Miracle happens when we least expect it (Success story)

Everybody likes a story with a happy ending. That explains why the world was instantly enamored and enthralled by the story of Olajumoke Orisagunna, a bread-seller who, some weeks ago, had unwittingly stumbled upon a photo-shoot, featuring UK-based Nigerian rapper, Tinnie Tempah, by celebrity photographer and singer, TY Bello, on the streets of Sabo-Yaba, Lagos.

The events that followed that chance meeting are the stuff that million dollar Hollywood movies are made of. Olajumoke has instantly transformed into a celebrity, making the cover-page of  ThisDay Style and becoming runway model, even as several companies are queuing up at her doorstep to tap into her luck by making her a brand ambassador.

Not only that, pastors and prayer warriors have also been using her as a prayer point. Of course, we won’t blame them; who wouldn’t want the kind of luck Jumoke has?
She indeed exemplifies the Nigerian dream if there’s anything like that or rather the dream of a typical Nigerian who wants longs for sudden wealth and even sows seeds in churches for it.

commodity. In a land where success is more dependent on time and chance than on hardwork, Jumoke’s story redefines the benevolence of being at the right place at the right time. 

Before the breakthrough 

Jumoke’s story has been told over and over again, but not much is known about her life prior to that fated photo-shoot. That’s why  Showtime Celebrity  decided to embark on a trip to the bakery where Jumoke used to work at least to get a glimpse of where she’s coming from. 

Sabo-Yaba is a bustling community of traders and foreign currency dealers mostly populated by people of Hausa extraction. The prevailing fuel scarcity in the nation cast a hue of long queues of cars struggling to buy fuel at the filling station located at the ever busy bus-stop on that wet morning when  Showtime Celebrity  visited the place. 

Some traders and students in the area are not familiar with Jumoke’s grass to grace story. In fact, they had blank stares on their faces when  Showtime Celebrityinquired from them if they knew of any bakery located around the area where the famous bread-seller turned model, Olajumoke used to work. 

After walking down the street and asking questions to no avail, an old woman who appeared to have spent ageless years in the area seemed to have a clue. She pointed down the road, urging this reporter to keep to the right side of the road, while asking other people on the way for directions.

 Minutes later, a woman who operates a small glass kiosk pointed me to the gate of the bakery which is called Oluwalogbon Bakery. It was established in 2004. 

The entrance was a small nondescript black gate that was sandwiched between two buildings. The bakery looked like something that was intentionally hidden from the outside world, and which was why even its next-door neighbors had no idea of its existence. 

However, some young men were relaxing around the gate, and when they were asked if they knew Olajumoke, the face of one of them lit up, as his head nodded in agreement. He signalled this reporter to go inside the bakery and ask their supervisor who he said was in the right position to talk to us. 

However, strolling into the bakery, one can describe in words, the squalour that greets the eyes; wraps of candies and biscuits littere the place just as humans congregate with hardly any space to breathe. Children below the age of five years were seen playing around, while many girls, some of whom are the mothers of the kids, sit at different corners engrossed in idle chatters.

 The supervisor, a stout and burly man who is dark in complexion, also admits that he knows Olajumoke, but says that all the workers in the bakery had been instructed by TY Bello, who he referred to as their boss, not to say anything to anybody. 

After much persuasion to let out some information about Olujumoke’s attitude while she was working with them, he simply muts, “she was calm, friendly.” Were there any signs that she was up for a big break, I ask? He resolutely keeps a sealed lip and prefers to me to TY Bello’s house to get her permission before he could talk. ‘Go to TY Bello’s house which is very close to this place and talk to her. If she accepts that we should talk to you, there’s no problem; we’ll tell you more than what you want to hear,’ he said. 

The TY Bello question

 Off I went in search of TY Bello’s house, determined to get a picture of Olajumoke’s persona, and what her colleagues think of her. 

One was pleasantly surprised to discover that TY’s house is just on the next street to the bakery. As a matter of fact, everybody one asked around the bakery knew TY Bello’s house and they were eager to offer direction to her house. 

Interestingly, when we finally traced her house, which is a yellow two-storey building, we met her gate man, a young dark Hausa boy, who asked me to call her on the phone before he could take us upstairs to meet her. My phone battery was flat as at that moment, so I opted to write a short note explaining my mission, for him to take to her. He came back some minutes later and informed me that TY Bello wasn’t in the house. I reminded him that he had assured me minutes earlier that she was in, but like a young boy caught with his hand in the cookie’s jar, he rubbed his hand over his head and stated that she must have left the house when he went out.

 I asked him if he had ever heard of the name Olajumoke, but he replied in the negative. According to him, he had only been with Bello for about a month, and he didn’t know anyone called Olajumoke. 

At that point, I had no choice but to return to Oluwalogbon Bakery. I pleaded with the supervisor, who refused to tell me his name, to allow me take a look around the bakery, but he refused. 

However, he showed me a bungalow within the compound where many of the bread-sellers who don’t have houses of theirs, sleep. Olajumoke was among them before now. From their accents and discussions, it was obvious that many of the bread-sellers recently moved to Lagos.

 I moved closer to one of them, and she told me that she just started work at the bakery some weeks ago, when she moved down to Lagos from Ibadan. She claimed that she didn’t know Olajumoke, but that her colleagues had told her that one of them had recently become very successful. When I asked her if she believed such fate could also befall her, she laughed excitedly and quipped, ‘Of course.’ 

Building Dreams 

One thing that is peculiar about Oluwalogbon Bakery is the fact that it offers many young people the opportunity to work and make a decent living, while offering them accommodation.

 During my stay at the bakery, I counted nothing less than 20 adults and 10 children. Some of them spread wrappers and lay on the ground outside, apparently to escape the stifling heat inside the building, while others were making their hair, and engaged in other activities. The camaraderie among them showed that even though they may not be in good financial state, the girls had cultivated friendship, and were living in the bakery like one big, happy family. 

This point is further buttressed by the fact that Olajumoke had initially left the bakery some years back after a brief working stint before coming back. If she hadn’t had a pleasant time there, she definitely wouldn’t have returned. 

Luxury Apartment: From Grass to Grace The next port of call was Sujimoto Construction, a company at Milverton Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, which specializes in building luxury flats. It would be recalled that the owner of Sujimoto, Sijibomi Ogundele recently offered Olajumoke a luxury apartment and a scholarship to Poise School. Even though the company refused to show us a picture of the apartment Olajumoke will be moving into, pictures on the company’s website show that it is a world of difference from her former abode. The difference is extreme, and there is no comparison. From sleeping in a room with several other women and babies to having a luxury flat to herself, her husband and two kids, Olajumoke has truly moved from grass to grace. 

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WRITING YOUR OWN STORY (Making of a Hero)

What makes us love most action movies? Why do we always cheer for the good guys? Why do we love a good story of challenge, perseverance and triumph?

Why makes these stories timeless?

The story of the hero has not changed for thousands of years. Since ancient times our traditions and culture venerate the myth of the hero on a mission. A hero leaves his or her home, faces challenges, triumphs and usually returns home as a changed man or women.

In 1990 the late American writer and intellectual Joseph Campbel wrote of the hero’s journey — the mythological journey that all men and women go through in life. He believed that the highest purpose in life was to complete this journey like some mythological voyage.

The Need For a Story

What makes a hero unforgettable is not their strength but rather their will. We admire their ability to transcend defeat and persevere. When we watch them we temporarily become them. We live vicariously through them. This is the lure of sports — an average person can experience the glory of the players.

What makes a hero so undefeatable? What makes him stand up after being knocked down a hundred times? The answer is simple. A story. Not just any story, but one that involves a deeply personal path that the individual walks alone.

It may be a story that his or her grandparents told them while sitting around the fire or one a mentor once inspired in them or perhaps it’s the result of some deeply powerful event.

Regardless of the medium, the story has been absorbed deep into the hero. The ups and downs of his/her adventure are not seen as separate events but rather as parts of one whole.

Like a beautiful cloth the ups and downs of the journey weave together to form his life.

