Author: Josh

By Josh Okello

In some way, the amount of stress we get from work is directly proportional to level of success we get. In this case, the higher the stress levels, the greater the chances of getting higher rewards and that is how it should be. This does not mean that stress leads to  mega success.

In markets today, there are small risk takers and mega risk takers. Entrepreneurs are known for their ability to absorb stress with strong hopes that they will get better rewards out of it.  If you are committed towards solving a big challenge and if you do it right, then you are going to reap all the benefits. What most people focus on is how big the challenge they are going through is and forget their ability to solve the challenge. My statistics professor once told us that “it is easy to panic than to do math.” Any time you meet a tough challenge, it is important to first position yourself above the challenge. This way, you are in control and not the challenge controlling you.

Human beings were blessed with one of the greatest tool ever and that is our brains. Often times it is easy to panic than to solve a problem and that is the wrong way to handle work stress. The difference between successful people and mediocre achievers is the resiliency to take the worst beatings.

No stress is big enough to challenge those who fully believe in their efforts. Most challenges we meet on the way are questions asked by fellow men and if we do not have an answer then we shift to panic mode. Leaders who see value in their efforts understand that there is nothing that can challenge them to change their minds on what they are passionate about. If you strongly believe in your efforts, you can achieve it all. Believe.

© Joshua Okello 2015.

Joshua Okello is a B.A graduate in Business Administration, International Development and Philosophy. He is also the author of the book Strategies of Entrepreneurial Leadership He has exceptional skills in organizing, coordinating projects and capacity building initiatives with key emphasis on livelihood programs; microfinance through savings and credit led models; business development services and entrepreneurial leadership. He is also the founder and Executive Director of Succeed Africa Relief Organization, a Canadian Christian Organization geared towards giving hope and transformation in lives of the chronically poor in Africa.

“Success is a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.” –Jim Rohn

By Guest Blogger Scott Rowsick 

Jim Rohn was practically an encyclopedia of wisdom.  There’s nothing flowery or audacious about that quote, either.  Rohn was never a Twain or Rumi.  That’s what makes it so wise.  It’s simple.  It’s direct.  It’s true. 

Last week I cited Aristotle’s famous “We are what we repeatedly do” quote.  Rohn’s words are rooted in the same intuition.  If we are what we repeatedly do, and we develop and practice habits or disciplines, and these disciplines are a means to achieve own definition of success, are we not, then, a success?  Even taking the subjectivity of success into consideration, Rohn’s ingenious quote still holds true because we pick and choose our own “simple disciplines”.  The key then, is in the continual striving—the daily action—the discipline to try and become a better you.

What disciplines should we practice, then?  That depends completely on our individual definitions of success.  What is it you want to become?  Your goals will determine your disciplines.  Take your goals and break them into their component parts.  Take your biggest, baddest, scariest goal—the one you don’t tell too many people about because you think they’ll laugh at you.

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Let’s take a look at money.  As a disclaimer, it is important to note that no amount of money will guarantee happiness for all people, while no amount of indebtedness will guarantee misery.  Monetary figures, however, are a common and practical means by which we can relate goals and success.  And the magic number is one million.  What if your breakthrough goal was to attain an average yearly income of one million dollars (after taxes)?

To put that into perspective, if you’re paid on a biweekly basis, each of your paychecks would amount to over $38,000.  You could literally buy two BMW 3-series every single month.  It would be stupid, but it could be done.

Even the vice presidents at my work only make 1/10^th of that!  And besides, I only make $45,000 now. The only way I’m getting to seven figures is if I put away as much of my money as I can for retirement and hope for the best.

If this is your first thought, please meet with your manager and ask politely, yet firmly, for him to return your soul.  They’ve clearly taken it from you.

We all have times when we lose sight of ourselves, when we don’t see our true abilities.  Life’s demands are many, and we are but one.  Should that steal your courage, though?  The vast majority of us have stages in our lives where we are dead set on achieving our dreams, only to have a small hiccup derail the train for good.  We set out to start reading the books, designing a business plan, calling on potential mentors, joining business groups—doing something.  But then a tough week comes up at work and you have to work overtime.  But then, the water boiler goes out and you have to replace it.  But then the kids get sick and you have to get them nurse them back to normal.  And then the ball game is on.  And then your favorite show starts a new season.  Then, that new restaurant opens up and has happy hour specials you just can’t miss.  And then those books start collecting dust, you have a file on your desktop you haven’t opened in months, you have names in your phone’s contacts that you don’t remember, and you’re unsubscribing from business organization newsletters that clog your inbox.  “Work got tough” you’ll say.  “I couldn’t find the time” you’ll say.  It ends up being that your only true discipline is being undisciplined.  You’ve lost self-control.  You’re unconscious.  I mean, truly, would you consciously decide to partake in activities that sabotage your dreams?

