GOALS REDEFINED

Doing what I love to do - Mr. Motivator

The concept of goal setting is not new and has been taught for ages. Its importance cannot be over-emphasized if one is to make any meaningful progress in ones endeavours and in life generally.

Experts teach that when you are inking your goals on paper it should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound. I totally agree with this age-old concept of setting goals. And you must do so too.

However, what do I mean by redefining goals? May I even say that my focus is not on the definition of the term or concept but in the characteristic feature of the concept and what it does to the person who purports to have a goal.

The presenter and studio engineer

I was a guest on the programme Ladder to Success on UnilagFm 103.1, the first University radio station in Nigeria on Monday the 16^th of December 2013 where I discussed on this topic – GOALS REDEFINED.

By intuition, I know you are eager to know more about how to REDEFINE YOUR GOALS. But before I go ahead with the expose, let me help you see a few other things you need to know as far as goal-setting is concerned. Things like: The Anatomy of Goals, which deals with “The What” to be achieved, “The Why” it has to be achieved and “The How” it is to be achieved. It is important you answer this question(s).

Then you have to consider the Types of Goals; Short Term – usually within a twelve month period. The Medium Term goals – usually between two to five years and the Long Term goals, which deals with anything from five years and above. But I added another type, which I called “Immediate Goals.” These are goals that have a life-span of between one day to one month.

As you consider setting goals, you must always think in terms of growth and development. Any goal you set and achieve must live you better than it met you before you set out to pursue it.

To be able to appropriately focus your goal-setting effort(s), you should consider these different areas of life: Personal, Health, Recreation, Family, Friends, Community, Career, Financial, Household and Spiritual life.

Enough of the pre-amble. Let us get into the heart of discuss.

My concept of GOAL is a little different.

A ‘GOAL’ must do and achieve certain things, which are:

G – Go

O – Optimism

A – Appeal

L – Lift

In action as I emphasized
my points

Now let us dig deep.

G – Go: Just like football players on the pitch of play, goals keep you on your toes. They put spring to your steps. They make you restless. Goals make you sleep late and wake up early. When you have goals you don’t lay back and watch things happen, you make yourself happen to things. You are asking questions and learning in order to gain knowledge that will help you in your quest to achieve your set goals. When you have goals that are compelling, you will be willing to pay any price in order to gain your desired prize. Goals make you proactive rather than reactive.

O – Optimism: Optimism is a necessary currency that you must learn to trade with if you desire to win in the market of life. Why would you set a goal that you don’t believe you can make happen? Optimism is looking at the cup of life as half-filled rather than as half-empty. You must have a positive outlook towards life. That in itself is an antidote that will help to inoculate you against failure. Believe in yourself and in God. Believe you can do it and make it happen. Have you seen a football team going to play a match expecting to lose? Every team expects to win even though they know they may not win. Such is the game of life. You must always expect to win!

A – Appeal: When you have realised your goal, would it have general appeal? Would people be proud to associate with you on the account of your accomplished goal? In other words, whatever goal you set must be positive and must be something that you can be proud to say you accomplished. It must also be within the confines of legality and morality. You can’t set a goal that will have a negative impact on the lives of others and be proud of it at accomplishment. If you kill someone else to rise in life, that is not an accomplishment that has appeal.

L – Lift: As noted earlier, when setting goals you must always think in terms of growth and development. Any goal that does not improve your life/those of others either directly or indirectly was not a worthy goal in the first place. Since goals are like the rungs that you climb to ascend a ladder so it is to help you ascend the ladder of life. Ask yourself at the starting point of setting the goals, where would it lead you when accomplished? The answer should show you if you should pursue that goal.

I am confident that you have learnt something new about setting goals. I encourage and challenge you to go and make things happen while I await your success story.

I remain your life coach and friend, Abiodun Mabadeje; Author, Public/Motivational Speaker, Minister, MC, Actor and Publisher. Contact me on 234 8023771690, 234 8135891291. 

