All posts by : Success Bridge

“If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin.

Benjamin Franklin was one of America’s founding fathers. He had little formal education, which ended when he was ten years old. At twelve, he was an apprentice to his elder brother James, a printer in Boston. Franklin left his brother and went out to work as a printer in Philadelphia at 17. He went to England to work in the printing business for a few years. He later came back to Philadelphia to start a printing business that printed various items, including government pamphlets, books, and currency. Franklin was a voracious reader and went on to teach himself how to become a skilled writer. Franklin’s success in the printing business pushed him to the limelight and made him a statesman, author, publisher, scientist, and diplomat.

Lessons from Franklin’s story.

It takes humility to learn – Although Franklin had limited formal education, he did not allow that to deter his ambition. He was humble enough to understand the printing business from his elder brother and taught himself how to be an excellent writer. Notice that Franklin did not complain about his lack of education but instead looked for ways to educate himself. You may not have all the money you need now to pursue your dream course. However, if you are humble enough, you will find ways to educate yourself towards your goal. It takes humility first to recognize your limitations and then work to overcome them. The internet is a great place to gather resources that will enhance your capability to achieve your goals. Be humble enough to run after relevant knowledge and stop wasting time on content that will not develop you.

It takes time to learn– Learning is not spontaneous. You will need to dedicate some quality time to anything you are learning. One common trait of all successful people is that they all invest time into learning about their field. You can see how Franklin learned from his brother for five years and then went on to work for experience before starting his own company. You may not need to wait that long for you to chase your dreams, but you need some time to familiarise yourself with the knowledge you need to succeed in your field. There is no shortcut when it comes to learning. 

Knowledge comes at a cost– If you want to learn, be ready to pay the price. Knowledge never comes free. You either pay directly or indirectly. When Franklin did not go to school to pay fees, he learned under his brother. During that time, his freedom would have been limited. Even if you search for things from the internet, someone paid for the knowledge before they could share it with you. Remember that you also paid for an internet subscription before you could access the material. So, knowledge is not free after all.

Embrace the habit of pursuing knowledge because it is an investment that pays ultimately.  

 I will be looking forward to hearing from you in the comments section below.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Besidone Ebule is the Project Director at B2SL, where he works to encourage personal development and build success networks. You can contact him at bessy.ebule@b2sl.org.

“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” – Kofi Annan.

Welcome to October. Our focus this month is on knowledge which is key to every human success. Knowledge is the abstract ideas, intellect, and collection of information garnered by contact with events and exposure to real-life situations. To know means being exposed to information or having the abstract ability to say or perform something. One’s ability to talk, walk, or do anything depends on the amount of knowledge they have about the task or action in question.  

We are already two months away from the year 2022, and the world is still struggling to recover from the impact of the Corona Virus pandemic. Much effort has been put in place to combat and eradicate this pandemic, but human knowledge is yet to reach a breakthrough on finding a total cure to the COVID 19 disaster. This situation indicates that whatever we don’t know will always be more significant than us. However, this is not the only problem that plagues humanity begging for a solution. 

Most successful people in history became successful because they knew how to solve those problems. The Wright brothers, who solved the problem of an easy and faster means of transportation by inventing the airplane, are a good example.

We hope to gain from going to school the knowledge that will help us solve problems and live a life of significance within human society. The pursuit of knowledge makes you relevant and of more excellent value to your immediate environment because you will have what will make people come to you. We get paid for two things in life. The value we take to the market and the value we become. But we get paid most for the value we become. All of these cannot be possible if we don’t know how to produce what to take to the market, or we refuse to learn to add value to ourselves to become solution providers. 

What do you know that will make people come to you? Find an area of life and try to understand more about it. Begin to challenge yourself to be hungry to learn more because it will enable you to do more and be sought after the more so that your life will be more significant and valuable to the human family. In no distant time, you will become a force to be reckoned with and pave the way for you before great men.

I will be excited to know what you are learning or to know what questions you are asking in the comments section below.

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.

It is not uncommon to see an individual excel more in a field than another despite both giving their best to achieve a goal. Coming down to the academic setting, a student may marvel at why another student always receives literary prizes even though they both learned under the same set of teachers, in the same classroom, and at the same time. Many ask the simple but essential question: What exactly differentiates the successful from the unsuccessful?

You may have noticed that some people put in their best effort and yet fail. Unsuccessful people may be hardworking. Belief is a certain quality that successful people cultivate, nurture, and display. In the conversation on success, we cannot overemphasize belief. Belief is a feeling of being optimistic about succeeding in a journey one is about to take, or a journey one is in already. According to Gordan A. Eadie, “If you do not stand for something, you will fall for anything.” He points out that there is an inner driving force that propels an individual to take a step. That force is the force of belief. 