This is real motivation — motivation that sees past the failures and successes to some grander purpose of life.

Each goal, each step, each time you fall down is seen within a bigger context. Like seeing the forest in its beautiful entirety, a hero doesn’t focus on the individual trees and plants.

 Focus Rather Than Reaction

When we look at the bigger picture of our lives, we see the highs and lows as part of the journey. We avoid myopically focusing on separate goals and focusing our attention on a million different tasks. Instead of just reacting to events, we keep our focus.

To be honest, I have stumbled for the majority of my life looking for real motivation — one that lasts. I have jumped from goal to goal like a series of unsuccessful college romances.

My goals have served me well, but my direction hasn’t remained consistent.

It wasn’t until I questioned what was MOST important for me that my story became more well-defined. I wanted to do too many things in life. I can’t be the hero of my own story if I am trying to do everything and do nothing at the same time.

So I defined it.

How to Find Your Story

The first step is defining what is most important is focusing on what you want and cut out the rest. This clarity came to me in the form of a yellow legal pad and twenty-five well-thought-out things I wanted in life.

These were my goals, my dreams and my desires. I had a lot but I could only pick five. Doing this focused my attention and my life on the few things I really wanted. It allowed me to regain my purpose without feeling scattered like I did before.

Deciding which five things were the most important for me and physically writing them down acted as an affirmation of my own values. I put them on my wall to remind me.

The exercise in priorities was not my trick but rather Warren Buffet’s. Buffet recommended this to his pilot who was struggling with what to do with his life. He advised him that the secret to ruthless determination is to collect your focus and only invest it into several dreams. Do not disperse it among twenty.

The moral of the story is that if you want motivation that transcends the individual goals and to-do lists, one that unites them all together in a greater purpose, you must define your story.

You are already a hero. You just need to create your story and live it.

1. Focus Your Energy

Use the exercise above. Using pen and paper or computer, write twenty-five things you want in life. Pick five. Set aside some time, an hour or so, to do this. You don’t want to be distracted.

You now have two lists — one to focus all your energy on and one to avoid. Put your lists on your wall in a place you can see them daily.

2. Embark on the Journey

This is both exciting and scary. Don’t start tomorrow. Start now. Like literally NOW.

• Want a blog? Sign up for one now.
• Longing to travel abroad? Go today to get your passport.
• Interested in becoming a photographer? Sign up for a class today.

There is no perfect time. Starting is the first step of the journey. Write down your goals. I break mine into yearly, every three months and weekly.

3. Battle Monsters

Happiness is a by-product of meaningful experience. It cannot be directly pursued, and if it is it won’t last.

Instead challenge yourself to battle the monsters in your life. Know that failure is part of the process.

4. The Hero Returns

The hero always returns home wiser and better. Reflect on your journey and share it with others. Nothing in life is as worthwhile as sharing with others.

Our modern world, with all the amazing progress and technology, has forgotten many of our roots. Modernity has slowly annexed the role of tradition.

As our world becomes more integrated, it becomes easier to forget our individual relationship with fife.

We increasingly look outside for motivation. We love quotes and uplifting speeches, but rarely do we turn our attention inward and see that true motivation lies in your own story.

Define what you truly want in life and reclaim your motivation.

What helps you get through those hard times? Drop a comment below, and let me know how you keep yourself motivated.

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DISCOVERING YOUR PURPOSE

I believe that we were all sent here for a reason and that we all have significance in the world. I genuinely feel that we are all blessed with unique gifts. The expression of our gifts contributes to a cause greater than ourselves.

Last year, I was running at full speed; chasing after my dream of money and ‘success’. However, I had forgotten why I was running. Luckily, I met Jim (not his real name). Jim had achieved all the financial goals I was reaching for. He had financial independence, several successful businesses, homes in multiple countries, and the luxury to afford the finest things money could buy.

Through hard work, persistence and sheer action; he had made it! But, Jim was not happy. He did not have the free time to enjoy his wealth. He wanted a family. He wanted peace. He wanted to live his life… but he was not able to. He had too many responsibilities, too much to lose, and too many things to protect. He had spent years building his castle, and now that it is complete, he is spending his time keeping it from eroding.

Getting to know Jim was a life altering and eye opening experience. His words snapped me out of my state of ‘unconsciousness’. It became clear to me that, “I did not want to spend the next 10 years chasing after money, only to find that I’ll be back at the same place I am at today; emotionally, mentally, and spiritually”. My ‘chase’ came to a screeching halt, everything was put on hold, and I spent the next two months re-evaluating my life and purpose.

These questions were running through my mind:

What am I chasing after? Why am I chasing it? What is my purpose? Why was I put here?

While reading “ E-Myth: Why Most Small Business Don't Work", I found myself in tears during the chapter on finding purpose. In that chapter, Micheal Gerber asks the readers to do a visualization exercise. Through his guidance, he instructs you to vividly picture the day of your funeral. What do you want your eulogy to consist of? What would your lifetime achievements be? What would matter the most at the end of your life? Is it what you are doing right NOW?

I started writing. It began by listing all the things that are most important to me. I wrote down all the things I wanted to do. I re-visited my personal mission statement. I decided that whatever venture I commit to must align with my personal mission, my values and my goals. For every new opportunity that comes along, I would ask myself how it aligns with my goals. Regardless of how much money I could acquire, if the venture did not align with where I wanted to be, then I would not pursue it. Here is my personal mission statement:

To Empower, motivate and inspire people to living happier and more fulfilled lives.

Here are some of my values and goals:

• What matters most is my connection with myself, being present and feeling blissful.
• What I value most is having meaningful relationships with people. Being able to connect with people on deep levels.
• I plan to be financially independent, and have control of my time and location. I plan to work only on projects and causes that I connect with. I plan to acquire my finances without violating my values, goals and personal mission.
• I plan to travel and live in different parts of the world. Experiencing different cultures, documenting them in photographs and sharing them with others.
• I will buy my mom a house in Vancouver with a ravine in the backyard. That’s a dream of hers and I’d like to fulfill it.
• Having a family is important to me. I desire a deep, loving relationship with my spouse.
• To live everyday fully as if it was my last.

The following are a list of questions that can assist you in discovering your purpose. They are meant as a guide to help you get into a frame of mind that will be conducive to defining your personal mission.

Simple Instructions:

• Take out a few sheets of loose paper and a pen.
• Find a place where you will not be interrupted. Turn off your cell phone.
• Write the answers to each question down. Write the first thing that pops into your head. Write without editing. Use point form. It’s important to write out your answers rather than just thinking about them.
• Write quickly. Give yourself less than 60 seconds a question. Preferably less than 30 seconds.
• Be honest. Nobody will read it. It’s important to write without editing.
• Enjoy the moment and smile as you write.

Questions:

1. What makes you smile? (Activities, people, events, hobbies, projects, etc.)

2. What are your favorite things to do in the past? What about now?

3. What activities make you lose track of time?

4. What makes you feel great about yourself?

5. Who inspires you most? (Anyone you know or do not know. Family, friends, authors, artists, leaders, etc.) Which qualities inspire you, in each person?

6. What are you naturally good at? (Skills, abilities, gifts etc.)

7. What do people typically ask you for help in?

8. If you had to teach something, what would you teach?

9. What would you regret not fully doing, being or having in your life?

10. You are now 90 years old, sitting on a rocking chair outside your porch; you can feel the spring breeze gently brushing against your face. You are blissful and happy, and are pleased with the wonderful life you’ve been blessed with. Looking back at your life and all that you’ve achieved and acquired, all the relationships you’ve developed; what matters to you most? List them out.

11. What are your deepest values?

Select 3 to 6 ( See list of words to help / list in pdf) and prioritize the words in order of importance to you.

12. What were some challenges, difficulties and hardships you’ve overcome or are in the process of overcoming? How did you do it?

13. What causes do you strongly believe in? Connect with?

14. If you could get a message across to a large group of people. Who would those people be? What would your message be?

15. Given your talents, passions and values. How could you use these resources to serve, to help, to contribute? ( to people, beings, causes, organization, environment, planet, etc.)

