The trouble with self-improvement

“We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. -1 Corinthians 8:1  

The things that supposedly make us better tend to make us seem superior in comparison to others. Superior and inferior cannot exist without each other. A healthier body due to a well-planned diet and the discipline for exercising supposedly makes us look and feel better than the obese.

The more of something we acquire, the more confident we get and the more likely we are to look down on those who do not have it in an equal measure. Education, money and others are just like muscles. As they say; knowledge is power so the more you have the better- ie the more superior. Money is power in the same manner. The PhD holder is intellectually taller/stronger/more capable in comparison to the high school graduate in the same manner the billionaire is financially stronger than the pauper.

For these haves, what they have acquired tends to be the source of their security. They will feel weak without it and because of that they fight hard to hold onto it. Even if they don’t flaunt, they show their muscles when it becomes necessary. At that moment, everyone caves in a give way.

The Bible teaches that knowledge puffs up. It makes a person proud with a sense of superiority. Shockingly this puffing knowledge also includes knowledge about God. Power they say is nothing without control. So that the power we acquire is useful only to the extent to which it is subjected to love. Paul’s point was in reference to food for idols of course; but what can be deduced is the underlying idea of pride that power breeds. Those who acquire must therefore realize that love is their only safety and love is of God. One must be more dependent on God than his personal strength.

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Faith in its fullness

Faith is the force behind every great achievment. Those who do not have it soon find they will die without actually living. Faith is a permanent part of our lives. We know this because it is clear that without it one cannot get from point A to B. All men have faith, just not in its fullness.

Faith is belief. It is fair when the two words are used interchangeably even in a secular context. Everyone believes something. But not many are clear about what it is they believe and to what extent. The Bible’s view, while taken for granted as with everything religious, is quite instructive: it can move mountains. Some may look at this as a metaphor of a sort and they may not be far from the truth. But even then, the spirit behind the expression is a powerful one. If we are to look for the chief proponent of the faith idea, we must end up with the most accomplished human being to ever walk the earth– Jesus himself. 

 

His teaching is loaded with faith and what it can do if one has enough of it. And when men have failed to accomplish, he has attributed it to the lack of it. He posits, that faith is so powerful one only needs a mustard seed helping in order to move mountains. Even if we were to hold on to the metaphor school of thought, this idea still carries an enormous amount of weight. The thought that anything or faith for that matter can move a mountain no matter how big, with a mustard seed size of itself is disturbing and incomprehensible from first level thinking. One is going to have to reason beyond everyday thinking and wonder into the realm of the supernatural. For in the natural, this cannot be.

But faith like its many counterpart is not physical. It is an intangible force whose outworking is only perceivable in the actions and accomplishment of men. In other words, it cannot be seen until men have enough of it to act. It is not surprising them that in Christian thought where the supernatural is the driver behind the natural, faith is held as supreme. So that the natural remains how it is until the supernatural moves it. Those who do not believe do not act and therefore never change anything. 
 
It is followers of Jesus like Paul and James who will clarify this powerful teaching of Christ by which men have change the world and bring it to our understanding. James posits that faith is made perfect in works. Paul pushes for a walk by faith and not sight– in order words making choices by what you believe and not so much what you see. Philosophers and scientist of old and present have proposed that our natural senses are not always honest with us and every human being knows this first hand. Some have even gone as far as denying the existence of themselves and the world as it is. The things you think you see (in the natural) are not necessarily there. The things you do not see (in the supernatural) can be if you believe them enough. For they are manifested through your works that is the result of what you have believed. Those who believe enough must of necessity act or they don’t believe enough. 