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There’s some disconnect that happens along the way, and that disconnect is two-fold.  One side of it is the idea in your mind that the effort you need to put in on any particular day to say you’ve done something to further yourself in the achievement of your dreams is too much.  In economic terms, our demand for action towards the achievement of our dreams is highly elastic (as the price of taking action goes up, our willingness to take that action goes down by an equal or greater measure).  How many times have you unconsciously decided that the effort you needed to put in after a long day’s work was too much to justify?  It’s just easier to get home, watch a little TV and get to sleep.  There’s just no time to do something meaningful.

The other side of it is focus.  You want to do all of these things with your life—you want to accomplish your goals.  But there are so many disparate and moving parts to your life that there is never any true focus.  You’re worried about your health, but healthy food is either more expensive or requires cooking.  You would cook to save money and become healthier, but it takes too much time.  The gym also takes time—significant time.  That’s time you could be with your kids, or working on getting your side business going.  But you don’t know what business you want to start because you don’t know how you can leverage your time and money in the best way, you haven’t gauged the market, or hashed out your ideas with your family or potential business partners.  There are a million different things going on in your mind, and this obfuscation of focus is killing your conscious ability to get ahead.

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How do we deal with these problems?  How do we overcome the elastic nature of our willingness to take action?  And how do we focus our attention, and sharpen that image in our minds of our amazing future?  We take a few simple disciplines, and practice them every day. 

Right now, think of three things you want to accomplish in the next five years.  I would recommend they come from different areas of your time—family, financial, and health—but they can be anything.  If you don’t have time to do it now, stop reading right here and come back to it when you have ten minutes to spare.  Once you’ve got those three things written down, write down one thing you can do by this day next year that will help you in the accomplishment of each goal.  Once you’ve written those, decide what you can do by this time next month to help you get where you want to be next by this time next year.  And, finally, once you have your one month goal, decide what you can do today, for each of your three goals.  Rewrite this list every single day.

What you do today, what you do now, literally creates your future.  So at the end of a hard day, when you don’t feel like it, or you think you can’t do anything meaningful to help reach your dreams, look at your list.  It’s now narrow and focused enough so you have a target to hit.  Become disciplined.  Practice every day.  Build-up your mental inertia so that when you’re tired after a long day, you can’t go to sleep checking off those to-do’s.  It will literally stress you out more to sit and waste the day.

So what is it that you can do right now?  If you’re reading something like this, you’re already on the right track.  But it’s time to stop to reading for the time being and do something.  Drop down and do some push-ups, call that company you’ve been eyeing-up, or start writing your business plan.  Take action, every day!

By Josh Okello

Are you ready to risk it all? Risk tolerance contributes to higher chances of succeeding in anything you set your mind in. Great achievers are those who dare to try despite their limiting factors. The worst thing that can ever happen to you is failing to achieve your goal and remember if it doesn’t kill you, then it can only make you stronger. To increase your risk tolerance, you have to:

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Cut all “what ifs”

Doubt is a major problem that hinders great achievers from realizing their true potentials. Nothing great has ever been achieved without risk. Risk it all but remember to only take calculated risks. In my book, Strategies of Entrepreneurial Leadership, I differentiate risks and uncertainties. Risks are the foreseeable hurdles on your way while uncertainties are the unexpected barriers. For more, on risk and uncertainties, consider getting a copy of my first book.

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Think Positively

Results are the outcome of what we put in. If we plant laziness, we can only reap laziness, if we plant hard work we can get great harvest, if we plant doubt, we can only harvest doubt. What do you plant? Positive thinking takes you half-way to success but positive implementation takes you past your expected goal. Think positive.

Associate with the Successful

I was not very smart in chemistry. Organic chemistry gave me hell of a life. It is a course that distinguishes the students going for medicine and those going for arts other fields. Because I know I was weak in Chemistry, I built alliances with students who were great in Chemistry. All I had to offer them during discussions was strong background in Physics and Biology. Who are in your alliance? What do they bring on the table? And what do you give them back? Build alliances with those who have achieved or are working towards being achievers. Risk tolerance is a mindset that you can slowly train yourself to have.

© Joshua Okello 2015.