• Be Inspired

The Habit of Going the Extra Mile

There are only two ways to beat the competition; lower your price or increase the quality and quantity of service you provide to your customers. Customers who buy from you because of a low price are not loyal and will jump ship when your competition offers them a lower price. One of the biggest reasons most salespeople fail to succeed is because they view customer service requests as unpaid, administrative burdens rather than golden opportunities. By going the extra mile, you will stand out from the crowd because most salespeople are unwilling to even go the first mile let alone the extra mile. Consumer surveys underscore the fact that customers don’t mind paying a higher price for a product if they’re satisfied with the service they receive after the sale.

Developing the habit of going the extra mile and rendering service above and beyond your customers’ expectations is a smart business decision that pays big dividends. Going the extra mile enhances customer loyalty , increases sales, and promotes positive word-of-mouth advertising within your marketplace. One happy customer who is given exceptional service can influence more prospects to do business with you than $10,000 worth of traditional advertising.

Natural Law of Increasing Returns

Farmers understand the value of going the extra mile when they prepare the soil and plant their seeds in the ground. All of this work must be done at the correct time of the year and without compensation of any kind. If the farmer does his job correctly, he can count on Mother Nature to reward his hard work with a hundredfold return. This natural law of increasing returns works exactly the same for salespeople who go the extra mile providing service for their customers as it does for the farmer planting his crop.

Here are some suggestions to help you get started going the extra mile.

1. Be proactive by calling five of your customers everyday to see if they have any service      requirements that you can help them with.

2. Follow-up quickly by returning your customers’ phone calls and e-mails with an hour.

3. Show your appreciation by mailing a handwritten thank you note to your new customers after the sale.

4. When you receive a customer service request, make it your highest priority to handle it quickly.

5. Every six months, mail your customers a business related or motivational article to keep in contact.

6. Use your imagination and think out of the box to find new ways to improve the quality and quantity of service you provide to your customers.

7. Invite your best customers out for breakfast or lunch to build rapport and strengthen your relationship. 

• Be Inspired. 

Don't Stop Chasing Your Dream! (Sylvester Stallion)

In the mid 1970s, a man named Sylvester had a dream of one day becoming a movie actor, but couldn't find a talent agency in New York City willing to take a chance on him. After being turned down by hundreds of agencies, he was so broke that he couldn't afford to pay the heating bill in his apartment. It got to the point where he couldn't even buy food for his dog and was forced to sell him to a stranger for $25. Sylvester and his wife argued constantly about their lack of money and she wanted him to give up his dream and get a job to pay the bills.

Two weeks after he sold his dog, he watched a boxing match between Muhammad Ali and "The White Hope" Chuck Wepner. For 15 rounds, Wepner battled the champ and took the best that Ali could dish out, but would not give up. Sylvester was so moved by Wepner's display of passion to keep fighting  that he began writing a movie script immediately after the fight was over. He wrote continuously for twenty straight hours and finished the script in one sitting. Over the next several weeks, he showed his boxing script to a number of movie producers, but was rejected each time and told that his script was sappy and too predictable.

Motivation for Success

Finally, Sylvester found a producer who liked what he had written and offered to buy the script for $125,000. He agreed to sell the script, but only if he was allowed to play the starring role in the movie. The producer told him that there was no way on earth he would let an unknown actor star in the movie, so Sylvester turned down the offer and walked away. The producer really liked the script and called him back a couple of weeks later with an offer of $250,000, but like before, refused to let him have the starring role in the movie. Once again, Sylvester turned him down. The producer then offered a staggering sum of $325,000 for the script without him in the movie and again, Sylvester refused to sell the script. Eventually the producer agreed to take a chance and let Sylvester play the starring role in the movie, but would only pay him $35,000.

Once Sylvester was paid the $35,000, he went back to the liquor store where he had sold his dog weeks earlier with the hope of finding the man and buying back his best friend. After waiting outside the store for three days, he found the man and offered him $500 to buy his dog back. The man rejected that offer, but eventually sold the dog back to Sylvester for $15,000 and a part in the movie. The name of the movie was Rocky and it won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1976 and turned Sylvester Stallone into one of Hollywood's biggest movie stars.

"A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn into glorious success."
- Elbert Hubbard

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Kwame Nkrumah (Ghanaian nationalist leader)

Kwame Nkrumah, (born Sept. 1909, Nkroful, Gold Coast [now Ghana]—died April 27, 1972, Bucharest, Rom.) Ghanaian nationalist leader who led the Gold Coast’s drive for independence from Britain and presided over its emergence as the new nation of Ghana. He headed the country from independence in 1957 until he was overthrown by a coup in 1966.

Early years

Kwame Nkrumah’s father was a goldsmith and his mother a retail trader. Baptized a Roman Catholic, Nkrumah spent nine years at the Roman Catholic elementary school in nearby Half Assini. After graduation from Achimota College in 1930, he started his career as a teacher at Roman Catholic junior schools in Elmina and Axim and at a seminary.

Increasingly drawn to politics, Nkrumah decided to pursue further studies in the United States. He entered Lincoln University in Pennsylvania in 1935 and, after graduating in 1939, obtained master’s degrees from Lincoln and from the University of Pennsylvania. He studied the literature of socialism, notably Karl Marx and Vladimir I. Lenin, and of nationalism, especially Marcus Garvey, the black American leader of the 1920s. Eventually, Nkrumah came to describe himself as a “nondenominational Christian and a Marxist socialist.” He also immersed himself in political work, reorganizing and becoming president of the African Students’ Organization of the United States and Canada. He left the United States in May 1945 and went to England, where he organized the 5th Pan- African Congress in Manchester.

Meanwhile, in the Gold Coast, J.B. Danquah had formed the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) to work for self-government by constitutional means. Invited to serve as the UGCC’s general secretary, Nkrumah returned home in late 1947. As general secretary, he addressed meetings throughout the Gold Coast and began to create a mass base for the new movement. When extensive riots occurred in February 1948, the British briefly arrested Nkrumah and other leaders of the UGCC.

When a split developed between the middle-class leaders of the UGCC and the more radical supporters of Nkrumah, he formed in June 1949 the new Convention Peoples’ party (CPP), a mass-based party that was committed to a program of immediate self-government. In January 1950, Nkrumah initiated a campaign of “positive action,” involving nonviolent protests, strikes, and noncooperation with the British colonial authorities.

From prison to prime ministry

In the ensuing crisis, services throughout the country were disrupted, and Nkrumah was again arrested and sentenced to one year’s imprisonment. But the Gold Coast’s first general election (Feb. 8, 1951) demonstrated the support the CPP had already won. Elected to Parliament, Nkrumah was released from prison to become leader of government business and, in 1952, prime minister of the Gold Coast.

When the Gold Coast and the British Togoland trust territory became an independent state within the British Commonwealth—as Ghana—in March 1957, Nkrumah became the new nation’s first prime minister. In 1958 Nkrumah’s government legalized the imprisonment without trial of those it regarded as security risks. It soon became apparent that Nkrumah’s style of government was to be authoritarian. Nkrumah’s popularity in the country rose, however, as new roads, schools, and health facilities were built and as the policy of Africanization created better career opportunities for Ghanaians.

By a plebiscite of 1960 Ghana became a republic and Nkrumah became its president, with wide legislative and executive powers under a new constitution. Nkrumah then concentrated his attention on campaigning for the political unity of black Africa, and he began to lose touch with realities in Ghana. His administration became involved in magnificent but often ruinous development projects, so that a once-prosperous country became crippled with foreign debt. His government’s Second Development Plan, announced in 1959, had to be abandoned in 1961 when the deficit in the balance of payments rose to more than $125 million. Contraction of the economy led to widespread labour unrest and to a general strike in September 1961. From that time Nkrumah began to evolve a much more rigorous apparatus of political control and to turn increasingly to the communist countries for support.