This brings us to my most important point, it is true that all men have a measure of faith. For they are not sitting like stones. They act and do things according to their beliefs. How far they go in their works is our only opportunity to measure their level of faith. By this, it will appear that many of us are functioning from a tiny fraction of a mustard seed. Nothing in its 'half-ness' is comparable to its 'fullness'. This is why faith-fullness is key to any kind of success. Too many do not understand that faithfulness is a level of faith. Whatever you are faithful to, you have faith in. What you are faithful to you give your only true possession– your time which in effect is your every existence broken down into units of hours and eons. What you are faithful to, you are devoted to and you make sacrifices to and for. It has no choice but to give you its rewards. But it can only give you what it has so it is wise that you are faithful to the right people or things. One cannot give what one does not have. Those who truly believe (have faith) in a God are truly faithful to him and this is exhibited through their works. Their presence when he calls and their level of sacrifice is the means by which they demonstrate their faith. No one gives their only possession to one who does not exist to them.

Many claim they pursue something, perhaps a dream or even a career. Many may choose a life partner to whom they cannot be faithful. Many simply lack the understanding that the success that they seek is only possible through faith-in-fullness. One cannot have the best relationship with a spouse without faith-in-fullness. One cannot have the best career without faith-in-fullness. For one to be their best at anything, they must have stayed with that thing through thick and thine. He stays and fights even when everyone has deserted and death is imminent. Malcolm Gladwell’s idea that one can only break into the genius level after 10,000 hours of practice is a rare portrait of faithfulness. Men like Bill Gates and John Lennon reached this level through long hours in obscurity. There are some who desire the achievement of the great and yet are not faithful to a cause. They lack the Jesus prescription which in my opinion is above all prescription. Scepticism in any form is a tragedy.
Ref: Luke 17:6 – Jesus, James 2:14-26 – James, 2 Corinthians 5:7 – Paul

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THE LEGITIMACY OF RESISTANCE

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B07J3TJL4M

The annals of history is dotted with men and women who have brought progress to humanity through change. They have defined and redefined the way we do things and provided us with better ways. But change have not always been progressive. In many cases what seemed progressive have turned out to be something else. But with more change, we are able to rescue the situation and bring humanity back on track. The invention of plastic packaging sent us on a downward spiral .We got comfortable with it because it made life easier. The knowledge that it takes over a century to decompose and also poisons plant and animal life when it does represented a threat to our very existence as a specie and necessitated biodegradable alternatives. No one was interested in the possible consequences of the use of petrochemical based plastic back then. We were high on what can be done with it. Now though, more change is needed. 

 

Change agents are a special breed. The resistance they face in their missions is not one that is easily surmountable and perhaps this is for good reason. For those who have not given it much thought, change means new ways and new ways must lead to new outcomes. One can only imagine what this world would look like if it were to respond to every single wind of change that blows its way. Every single one of us could just change things for all of us simply because we have a new idea. This is not only recipe for chaos, it is also a guarantee that progress will travel in a new direction every time and consequently, never get anywhere. Perhaps a cursory look at where the likes of Hitler would have brought us would suffice.

The world is predictable. People are not as complex as they might seem and however different they are, their fundamental needs remains the same. But that’s a matter for my people dynamics class. What cannot be explained tends to cause a kind of discomfort referred to by psychologist as cognitive strain. The mind will not rest until it has produced a coherent narrative (an explanation it will consider the truth even if false) that will engender the cognitive ease that is need to generate a feeling of security. Don't be fooled by the many theories of human nature, security is always high up the ladder because one's existence is really all they have. One thing that is predictable about people is the fear of that which cannot be explained. Beyond the fancy cognitive strain, it threatens existence with its bag of uncertainties and those who do not fight tooth and nail to stop it, cannot be said to be in their right minds. For years I have struggle with this—I never understood why people will fight you even when you are trying to help them. It is clear now that it is because they don’t understand two things. The first is; why the change and the other is; what the outcome will mean for the preservation of their existence. Often no one has the answers to these questions except for the agent who in most cases is drunk on an idea and cannot foresee the guaranteed rejection.