BEAUTY – A Feeling or a Knowing

We live in a world where the things we ‘see’ play a major role in determining how we ‘perceive’ ourselves. People use the things they see around or other people to judge themselves. Comparing themselves to others in terms of what they own and how they look.

The situation is reaching (actually has reached) an alarming stage. People today are taking to all sorts of surgical operations to enhance their beauty – from breast to butt enlargement or the reverse; skin toning or ‘bleaching’; operation to make their nose pointed and so on. Some people have even been known to go as far as having a complete ‘face-off’.

These and other such issues were the matters discussed on the programme, Woman’s World on TV Continental when I and two other people were the guests.

On set at TV Continental

It was recorded on the 14^th of Oct. 2013. The programme has since been aired several times.

But let us look at a few things from the discussion.

Why do women take to skin bleaching? (or toning as some would like to mildly put it) Why do some women who are naturally big want to become slim overnight? And so on.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with someone working to enhance how beautiful they look, it is important to note that most people generally have self-esteem issues and that is why they would want to do anything to look like someone else. And the TV is not helping in this regard. You see someone on TV and that person becomes your ‘model’ for beauty and its definition

One of the points I made on the programme was that no matter how smart we are, we cannot be smarter than God and definitely cannot be more creative than God. We should learn to accept ourselves as the image of God that we are and not unnecessarily go out of our ways to change our looks. This particularly affects women more than men.

Another point of view I posited was that beauty is first a thing of the mind. It is first a knowing and that knowing can then be expressed through feeling and not the other way round. That is where it all begins the mind. And also it (i.e. beauty) is first a personal definition. In other words, you are the one that will look at yourself and conclude whether you are beautiful or not and this conclusion then determines how you carry and present yourself, which basically is what ‘self-esteem’ is all about – remember that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

Mr. Motivator, unleashing...

In the final analysis therefore, there is no one (or woman to be more specific) that is not beautiful. YOU ARE FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE.

See pictures taken during the interview.

ABIODUN MABADEJE is a multi-talented public/motivational speaker with expertise in the areas of personal development, leadership, relationship/family life and author of 7 published books.

Call me for your next event and you would be glad you did.

234 – 8023771690, 234 – 8135891291, abiodun.mabadeje@gmail.com

THE PUSH…

I was part of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in 2006, Batch A to be precise. The middle belt state of Benue, popularly called “Food Basket of the Nation” was where I served.

My place of Primary Assignment was the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, where I was in the Revenue collection unit of the Commerce Department.

My one year of serving Nigeria in the NYSC programme was worth all the time. I was never lacking in things to do, whether at NYSC level: was in at least three CDS groups – Drama CDS (where I eventually became President), Editorial CDS where I was a radio presenter, presenting Inspiration.Com as part of Corpers Voice, an half hour radio programme for corpers on the state’s owned radio station and contributed articles to the magazine Benue Copa. Also served with the NYSC official in charge of the then newly created Millennium Development Goal CDS group where I had the very rare opportunity to visit three local governments apart from Makurdi (which was my base) to give addresses to fellow Corp members on the importance and need for self-development and entrepreneurial mentality.

Or at NCCF (Nigerian Christian Corpers Fellowship) level; I was part of several committees, the drama group and participated in almost all the Rural Rugged Evangelism Outreaches. And on a personal level too; carried out several Personal CDS projects, one in particular was the donation of water tanker and water to an Orphanage located in a remote part of North-Bank area of Benue State. Held seminars and son…

At the end of the service year, I got several awards and certificates of awards and State recognition with Letter of Recommendation… Story!

But the journey that culminated into all of these started at the Orientation Camp which held in Gboko, one of the popular local governments in Benue State after Makurdi, which is the state capital.

There were several seminars at the camp for corpers. During one of such seminars, I was a corpers rep on stage with other NYSC officials and the State’s NYSC Director. As the event went on, it came to time for contributions/questions. And many of my fellow corpers were complaining about the fact that the government was (and is still) not doing enough to address the problem of lack of jobs and many other issues in such light.