President of Ghana and afterward

The attempted assassination of Nkrumah at Kulugungu in August 1962—the first of several—led to his increasing seclusion from public life and to the growth of a personality cult, as well as to a massive buildup of the country’s internal security forces. Early in 1964 Ghana was officially designated a one-party state, with Nkrumah as life president of both nation and party. While the administration of the country passed increasingly into the hands of self-serving and corrupt party officials, Nkrumah busied himself with the ideological education of a new generation of black African political activists. Meanwhile, the economic crisis in Ghana worsened and shortages of foodstuffs and other goods became chronic. On Feb. 24, 1966, while Nkrumah was visiting Beijing, the army and police in Ghana seized power. Returning to West Africa, Nkrumah found asylum in Guinea, where he spent the remainder of his life. He died of cancer in Bucharest in 1972.

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TY- BELLO's STORY

Toyin Sokefun-Bello popularly known as T. Y. Bello was born on a 12^thDay of January. She is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, photographer and philanthropist. Before she separated herself to pursue a solo career, she was one of the defunct gospel band group called Kush. She is equally a member of the Nigerian photography collective, Depth of Field.

TY Bello is an indigene of Ogun State of Nigeria. She studied economics at the University of Lagos. After her studies, she practiced journalism for a while and then went into photography. 

Being a talented musician, TY Bello also explores the music world, as she was once a member of the defunct group KUSH, which stands for Kinetically Ushering Salvation into Hearts and Homes. The group was formerly made up of individuals like Lara George, Dapo Torimiro and rapper Emem Ema. The group was very popular in the early 2000s especially when they dropped the single "Let's Live Together"; they later managed to release an album before they eventually disbanded. Apart from being a musician, TY Bello is the official photographer to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan,  the Former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. She also works for Thisday fashion magazine.

In the year 2008, TY Bello released her debut studio album, which she called Greenland. The album, which took two years to develop, was produced by Mosa Adegboye. TY Bello earned herself a Nigeria Music Award as well as a Sound City Award on account of the Album. She personally describes the album as a journey of her everyday life. Her music of Greenland is an embodiment of family, love and nation. It’s title track can best be described as song written to motivate Nigerians, and to liberate them from a place of despair to a place of hope.

TY Bello later discloses plans about her second studio album titled “The Future”, while speaking to Ariya Today. The album, which was originally slated for a 2011 release, was ranked as number 12 on Nigerian Entertainment Today 's list of the 12 Albums To Buy In the year 2011. TY Bello herself, disclose that she worked with producer Mosa and recorded the album in a few months. On February 19 2011, TY Bello released "The Future" as the lead single from an album that has the same name. In the song, TY Bello implores the Nigerian youth to be the change they seek. Kemi Adetiba later directed The music video for the song, which was released on April 3, 2011; The music video features cameo appearances from Banky W, Chude Jideonwo,Tara Fela-Durotoye and Sound Sultan. The song was given the rating of 7 out of 10 stars by Ore Fakorede who also believed that the spice of soft tribal drums, piano and synths, provided a vivid backdrop for TY Bello, and contrasted her unmistakable voice. Achieving that, brought out the poignancy in the song’s lyrics to life.

In October 2011, the Nigerian Ministry of Youth Development, compiled an eight-minutes anti-rape video, and TY Bello was one of the Nigerian celebrities featured in the video. The anti-rape video threw light on the September 2011 victim of a gang rape, at Abia State University. In December 2013, TY Bello’s single "Yahweh" featuring Wale Adenuga was released.

On October 10, 2014, TY Bello released her third studio album, titled “The Morning Songbook”, for free digital download through SoundCloud. The audio was not promoted , and comprises 10 tracks which includes  "Jesu Jesu",  “Thirsty” and "Yahweh". The album features collaborations with M Sugh and Fela Durotoye. A rating of 7 out of 10 was given to the album by Udochukwu Ikwuagwu of the Breaking Times.

In the year 2016, while Bello was photographing the British rapper Tinie Tempah, one bread seller named Jumoke walked into the photo shoot. Tempah, the Nigerian-British record producer,  rapper and singer  was on a visit to Nigeria, and took part in shots with TY Bello. The moment did not look special at all, at least for the fact that Jumoke stood there a little confused.

Co passers-by were asking her to leave the set while others were asking her to stay. Bello then signaled if it was ok to take her photograph and she agreed by nodding, and Bello carelessly pressed on her photo shutter so Jumoke could move ahead.

• Be Inspired.

Serena Jameka Williams (American tennis player )

American tennis player Serena Jameka Williams was born on September 26, 1981, in Saginaw, Michigan. The youngest of Richard and Oracene Williams's five daughters, Serena Williams, along with her sister Venus, would grow up to become one of the sport's great champions.

Serena's father—a former sharecropper from Louisiana determined to see his two youngest girls succeed—used what he'd gleaned from tennis books and videos to instruct Serena and Venus on how to play the game. At the age of 3, practicing on a court not far from the family's new Compton, California, home, Serena withstood the rigors of daily two-hour practices from her father.

The fact that the family had relocated to Compton was no accident. With its high rate of gang activity, Richard Williams wanted to expose his daughters to the ugly possibilities of life "if they did not work hard and get an education." In this setting, on courts that were riddled with potholes and sometimes missing nets, Serena and Venus cut their teeth on the game of tennis and the requirements for persevering in a tough climate.

Personal Life

Proving to have much more than just tennis clout, Serena expanded her brand into film, television, and fashion. She developed her own "Aneres" line of clothing, and in 2002 People magazine selected her as one of its 25 Most Intriguing People. Essence magazine later called her one of the country's 50 Most Inspiring African-Americans. She's also made television appearances, and lent her voice to shows such as The Simpsons.  

Seeking to provide educational opportunities for underprivileged youth around the world, the tennis star formed the Serena Williams Foundation and built schools in Africa. In 2009, Serena and Venus purchased shares of the Miami Dolphins to become the first African-American women to own part of an NFL team.

The close-knit sisters lived together for more than a dozen years in a gated Palm Beach Gardens enclave in Florida, but they went their separate ways after Serena bought a mansion in nearby Jupiter in December 2013.

By 1991, Serena was 46-3 on the junior United States Tennis Association tour, and ranked first in the 10-and-under division. Sensing his girls needed better instruction to become successful professionals, he moved his family again—this time to Florida. There, Richard let go of some of his coaching responsibilities, but not the management of Serena's and Venus's career. Wary of his daughters burning out too quickly, he scaled back their junior tournament schedule.

Tennis Star

In 1995, Serena turned pro. Two years later, she was already No. 99 in the world rankings—up from No. 304 just 12 months before. A year later, she graduated high school, and almost immediately inked a $12 million shoe deal with Puma. In 1999, she beat out her sister in their race to the family's first Grand Slam win, when she captured the U.S. Open title.

It set the stage for a run of high-powered, high-profile victories for both Williams sisters. With their signature style and play, Venus and Serena changed the look of their sport as well. Their sheer power and athletic ability overwhelmed opponents, and their sense of style and presence made them standout celebrities on the court.

In 2002, Serena won the French Open, the U.S. Open, and Wimbledon, defeating Venus in the finals of each tournament. She captured her first Australian Open in 2003, making her one of only six women in the Open era to complete a career Grand Slam. The win also fulfilled her desire to hold all four major titles simultaneously to comprise what she'd dubbed "The Serena Slam." In 2008, she won the U.S. Open and teamed with Venus to capture a second women's doubles Olympic gold medal at the Beijing Games.

But Serena also had her scrapes and losses. She underwent knee surgery in August 2003, and in September her half-sister Yetunde Price was murdered in Los Angeles, California. Three years later, Serena seemed burned out. Bitten by injuries, and just a general lack of motivation to stay fit or compete at the same level she once had, Serena saw her tennis ranking slump to 139.

Serena credited her faith as a Jehovah's Witness, as well as a life-changing journey she made to West Africa for renewing her pride and competitive fire. By 2009, Williams had released a new autobiography, Queen of the Court, and won her place back atop the world's rankings, winning both the 2009 Australian Open singles (for the fourth time) and Wimbledon 2009 singles (for the third time). She also won the doubles matches at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon that year.