We are social scientist in our own capacities and it seems this is necessary. To guarantee this much needed security, we want to see something work repeatedly so we can be sure it will continue to work the same way even when we stop paying attention. Once we have accepted it, any agent who attempts to change it is a threat because we do not know what the new outcome will be. The over-rated empiricism depends on this fundamental idea which finds itself one too often against reason. Yet it is empiricist who will claim the title of reason and call those who actually reason differently; irrational. Between this murky milieu of ideas and the instinct-driven empiricism rest our worst vulnerabilities. Those who understand this enough have a field day taking advantage of us all. This is one thing I agree with Robert Green on. He has after all made a bestseller out of telling us all that we are predictable and that we actually prefer it so. He must have been right or how else has he managed to sell so many books. His 48 laws of power is a hit because we believe that between those pages, we will find the key that will place us in a secure position. A position from which we can predict everything and every situation so that we can remain in control. You will never meet a better social scientist of his kind unless you meet Dale Carnegie who wrote the book how to win friends and influence people. His was also a proposition on how to ensure predictability and certainty. Not surprisingly it is also a bestseller.

This need for predicability is not the only one that is antipathetic of change. Progress in one certain direction is useful because that is what ensures that we are in constant match towards the specific destiny even if we don't know what it is. This is why resistance to change is such a powerful tool. Its job is to test not only new ideas that threaten us with change but also to test the will of the agent for change. Maybe this is why the concept of the chosen one is so important. For it is only he or she that can actually carry out this change. Resistance manifests itself as opposition, hindrance, obstacle and setback. Not many know that it is a mere test of the agent and the change they bear. The chosen one is the only one with the depth of will which produces persistence, perseverance and consistency needed to pass the test. Most of us also don't realise that it provides the mechanism for producing the best method for making the change as we have seen in the story of Thomas Edison and his light bulb. So that in the end, the agent would have proven themselves the worthy chosen one. This will not only ensure that opposition gives way to change in the end for progress in the right direction, it also effectively eliminates negative change. As a general rule, the bigger the change, the bigger the resistance. This is why the whole world gets together to fight men like Hitler. His change is global and needs a test of that magnitude.

There is yet another reason why the agent and his change must be tested. It is important that the change itself is sustained once it has occurred. It is not unheard of for a change to take place and die either with the demise of its agent or his will. A test of his will and the high price he pays ensure a continuous enterprise until such a time when another change takes place. You cannot just introduce new ways, you must see it through. When you have paid a high price for it, you will take it more seriously.

Regardless of what you are doing, you will be safe and comfortable if you are not trying to change anything. Routine people have the easy life living in their comfort zone. In fact they are the most effective bunch in the change resistance matrix. We know now that this makes them extremely useful because they secures us from the many winds of change the will keep blowing. If you have a burning need to make change however, you are the chosen one and must be equipped with the tools needed to pass the test. Time is your resource vault.

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Championing the coaching profession in Ghana

Although fairly new, coaching is an extremely fast growing profession around the world. It is now classified among the high earning professions especially in the USA. A Pricewaterhouse Coopers study commissioned in 2007 by the International Coach Federation found that part-time coaches averaged annual salaries of $26,000 and full-time coaches were averaging $82,000. Most professional coaches charge fees in the range of $150/month to $400/month for a package of 3 scheduled sessions per month. A very manageable caseload for a full-time coach is around 25 clients per month. Gross income projections can therefore be estimated by multiplying the number of clients desired by fees within that range taking local economics into consideration. Twenty-five clients, for example, at $250/month generate $75,000/year. Twenty-five clients at $350/month is $105,000. Even when those Dollar signs are replaced with Ghana Cedi signs, it is still fantastic earning for asking questions for a few hours a day. Coaches who specialize in executive, corporate and leadership coaching often charge considerably more ($600 to $1,000+/month), but prospective coaches are however, encouraged to make conservative projections when considering the field and take their local economy into consideration.

But just how important are coaches and why do they get paid so much? To understand this one must first consider the fact that; the most successful people you see around doing great things have personal coaches you don’t know about. Most coaches don’t mind being the power behind, it’s the nature of the job. As Ghana’s foremost performance coach Katey Aklie puts it;

“our job is to get others to reach their aspirations; that is how we achieve our dreams”.

