Essays, Articles & Tales

Dubbed the grandfather of self-help, this giant of an author, speaker, and phenomenal influencer of the ages, Napoleon Hill is a great mentor to have in your corner, on your journey of becoming your best self. Napoleon Hill Napoleon Hill was an American self-help author best known for his book "Think and Grow Rich," which has sold millions of copies worldwide. Hill was born in 1883 in Wise County, Virginia, and began his career as a journalist and writer at a young age. He is known for his work on the power of positive thinking and its role in personal success. Hill conducted extensive research on the lives of successful people and developed a set of principles that he believed could be used to achieve success in any field. He spent many years studying the habits and characteristics of successful individuals and documenting his findings in his writings. Hill's work has significantly influenced the self-help and personal development movement, and his ideas are still widel...

Continuing our series, I bring you another great author and self-mastery advocate, loved and renowned for his amazing contribution to the growth and development of human potential. His works push the boundaries of what we consider possible,  breaking previous limitations held in the mind, in different fields, one book at a time. Timothy Ferris Timothy Ferris is an American entrepreneur, author, and podcast host. He is best known for his books "The 4-Hour Work Week" and "Tools of Titans," as well as his podcast "The Tim Ferriss Show," which features interviews with successful people from various fields. "The 4-Hour Work Week" is a self-help book that offers a framework for achieving financial independence and maximizing productivity. The book covers topics such as outsourcing, automating income streams, and reducing time spent on unimportant tasks.  One key idea in the book is the suggestion to outsource and automate income streams to free up time...

Self-mastery is a journey of becoming our highest version, incorporating what we learn from books, research materials, and daily life experiences. Check out Vol. 1 in the previous post before reading Vol. 2. Below are two more books from the phenomenal Dr. Jordan B. Peterson. 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos "12 Rules for Life" is a self-help book that offers practical advice for living a more meaningful and fulfilling life. It is based on Peterson's years of experience as a clinical psychologist and draws on a wide range of sources, including psychology, philosophy, and religious texts as well. The book is organized around 12 "rules" that are designed to help readers find meaning and purpose in their lives and navigate the challenges and complexities of modern life. These rules include: 1. Stand up straight with your shoulders back: This rule is about physical posture and the importance of holding yourself with confidence and pride. By standing up straig...

The self-mastery journey involves a realization that no one is coming to save us. We stop playing the blame game and decide to pick ourselves up from the depressing state of affairs. This journey begins with a step-by-step acknowledgment of our roles in our current unfavorable life conditions. We declare "enough is enough" as we venture into the world of books, coaches, seminars, interviews, positive mindset influencers, online, offline, and self-reflecting via meditation. We all get to this point in different phases of life. Some of us require a serious dose of life crises. Others may naturally awaken as age and maturation occurs. This difficult truth hits us, and we open our minds to self-awareness, personal responsibility, accountability, and patience with the process, realizing that the decades of damage wouldn’t be reversed in a month or two. We withdraw from our normal daily routine, carving out time to digest new information, and incorporating our findings to enable us...

Socialize, Serve, Sell (Contd.) Some of us have had a smooth life, paved by the goodwill generated by the network effect of our family name. Making it a point of interest to form meaningful bonds with neighbors and acquaintances becomes paramount, as a rich network of friends will develop bonds with like-minded souls who become family. Their contribution to our general well-being cannot be overemphasized.  Service to humanity is a huge component of our growth journey.  When we give of ourselves, we enrich our life experience.  Selfless living is a skill that takes time to develop, as we are born selfish by default. Giving initiates a universal principle that ensures we receive in return.  It  unlocks our "abundance mindset", creating avenues for more resources to flow into our orbit.  For example; t eaching a topic helps us understand the subject matter better, and a s we offer a helping hand, we strengthen our hand as well.  L istening to our neighbor...

  Practice, Produce, Publish Creators are always up to something good, daily stretching their imagination to bring about a desired outcome. Busy hands yield great rewards. Practice what you learn. You master it by producing your version, to prove to yourself that you have mastered it.  You easily allow the world to pay you for it when you are convinced of your mastery. Until then, you might struggle with impostor syndrome. You need to develop the habits of repetition and steady practice  to commit ideas to memory. Doing something you once thought about completes the cycle of creation. Write, write, and write some more, to relieve mental stress. Just do it. Explore that thought which was once a crazy idea in your mind. Package it into a product and launch it into the market. Good products are great rewards to their creator - a purchase is merely a bonus.  The world could benefit from that spark of creation that began as a figment of your imagination, now available in ...

Harnessing the Power of Visualization: Overcoming OCD Visualization is a vital skill, needed by every creative mind. The ability to sit with an idea, develop its components and expand its potential mentally, will serve you beyond words of affirmation.  When you speak a thought into existence, holding vivid images will help the manifestation process, as emotions get involved - creating the experience of fulfillment in the mind.  Ever wonder how Nigerian creatives manage to dominate their field of endeavor, with total disregard for all signs of oppression, marginalization, or depression? With mental health awareness way below average, Psychotherapists have once labeled Nigeria to be the world's happiest country, even without depression treatment. The visualization of success practiced by an average Nigerian hustler in Lagos or the UK (home and abroad) should be a case study in psychiatry, as Nigerians lead the world in many fields. From   entertainment to academia, Nigerian...

MENTAL HACKS Meditation - The Psychological First Aid  Meditation helps to calm the monkey mind, whose natural tendency is to jump from one thought to another, with little to no positive outcome. Fear, worry, stress, and anxiety can be brought under control via meditation, and this should be your psychological first aid before you pop any pills. T he mind derives benefits from being calm, and this is the best self-help for anxiety. Simply relax - Life is not that deep (LOL). PS: Avoid the Nigeria Stock Exchange, Nigerian Newspapers, and Gossip Blogs. Your mind is the source of all suffering, heavily impacted by the kind of media we consume. Social media is a chief contributor to the mental health crisis, so to stay creative, regulating my screen time became necessary. I chose to block out time for relaxation and meditation. After a short meditation session, I feel a boost in my ability to focus on tasks. Focus is regained when we slow things down, which greatly reduces post-traumat...