The Power of Words

Good Morning Brilliant and Excellent People,


I look forward to sharing with you Brilliant and Excellent tips for attaining your goals and fulfilling your Purpose.

We should always be conscious of the fact that we are creators and we can use our words to create and construct, one of the best ways we can use the force of words is by encouraging others.

Sometime ago, I walked into a bank to open a foreign account precisely in the united states. The customer relations officer was so professional and polite and at the end of the exercise, she said “Now you are about to be famous, sign these documents and the sky is the limit” those words sound so simple but they were an encouragement to me. I decided to do more on my present goal at that moment and decided to put my name on the hall of fame.

Few years later, I went back to the same bank and I met same lady. I decided to also reciprocate by encouraging her with my words. I told her. You are meant to be a director in this bank as you have everything it takes to be there. We got talking and kept communicating. Few years later, she has been in just up there in management team of the bank!

Words are no doubt the most powerful force of humanity. Words carry weight and reflect who we are. Irrespective of where we have reached in life, words will determine the final destination.

Human beings are often compelled to give verbal contributions to every action or passing feeling, we are moved to voice out our thoughts or impressions about situations or even other individuals. We randomly dump the contents of our minds without regard to the significance or ripple effect.

Our words are powerful weapons that can build or destroy someone even when we are least aware. When speaking, we should speak with care and mindfulness, in a way to signify peace and compassion in our characters.


Always speak the truth, speak without exaggerating and be kind in your tones. While we focus on the words we speak, we should also take note on the tone in which we use to express those words. Tones are very important when speaking as it can translate a word into several meanings.

RULES TO FOLLOW

• Listen more than you speak
• Be cautious
• Think before you speak
• Be Polite
• Speak positively
• Be encouraging

For more details, you can contact the BPE team @ www.solomonempire.com or download BPE tool app on google play store.

To be a member of the BPE team of Solomon’s Empire, kindly send a mail to bpe@solomonempire.com.

Integrity

Good Morning Brilliant and Excellent People,

I look forward to sharing with you Brilliant and Excellent tips for attaining your goals and fulfilling your Purpose.

           

(The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires but in his integrity and is ability to affect those around him positively- BOB MARLEY)                                         

Kemi’s boss had informed her that a client’s order was about leaving the company’s warehouse for delivery. Few hours later she picked up the phone to call them when her boss walked in, he tells her that there’s a problem. “The product was accidentally damaged by the warehouse manager” he says. 

“There are some scratches on the surface, but this wouldn’t affect the product performance at all, if they complain we’ll blame it on the company that delivered it to us”.

Kemi sees a red flag immediately, feeling quite uncomfortable as her boss continues. “We need to be smart about this, I’ll just file a claim saying it was damaged on delivery. Don’t worry, the client might not even notice the damage.

As he leaves, she sits slowly at her desk, unsatisfied about the ideas. She knows it’s dishonest to blame the delivery company for a damage not done by them. It’s also dishonest to deceive her clients and give them an imperfect product.

Now, often times many of us are caught between making decisions that define our personality and beliefs. Do we follow the crowd or stand by our moral values? Is it better to gain with deceit or loose with honesty. Many times we are faced with situations that may seem insignificant and we fail to remember that even the smallest actions can have an impact on our self-esteem or reputation.

Integrity simply means being sincere and genuine in your words and actions. It means having strong moral principles in everything you do. In ethics, integrity means accuracy in one’s values, methods, measures and outcomes.  The word integrity stems from the Latin word ‘integer’ which means  “whole and complete”, therefore integrity requires an inner sense of ‘wholeness’ and consistency of character. When you have integrity, people should be able to visibly see it through your personality. When you are ‘whole’ and consistent, there is only one YOU. You bring that same YOU wherever you are, regardless of the circumstance. You don’t leave parts of yourself behind. You don’t have a ‘work you,’ a ‘family you,’ ‘school you’ and a ‘social you.’ You are YOU all the time! Accurate and consistent.

Understanding the real definition of integrity, we will agree that it is actually difficult to have integrity 100% of the time. We aspire to have integrity with what we believe but sometimes, we mess up. Sometimes, our emotions get the best of us and we are unable to intentionally manage our behavior and actions. Sometimes, we don’t give ourselves permission to be our true selves out of fear of what others may think or due to an inability (in Kemi’s case) to truly ‘integrate’ the various parts of ourselves into ONE, complete WHOLE person.

3 WAYS TO BECOMING A PERSON OF INTEGRITY

1.      Be committed to being yourself: It starts with accepting yourself on your way to becoming a better you. Understand your limits and weaknesses without trying to be like someone else.

2.      Be true to your words: If you promise to do something, then do all you can to ensure that you get the job done. If you are unable to, simply explain to the person why you were unable to and offer to do it at a more comfortable time- that’s integrity. Don’t try to cover up your mistakes or believe that the person should understand your inadequacies.

3.      Be realistic to the task: When asked to do something or when you undertake a project for personal reasons, ask yourself, ‘is this something within my ability to do?’ Don’t struggle with a task you cannot complete and risk losing your integrity when you begin to make excuses. As you become proficient in your primary assignment, you may become more responsible and trustworthy but at the beginning, stay within the confines of what you can do and do it well.