Some of the aspirations they want to reach are billion dollar ventures. Consider the following scenarios:

Case 1: Imagine if you run a business worth $20 million that is under performing because of two or three key people. You are loosing money on a daily basis because of these two. A coach comes along and gets them to start ticking and your earnings for the year quadruples because of improved performance. What would that be worth to you and your organization? Wouldn’t you give 10% of your 20 million for that kind of results?

Case Two: Your teenage son is lives in the F zone at school and you are worried he will never make university. You have tried everything and nothing has helped. A coach comes along and places him among the top five in his class. What will that do for his future and what monetary value will you place on that? There are parents who will give the world to have that kind of help; they just do not know who to turn to.

“As coaches work behind the scene; accepting your place as the power behind is the mentality you need to be a good coach. It is always about other people and their aspirations and never about you. You succeed only when others succeed”. –Katey Aklie

In Ghana the seeds have only just been planted and it is developing roots really fast. Internationally certified performance coach Katey Aklie, affectionately called HOPEMAN by most is the force behind this growth and he and his team estimates that Ghana alone needs about ten thousands coaches who will shape the destiny of this nation. He insists that our politicians, business people, professionals and everyone else are functioning around 30% of their true capacities. They could really benefit from the services of a coach by just spending an hour with him/her per month. Coaching will move them to the next level and that will reflect on the national output. He also believes that youth coaching is probably one of the most needed niches at this point if this nation is to have a better future. While he conceded that the general public is not used to the idea and do not know how to use coaches, he says that things are changing as more coaches are trained and. They will through their practice show everyone else the value of coaching. He said:

“It is like everything else, you have to start from somewhere but we are already alarmed at the level of change. The thing is that Ghana already has many people who call themselves coaches. The only problem is the lack of right skills to do the job so people can actually see the benefit of the service”.

Currently he is focused on training more coaches and guiding them into the new career area. We will open new options for revenue generation for counselors, teachers, pastors and other professionals who have the inclination to help people reach their best by simply retooling them with coaching skills. There are quite a few people who call themselves coaches without really understanding what is involved. Some think it is a cool tag for motivational speaking and going around telling people to do things no one knows will work. The first training program is intended to certify all these folks who clearly have an interest and a passion to help people improve, put them into the new association and help them build their practices. This is the reason why the cost of training has been cut down by 50%. They will begin to make change as we certify and license them to start taking the profession to the next level.

The next training session begins on the 3^rd of November. The five day training is collaboration between the Performance Academy and the OD institute--Africa’s only graduate School of Organizational Development headed by the world renowned OD consultant Prof. Noble Kumawu. Everyone with an interest in coaching or helping people to be their best (youth workers, teachers, pastors, counselors, managers and just about anyone) is invited to join the groundbreaking training program to prepare themselves for the coming flood of opportunities.  Call   0201197700, 0268388560 for information on the training program.

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A WOMAN LIKE ME

We live in a society that questions your personality, your intelligence, your identity and even your complexion. The same black folks questioning you why you still have a dark skin in the age of Whitening. Same Black folks who will tease your dreams, call you names because you are not anything like them and *they don't them* and they do not believe in the path you have chosen for yourself. A society that  defines  who a smart a woman is by the type of hair they fix on Friday evenings or how many likes they got on their nude pictures on instagram. I question just a society. I ask myself why the smartest kid in school won't have a lot of followers but the bullies? why people won't like and share a great status idea but will let a profane joke go viral? Why aren't some young beautiful women don't aspire to be educated but rather go all up and down almost naked on a some senseless music video? I wonder why some parents become serious course mates of Telenova 101 to their children, an evening subject that do not only weakens their brain but morals and while their homeworks  plead for  attachment.We are jokes! We think this has no significant impact on the lives of these young ones coming up. I am tempted to shut my mouth right now but i won't. Because, it hurts to see how we can sit and waste away our beautiful
minds  away hoping that a white man from the sky will drop to fix our nation and oh i must confess that will be a miraclous sight. I believe in Nkrumah. I belive he had a dream for people like me and the many others who truly understands the transcript of His independence Speech. I wish it was taught in schools, hanged in offices, written on billboards, screen displayed at resturants and bars to make the Ghanaian meditate on the words when He said

" We have awakened. We will not sleep anymore. Today, from now on, there is a new African in the world!