As the discussion went on, I got up to address everyone and gave the illustration of a vehicle being pushed before it starts. I told them that when that happens, then something fundamental is wrong with the vehicle, because vehicles are not originally meant to be pushed before they start working. I went on to tell them that it works the same way for us as humans, we should be self-starters, that in fact some of us already understood the concept, we went to school without any support, we had to combine working and schooling and we did it (this was actually my own case).

Now I want to use the same concept of THE PUSH to teach you something I believe will be of immense benefit to you for many years to come.

When a vehicle has to be pushed before it starts working, something fundamental is wrong. That was not how vehicles are meant to work. Get into your car, put the key in the ignition, turn it and the car starts, ready to zoom off to fulfill its purpose.

In the same vein, we like ‘cars/vehicles’ are supposed to be self-starters. The forces – will, strength, determination and what have you, to get started and move on in life and be all we were meant to be are in us. We must dig deep within in order to travel without the deeper you can dig, the faster and farther you can travel. I have always said that if you take control of your internal environment, you will eventually gain control over your external environment. The external is not supposed to control the internal; it is the other way round. Someone rightly posited, “Your environment is not meant to change you, you are meant to change your own environment.” And that change must start from within – the way you think; your disposition to life, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

While the aforementioned is true, we all know that there are several factors that could affect the way a vehicle is naturally meant to function – factors like change in whether condition, lack of fuel in the fuel tank and such other conditions.

Likewise, there are many factors that could hinder a person from functioning at his optimal capacity as the Creator designed him to. Factors that could either be self imposed or society imposed (internal and external). When this is the case, what should you do in order to get started and zoom off into the beautiful future that awaits you.

The same way a vehicle owner or driver asks for help, you should also do same, ask for a push. Don’t hesitate to do so. Sometimes it is to push the vehicle forward or sometimes backward. Talk to someone who can render assistance to you; assistance in form of advice –moral/business/financial and so on, introduce you to someone you need to meet, or just take you by the hand and lead you in the way you should go.

Some people are too ashamed to ask for help, hence remain in their state of helplessness. But you also must be careful who you talk to for help. “Iron sharpens iron,” the holy Writ says, but two blunt irons cannot sharpen each other we must bear in mind.

One other thing I want you to know is that life is just, “Because God is not mocked, for as a man sows, so shall he also reap.” As you want people to give you a push, you also must be willing to give pushes to others as they require it of you, (in fact, you should not wait for people to ask you, be proactive about looking for people that need positive pushes and then help to push them into fulfilling their destiny) because what goes around comes around. Jesus puts it in this light, “Give and it shall be giving to you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over…”

Your time for change has come, ask for the push you need; someone out there is looking for whom to help. I have experienced different kinds of pushes in different aspects of my life. I have had people give me advise, support me with money to finance worthy projects, introduced me to others and so on. Most of the things I know and enjoy today have come via THE PUSH from others.

Thank you for reading; I am your friend and LIFE COACH, Abiodun Mabadeje (MSA) – Speaker/Trainer, Author/Publisher, Actor/Acting Instructor, Counselor/Minister, and MC.

08023771690, abiodun.mabadeje@gmail.com

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AREA OF CONCENTRATION (AOC)

I graduated from Lagos State Polytechnic (aka LASPOTECH) in October of 2004. I still remember my undergraduate days like yesterday. What is ironic is that the course I studied in school is not what I practice today as profession. I am as far from what I read in school as the east is from the west and I must say without any regret.

Anyone who has passed through the walls of any citadel of learning, especially higher institutions would remember vividly well the slogan “AOC” that students chanted whenever exams were drawing near. The reason students did this (i.e ask lecturers for “AOC”) was so that they would be able to focus their energy and judiciously use their time to study areas where exam questions would be drawn from, as sometimes (if not all the time) it is impossible to finish the syllabus. Some lecturers out of magnanimity would go ahead and give “AOC” to assist the students to prepare well.

