All posts by : Success Bridge

“If you really want to do something you’ll find a way, if you don’t you’ll find an excuse.” – Jim Rohn

As a student, you have to accept that you will not achieve success without dedication to your academics and personal development. With this fact settled in your heart, you also need to know that commitment does not come by just saying the words. Many justifiable reasons will come up along the way that will make you not stay dedicated to achieving success. 

From experience, I have seen students giving me very valid reasons why they can’t study their books as planned, why they can’t get better in a particular subject or why they cannot achieve their dreams. The truth is that as much as they feel their reasons are good enough, that does not excuse them from turning out a failure for lack of dedication; this is because commitment is no respecter of excuses. If you are dedicated, you will succeed and vice versa. While planning for success, also plan for how you will stay dedicated irrespective of the distractions or barriers that will come your way daily as you execute your plans.

Barriers can come in the form of a very valid excuse like I am tired, so I can’t read today. It is excellent to rest as a student, but I have seen too many students over rest than those who do not have enough rest. When this kind of excuse sets in and you allow it to continue over time, you will find out that instead of spending at least 21 hours to read every week, you might end up reading for just 10 hours. You will only see how much of a barrier this is to achieving success when we multiply this by four weeks. You would have lost forty-four hours in four weeks because of resting too much, which could translate to poor performance during exams. 

Shola Akinlade, the CEO of Paystack (a Nigerian fintech company), did not give an excuse why he can’t achieve success here in Nigeria. Instead of giving excuses, he and his team are more focused on solving the many problems they see in how Nigerians buy and sell things. He once said that before he founded Paystack in 2016, he has previously founded two other businesses that failed due to one factor or the other. But he never saw those factors as a reasonable excuse to stop his dedication to pursuing his career dream of founding a successful company. In October 2020 an American company called Stripe bought Paystack for over $200 million. What a success story and more to come because he never gave in to justifiable reasons that will be a barrier to his dedication to becoming a successful entrepreneur here in Nigeria.

From now on, keep telling yourself that, like Shola Akinlade of Paystack, no barrier in the form of justifiable excuses will stop you from being dedicated to your academic and career success.

I love to hear your story, questions, and comments on overcoming the barriers to dedication via the comment section. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Charles Adimah is an entrepreneur and the Project Manager of B2SL INITIATIVE, where he manages the vision. He is a great believer that a prosperous Nigeria is a product of successful Nigerians. You can reach him via email at charles@b2sl.org.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” ― Albert Einstein.

The difficult task many students often face is remaining steadfast in the pursuit of their academic goals. Managing your academics and your life requires vigilance, dedication and commitment. You are human and from time-to-time things will slip past you. But how do you make sure that you follow through what you set your mind to achieve? Here are some tips.

1. Clarify Your Goals

If you don’t have a target to hit, you cannot measure your success. Imagine a game of football without a goal post! For example, determine what grades you want to get in your next test or examination or how many minutes or pages you want to read in a day. It’s not enough to say or think that you want to succeed; you must be clear and intentional about it. For instance, if you plan to read 50 pages a day, you can tell if you have succeeded at the end of the day by quickly checking how many pages you have read.

2. Surround Yourself With Other Dedicated People 

There is a saying that goes thus, “climate determines what we grow”. If you want to stay focused on your goals, you must challenge yourself by hanging around others who want to do the same. You don’t see lions hanging out with goats because they do not live in the same habitat. Dedicating yourself to a goal is not an easy task and you will do well to ensure that the people around you are motivating you not to give up.

3. Break Your Goals Into Smaller Chunks 

It isn’t easy to get the motivation to finish a task, especially if it is a huge one. You can overcome this challenge by cutting your goals into smaller achievable ones. If you are trying to master a particular subject, you may begin by saying “for the next two weeks, I should have a general knowledge of what this subject is all about. Then for the next week, I should have understood the content in chapter one, and so on. If you try this out, you will be more dedicated because your goals are not so burdensome.

4. Find a Mentor

Remember the saying, “To know the road ahead, ask those who are coming back “. Mentors are people who can help you navigate your goals faster than you can imagine. Mentors will checkmate you and remind you of what you said you would dedicate yourself to achieve. They may also suggest some strategies for performing your set target with consistent effort in the right direction. 

