A TEAM OF HEROES!

Leicester City FC have just won the English Barclays Premier League title for the 2015/2016 season following Tottenham Hotspurs' inability to beat Chelsea FC at Stamford Bridge. It was unexpected and inconceivable at the start of the season that this would or could ever happen; yet a bunch of players who were never rated as champion material did the unimaginable! They succeeded Chelsea as champions of England and denied the so-called Top 4 from getting their hands on the trophy. They were a team of cast-offs and bargain buys written off before the season had even started, and led by a manager who had been sacked in five of his previous jobs!

But what was so special about this team anyway?

1. Never seen as possible threats to the more established teams in the Premier League, not much attention was paid to them. While other teams were willing to grind themselves to the ground when playing against the big teams like Chelsea, the Manchester clubs, Arsenal, Liverpool and the rest, nobody took them seriously until it was too late.

2. The players all played for each other. No egos, no seeming stars with cockiness on their shoulders, just a bunch of guys who only wanted to play football to their hearts' content. And, boy! how they did! From the skipper Wes Morgan to Kante, Robert Huth, Jamie Vardy, Mahrez, Okazaki, Ulloa, Schlopp, Fuchs, Drinkwater, Simpson, King, and the rest of the squad....everyone just put in a shift that was selfless and plain admirable.

3. They had a Manager in Claudio Ranieri who was a massive calming influence to the team. His strategies just seemed to click in every game. So far, with two games still remaining, they've lost only three. And even if they go on to lose the remaining two, it still won't matter none. While everyone else hardly gave his team a peek, Ranieri steered his wards brilliantly all the way to the top. With the right game plans and team talks he kept his boys grounded and they just kept shocking the Premier League week after week!

4. Their fans were just terrific all season. Never mind the narrow escape from the jaws of relegation the season before, they were still as passionate, committed and loyal to their darling team as they'd always been. Through thick and thin they stuck with them, and what a reward they got this season! Every Leicester City fan will probably not sleep for days to come and their die-hard support for their favourite team has definitely adorned their passionate hearts with pride.

Undoubtedly, this is a team of heroes. A true testament to what a true team means, togetherness, selflessness and commitment. These qualities could help bring out the excellence in a group of people. And it is also proof that money doesn't necessarily buy true success.

Let's give it to the new Champions of England! Leicester City! A team of heroes!

Where are the Hollywood movie producers?

HOW TO MAKE & KEEP YOUR MONEY

Learn how to tackle your money problems head-on in this season of seeming money dryness in our country. Learn how to make money for yourself.
Learn how to keep the money you make.

In my hot e-book, HOW TO MAKE & KEEP YOUR MONEY, you will definitely learn the above. And you will be glad you got your hands on this book.

It's just N1,500!

To get this book, you can pay into the account:

MICHAEL IBIORIKA....GTBANK.....0022782000

And after payment, kindly send me an email to "michaelibiorka@gmail.com" with the title "E-BOOK PAYMENT".

Once your payment is confirmed, you will receive your e-book within an hour.

40,000 AND COUNTING!

Someone once said to me that, "Your dreams cannot come true when you're asleep but when you're awake; when you get up and do something about them."

And God knows I dream too much! From when I remember being a small boy running all over the place announcing my myriads of dreams, things I hoped to be in the future - a pilot, boxer, footballer, an engineer, a doctor, a rich man, a cab driver (oh yes, I had that dream once, but please ask no further!) - till date, I cannot but wonder why I had so many. Maybe it's just in my DNA. Yet dreams truly don't just happen because you're the one who has them, it takes far much more than that to see them come to pass.

I've always wanted to express my thoughts through my writings and through the airwaves (radio and TV), and though it hasn't been as smooth sailing as I would have loved it to be, that it can even happen in the first place is something to be glad about and to give God unreserved praise for. So you can imagine my stunned mood when I heard a few days ago that my radio programme PAUSE & PONDER MOMENTS WITH MICHAEL IBIORIKA on 99.9 KISS FM ABUJA has an average weekly listenership of about 40,000! Yes, 40,000! I honestly thought it was around like 100 or a bit more...but 40,000 hit me hard! And I'm told the number could increase!

Which in itself is good news, truly; a vindication that the dream isn't just something that I wanted to do but something that needed to be done. I've always been motivated by a desire to help people improve their personal and financial lives by helping to improve their minds. And I realized that for me to do so, always providing quality information in its simplest form that can help people with positive decision-making was very necessary.

But then it is also humbling to know that so many people tune in weekly to hear what I have to say because their expectations will definitely put a weight on my shoulders to always deliver something of value to them regularly. And for me to be able to do so, only God can empower and guide me through with His abundant grace. I pray for His grace! And for everyone who wishes me well, your prayers would be most appreciated. And I must surely appreciate some people who have always believed that this could go far....Yinka Akinsulie, Michael Oladipo and Samuel Sofoluwe, three guys who kept prompting me. Thanks loads. Deborah Ekara, Solomon Ekene, Elias Bassey, Martins Damisa, Blessing Alfa, Eyza Icha and Pastor Temi Odejide all have warm shout-outs from me. Thanks for being great friends and motivators.