I have thought over this for a while and discovered that life practically works the same way. The way we ask for “AOC” so we could focus our energy and time, is the way we should use the concept to live our lives. God is our Lecturer. We are students of life and are constantly writing exams and if our energies are not well managed, focused and directed, the tendency for us to fail in life is very high. God not being a wicked Lecturer always leaves us with clues for “AOC” – AREA OF CONCENTRATION.

“How will you as an individual recognize your own AREA OF CONCENTRATION?” would be the question at this point. And I must say that that question has a very simple answer.

Your own “AOC” is connected to what I call your AOCC. “Now what is that again?” you would ask. AOCC simply means AREA OF CORE COMPETENCE! This is the beautiful thing about God; He never leaves anyone clueless and wondering what to do. What is wrong with most of us is that we are not disciplined enough to find our different AREAS OF CORE COMPETENCES – AOCC. And then when some of us do, we are not willing to pay the price to develop this potential competence in order for us to be able to effectively deploy same.

Let me help you bring this to the point of phosphorescence. What are you gifted/talented/skilled at doing? Something you do well and enjoy doing without stress. It is like Lionel Messi playing football or Tuface singing. In my own case, it is doing motivational speaking/writing, acting/MCing. Bottom line, it is being who you are originally meant to be and not what circumstances try to make you be.

For example, if I had followed Insurance as a profession, that would have been trying to be someone else, because it is not part of my wiring; it is not in my DNA.

Remember the parable of talents in Matt. 25:14-30? The morale here is that no one is ‘giftedless,’ including you (and you could have more than one area of competence). And then Prov. 18:16 says, “The gift of a man makes room for him and brings him before great men.” Paraphrased, it would read, “When a man makes his AREA OF CORE COMPETENCE (AOCC) his AREA OF CONCENTRATION (AOC), giving it all the diligence that it requires, then he shall soon become great.” – Abiodun Mabadeje

On a final thought, what are you wired for? Have you discovered your AOCC, which you can make your AOC? If not, the earlier you seek to do this the better for you. 

If you need more information or help in this regard, do not hesitate to contact me by mail on abiodun.mabadeje@gmail.com or through inbox on Facebook or just give me a call 234  8023771690.

I am your friend and life coach Abiodun Mabadeje (MSA), motivational speaker, trainer and author.

Obadare Is Not DEAD!

The depth of aghastness that struck many as news filtered the air ways that one of God’s Generals in this part of the world, Prophet Timothy Oluwole Obadare, the founder of WOSEM – World Soul-winning Evangelical Ministry, died at the age of 83 in the afternoon of Thursday, the 22nd of March, 2013 is beyond description.

Many who knew this dogged servant of God will agree that he was one man that served his Creator from his heart without any reservation – he gave all. His name must definitely be mentioned amongst names like Arch Bishop Benson Idahosa, Pa Akindayomi, Apostle Ayo Babalola and such other names of God’s generals that have served God without considering their own gains, but that which must be brought to the name of God.

At least I had one experience of being under his ministration as a boy in the ‘80s when he held a programme at TBS – Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos, though I was at the time a Muslim.

The question therefore arises, is it true that such a man as this can die? I ask this against the background of what Jesus in John 8:51, “I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!" - John 8:51 – NLT. If the words of Jesus in this verse of scripture are to be taken serious then we will all agree that Prophet Obadare is not DEAD! Except Jesus was a liar.

But you and I know that Jesus does not lie; His words are true. So what then did He mean when He said anyone that obeys His teaching will not die? You see, the word death is used for those who do not have relationship with God through Christ, while for the children of God the expression is ‘pass on to be with God.’ Yes, it is mere change of address, because life continues at the bosom of Christ.

I therefore use this opportunity to encourage anyone reading this to get it straight with God, so that when that time comes and the curtain is closed on your life, you would not die, rather pass on to be with the Lord.

Good bye Prophet Obadare, till we see again at the feet of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Written by Abiodun Mabadeje (MSA)

Speaker/Trainer, Author/Publisher, Actor/Acting Instructor, Counselor/Minister and MC. 08023771690, 08135891291, 08170023356.

abiodun.mabadeje@gmail.com,

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