But not everything went smoothly. Williams made headlines in September of that year, when she blasted a lineswomen for a foot-fault called near the end of a semifinal loss to eventual champion Kim Clijsters at the U.S. Open. The profanity-laced outburst included finger pointing and, according to the lineswoman, an alleged threat from Serena against her life.

Williams downplayed what happened, refuting the allegation that she'd threatened the woman. But the incident did not go over well with the tennis viewing public, nor the U.S. Tennis Association, which fined her $10,000 on the spot. Two months later, she was placed on two-year probation and ordered to pay another $82,500 to the Grand Slam committee for the episode, the largest punishment ever levied against a tennis player.

By early 2010, however, Serena was doing her best to move past the incident. Sure enough, that year she won the Australian Open singles and doubles matches, as well as her fourth Wimbledon singles championship.

In 2011, Williams suffered a series of health scares, after doctors found a blood clot in one of her lungs, which kept her away from tennis for several months. Following several procedures, including one to remove a hematoma, speculation rose as to whether Williams would retire from the sport. Her health had improved by September 2011, however, and Williams looked like her old dominant self at the U.S. Open before falling to Samantha Stosur in the finals.

Williams stumbled badly at the 2012 French Open, enduring a first-round loss for the first time at a major tournament. But she was back in top form in London that summer, defeating 23-year-old Agnieszka Radwanska in an emotional three sets to claim her fifth Wimbledon singles title and first major championship in two years. Following the win, Williams rushed to her family in the stands, with tears in her eyes, and hugged them for several seconds. In a post-Wimbledon interview with ESPN, she was asked whether she thought she could top the win, and answered: "Are you kidding? The [2012] U.S. Open, the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon 2013."

At the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, Serena beat Maria Sharapova to take her first gold medal in women's singles. The next day, she claimed her fourth overall Olympic gold medal by teaming with sister Venus to defeat Czech Republic stars Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in women's doubles.

Williams continued her winning streak to her next Grand Slam event. In September 2012, she beat out rival Victoria Azarenka to take the singles title at the U.S. Open. According to USA Today, Williams wasn't sure that she'd emerge victorious. "I honestly can't believe I won. I was really reparing my runner-up speech, because I thought, 'Man, she's playing so great.'"

By this time, Williams had captured 15 Grand Slam singles titles and 13 Grand Slam doubles titles. "I would like to leave a mark," Williams once said about her standing in the tennis world. "I think obviously I will, due to the fact that I'm doing something different in tennis. But I don't think I could ever reach something like a Martina Navratilova—I don't think I'd ever play that long—but who knows? I think I'll leave a mark regardless."

In June 2013, Williams took her second French Open title—as well as her 16th Grand Slam singles title—in a 6-4, 6-4 victory over defending champion Sharapova. "I'm still a little bit upset about that loss last year," Williams said in an interview with ESPN following the match. "But it's all about, for me, how you recover. I think I've always said a champion isn't about how much they win, but it's about how they recover from their downs, whether it's an injury or whether it's a loss."

Nearly one month later, Williams competed at Wimbledon, where she suffered a shocking loss (6-2, 1-6, 6-4) in the fourth round to Germany's Sabine Lisicki, the No. 23 seed. Her career-best 34-match winning streak over, Williams told Sports Illustrated, "I don't think it's a huge shock. [Lisicki] is a great player. Her ranking has no effect on what she should be. She should be ranked higher. She just has a super, super game to play well on grass."

At the U.S. Open, Williams made a strong showing. She knocked out her younger rival Sloane Stephens in the fourth round before upending Azarenka to clinch the U.S. Open title. It was the second year in a row that the pair had faced off in the finals.

Williams clinched her third straight and sixth overall U.S. Open singles title in 2014 by defeating her good friend Caroline Wozniacki. Her winning ways carried into the new year, as she beat Sharapova to claim the 2015 Australian Open championship. At the French Open in June, Williams managed to overcome illness to win the tournament for the third time and claim her 20th Grand Slam singles title, good for third place all-time.

"When I was a little girl, in California, my father and my mother wanted me to play tennis," she told the crowd in French after her victory. "And now I'm here, with 20 Grand Slam titles."

Seeking to add to her hardware collection that summer, Williams had to overcome big sister Venus to advance past the fourth round at Wimbledon. A few days later, she defeated Garbine Muguruza in the final to claim her second career "Serena Slam" and become the oldest Grand Slam singles champion in the Open era. 

At the 2015 U.S. Open, Williams again squared off with her sister in a tough quarterfinal matchup, this time pulling away in the deciding third set. The outcome left her two wins shy of the calendar year Grand Slam, a feat accomplished by just three women in the sport's history. But it was not to be. In a shocking upset, unseeded Roberta Vinci, ranked No. 43 in the world, dashed Williams's quest by pulling out a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win in the semifinals.

How to do the impossible! (by jim Connolly)

                                                                    

You need to be really be careful about the limitations you place on yourself. This brief article explains why.

I’d like to start by asking you a question:

When was the last time you consciously thought about, what’s really possible for you?

One of the reasons children are so creative, is that they are open to all possibilities. We all start off that way. Then, as we grow up, we apply various filters to our thinking, as we determine what is and is not possible for us. The challenge, is that we often get it wrong. This causes us to wrongly remove possibilities from our  decision making and creative thinking, which unnecessarily restricts us.

Understanding what is and is not possible for you

Imagine Bob tried to play the guitar when he was 12 and found it extremely hard, then quit. He then decides he can’t play the guitar and being a guitarist gets added to the list of things that are not possible for him. Now, Bob also discovered as a kid, that he couldn’t fly like superman, after he tried to take flight, Superman style, when jumping from a tree.

Bob’s flying like Superman experience was filtered as not possible, based on fact. His guitar experience was filtered as not possible, based on fiction. If Bob really wanted to play guitar, with the right tuition and a tuned guitar, he would get there and play to a lesser or greater degree. With enough practice, he could then become very good.

Just like Bob, we too make similar, incorrect decisions on what is and is not possible for us.

Rethinking my possibilities

In 2002, I decided to rethink what was and was not possible for me. I had a successful, traditional marketing business in London, England. My challenge was that I was passionate about working in marketing, but wanted to move with my wife, to live in the countryside, where there were few potential clients. My initial thought was this isn’t possible, I need to be where my clients are. As I didn’t want to waste hours each day travelling, it seemed I was destined to stay in London and put my dream of a home in the countryside on ice for 30 years, until I retired. UNLESS I found another way.

So, my challenge was to find an alternative way to deliver my services and run a viable business. I decided to embrace the technology available 10 years ago, and deliver my services remotely. It worked. Beautifully. Instead of working with people in my local area, I had clients worldwide and still do today. Within 12 months, I was living in my dream home, working fewer hours, running an extremely successful international marketing business and earning more than I used to when I was in London.

Still today, I know people who say they would love to relocate as I did, but that it’s just not possible.

Rethinking your possibilities

Take time out today to rethink your own possibilities.

In particular, examine the stories you have told yourself, which may have wrongly removed possibilities from your treasure chest of options.

- Be Inspired

FLOYD MAY WEATHER (The rise of a lightweight boxer).

                                                                    

One of the best pound-for-pound fighters in history, American boxer Floyd Mayweather has won championships across five weight divisions.

American boxer Floyd Mayweather was born on February 24, 1977, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He won three national Golden Gloves and an Olympic bronze medal before turning professional in 1996. Mayweather claimed his first championship as a super featherweight in 1998, later accumulating titles in four other weight classes while retaining an undefeated record.

Early Years

Widely considered the greatest boxer of his era, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was born Floyd Joy Sinclair on February 24, 1977, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Boxing is in his blood. His father, Floyd Sr., was a welterweight contender, and his uncle Jeff Mayweather is a former IBO super featherweight champion. Another uncle, Roger Mayweather, is a former WBA super featherweight and WBC super lightweight champion.