Dreams can be fun to have but what's more satisfying is the achievement of those dreams. Never relent in the pursuit of that which God has blessed you with especially when it's targeted at blessing and empowering people. My mission remains the same whether it's through my books, the radio programme, possibly TV in the future, or my other products that you should eagerly look forward to.

I am Michael Ibiorika and I really like people to always take out time to pause and ponder. Because in so doing, you could end up having a better perspective about your possible next action which in turn could benefit you more.

You are worth much more than you think!

P.S.
For those who reside in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, why not tune in to 99.9 KISS FM Abuja every Monday morning by 9.55am.... You will be blessed! 

SOMETHING FOR NOTHING

We all dream of a good life. We all feel and believe we deserve it. We all want a step-up from our present level or circumstance to something better, something way, way better than what we presently experience. And it doesn't really matter where we presently are in life, both the poor and the rich always want a better life.

Everybody wants a status change. The poor want to be rich and the rich want to be richer. Some seek societal influence and so aspire for political, business or educational power. Politicians want to be gods over men, businesses want to be sole suppliers of goods or services, while academicians want to be respected for being the "best' brains on planet earth. The list is endless.

Quite a number of people with dreams really think their dreams will just come to pass because they are the ones who have them. They believe that because they have some great ideas in their heads it automatically equates to success about to happen as their ideas cannot be faulted as they most likely must be the best ones around. Imagine then the frustrations that follow when they're hit with reality, that just because you have a potential world-conquering idea doesn't mean you will actually conquer the world. For in truth, only the ideas that work will actually rule.

Serious effort must be made and a price paid for dreams to truly come to pass. My acronym for PRICE is PAY RELEVANT INSTITUTIONS COSTS EXPECTED. There is a cost we must pay at different levels and to different institutions if we truly desire to succeed....you must pay the cost of proper study if you want to excel in your exams; you must pay the cost of building sincere friendships if you want to excel in your relationships; you must pay the cost of delivering true and enduring value to clients (potential and actual) if you want to excel in your business, etc. 

We cannot expect to get something for nothing. It's like gambling with your life's dream. Nothing just happens in this life. It takes time to build anything good because to build involves a process and that process involves effort. 

Locate the relevant price you need to pay for your dreams and determine to pay it to the fullest. Then watch your dreams happen for real.

·      

WHAT'S STOPPING YOU?

A simple question.

But is your answer going to be that simple? The major goal you have in life, does it have just one challenge or a multitude of challenges? What you set out to achieve in your life this year, has it been an easy ride so far, a wobbly one or it just hasn't kicked off yet? Who or what do you think is to blame if things haven't yet moved at the pace that you would have really wanted them to? You? Other people? The government? The economy? Your physique? The area or house you presently live in? Your background? Your family? The school you went to or never got the chance to attend? Your employer? Your employees? The type of cloth accessories you have? Everything else that I haven't mentioned?

What's stopping you?

We should all ask this question to ourselves because our candid answer(s) to it will determine a lot for us. Real as some or most of the above obstacles may seem to us, no obstacle goes out of the way except you either push it aside or step over it or simply go round it. And whatever you choose to do, running away from any obstacle is never a positive move.

People abound the world over who have stepped over their challenges and pushed their lives' fortune to another level. I've always wanted to write books ever since I was a teenager growing up years back and I certainly have had my own share of obstacles and challenges, from family members to so-called close friends. But I knew that an excuse for not pursuing a strong lifelong dream would forever leave me miserable for as long as I live, so I finally bottled up the determination to write and publish the books I believed were residing inside me...no matter what. As at today, I have two books out and the possibility of one or two more being released later this year. I also have been able to go on radio with a special programme that had first resonated in my heart some five or so years ago. There are many people in the world today who have all overcome various adversities or challenges to eventually achieve their dreams and are now successful.

I haven't yet achieved all I'd like to but I know that life isn't a sprint and I'm willing to take it one positive step after another. I'm willing to ignore the obstacles standing before me and instead concentrate on where I'm going until I eventually get there. And I know I'll get there...soon. I no longer give myself an excuse.

You have so much going for you that you just won't be fully fulfilled except you accomplish what is laid up in your heart. The world is waiting for your unveiling, but it's not the world that will unveil you to it. You will need to look those obstacles and challenges in the eye and decide how your future will be.

Will anything still stop you?

P.S.
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A LITTLE MONEY HOMEWORK...

Money, money, money!

I need it and so do you. We all have bills to pay and things we'd love to acquire. Places we'd like to travel to or businesses we'd like to start. Without money we really can't buy or pay for something we want.