Ben Carson is a perfect example that comes to mind when we think about belief leading to success. Ben believed that he could improve in his academics and make an impact in the world. As a result, Ben always went to the library to read, shunning frequent viewing of TV programs. If he did not believe in the first instance, he would not have taken the step to improve himself and get to the point he is now. 

No successful man reaches that point of success without belief. The road to success is not smooth but filled with obstacles. It is the belief that gives one the determination to overcome these obstacles. When you believe, you have the motivation to make sacrifices. No man ever ventures into an investment he knows will be fruitless. However, belief in excellence gives an individual the positive mindset that all struggles would pay off sooner or later. 

In conclusion, belief will pay off because it propels an individual to take a step towards the journey of success. It also enables one to cultivate the qualities that are essential to success, such as hard work, persistence, and determination, etc. So, it is indeed not fictional to say that belief pays.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emmanuel Ajah is a Secondary School student in Nigeria. He is dedicated to success in his academics and future career. He is a member of B2SL Success Hub.

“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right” – Henry Ford.

On the way to success, your belief in your abilities will determine whether you succeed or not. Every successful person must challenge the inherent fear of feeling inadequate or incompetent. You can become more anxious because of people who have done so well in an area where you have been trying to excel. For example, if you are going to win a boxing competition, you must fight against the current champion—that’ scary. But then, if you don’t fight, there is no championship for you.

18-year-old Emma Raducanu from Britain won the recent Women’s single at the US Open grand slam, coming into the tournament as a qualifier. She had to play prequalifying games before participating in the competition because, in tennis, the top-ranked players are seeded first in big rounds before others. She was not a favorite to play in the tournament talk less of winning. According to world ranking, Raducanu was number 150 at the start of the US Open at the end of July 2021. She made history as the first person to win a tennis grand slam as a qualifier in both men’s and women’s tennis less than three weeks later. Her victory has been called one of the greatest underdog stories in the history of sports. 

Raducanu had booked her flight back home after the qualifying tournament because she never was doubtful of herself. However, she won ten straight matches during the tournament, meaning she could not return home because she had qualified for the main grand slam. In the final game against 19-year-old Leyland Fernandez from Canada, Raducanu won straights sets to make history. But had she not believed in herself, she would not have left her house, not to talk of competing in a significant competition and winning.

You may be thinking that you don’t have what it takes to overcome that complex topic in a subject. You may also be thinking that if you attempt to do something new, you will fail. But as Raducanu’s success story shows, you too can succeed if you believe in yourself and put yourself in the race. You never know what you can achieve until you try, and you never try unless you think that winning is possible.

You may not be a tennis star like Raducanu. However, there are areas of your life where you can put in the effort to become better. Ignore the fear and push yourself to start, and who knows what medals await you. 

I will be happy to read your comments and questions in the comments section below.

I wish you all the best.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Besidone Ebule is the Project Director at B2SL, where he works to encourage personal development and build success networks. You can contact him at bessy.ebule@b2sl.org.

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“Belief in oneself and knowing who you are, I mean, that’s the foundation for everything great.” – Jay-Z

If you can answer the question why accurately, you will be an influential person. There will always be one or more things that will make you doubt yourself so much wherever you are now. But the moment you see why you should believe in yourself, everything changes. Asking yourself this question and getting the correct answer is the foundation to achieving greatness.

Les Brown (born 1945) is an American motivational speaker. Born into poverty and abandoned as a child, Brown was overactive and mischievous. He struggled in school, finding it impossible to concentrate. Most people labeled him as mentally disabled in the fifth grade. It was a label that made him not believe in himself. 

However, a dedicated teacher called LeRoy Washington believed in his potential. When Brown once told Washington in class that he couldn’t perform a task because he was educable mentally disabled, he responded by saying, “Do not ever say that again! “Someone’s opinion of you does not have to become your reality.” These words made Brown start believing in himself and free himself from the negative label of others. Fast forward to the present, Les Brown is one of America’s best-known and highest-paid motivational speakers. His company, Les Brown Unlimited Inc., has made millions of dollars from selling motivational materials.

When you don’t believe in yourself, you will accept any negative opinion from anyone or society. You start doubting yourself if you can do anything significant, leading you to a place of doubt where all you see are reasons why you cannot pursue your dreams. You start counting yourself out when you could lead people to achieve something because you think you cannot teach yourself not to talk of leading others.

But just like Les Brown, who started believing himself at one point, before his life started taking the right path to the success he now has. It would help if you also started believing in yourself, throw away those negative opinions of people about you, stop doubting yourself and start thinking about your ability to become whoever you want to become. Without this, you won’t achieve much in the future, as believing in yourself is the foundation to your greatness.

I look forward to hearing from you in the comment section. Let me know what you learned from this article and ask questions for clarity or reach out to us if you need any assistance.

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.

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