Joshua Okello is a B.A graduate in Business Administration, International Development and Philosophy. He is also the author of the book Strategies of Entrepreneurial Leadership He has exceptional skills in organizing, coordinating projects and capacity building initiatives with key emphasis on livelihood programs; microfinance through savings and credit led models; business development services and entrepreneurial leadership. He is also the founder and Executive Director of Succeed Africa Relief Organization, a Canadian Christian Organization geared towards giving hope and transformation in lives of the chronically poor in Africa.

By Josh Okello

Cracking the financial code is very easy and simple than we complicate it.  It is not a rocket science yet a lot of people spend their entire lives scratching their heads on how to make money or have it in abundance. Too much money isn’t enough money, the only enough money is a well budgeted money. So do you have a budget or are you in the leading category of the people who work from pay-check-to-pay-check and save nothing? Seat back, relax as I am about to crack the financial code for you:

1. Spend Less Than You Earn

I wish I could simplify it further but it cannot get any simpler. If you earn a minimum wage, aim at spending less than 10 dollars a day. It does not matter what people say or think about your expenditure, what is important is that you achieve your financial goals. When I was starting up, I lived on cheap canned foods and bought my groceries on sale. After doing the math, I was spending less than 15 dollars a week on food because I would bring my homemade lunch with me to work. (I still do). Cut those unnecessary expenditures and be honest with your friends and tell them that you are saving for a given goal.

2. Ask Financial Questions

These are questions that I still ask myself to date before I spend a dime. “How will I see the value of whatever I am buying one year from today?” Will the value increase or decrease? Will I be satisfied with my expenditures then or not? Where else could I have invested that money to multiply? What if I saved it? Could it earn me something bigger like a land, a dream car, dream house, engagement ring, business suit, start my own business?

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3. Be Honest With Yourself

You are earning a minimum wage, so why live a Silicon Valley life? Never be ahead of yourself. Accept your financial challenges and work towards overcoming them. No financial challenge is big enough to not overcome and there is no money big enough to not finish. People go bankrupt therefore trade wisely. Discuss with your partner and live a life even if it means starting from the bottom.

4. Avoid Debt

Your credit card is a big blessing in your life but you intentionally choose to make it a curse. Never use your credit card unless you are totally out of options. The percentage interests you are paying to the bank are ridiculous if you crunch the numbers therefore try and pay your debt as soon as possible. Never pay minimum premiums they ask you for, if you can pay the whole amount at once, do it and if you cannot then pay more than just premiums every month. You will get out of debt fast but not easy.

5. Spend from Your Chequing Account

Some banks charge you exorbitant prices when you spend directly from your savings. Learn to save by using your chequing account. Never use your savings account to pay for groceries and if that is the only way then transfer the funds to your chequing then use them from that account.

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6. Get an Extra Source of Income

Get a part time job, clean cars for people, do lawns for those who can pay you, walk dogs on your neighbourhood. Are you gifted in a given area or are you skilled and experienced in a given field? How about changing it into a money cow? Personally, I write on business, leadership, entrepreneurship and coaching and that is how I make my extra revenues. Build a number of revenue generation methods and save until you achieve your financial goals. Better off, ask yourself, why do you want to be financially stable? If you can answer that question then you are halfway to financial stability. You must first deny yourself to accumulate in abundance.

7. Learn to Give

The late South African Reggae artists Lucky Dube sang, “Blessed is the hand that giveth, than the hand that taketh.” Learn to give and you will get it back. Take your time and volunteer with churches, organizations, businesses, not-for-profits and such. You will meet people who might be interested in your skills. It is great to be economical but worst to be a miser. When you get, remember those who have not. Be human with your blessings.

© Joshua Okello 2015.

Joshua Okello is a B.A graduate in Business Administration, International Development and Philosophy. He is also the author of the book Strategies of Entrepreneurial Leadership He has exceptional skills in organizing, coordinating projects and capacity building initiatives with key emphasis on livelihood programs; microfinance through savings and credit led models; business development services and entrepreneurial leadership. He is also the founder and Executive Director of Succeed Africa Relief Organization, a Canadian Christian Organization geared towards giving hope and transformation in lives of the chronically poor in Africa.

By Scott Rowsick

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”

Aristotle said it first. We as humans have known this simple fact for literally thousands of years. We are what we repeatedly do—our habits. Many of us go as far as to identify ourselves in this manner.

“What do you do?”

“Oh, I’m a sales director.”

Or “I’m a therapist.”