For many money is an enigma and an intriguing thing. One moment we have a bit, the next moment that bit has gone...and we can't really say where it went! In this article today, I will try and give you a little help on how best to account for the little money you have and how to possibly ensure you stop losing so much every time. It's just a simple homework.

Every year for the past seven years, I've always had a target of savings I would love to have by December 31st. Because I've always been aware of the reality that money speedily leaves my hands to deal with a myriad of things, I realized that if I wasn't careful I would end up having little or nothing by the end of the year and subsequently nothing to kick-off the new year. I couldn't really explain why my money was always either not enough or even non-existent by year end! 

So I came up with a plan to first of all track all the money I was making and all the money I was spending. I realized it was the only way I could be close to being certain as to how my money was moving. And to do that I got myself a book, which I now demarcated  into half. The first section was to record every  money that entered my hands, whether as salary, a loan, a gift or from any small business I must have done. And the second section was to similarly record every money that left my hands irrespective of what I spent it on or to whom I gave money to; as long as it left my hands, it entered that section.

If you're able to do likewise, what will become very glaring to you as it was for me, is that quite a lot of money actually passes through your hands in a whole year, but because the money doesn't come to you in one major bulk, you rarely realize that some good money had been in your possession over time. But once you can as much as you can keep a record of every naira and kobo that comes into your possession, you see it clearly. When I did it, I was pretty surprised at how much went through my hands in one whole year! You should do the same thing with the second half of the book, recording as much as you can all the money you spend no matter what it is spent on.

Collating both what comes in and what goes out on a monthly basis helps you to have a good idea of how you're using your money, and then you can now critically look at the things you've been spending money on and ask yourself if you truly need to spend money on them. There's a good possibility that you will see and identify a few items that you really could do without and that you may just need to stop wasting money on. And once you're able to do that, money usually spent in that direction on a steady monthly basis will stop going there and can now be saved every month. Imagine being able to identify one N20,000 somewhere that you spend monthly (as was in my own case) that you really don't have to...in 12 months that will be a whopping N240,000 saved!!!!

The pleasant surprise that gave me further emboldened my resolve to continue keeping my records and subsequently helped me to identify some unnecessary spending habits of mine, which further helped me to put a stop to such spending, and instead redirect such money into savings.

I really think you should try this for yourself because the inherent reward is quite immense and very satisfying. You will be surprised to find out that you've always had the money you anxiously always look for in all your daily or monthly hustles.

P.S.

Comments about this piece would be most welcome. You can either comment on my blog or on my Facebook  wall.

Thanks.

YOU NEED TO PAUSE & PONDER A MOMENT...

In this world we all presently live in, everybody is in a rush to meet up with many things that are themselves a rush! We are in a hurry to get to work, in a hurry to get out of work, in a hurry to dive into relationships and in a hurry to dive out of them! We are in a hurry to gain admission into higher institutions of learning and in the next breath very eager to quickly finish. We are in a hurry to decide what professions our children should pursue or what status of persons they must end up marrying. The list is very long indeed. We are just so much in a hurry and make decisions every day quite oblivious of the repercussions of every single one, the repercussions on others or on our environment.

We truly need to slow down. No matter how hasty we are to do something or to get anywhere, we will never be able to outrun time. No matter what we do, time will never stop for our sakes. So it is in our own best interest that we slow down, pause and properly think about what we are either rushing after or rushing into, for we could very well just be saving our lives or futures by doing so.

Taking full control of our lives begins with actually being able to control how we behave in the face of pressing or calm situations. Every time we have is actually an opportunity to make a mark, whether positive or negative, and the decisions we make therein are very key to the results that follow therewith.

Knowing where to go or what to do per time is very important to every human being and so one could understand the reason behind some of our haste, especially if we feel or believe we simply cannot afford not to do something quickly or get an expected result soonest. But the fallout may not be favorable to others around us or to the vicinity in which we find ourselves.

It will cost you nothing to calm down a bit to properly weigh up your available options before you eventually go ahead with what you've planned. In some cases, if you do slow down a bit, you would eventually realize that your original option wasn't the right one to take but that you had allowed the pressures of either time or other people or possibly circumstances dictate what you really should have done. 

You want to feel relieved and fulfilled when you've taken a decision, don't you? So my personal suggestion to you is that you simply pause and ponder before you make that decision; it could be really worth your while in gold!

P.S.

In a few days from now, one of my pet projects and dreams will hit the Abuja radio airwaves. It's aptly called PAUSE & PONDER MOMENTS WITH MICHAEL IBIORIKA. So for all inhabitants of Abuja and its environs, be on the lookout for this radio programme as I'm very sure it will bless and benefit you richly every week. You can afford not to bother but do you really want to take that chance? Kindly pause and ponder a moment and be blessed beyond your wildest dreams. I promise you, you will love it.