, the rewards and returns of ‘free’ can be equally mind blowing.

The power of free works, and I want you to determine how you can utilise it to improve your life this year. Apart from the reward it brings, it also safeguards you from becoming the part of the growing greed population.

A few ideas as to how to use the power of free are  below

Job Seeker – One way you can use the power of free to get a job is to offer to work or be an apprentice for free. Free does not mean unfocused, lazy, not doing your best etc. The whole essence of free is to get you into the industry you like to work in, prove yourself and the employer (s) can then pay when they see how good you are. Give your best and at the same time you will be improving your skills too. Beware of very greedy employers who will be willing to only use you.

Career Person – Take on “reasonable” extra responsibilities for free – Volunteer to do things that need to be done. Remember, if other employees are greedy, your little gesture of “free” will go a long way to make you stand out. Your employer will notice, and don’t be surprised that you’ll be one of the few to keep their job, get a pay rise, or better pay conditions.

Business Person – “Free Samples” – Don’t under estimate the power of free samples as a business person. Some people will only want a free sample and walk away, however, if your product/service is good, then they will come back to patronise more. Ensure the “free” strategy is well planned and implemented. The “free” can be used to create awareness, increase sales volume (e.g by increasing size at same cost), give back to clients or increase overall profit.

Entrepreneur – Free prototypes/proposals – Depending on the line of business that you are in, developing prototypes at a reasonable cost can be very productive. Even if a prototype is too expensive to do for free, write a convincing proposal highlighting which part of the work you can do for free. My Web design company wrote some proposals last year that didn’t really bring anything in terms of contracts. We also built at least 3 prototypes for clients who have not gotten back to us on whether they’ll do the projects or not. However, recently we offered to do a free social media strategy campaign for a real estate company and that free service has opened a great door.

Also, the “Power of Free” does not mean do ‘free’ for everybody. In some cases, you need to find 1 person, 1 organisation, 1 client that you will do a free for who will end up bringing other clients that will pay. Find the right ground to sow a seed of ‘free’ and you will reap bountifully.

I remember some months ago, I walked into the office of a director in the government service in Nigeria. I’d been battling for months to get approval for a voluntary project I’m doing in the education sector (www.mathsandyourfuture.info). I introduced myself and explained my purpose of coming and briefed him about the project. He looked like he didn’t have my time, and when he spoke, I knew he didn’t have my time. He questioned my competence, questioned my skills, questioned my commitment, and eventually asked for a certificate I didn’t have. I was also trying to explain myself and show him that I’d done very well in this role in the UK, but it fell on deaf ears. So I picked myself up, and walked out of the office. The Director’s Secretary witnessed the whole event and as I was leaving I told her about competence and even told her how much my salary was in my last role. She didn’t believe, I didn’t have anything to loose and (rightly or wrongly) in the safest way possible I proved it to her. I told her how much I’ve done on the project and why I needed the approval because I needed sponsors and I was already liaising with Intel at the time. Although she didn’t know who Intel was, she got the picture and went back to the director and told him how big the project could possibly be especially with international sponsors, so the director called me back in and asked the ULTIMATE question –

How much will this project cost the Ministry of Education?(and subtly what will the sponsorship contribution be like?

I confidently replied “From me, this project is free; this is my way of giving back to my country and the people of the community. In terms of sponsorship, I want to do a, b and c etc”

The magic word in that reply was FREE. A few days later, the approval was granted!

On a final note, ‘free’ gives you access.

Note: It is not every “free” that is geared towards profit making. There’s something called social corporate responsibility. You too can be very responsible. Do free and let God reward you too.

Try it! Put a free or (subsidized) service together. You will be amazed the kind of doors “free” can open.

If you want a partner/advise/suggestions/contributions or someone to bounce ideas off, then you can drop me a mail.