That new African is ready to fight his own battles and show that after all, the black man is capable of managing his own affairs.

We are going to demonstrate to the world, to the other nations, that we are prepared to lay our own foundation.

Our own African identity"

I have realised like Michelle Obama that i need to keep my sanity and not let others define me, there is the only one thing I can do; To have faith in God’s plan for me.I have to learn to block everything out and focus on my truth.  I have to answer some truth for myself:  Who am I?  No, really, who am I?
I have to keep up with my passion and vision. I may fully accomplish it. I may attain it partially so that somebody will come continue from where i ended. But whatever it is, we must rise as women with a yearn to be mothers and not just house wives, mentors and not just dish washers, teachers and not just sex partners. We must be make it...oh,we have to, because there is a girl out there who wants to be like you.

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Ceo Brand Ambassador

"You are the first brand ambassador of your company" - Bernard kelvin Clive

The idea of promoting one's brand sometimes seem a herculean task for quite a number of people, especially introverts. Others push it over to their marketing department to market the brand.

However, in today's business, every single person is part of the marketing and promotion of the brand. If you don't believe in your brand nor invest in it, nobody would. More especially startup brands, you as the CEO will be the face of your brand.

I have identified two types of CEOs;

1. The visible CEO- those who lead from the front - they are loud and want to champion the brand progress. A typical example is Richard Branson of the Virgin Group.

2. The hidden CEO- they don't want to be seen in the limelight; they want to quietly influence from behind. An example is Osei Kwame Despite of the Despite Group of companies.

Either way, they will all deliver to ensure the success of the brand and business. What type of CEO are you and how can you use your style to effectively promote your brand?

Whichever you may be, endeavor to use it to push your brand forward. Remember: People will buy into you and your vision first before your brand and business.

Bernard Kelvin Clive
#BKCConsulting
#31BrandingThoughts
www.BKC.name/consulting

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Life minus love equals zero

Roger James Hamilton with 3 gold medals this week, Michael Phelps is now equaling the 2,168 year old record set by Leonidas of Rhodes (in 152 BC) for the most individual Olympic gold medals and has a chance to beat it with his two final races this Thursday (200m IM) and Friday (100m fly).
This is all the more incredible, given the story of his 2 year climb from the verge of suicide, which I wrote in July. Here is Michael’s story from rock-bottom:
One night in September 2014, less than 2 years ago, Michael’s world came crashing down when he got arrested for drink driving. He says "I thought the world would just be better off without me. I figured that was the best thing to do - just end my life."
Struggling to come out of retirement for one more Olympics, Michael's training wasn’t going well. So he had headed out to the Horseshoe Casino to binge on alcohol and poker. At 1am his Range Rover was pulled over by police and he was arrested.
It was the second arrest for DUI in 10 years. After the first time he was publicly shamed and promised he would never do it again. Now it looked like his chances of making a comeback were over.
Out the next day on bail, he locked himself in his house for the next 72 hours, texting to his agent “I don’t want to be alive anymore.”
What caused the breakdown? After his 4th Olympics in London, Michael was crowned “the most successful Olympian in history” with 18 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze Olympic medals. He said “It’s like we dreamed the biggest dream we could possibly dream and we got there. What do we do now?”
In the two years after the Olympics, he went from the highest high to the lowest low, losing all purpose and meaning in life. Then, in 2012 he told his coach, Bob Bowman, that he wanted to try for the Rio Olympics, despite being older than any other competitor.
They started training, but Bob said “It was very difficult for him to get back in shape. I think he got discouraged. I got discouraged.”
That discouragement led to the night of his arrest and Michael wanting to kill himself.
What flipped the switch from self destruction to his record-breaking success today?
One of the first people that Michael called when he was arrested was his friend, retired Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. Ray said “I basically told him, ‘Okay, everything has a purpose, and now, guess what? It’s time to wake up.’ ” and he gave Michael a copy of Rick Warren’s “The Purpose Driven Life”.