Floyd Sr. introduced Mayweather to the gym not long after he started walking, holding his young boy in front of speed bags whenever they visited. Soon, Mayweather was throwing punches at anything that came in his view. At the age of 7 he was fitted for his first pair of boxing gloves.

Little Floyd, as he was known, became a staple at his neighborhood gym, which was conveniently located just five doors down from his family's home. He soon took the last name of his father, indicating a desire to follow in his footsteps to boxing success.

His family life was complicated. The elder Mayweather had a violent temper, and drifted in and out of danger as a drug dealer. He was shot in the leg while holding his baby son in 1978, and in 1993 he was sentenced to prison on cocaine trafficking charges. Mayweather's mother, Deborah, also dealt with substance abuse issues.

Boxing Success

Away from the circus of his family, Mayweather found peace and control in the ring. Known as "Pretty Boy" early in his career for his unmarked face, Mayweather, with his fast, precise style, won the national Golden Gloves in 1993, 1994 and 1996.

While he finished 84-6 as an amateur, Mayweather's pre-professional career ended on a bitter note. At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, he lost a controversial decision to Bulgaria's Serafim Todorov and was forced to settle for a bronze medal.

Mayweather turned professional on October 11, 1996. As a pro, Mayweather continued to win at an astonishing rate. With his father serving as both manager and trainer after his release from prison, the talented boxer won several easy bouts. In 1998, he defeated Genaro Hernandez to capture his first world title, the WBC super featherweight championship.

His career greatly accelerated even more beginning in 2000, when Mayweather embarked on a seven-year stretch that had many fight fans talking about him as one of the sport's all-time greats.

During this period, he moved up in weight class four times, taking home the WBC lightweight title in 2002, the WBC super lightweight title in 2005 and the IBF, IBO, WBC and IBA welterweight titles in 2006. In 2007 he defeated Oscar De La Hoya for the WBC super welterweight crown.

His success garnered increased earnings. In 2010 he was the third highest-paid American athlete, with income of more than $60 million for the year.

The victories and paychecks only fueled Mayweather’s already sturdy ego. In a sport built on bravado, he proved to be one of boxing's most polarizing figures. "My goal has always been to be one of the best fighters who ever lived," Mayweather has said. "My career and legacy are very important to me."

So is his crossover appeal. As his international profile grew, Mayweather brought his star power to television.

In the buildup to his much-anticipated 2007 match with De La Hoya, Mayweather took center stage in the four-part HBO documentary 24/7, which led to new pay-per-view and live-gate records. Later that year he appeared as a contestant on ABC Television's Dancing with the Stars.

 Personal Problems

Mayweather's sometimes-overbearing family dynamics have intruded on his work life. In 2000, Mayweather fired his father as manager. Their differences only became more intense, and not long after, Mayweather fired his father as trainer too, and replaced him with his uncle Roger Mayweather.

Outside the ring, Mayweather has fought different kinds of battles. In late December 2011, a Las Vegas judge sentenced him to 90 days in jail after he pleaded guilty to a domestic violence charge and no contest to two harassment charges. Mayweather has been arrested several times since 2002 in battery and violence cases in Las Vegas and in his hometown of Grand Rapids.

Continued Success

Mayweather stunned the sports world when he announced his retirement after defeating Ricky Hatton in late 2007. He returned in September 2009 and won a bout against Juan Manuel Marquez by unanimous decision, for a purse of nearly $60 million. Eight months later, he won a 12-round unanimous decision over Shane Mosley in Las Vegas to up his professional record to 41-0.

In May 2013, Mayweather made headlines when he won a 12-round bout against Robert Guerrero in a unanimous decision at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, taking the WBC welterweight title. The fight bumped Mayweather's record to an undefeated 44-0 (with 26 KOs).

Following three more successful bouts, Mayweather set the boxing world abuzz by agreeing to fight eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 2, 2015. Displaying his usual airtight defense in the "Fight of the Century," Mayweather held off his opponent to win a unanimous decision and retain his perfect record.

Mayweather, who is the father of four children (two sons and two daughters), resides in Las Vegas.

WANG JIANLIN, (Meet The Richest Man in Asia)

Wang Jianlin will take to the red carpet on Sunday, flanked by a cast of celebrities, to celebrate a £3 billion investment in the Chinese film industry. Malcolm Moore looks at the rise of China's richest man.

When he was a skinny 15 year-old, he marched on army exercises for two months through snow and ice, covering 750 miles with his gun and ammunition on his back. Now, as China's richest man, Wang Jianlin rarely walks on anything but red carpet.

A household name in China, where his enormous Wanda Plaza shopping centres are the most popular attractions in the 71 cities they grace, Mr Wang has very global ambitions – and has begun one of the largest spending sprees the world has ever seen to achieve them.

His company's war chest, he says, contains £20 billion. On his shopping list are hotels, cinema chains and television stations.

Earlier this year, he announced his company, Wanda, would build a hotel in London to rival the Ritz, the tallest apartment block in Europe on the south bank of the Thames, and that he had snapped up Sunseeker  the Poole-based luxury yacht maker, for £320 million. All on the same day.

"We wanted to buy 30 Sunseeker yachts because we are planning to build three marinas here in China. So then we thought it would be a better deal if we just bought the company," said the man whose personal fortune, at £9 billion, is already greater than Rupert Murdoch's.

Today sees the next phase of his plan. This evening, Mr Wang will take to the red carpet in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao, flanked by the likes of John Travolta, Dustin Hoffman and Nicole Kidman, to celebrate a £3 billion investment in the Chinese film industry.

Having become the largest Cinema owner in the world last year – with around 6,000 screens across Asia and the United States, talks under way with both Odeon and Vue to buy his way into the European market and a plan for another 120 Imax screens in China – Mr Wang now wants to make films to show on them.

As he remarked in a recent interview: "If Wanda can control more than 20 per cent of the world's three most important film markets – the United States, Europe and China – then it will have an empire with great voice in the industry."

So far, Mr Wang has kept the details of his £3 billion investment closely guarded. But as well as a giant new film studio, his spokesman has confirmed that the money will pay for the construction of a theme park like the Universal Studios complex in Orlando, Florida.

In order to underline his commitment, and to win friends on the other side of the Pacific, Mr Wang has also made a $20 million (£12.5 million) donation to a new film museum being built by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars, in order to stamp the Wanda name on a gallery of film history.

For Hollywood, it is the second coming in terms of foreign investment, after the Japanese arrived at the end of the 1980s, when Sony bought Columbia and Matsushita bought Universal Studios.

For Mr Wang, it is all a far cry from his youth in the People's Liberation Army when, in his own words, he had to "scramble to eat". "The hardship then was unimaginable," he said.

Born the eldest of five brothers in Sichuan province, Mr Wang was the son of a Red Army hero. After serving in the New Fourth Army, one of the two main Communist forces during "liberation", his father rose up to become a senior official in Sichuan province, the deputy director of the Organisation department, the Communist party's HR division, and then the vice chairman of the Tibetan government according to China Entrepreneur magazine.

When Mr Wang decided to join up, his father was able to pull strings for him.

"I was born in a family with a strong military background, so I chose to be a soldier. Back then you needed connections to get into the PLA or I wouldn't have been able to join at the age of just 15," he said in an interview in 2009 that was later collected into a book.

The contrast between his parents' revolutionary Communism and his new status as China's richest man has tickled some observers.

"I'm not sure if everyone knows that Jianlin's father is a Red Army veteran," said Liu Chuanzhi, the head of the computer company Lenovo, when handing Mr Wang an award in 2010. "The Red Army wanted to subvert the rich entirely. Now his son has become the richest of people. I would like to ask how you and your father talk at home. Does he detest you or like you?"

Mr Wang, stunned, answered that when China moved to a market economy, his parents, along with many revolutionary cadres, were "slowly disregarded".

