Posts in category: Blog

“Just as no one can be forced into belief, so no one can be forced into unbelief.” – Sigmund Freud.

If you want to get better at anything, you must work hard because success does not come by wishful thinking. You may not think you are capable enough or have the necessary skills to achieve your goals, but the good news is that you can work on improving your belief and self-confidence. The feeling of inadequacy is not peculiar to you; some of the most successful people also felt the same way, but they worked on their belief system over time even when it didn’t feel like they would succeed.

Successful people work on their mindset by speaking positively about their ability to succeed. People around you and your mind will always want to tell you that you are not good enough based on one or more failures in the past. If you believe that to be correct and keep quiet, the consequences will be negative. You will need to talk down such thoughts by sometimes speaking out loud that you are very much capable of achieving success. Don’t let anyone make you believe that you cannot understand that subject, complex topic, or a new skill.

Successful people can speak up inside and outside when unbelief creeps in because they have learned how to work on their beliefs by reading lots of books and articles like this one. You, too, can follow their step by consistently reading things like B2SL weekly blog posts and other books to help you build your confidence and stay motivated for success.

It’s imperative to note that wherever you are presently is not new under the sun. Other people have been in your shoes in the past and still went on to be successful in their different life pursuits. You can keep working on your belief by reading biographies of successful people. You can see their struggles when they were like you and how they overcame them. Studying other successful people will consistently help you fill your belief bank as their stories will always relate to your journey as they have with mine.

Like our quote rightly says, no one can force you into believing. You will need to consistently work at it yourself because it lies primarily within your power to make it work.

How have you been working on your belief? I will love to get more points from you in the comments section so others can learn from you.

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.

“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” – Walter Disney

It is appropriate that we talk about belief as we begin the second month of this still brand-new year. Perhaps you must have made some decisions and resolutions in the first month, so believing through whatever it may take you to accomplish those goals is what will help you achieve those goals. Be assured that there is no chance, no destiny, no fate that can hinder the firm resolve of a determined soul.

Believing is the act of accepting something as truth. It is conditioning your mind to agree with the possibility of something. In the process of working on your dreams, you will incur a lot of disappointments, a lot of failures, a lot of pains, setbacks, defeat. All you need to do is continue to believe and set your eyes on what you want to achieve or be. Don’t even allow someone’s opinion of you to become your reality. The expression of belief in your dream is the only life you can give to it. You cannot accomplish any worthwhile endeavor with ease. There will undoubtedly be many reasons to stop dreaming and believing in yourself and what you can do. Still, history has proven that such moments are usually indicators of how close you have come to the manifestation of your dream. 

You might have resolved to up your grade or master a course that gives you trouble. In following through with this commitment, you may eventually find out that you don’t have good textbooks, missed some classes, or still may not understand what the teachers teach. The instinct here is usually to back out and consider an alternative. But remember, life itself does not give us what we want or need, but what we deserve. Do you have the courage to demand from life the destiny you deserve? That can only be possible if you truly believe that what you deserve must surely come to reality someday and with the required effort put in place. 

 Walter Disney lost his job for not being creative enough. However, he never stopped believing in himself and his dreams. Walter found the Walter Disney company, a multinational media conglomerate. He once said: “All the adversity I have had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me. You may not realize it, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you”. 

My dear friends, keep believing and acting on your dream. All you need is time. I hope to hear inspiring stories from you on how you handled difficult times that might’ve threatened your plan and goals for life. 

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 thing always happens that you really believe in, and the belief in a thing makes it happen.” – Frank Lloyd Wright.

Australian female tennis star Ash Barty recently fulfilled her childhood dream when she won her third grand slam at the Australian Open. Barty said she would hit the ball against the wall every day for hours after school. She started playing tennis at the age of four and has played in many championships worldwide. At the age of 12, she was playing against adult males. Barty has won three grand slam titles at the 2019 French Open, Wimbledon 2021, and 2022 Australian Open. Barty’s success story today all started with a dream.

It isn’t easy to find anyone who became genuinely successful without a dream in any field of human endeavor. The question that should agitate your mind most is, ‘do I have a dream?’ Do I have something worthwhile to commit my time and energy to become successful? This question is not as easy to answer because we all have different strengths and abilities, and if we try to focus our strengths on our lesser capabilities, failure is not far away. The good thing about this is that dreaming is free for everyone, and you can start right away! For example, you can dream of becoming president of your country, a celebrated sportsman, famous inventor, entrepreneur, philosopher, etc. The list is endless.

