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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