"The cadre retirement home they originally lived in was not very nice. At the same time, Dad was getting old. I prepared a better home for him, prepared a driver for him. Life was better. So later I asked my parents which is better: relying on the institution or relying on your son? They said it themselves: relying on their son was better. Although their goal in the past was to undermine the rich, now they wholly feel having money is better than not having it," he said.

When the Chinese army was slimmed down in the mid 1980s, Mr Wang was decommissioned. "My dream at first was to be a soldier, but I was among the million who were disarmed, so I went to do business," he said earlier this month.

His dreams of being a general dashed, he joined the local government in the northern city of Dalian. But the life of a government official was also not for him. "If I had stayed on in that, I would be a district mayor or vice mayor of the city now. That is not interesting to me," he once told the Beijing News.

Moving into his mother-in-law's house, he took a job at a debt-ridden property developer and quickly became the general manager, changing the company's name.

From there, he scrapped for property deals and endeared himself to local government officials by promising that he could complete his projects remarkably rapidly – within 18 months – so that officials could reap the political dividends before the promotion cycle took them onwards.

Mr Wang's shopping centres focused on China's rising middle class, offering them designer brands, top restaurants, karaoke bars and cinemas. They became wildly popular and he was able to then sell apartments and office space in the giant developments at premium prices. With the support of China's state banks, he has also become famous for his ability to pounce on a bargain. As property prices plummeted during the financial crisis, Mr Wang snapped up more than £1 billion of bargain sites to develop.

He continues to run the company with military rigour. "In our company if I make a decision and you do not carry it out immediately, you need to pay a fine. The basic principle is I command and my employees carry it out immediately," he said.

Soon, Mr Wang had grown wealthy. He was able to send his now 25-year-old son Sicong to school at Winchester College and was one of the first businessmen in China to own a private jet. Local officials began coming to him to ask for Wanda to open a shopping complex in their cities.

"China is a government-oriented economy. No one can say he can run his business entirely without government connections. Anybody who says that he or she can do things alone with any connection with the government in China is a hypocrite," he told the World Economic Forum in Dalian earlier this month.

"But you cannot hook up with government officials too closely. Don't ally your personal interests with the development of the company," he cautioned.

That lesson appears to have shielded Mr Wang from the fallout from the trial of Bo Xilai, who became the acting mayor of Dalian in the same year that Mr Wang took charge of Wanda.

By coincidence, Mr Bo will be sentenced on the same day as Mr Wang unveils his film project, in a courtroom in the same province, just 220 miles away.

The billionaire has had to face dozens of questions in the past few years about his connections to the Bo family. He maintains that his relationship with Mr Bo was strictly business.

And while Mr Bo's star has ebbed, Mr Wang's is still rising.

• Be Inspired.

THOMAS SANKARA’ LEGACY

                                 

To say that Thomas Sankara was isolated is a dreadful understatement. It was his very political exclusivity that generated the total separation from organisations, groups, parties and trade unions who could have supported his initiatives and defended the ‘revolution’ against the military. By 1987 Sankara was only really vulnerable to counter-coups from within the military. Opposition, under his instructions, had been marginalised or worse, and resistance inside the unions and among the broader radical left suppressed.

The counter-coup in October 1987 was ruthlessly planned and executed. Sankara’s was – with only a small militant core by his side – exceptionally exposed. In the morning of 15 October, 1987 he had discussed the situation facing the regime with Valère Somé, his advisor and comrade, at the presidential residence. His recent biographer Ernest Harsch takes up the story, ‘That afternoon, Sankara had a scheduled meeting with his small team of advisers. They gathered about 4:15 p.m. at the old Conseil de l’Entente headquarters, which for some time had served as an office of the National Conseil national de la révolution (CNR). The meeting was under way for only a brief time when shooting erupted in the small courtyard outside, around 4:30 p.m. or shortly after. Sankara’s driver and two of his bodyguards were the first to be killed. Upon hearing the gunfire, everyone in the meeting room quickly took cover. Sankara then got up and told his aides to stay inside for their own safety. “It’s me they want.” He left the room, hands raised, to face the assailants. He was shot several times, and died without saying anything more. If his exit from the room was intended to save his comrades inside, it failed. The gunmen, all in military uniform, entered the meeting room and sprayed it with automatic weapons fire. Everyone inside was killed, except for Alouna Traoré.’ Sankara’s brief unwavering ‘revolutionary’ moment was over.

Blaise Compaoré, Sankara’s comrade and murderer, quickly denied involvement, claiming he was at home and sick. He may not have actually pulled the trigger, but it was his men who did and they would not have acted without a clear order. By the evening of the assassination Compaoré was the new president.

Tens of thousands of Burkinabès were inspired by Sankara’s radical government, by their presidents sheer, restless commitment to a transformation that they also wanted to see. However there is a difficult truth about the regime which cannot be ignored. Sankara was terribly alone, apart from a few other leading militants; his project was delivered to Burkinabè society from above. Eventually Sankara even existed above the military hierarchy from which he had issued. Only Valère Somé and a few others stood beside him to the end.

The lack of any serious popular mobilisation against the counter-coup, expressed the tragic, confirmation of the fallen regimes isolation. Undoubtedly, thousands of Burkinabès were deeply distressed by Sankara’s murder and the sudden end to a project that contained many popular desires, but still their reaction, without organisational expression, was severely constrained. When Harsh describes how there were processions, ‘to the Dagnoën cemetery to pay their respects at his graveside’, these displays of public grief confirm the highly ambiguous space the regime occupied. ‘Some laid flowers and wept. Others left handwritten messages: “Long live the president of the poor.” “The jealous, power-hungry, and traitors murdered you.” “Mama Sankara, your son will be avenged. We are all Sankara.” “Is it possible to forget you?” “A hero never dies.” The new regime, under Compaoré, quickly undertook the project of normalisation and returned Burkina Faso to its place on the outer margins of global political-economy.

• Be Inspired.

How to change people's behavior

Our self concept determines to a great extent the way we see ourselves and the way we behave. If a person believed that he is a failure then most likely he will try to prove it by choosing hard challenges that he can’t do well at.

A research has found that confident people tend to choose reachable and challenging goals while those who lack self confidence either avoid setting goals or go for extremely hard ones.

Few days ago I was watching the African cup finals and I noticed how a brand new team player in the Egyptian team who was called Gedo scored more goals than all other players in the tournament.

As soon as Gedo entered the playground people kept screaming his name out loud and thus made him feel that they are expecting a goal. The guy didn’t fail them each time and he always scored goals but why did this happen?

Because they changed his own self concept and made him believe that he is a great soccer player through their encouragement he did his best to prove them right!

Changing someone by changing his self concept

If you managed to make someone believe that he can do something then he will do it. Because people kept cheering for the soccer player Gedo he believed them and then worked on proving his new self concept true. 

Changing someone’s behavior is all about changing his self concept and making him believe that he can change.

But the question is, why did they cheer for that specific player instead of cheering for others? Simply because that player performed well many times until they believed in him and starting supporting him.

So there is another step involved in the change, before someone can be encouraged to become someone else he has first to prove that he is capable of changing to the better.

Change comes from within and from the outside too

If someone decided to change his behavior and worked on it people will notice the change and will encourage him to be even better. This encouragement will further strengthen his new self concept and will help him maintain his new behavior.

In the solid self confidence program I explained how a person can change by deciding to change and how he can also change as a result of the new self concept imposed on him by his peers. This is similar to peer pressure but the only difference is that the person happily accepts this new self concept instead of being forced to accept something that he doesn’t like.

If you want to change someone’s behavior then instead of criticizing him let him believe that he can do better and he will change. On the other hand if you want to change your own behavior then start by your inner world and sooner or later you will reflect your new self concept upon the world.

• Be Inspired

How to create a masterpiece (By 2knowmyself)

Before i can tell you how to create a masterpiece let me first define a masterpiece from the personal development perspective.

A masterpiece could be a piece of art, a book, a speech, a business, an idea, a goal or any other thing that is too flawless and unique.