Or “I’m a construction worker.”

We put in 35 to 65 (or more) hours per week doing these things, so they become who we are. These responses become automatic. But aren’t there other things we do on a regular basis with which we do not identify? I don’t think many of us would proudly boast being a sleeper, though we do it 50 60 hours per week. We aren’t commuters, though we do that five hours or more per week. We aren’t over eaters, though many of us do that (guilty as charged).

We do, however, identify ourselves with the things in which we find the most pleasure. I’m a parent I’m a husband. I’m a wife. I’m a musician. We identify with these things because they bring great joy to our lives.

Take a look at your habits. From the moment you wake up, you’re entrenched in your daily habits. The morning routine, the work day, dinner, the evening after work—no matter your shift or schedule, you’re going to go through a myriad of routines and habits that have been formed and reinforced over the years. And these habits are the building blocks of our days, while our days are the pieces of the mosaic of our lives. We are our habits.

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In this comes great power. I cannot say it more simply than this; if you change your habits, you will change your life. Habits are formed by our brains in order to make our brains and lives more efficient. Without them, we would have to consciously think about everything—which side of bed we get out on, whether we turn the coffee pot on before or after we pour our cereal, which leg to put in our pants first, which apps to check on our phones first, etc. We consciously think less because of the habits we’ve adopted, and our brains have time and space for more important things as a result.

Some habits are destructive, though. And these destructive habits aren’t just limited to addictions like smoking, overeating, or drugs. Habits can be so slight that we aren’t aware of them. Some develop the habit to bight their nails when they’re nervous. Some rock a leg. I personally have a habit of touching my nose (weird, I know).

Or, I should say, had a habit of touching my nose.I couldn’t help it. It just happened. Anytime I would zone out, I would come back to reality with the side of my index finger on the tip of my nose. People thought I was picking my nose. It started to get worse.

I started touching my nose when I was nervous. Then I started to do when I was anxious. Touching your face releases hormones that comfort you, and people often touch their faces automatically as a subconscious reaction to an uncomfortable situation. This is why interviewers think those who fidget or touch their necks or faces during interviews are being disingenuous. If you are completely comfortable with your answer, you wouldn’t feel the need to touch your face. I had a personal encounter with this problem throughout my last year of college.

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As it turns out, my resume had gotten me plenty of interviews coming out of college, even in a competitive market. I’m also great at interviewing. I had the tools. But I couldn’t stop touching my face. This one bad habit made me look disingenuous to a slew of potential employers, and, therefore got received only three average to below average offers.

Look at what it is you do in your daily life that may be hindering you in achieving your goals? Do you overeat? Just one cookie, it won’t make a difference. Do you go to restaurants and spend too much money on the weekends? I have money in my bank account, and I worked hard this week so I deserve it.

Do you touch your nose? It doesn’t hurt anyone, and it gives me something to do with my hands. Try to think of what you do, why you do it, and what you can do to replace that habit. For me, I knew touching my nose was bad. I knew I had to stop it. At the very least, it just didn’t look professional. So I put a rubber band on my wrist and told myself that every time I caught myself touching my nose, I would snap my wrist with the rubber band. I replaced one habit with another, and linked the replacement habit to pain. Soon, I didn’t have either habit.

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If you overeat, it’s most likely due to stress or boredom. These emotions trigger your habit. Catch yourself in the moments when you’re triggered, and replace the habit. It will take some time. Your brain has a sort of inertia to it; it doesn’t want to stop action A until action A is acted upon by action B. When you feel boredom and want to eat due to it, take a short walk. If you’re in an office, walk over to a colleague in a different department. If you’re at home, walk around your house, block, or apartment complex. Just be sure it’s something you can sustain doing many times over.

If you spend too much money at restaurants on the weekend, it’s probably due to an overall habit of spending too much money. Most of the people I’ve encountered that do this tend to be those who commonly buy frivolous items that sit on shelves or in closets, or give them some sort of status. This bad habit will take more time and concerted effort to fix. But it starts with getting to that grocery store and buying food that you will enjoy cooking, making that first Saturday night meal at home, and enjoying your time there.

Replacing the bad habit with the good one and having the discipline to be patient with yourself as you do it is the key to all of this. After that’s been mastered, you master your life. You can begin to enjoy reading books and learning new skills instead of wasting the night in front of the television. You can go to the park for a run instead of going to the bar for a drink. The possibilities are endless—you can practically become a new person. Aristotle said we are our habits. So try it. Be something new today, something better; a better you.