ATTRIBUTES OF INTEGRITY

·         Self-control

·         Honesty

·         Comportment

·         Discipline

·         Self-respect

WHY INTEGRITY IS IMPORTANT

When you live a life of integrity, you open doors of mental freedom knowing that you have nothing to fear since you have nothing to hide. You never have to question your morale, past or present. Your hands are clean because you are honest in all your actions. Lastly, integrity secures your reputation and dignifies your actions.

Determine today to raise your level of preparation, determination and attitude towards your set goals.

For more details, you can contact the BPE team @ www.solomonempire.com or download BPE tool app on google play store.

To be a member of the BPE team of Solomon’s Empire, kindly send a mail to bpe@solomonempire.com.

Attitude towards Set Goals- RUSSIA 2018

Good Morning Brilliant and Excellent People,

I look forward to sharing with you Brilliant and Excellent tips for attaining your goals and fulfilling your Purpose.

We all have dreams and goals we want to achieve, some of us even already have plans for these goals, but the question is, what kind of preparation, effort and attitude do we have towards  achieving these goals?

The just concluded FIFA world cup tournament clearly explains it all! The players and their effort towards one goal ; The world cup. This competition which comes up every four years! Other football competition like the Premier League and host of others is held every year hence the attitude, effort and preparation  towards achieving the goal may be quite different. 

In other competitions, we think of the number of games to be played, probability and computation comes into the scene, and lastly complacency of repeating the same league over and over. The world cup  is different. All the players get to break records, make a name and finally win the cup for their country only once in four years therefore effort is maximized. This is evidenced by the quality of games played, penalties given and warning cards issued.

Also the attitude of students preparing for a class quiz, or mock exam will be totally different from that of the Final Examination.    These are also two distinct goals to be achieved; one bigger, the other smaller. The effort the student makes in preparing for the examination will definitely be greater than that of the class quiz. Take note: two goals, different efforts.

Now, in between setting and achieving a goal comes effort and attitude, preparation and ability to take risk . The level of your input will determine our achievements. An effort is literally a vigorous or determined attempt towards achieving a goal. Scientifically speaking, the effort towards a goal is directly proportional  to the achievement of such goal.   this simply means that the bigger the goal, the bigger the effort and vice versa.

Maybe, that goal that seems impossible or difficult to achieve just needs a harder effort, a little more push, a stronger determination. Nothing is impossible if you put a little more effort. With the right effort or more, we can achieve our goals.

ACHIEVING GREAT RESULTS

If goals and effort are proportional, it means that the result you are generating right now is as a result of the effort you are putting into achieving your goals. Many people take the step to write down what their goals are but they fail to take the necessary action to fulfill that goal. Taking extra effort may be stressful because it stretches you out of your comfort zone but the yields can be satisfying.

1.     Know what you want to achieve

2.     Write your goals down

3.     Identify the steps it will take to reach that goal

4.     Put in the required effort to achieve your goal, one step at a time

5.     Celebrate your successes and reach for higher goals

“Make each day count by setting specific goals to succeed, then putting forth every effort to exceed your own expectations.” Les Brown

Determine today to raise your level of preparation, determination and attitude towards your set goals.

or more details, you can contact the BPE team @ www.solomonempire.com or download BPE tool app on google play store.

To be a member of the BPE team of Solomon’s Empire, kindly send a mail to bpe@solomonempire.com.

THE AFTER EFFECT: WORDS AND ACTIONS

                                               

Good Morning Brilliant and Excellent People,

I look forward to sharing with you Brilliant and Excellent tips for attaining your goals and fulfilling your Purpose.

Life is a continuous chain of existence and human beings are recipients of information. In our everyday life we make deposits in others which have altered their behaviours or reactions to the contents of life. We all influence the mind-set of others without being fully aware of the impact. Many of us have stories to tell, either of failure or success, gain or loss, events, beliefs etc. All of these experiences wouldn’t be in existence without known or unknown contributions of others words or actions. Words carry weight, the effect of a spoken word or rude remark can cause an impact on an individual for as long as we could imagine. Our words can be someone’s courage to push further or reason to give up.

I delivered a speech at a conference early this year where I encouraged youths to pursue their dreams and avoid distractions that could discourage them. My practical aim that day was to boost their confidence and make them believe that their destiny was in their own hands. The response of these youths to my words of encouragement was amazing! There were cheers from every corner of the hall to my greatest surprise. It later dawned on me that maybe all that these youths wanted was a pat on the back or a little encouragement to keep pushing on towards their goals! 

Three months later, I was driving out of a car park when young man marched up to me beaming with smiles, I could hardly recognise him and was very certain that I had never met him before. We exchanged greetings and he introduced himself as one of the youths at that conference where I gave a speech. I wasn’t so surprised as in my line of work I tend to meet people who had once been my audience at different events, but the words of this young mad caused a tingle in my heart which made the rest of my day. He said “Sir I just want to thank you for making an impact in my life, after your speech that very day my mind-set turned around for good, I can still hear your voice in my head and I am finally believing in myself and pursuing me dreams”. Happiness rushed through my body immediately, I was indeed happy that my words had made a good impact and yielded good results. I stepped out of my car, gave him a handshake and a hug and we parted ways.