Based on this definition we can conclude that success in life is all about learning how to create masterpieces. For example, If your ideas were masterpieces then shortly you will become a very successful person provided that you put them into action.

So can any person create a masterpiece or do something that others never managed to do? Certainly that's possible!

People who created masterpieces

I am sure you are pretty familiar with the name Picasso. That famous artist created lots of masterpieces that made him really famous but the question is, do you know how many artworks did Picasso produce in his entire life?

Its something north of 100,000 artworks! Some internet sites say that the number is above 150,000 artworks!!

But do you know how many artworks were masterpieces? Only a fraction of what Picasso created in his entire life! Some of Picasso's artworks were mediocre while some were really bad.

The same goes for Shakespeare who wrote tens of poems, Sonnets and plays yet only some of them made him the Shakespeare we know today.

So how to create masterpieces

Did any bell ring yet?
Do you know that a great football player misses more shots than the ones he scores?
Creating masterpieces is all about producing more works or in other words trying more often! 

Had Picasso stopped trying after few mediocre paintings or had Shakespeare stopped after writing 10 below average poems we wouldn't have ever heard of them!

Creating masterpieces is all about trial and error! Its all about producing more and more work until you manage to reach the masterpiece. I am sure that you already know that Thomas edition made 999 failed attempts before he managed to create his masterpiece, the lamp! 

If you are a regular 2knowmyself reader then most probably you know that this site made me a dot com millionaire, but do you know that this site is the masterpiece that was created after several other sites failed? I created a total of seven sites and only one of them turned out to be a masterpiece and this was enough to change my life. 

How can you create masterpieces

If you want to succeed in life and create master pieces then you must change your beliefs about luck, talent and success.

Lucky people are the ones who keep trying until chance favors them.
Talented people are the ones who keep trying until they master a certain skill.
People who create masterpieces are the ones who keep trying until a masterpiece emerges from within tens or even hundreds of failed attempts.

I have managed to become a self made millionaire at the age of 28. This didn't happen by chance because i already wrote that goal down five years before i accomplished it. Becoming rich is not about luck, starting big or being intelligent but its all about having certain beliefs about money and life.

In The Ultimate guide to becoming rich 

• Be Inspired.

TAILOR SWIFT

Born on December 13, 1989, in Reading, Pennsylvania, Taylor Swift's family moved to nearby Wyomissing where she started crafting songs at age 5, and at age 16, released her debut album. Hits like "Love Story" and "You Belong With Me" appealed to country and pop fans alike and helped fuel the multiplatinum success of her albums, with Fearless the 2009 top-seller. Swift later became a pop juggernaut with the 2014 album 1989. She has won many awards, including several Grammys, and modeled for Cover Girl.  

Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989, in Reading, Pennsylvania. Swift spent her early years on her family's Christmas tree farm in nearby Wyomissing. Her grandmother had been a professional opera singer, and Swift soon followed in her footsteps. By the age of 10, Swift was singing at a variety of local events, including fairs and contests. She sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at a Philadelphia 76ers game at the age of 11, and began writing her own songs and learning guitar at 12 years old.

To pursue her music career, Swift often visited Nashville, Tennessee, the country music capital. There she co-wrote songs and tried to land a recording contract. Noting her dedication, Swift and her family moved to nearby Hendersonville, Tennessee, in an attempt to further Swift's career.

Country Crooner

A stellar performance at The Bluebird Café in Nashville helped Swift get a contract with Scott Borchetta's Big Machine Records. She released her first single, “ Tim McGraw" in 2006, and the song became a Top 10 hit on the country charts. It also appeared on her self-titled debut album in October of that same year, which sold more than 2.5 million copies. More popular singles soon followed, including "Our Song," a No. 1 country music hit. "Teardrops on My Guitar," "Picture to Burn" and "Should've Said No" were also successful tracks.

Swift also received critical praise for her debut effort. She won the Horizon Award from the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music Award for Top New Female Vocalist in 2007. Swift next released Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection in 2007. Her renditions of "Silent Night" and "Santa Baby" were modest hits on the country charts.

'Fearless'

In 2008, Swift was nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Artist category and won other accolades, including the Academy of Country Music's Female Vocalist of the Year award. Around this same time, Swift released her next album, Fearless (2008), which hit the top of both the country and pop charts and stayed there for 11 weeks. By the end of the year, Swift had become the highest-selling country artist of 2008.

2009 Video Music Awards

In 2009, Swift netted several awards for her work on Fearless, including Video of the Year and Female Video of the Year for "Love Story" at the CMT Music Awards. On September 13, 2009, Swift also won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video, making her the first country music star to win an MTV Video Music Award. The win stirred controversy when rapper Kanye West leaped to the stage during Swift's speech, took the microphone, and declared that R&B singer Beyonce should have won Swift's award.

The stunned Swift was unable to make her acceptance speech, and West was removed from the show. When Beyoncé accepted her award for Best Video of the Year later in the show, she called Swift to the stage to finish her speech. West later apologized to Swift privately, and made a public apology on The Jay Leno Show.

Major Success

Swift soon became an even hotter commodity. Her concert tickets began selling out in less than two minutes, and she also made her second appearance on comedy show Saturday Night Live, this time as both the host and musical guest. Additionally, she became the youngest artist to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2010 for Fearless.

In 2010, she released the album Speak Now, which featured the hit songs "Mean," "Ours" and "Sparks Fly." The album was a success, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling more than one million copies in its first week. She followed that album with Red (2012), featuring the hit single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" and also selling more than one million copies in its first week. With her fifth album 1989, Swift became the first woman in history to release three albums that sold more than one million copies in their opening week.

She was ranked No. 1 as Forbes magazine's highest paid celebrity under 30 in 2012, beating out Justin Bieber, Rihanna and Lady Gaga with a salary of $57 million. She has also been tapped for four CMA nominations in 2009—Female Vocalist, Music Video of the Year, Best Album and Entertainer of the Year—as well as six American Music Award nominations.

The following year, Swift shared some of her fortune to help others. She funded the $4 million Taylor Swift Education Center at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. The facility has three classrooms, a learning lab and a space dedicated to exhibits for children. In an interview with CMT Hot 20 Countdown, she explained that "music education is really such an important part of my life. My life changed so completely when I discovered writing my own songs and playing guitar, and that can't necessarily all be taught to you in school because there aren't enough hours in the day."

In 2013, Swift was also honored with the CMA Pinnacle Award for her achievements as a country music performer and for her "positive impact" on country music, according to the CMA website. And she picked up two other wins for her collaboration with Tim McGraw and Keith Urban at the CMA Awards ceremony held that November. Swift's winning streak continued at the American Music Awards. For the third year in a row, she picked up the AMA Award for Artist of the Year, among other wins.

Grammy-Winning '1989'

With her next effort, Swift seemed to step further away from her country music roots. She released 1989, her most pop-sounding record to date, in October 2014. "Shake It Off" proved to be one of the catchiest tracks of the year, reaching the top of the pop charts. Swift continued to play with her public persona with the track "Bad Blood," which features Kendrick Lamar. In the video for the song, which debuted at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards and doubles as a noir action short, she appears as a tough, cutthroat character called "Catastrophe." Swift recruited a number of top names to appear in the video as well, including Karlie Kloss, Cindy Crawford and Lena Dunham. In an age of low album sales, 1989 has gone on to move more than five million copies in the U.S. alone.

In February 2016, Swift opened up the 58th Annual Grammy Awards with another track from 1989, "Out of the Woods." Having received awards pre-telecast for Best Music Video and Best Pop Vocal Album, later in the evening Swift won another Grammy for Album of the Year, making music history as the first woman to win the award twice. 

In what was seen as a sharp rebuke to a new Kanye West song in which he took credit for her fame, Swift used her acceptance speech to issue an empowerment statement. "I wanna say to all the young women out there, there are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame," she said. "But if you just focus on the work, and you don't let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you're going, you’ll look around and you will know that it was you and the people who loved you who put you there. And that will be the greatest feeling in the world.”

- Be Inspired.