Try these steps to be dedicated to the pursuit of your goals, and you’ll be amazed at how far you’ll go in life.

I will love to hear your comments and questions in the comments section below. At B2SL, we help you become more dedicated to your goals. You can reach us via email at info@b2sl.org.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Henry Ibrahim is the Content Creator at B2SL. He loves working with young people to help them discover their purpose in life. You can contact him at ibrahim@b2sl.org.

“The price of success is hard work and dedication to the job at hand.” – Vince Lombardi.

It’s the beginning of a new year, and I want to wish you a very prosperous new year. If you have written goals down for the year, dedication is what you need to achieve them. Legendary American football player and coach Vince Lombardi said, “the price of success is hard work and dedication to the job at hand.” Dedicating yourself to a task is one thing, but what does it mean to commit yourself to your goals so thoroughly that it’s all you think about each day to achieve the ultimate success?

What Does Dedication Mean?

Dedication is the act of being entirely devoted to something. For example, if you plan to read 50 pages of a book each day for the next week, you ensure that you stick to your plan to finish the book as planned. You can dedicate yourself to a task or goal, a cause, your studies, sports teams, or another person. Dedication is a positive character trait that will most likely lead to your academics and life success. 

Please take a moment and remember that assignment or test you wrote. You gave the whole of your time, effort, energy, and full concentration without permitting anything to distract you or hinder you from completing it. The chances are that you probably scored high in that particular test. On the other hand, think about a test or exam you wrote that you did not do too well. The chances are that you were not as dedicated as the one in which you did well. Dedicated students are usually excellent students because they pay utmost attention to everything they learn.

To dedicate yourself to your goals, you must begin with the end in mind. You look forward and imagine that you have achieved your goals, and from there, schedule your most important tasks so that success is inevitable. If your goal is to become better in a specific sport, musical instrument, or skill such as writing or coding, the act of deliberate practice (which is another form of dedication) would be your guarantee to achieving that goal.

Dedication is one of the most powerful forces we possess to shape our lives and realize our goals. And if you want to check your commitment, check what takes the larger portion of your day. Is it sleep, reading, playing sports, watching TV, or just doing nothing? Someone once said, “Don’t tell me your priorities. Show me your calendar”.

It’s a new year, so I encourage you to set your goals and ensure you are dedicated 100%. It may not be easy, but it is not impossible.

If you have any comments or questions or are having difficulty sticking to your goals, let us know in the comments section below. At B2SL, we are committed to helping you succeed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Henry Ibrahim is the Content Creator at B2SL. He loves working with young people to help them discover their purpose in life. You can contact him at ibrahim@b2sl.org.

“Believe you can, and you’re halfway there” – Theodore Roosevelt.

Everyone has dreams they want to achieve. But dreams don’t just turn to realities overnight. One of the most critical factors that can turn dreams into reality is self-belief. When people have self-belief, there is no limit to what they can achieve. You might not have the kind of support you need from parents, peers, and even teachers, but once you believe that you can do it and back it up with purposeful actions, you surely would achieve it.

When you add resilience to self-belief, success is inevitable. People who believe in themselves must have a resilient spirit even when they do not work according to plan. When they have a thousand reasons to give up, they continue to pursue their dreams because of their belief. If they want to give up, they remember their goals and are inspired to continue striving for success. 

A lucid example of how self-belief can birth success is the light bulb’s invention by Thomas Edison. Thomas Edison was criticized and denounced at several points in his life. His teacher believed he was “too stupid to learn anything.” He lost his first two jobs for being “non-productive,” but he still became a world-known inventor and scientist. He didn’t allow those around him who didn’t believe in him to limit him. He continued striving, working hard and unrelenting till he achieved his goal. His famous invention, the light bulb, didn’t come easy. He tried but failed 1000 times. He didn’t believe in failure; instead, he had the mindset that every setback was a step closer to achieving the dream of the light bulb’s invention. That is what self-belief brings.

Self-belief comes when you realize that you are the driver of your success. Once you believe you can achieve your dreams and work hard to achieve them, you will surely achieve them.

Let’s continue believing in ourselves. We’ll love to hear your comments, questions, or experiences in the comment section below.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Noble Uzoagba just finished his senior secondary certificate exam. He is dedicated to success in his academics and future career. He is a member of B2SL Success Hub.