damiOluwatoyinbo.com

February went by so fast.

I guess it was because I had so much to do.

At the beginning of the month, I had my to-do list.

At the end of the month, I had ticked off almost everything on that list.

That gladdened my heart.

I was in Badagry once.

Abia state on two ocassions.

Different parts of Lagos every week…meetings…seminars…conferences…

What was I doing?

Great question!

I was doing what I was born to do…empower my generation to be all that God wants us to be.

I was preaching…teaching…speaking…training…facilitating meetings…writing…granting interviews…sharing what I know…what I have learned over the years.

Life’s greatest joy lies in our contribution to other lives.

It feels great to make a difference for good.

Are you making a difference in someone’s life?

Just like February, March is flying by so fast.

Before you know it, it’s going to be April, then May…June…July…September…December…2011…

Phew!

What’s my point?

“There’s no time.”

Well, there is time but there’s no time to waste.

I believe that we have enough time for what we NEED to do but we don’t have enough time to do all that we WANT to do.

We have enough time for what we were born to do but we don’t have enough time for all we wish to do.

Everyday, different things and people are contending for your attention…fighting for your time.

So what are you going to do?

You can’t attend to everything or even everyone.

You have to make the right choices.

That’s the struggle I face everyday.

I bet you have a similar experience.

Whatever you do, do what you were born to do or it would have been better if you were never born.

Ouch…

P.S: It’s my birthday this month and I have some special offers for you.Stay Tuned.

It’s the beginning of  a new year.

It’s the beginning of a new decade.

It’s the beginning of a new season.

I’m really excited and I’m sure you are too.

We love new things-from computers to castles!

The year ahead is like a blank check waiting to be filled with the figures you choose.

It’s like a book.You have to choose what to write in it.

As you write a new story, I pray you make it a success story and not a tragic tale.

I pray you make the right decisions.

That’s my prayer for you-that you will make this year your best year so far.

I pray that your dreams  come true as you find and fulfill God’s plan and program for your life.

I congratulate you for making it into this year-your best year ever.

Enjoy the next 365 days of your life!

I have nothing against college degrees.

I am privileged to have one in Chemical Engineering.

However, it is necessary for us to constantly remind ourselves that what we achieve in life has a lot more to do with education than it has to do with degrees.

It is important that we observe that the people who become the most successful (at least by natural definition are those who follow their passion and not necessarily highly esteemed professions or careers.

The most successful people are those who make their calling their careers

and their purpose their profession.

What you have been given by God has tremendous power to produce significant results inspite of anything you do not currently possess.

I am pleased to present to you a list of globally respected CEO’s who never got college degrees yet went on to build businesses that are changing the world.

Some of them dropped out for some reason.Others never stepped on the soil of a college campus but they all made it against all odds.Today, some of these CEO’s employ PhD holders….hmmmm….food for thought.

Read on and be inspired.

1. Dennis Albaugh

Chairman, Albaugh
Type of Business: Pesticides
Education: Associate’s degree from Des Moines Area Community College
Fun fact: He has a collection of more than 100 classic Chevrolets

2. Paul Allen

Founder and chairman, Vulcan
Type of Business: Media, telecommunications
Education: Dropped out of Washington State College after two years
Fun fact: He persuaded Bill Gates to drop out of Harvard. They later founded Microsoft (MSFT) together.

3. Richard Branson

CEO, Virgin Group
Type of Business: Travel, radio, TV, music, venture capital
Education: No college degree
Fun fact: He became an entrepreneur at age 16 with the creation of Student magazine.

4. Maverick Carter

CEO, LRMR Innovative Marketing & Branding
Type of Business: Marketing
Education: 3.5 years of college at Western Michigan University and University of Akron combined
Quote: “Don’t be afraid if you see an opportunity to go and give it shot. You can finish school later; it’s always there.”

5. John Paul DeJoria

CEO, John Paul Mitchell Systems
Type of Business: Hair-care products
Education: No college
Fun fact: He started out selling greeting cards at age 9.