Another practical example could be that of a child who grew up in an abusive home, constantly witnessing his father physically abuse his mother. Two things are involved here; that child, if male, would grow up to be a violent father or be too weak to stand up to any form of abuse. This becomes the ripple effect of an information he received several decades ago.

What verbal or physical impact have you made in the life of another? Are you someone’s reason to press on or give up? Do your words and actions yield good fruit? The world could be a better place if we all watch what we say or do as we all have a role to play in the lives of others therefore the end products could either be healing or damage.

Studies have shown that meeting an average of three people per day or more, an average person is predicted to interact with approximately 80,000 people in a lifetime. Your interaction can go a long way in the lives of others. The world is what we make of it.

 HOW TO MANAGE YOUR WORDS AND ACTIONS POSITIVELY

·         Learn to carefully think before you say or do anything especially when under pressure. There should be a balance between your emotions and actual response. For example, when provoked buy a person or situation I mentally count from 1-10 before I say or act. The time used in counting is enough for me to process what kind of response I should actually give, setting my emotions aside.

·         Place yourself in shoes of the third party. How would I feel if I was spoken to harshly? Wouldn’t I want to be pardoned or understood as well?

·         Avoid negativity. Hurt people hurt people. What you receive is what you give, therefore we should create no room for negativity by carefully selecting the kind of company we keep, places we visit and lastly, what we feed our mind with.

For more details, you can contact the BPE team @ www.solomonempire.com or download BPE tool app on google play store.

To be a member of the BPE team of Solomon’s Empire, kindly send a mail to bpe@solomonempire.com.

Power Corrupts

Good Morning Brilliant and Excellent People,

I look forward to sharing with you Brilliant and Excellent tips for attaining your goals and fulfilling your Purpose.

I remember writing my last paper in high school (WAEC) as it is called in West Africa. Students on the day of their last papers find it easy to get their pay back done to prefects who have misused their positions and  done them wrong in the past. Knowing that they no longer can be punished by these prefects, they sometimes go to extreme length to prove their hurt by flaunting indiscipline behaviours.

Also as a tennis player, you feel so bad when an umpire makes a wrong call during a game. At that

point the umpire or referee in soccer has the power to decide the outcome of the game. Some of these decisions has led to fans or players bullying the referee after the game.

People often think abuse of power, authority and position is limited to only people in high places with lots of money and occupying government positions. Unfortunately, it is not always so, and many things can trigger the abuse of power, authority and position aside wealth and influence. Let’s take a few examples:

What about officials who are supposed to be protecting the citizens in one capacity or the other. Many times, you realise on the contrary that the same officials who are supposed to protect extort people, intimidate them and steal from them.

Finally, a young ambitious man who finally reaches management level begins to feel the need to throw his weight around. May lay off people who he perceives as threat to him and shut down people who have bigger ideas than he.

For all its worth, there are many other examples that can shows us that money and influence is not the only motive for abusing power, authority and position and in one way or another, we all may be found guilty if checked. Anybody with power can be corruptible, seeing your new found influence as a means to pay-back. Like the old saying goes, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Is it possible to occupy a position of power without feeling entitled and making other people’s lives miserable? Is it possible to be absolutely uncorrupted by power? I believe so and here are a few steps to ensure that.

1.      Let go quickly of hurts and disappointments: the more you focus on who or what wronged you, the easier it is to find a way to pay back wrong for wrong. By letting go of hurts and disappointments, you’ll be giving yourself peace.

2.      When making decisions, deal with facts: dealing with facts makes it easier to make decisions without bias, emotion or favouritism.

3.      Embrace the core of your humanity: this means to regularly check in with yourself, to always remind yourself that you are not indispensable. People helped you in your journey to being what you are now, thereby people can kick you out.

4.      Be genuinely kind: kindness is an act that never loses its ability to transform the giver and the receiver. Give when necessary and never withhold good from those who deserve it.

What to keep in mind

Power, authority and position is only a phase, this means that it won’t last forever. It is important to note that other people have been in that position before you and other people will be in that position after you, especially since you don’t know who those other people are, it is important to treat everyone with fairness and tolerance.

If you achieve power, remember your values and sustain your humanity. Use your power for good, helping others as well as gaining what you personally want.

If you are faced with a corrupt person in power, then if you want to persuade them, seek to understand the inner person. Beware of being corrupted yourself, drawing the line beforehand and never stepping over it. Powerful people recognize powerful attitudes. If you act as if you have power, then they may cede this to you. If you act as a weak underling, then they may persecute you as a victim. www.changingminds.org

 For more details, you can contact the BPE team @ www.solomonempire.com or download BPE tool app on google play store.

To be a member of the BPE team of Solomon’s Empire, kindly send a mail to bpe@solomonempire.com.