Despite facing 18 months probation with a one year suspended sentence, and suspension from the US swimming team, Michael was moved enough by what Ray said that he stepped away from the pool, took the book and checked into a rehab centre.
At the centre, he soon became known as “Preacher Mike” as he would begin each day by reading a chapter of “The Purpose Driven Life”.
That then led to him reading more books like Viktor E Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning” and Joseph Murphy’s “The Power of Your Subconscious Mind”. Instead of focusing on his body, he focused on his mind and spirit.
Michael left the clinic a changed man. Within months, he had asked his girlfriend, Nichole Johnson, to marry him. A year later, this May, they had a baby boy, Boomer.
As for the training, Michael got back in the pool with a new energy.
Realising that what he did out of the water affected him enormously in the water, he said of his previous life: “I tried to fake it, pretty much. That’s what I was doing." and of his life today, "I’m just living a freer, happier life now. I don’t feel like I’m carrying weights around anymore.”
Michael was the youngest competitor to ever swim in the Olympics, and now he is also be the oldest to ever swim in the Olympics (At 31 he is 2 years older than the 2nd oldest at the Rio Games). Asked how he feels, he says “I’m thankful, I’m sitting here alive today.”
Maybe you haven’t risen as high as Michael, or fallen as low.
But what new purpose could transform your own success and fulfilment in life today?
What could you do differently out of the water, which would change what you do in the water?
It's never too later, and you're never too old.
“Life minus love equals zero.”

~ Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life (Original July 1st post here: http://bit.ly/
2aNjvHG )

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PRESIDENT KUF FOUR AT YOUTHERFEST 2016

His Excellency John Kofi AgyekumKufour will be speaking to hundreds of youth across the country on the focus ’The Influence of Leadership for Generation Building’ at the sixth edition of the biggest national gathering of youth in Augustat Aburi to raise generational builders.

The youth festival gathering christened as Youtherfest is an annual national nondenominational youth festival aimed at gathering all youth across the country to promote a new Leadership mellowness, Entrepreneurship, focus on Youth socialization to contribute to the attributes of the knowledge economy, future advancement and promote soul winning. Youtherfest has been the house hold name of this youth festival for the past 6 years which simply means, “You are Feasting in Christ.”

Youtherfest2016 is also honored with other top list speakers including Obafem iBanigbe, Technology and Business Leader, Naa Ashorkor, Presenter and Broadcast Journalist, Nana Kyei-Amponsah, Patron of Ghana Youth Ministry, Apostle B.B. Fredrick, Feyi Daniels, a Relationship expert from Nigeria and other giant supporting speakers.

This annual national nondenominational youth gathering according to the organisers has been fruitful and rewarding seeing young people develop business ideas, sharpen their visions, build network to inspire their life and ultimately accept Jesus as their Lord and saviour.

Speaking on why the former head of state is the headline speaker of the national youth event, Mr. Daniel Nana Kwame Appiah Asare, Director of Ghana Youth Ministry stressed that, “we appreciate and recognize him being the best Professional and Industrious Personality to speak this year to make a radical impact in the life of the over 700 expected attendees.  With his outstanding expert in Communication, Teaching, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, as well as ability to influence the audience with genuine words of life to break them through barriers in education, success, career and life ambitions. Not only him, but with the other speakers too’.

This year, the Youtherfest train will be in Aburi on the theme‘You Are A Generational Builder - Judges 7’ from Tuesday 2^nd– Saturday 6^th August 2016.

The five day event provides fair atmosphere for diverse groups to demonstrate in dance, music, fashion, spoken word ,poetry, entrepreneurial class, games, drama and public speaking with great speakers to educate, train, enlighten and surge participants to a renewed believe, hope to make impact and transform society. Over the past five editions, the event has been held in different parts of the country; from Methodist University campus-Accra, Ghana Secondary Technical School, Takoradi, Ada Training College and University of Cape Coast campuses respectively.