6. Michael Dell

Founder, chairman, and CEO Dell (DELL)
Type of Business: Computers
Education: Attended University of Texas, Austin; did not finish.
Quote: “When I started our company, it was very much an idea outside of the conventional wisdom, and if there were people telling me that it wasn’t going to work, I wasn’t really listening to them.”

7. Felix Dennis

Founder and chairman, Alpha Media Group, formerly Dennis Publishing
Type of Business: Publishing (Maxim, The Week)
Education: No college degree
Fun fact: He wrote a biography and published a magazine about Bruce Lee; sales surged when the martial arts star died suddenly in 1973.

8. Barry Diller

Chairman and CEO of IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI)
Type of Business: Media
Education: Dropped out of UCLA after three weeks
Fun fact: He started his career working in the mail room of the William Morris Agency.

9. Bill Gates

Co-chair and Trustee, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Chairman, Microsoft (MSFT)
Type of Business: Philanthropy. Software.
Education: Dropped out of Harvard
Fun fact: As a schoolboy, he created a program that allowed people to play tic-tac-toe on the computer.

If you haven’t read the first part, you can do that here.

Let me give you the other points Dr. Maduka shared.

• Accept that EVERY ENTERPRISE NEEDS PROFFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT.

His words :”When we started, I and my wife made all the decisions but we later realized that we needed to hire professionals to expand our business…”

• Forge a TEAM OF EMPLOYEES.

His words :”Don’t just get a group of people.Get able and willing people who understand your vision and help you to accomplish it.“

• Come up with a STRATEGY FOR WINNING in an unpredictable environment.

His words : “You know the government policies change almost every six months in this our country…we have to always study and come up with ways to win no matter what tthe challenges and policies are.”

• RESIST THE TEMPTATION to show that “you  have arrived.”

His words :”…Even after I had made a lot of money, nobody knew.I kept on living a normal life.I was driving the same car, wearing the same clothes…living in the same house I was living in when I was still struggling…Avoid the social pressure to look successful…this shoe I’m wearing, I have had it for fifteen years.Isn’t it still looking good?”

When he said that, everyone erupted in laughter.

• KEEP TRACK OF ALL THE ACTIVITIES of your organisation.

His words :” Don’t just spend without having proper records.Have the details of everything that goes out and everything that comes in.

• GET YOUR PRODUCT into the market.

His words:” Know your customers and keep in touch with them…”

• ANTICIPATE CHALLENGES

His words :”Problems always show up.You must prepare for them to win”

If you ask me, that’s a lot to think about.So I’d let you do just that.

Think about it.Remember, WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT, YOU BRING ABOUT.

Meanwhile, scroll down and leave your comment in the box.

If you haven’t downloaded you copy of just do it…DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE BOOK HERE.

P.S. Dr. and Mrs. Cosmas Maduka have a book titled “From Trials To Triumph”

You can get copies from bookstores nationwide.

Enjoy your day.

Isn’t it amazing that we seem to enjoy waiting for everything to fall in place before we do what we know we ought to do?

We wait to feel better before we accept that we are healed.

We wait for goose pimples before we admit that we believe.

We  wait to feel better before we encourage others.

We wait to make more money before we give.

We wait to be appreciated before we celebrate others.

We wait to be motivated before we reach for our dreams.

We wait to have the contacts and connections before we start the business.

We wait to be fired before we release the enterpreneurs in us.

We wait for  financial crises before we take responsibility for our finances.

We wait for the doctor’s diagnosis before we take care of our health.

We wait for birthdays and christmas before we celebrate and celebrate with people.

We wait for the government to fix the Nation.

We wait for our spouses to provide what we should also contribute towards.

We wait for our kids to be better before we become better parents.

We wait for the pastor to preach until his nose bleeds before we obey God,

We wait for…

Ok.Seems I’ve been talking to much.Tell me.What are you waiting for?

On a serious note, I really want to know.