Interested participants receive an outstanding package of Food, Accommodation, Transport, Free Camp T-Shirt, Note book and Pen throughout the period of this camp meeting in Aburi. Buses will be made ready across all regional capitals to privileged registered participants.Ticket outlets are Peace FM, Koala Osu, Batsonna Total, Spintex and all Shop-N-Save shops across the country. Mobile money registration is also permissible through 0553015896.

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8 Ways to Protect Yourself Online

8 Ways to Protect Yourself Online

Identity theft:  When one’s personal information is stolen and used by an imposter to gain an advantage.

1.       Don't share your passwords and change your password often

2.       Avoid visiting fake sites, pornographic sites and be warned about Phishing sites.

3.       Don't share any private information that you wouldn’t want remembered later.

4.       Always verify and buy from trusted and secure sites.

5.       Monitor your  brand name online, Use tools like Google Alerts

6.       Don't share your credit card details, SSN with anyone.

7.       Browse safely, clear your browser history/cache. Consider browsing using VPN or OpenDNS

8.       Check your privacy settings on all your social media pages to enable maximum security.

Bernard Kelvin Clive is a Personal Branding Coach/Brand Strategist at BKC Consulting, Lifestyle Entrepreneur, Amazon bestselling author with twenty published books. Ghana's foremost authority on Personal branding and Digital Publishing who hosts the #1 ranked Business & Career Podcast in Ghana/Botswana.  www.BKC.name 

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Richard Bekyi Receives High Performance Recognition

We have said time and time over that outstanding is not the same as normal—in fact they are opposites. This is actually a tautology of a sort. But often even those who think they understand end up confusing the idea. They have managed to convince themselves that different means getting out of line or perhaps start heading in the very opposite direction. You are different of course when you do that but different is not always useful. In a situation where everyone wants to live those commit suicide can also claim to be different. Those who rip off their clothes in public too are different of course but only because most of us want to keep our clothes on.

To address this conundrum we must first postulate a direction or perhaps a destination that will define progress for the larger society. When this is done, being outstanding will then mean you lead the pack in the set direction towards the destination. When you lead, you are different because the majority of people tend to hover around the middle bracket doing what it called normal, average or good enough. When they cook, you can eat it because it is ok. It has just about enough salt and pepper to give a fair taste. Those who are outstanding cook something that you can eat too, except you are left with a strong urge to indulge in infantile art of finger licking. It is just too damn good. Such persons are rare and we have found they are driven by a performance conscious mindset. Ripping off your clothes and heading in the regressive direction is the easy way out to different—way of the miscreant. Real performance takes more.

Mr. Richard Bekyi, a recipient of the SPID-UP® Performance Recognition Awards is one of such personalities who give you that strong urge to lick your fingers. He does this through graphic designing and printing. Richard’s customers are not ordinary folks either. They have a consuming appetite for outstanding. If you are normal you will have a tough time understanding this man. As one customer told us;

“I thought this guy was weird… I was sure he did not understand what we wanted and he won’t even compromise. He is very stubborn about quality and you cannot persuade him to do simple things. In the end I realized I really did not understand where he was coming from. You really have to stop thinking and let him lead the way because he wants to take you to new level”

Mr. Bekyi and his team at Iseeworks Limited craft some life-transforming designs and they are not going to sit around and let some printer make a mess of it. He controls the process from start to finish making sure their customer get exactly what he promised them if not more. It is easy to confuse his work with something that was crafted a Hollywood design studio. But that is not all there is to this man and his team. Anyone who knows anything about the printing business will tell you that it’s major plague in not only quality of work. There is also a severe case of untimely delivery and Richard Bekyi seems to have developed an antidote for this blight.

For us at SPiD-UP® that is hope. We are capable as a people to produce high quality only if we decide to and one of our many examples is Mr. Richard Bekyi. We hope he is inspires you to be performance conscious enough to give your best. Regardless of what you do, you ought to activate the urge to indulge in the art of finger licking in your patrons. Mr. Beckyi will be speaking at the Upcoming SPiD-UP® workshop on performance where he will share some thoughts on the importance of performance. We look forward to seeing you there. #spidup 

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