Dreaming alone is not a guarantee for success. Most times, you will have many limiting beliefs and negative thoughts and opinions that will creep into your mind telling you that you cannot achieve your goals. Most of these thoughts will come from past experiences, especially in your childhood. For instance, if you grew up in an atmosphere of encouragement and support, you are more likely to have the self-confidence to try new things. But if you grew up in an atmosphere of constant criticism and a lack of opportunity to try things out, you will likely believe that you cannot succeed. It would help if you believed in your dreams.

Luckily, it is possible to challenge and overcome your doubts and succeed. You need first to agree that the things you dream about are possible even if they don’t make sense to you immediately. Usually, your mind will flash thoughts that are possible. If you want to succeed, you must believe in those dreams and start working towards them. You may see yourself creating an app to solve problems, starting a movement for the betterment of humanity, engaging in a societal cause, etc.

The year is still fresh, so it is an excellent time to re-evaluate if you have dreams in the first place and then if you believe in them at all. If you take this step, you will surely be on your way to success.

We’ll be happy to hear your comments or questions 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.

“Everyone is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it was stupid”. – Quote attributed to Amos Dolbear.

Hey guys, I hope you have started 2022 on a clear and focused note. This week, we are going to look at capitalizing on your strengths. I also hope you will be dedicated to your goals enough this year to achieve them.

I love the quote above because it suggests that everyone is a genius in some way, including you! You don’t have to undervalue yourself or have poor self-esteem because you believe you are not good enough. Instead, you should identify your strengths and capitalize on them so you can shine to the world. Have you ever wondered how easy it is for birds to fly or fish to swim? Have you ever wondered why monkeys like bananas or dogs like bones? It is always fascinating to see how different species shine in their natural environment.

 Have you ever wondered how Ronaldo or Messi became so skillful in football, how Tiger woods became so good at golf, or how athletes like Usain Bolt can run so fast? How about the other boys and girls in your class who seem to have a unique ability to understand certain subjects? I remember once in Junior Secondary School when our Mathematics teacher introduced simultaneous equations. He asked if anyone knew how to solve it. My friend raised his hand, went straight to the board, and solved the equation. The whole class stared at this boy in disbelief because not one of us knew anything about a simultaneous equation. He became the teacher’s favorite student, as would be expected. If you give me a simultaneous equation to solve today, I will still need to consult a Junior Secondary Mathematics textbook to find examples to guide me! But because I cannot solve simultaneous equations does not make me useless or stupid.  

Our society often pressures us to conform to pre-set ideas of success. E.g., you must be a lawyer, doctor, engineer, IT specialist, etc., to succeed. Some of you might already be facing pressures because of the choice of course to study. However, irrespective of the pressures you face from society, you can only be you and succeed at conveniently doing things you can do. You must realize that you can successfully do just anything in this world. So you have to look at the areas you are good at and focus your energies on them for you to be outstanding. The only way you can do that is to analyze yourself, note your abilities and strengths, and then capitalize on them.

Don’t waste your time trying to do everything or what others do. Don’t go into singing, coding, or medicine because you see others succeeding. Like the quote above, if you ask a fish to climb a tree, it will never do so even if you provided ladders. The fish will fail to rise and lose self-confidence because it is not in its natural habitat. In the same way, there are vocations or professions that you should avoid because they are going to make you lose confidence and become miserable. Focus on what makes you look like a star so you can shine brighter.

If you are finding it hard to determine what you are good at, ask those around you, or reach out to us to assist you, and we’ll be more than happy to work it out with you.

I will be happy to hear your comments or questions 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.

“By doing something repeatedly, one’s mind becomes sharper. It teaches dedication.” – Shriya Saran.

Who can believe we’ve already started a new year? Well, that’s how it is with the passing of time! We wish you a happy and prosperous new year from B2SL. 2021 was indeed a year with many milestones, and we are so glad that you made it to the new year. If you feel like you did not reach your goals in 2021, don’t worry about the past, this new year offers another opportunity to strategize afresh and conquer. We hope to inspire you to succeed in 2022 with your permission.

Our value focus for January is dedication. It is a good time of the year to talk about it because most people usually write new year’s resolutions in January or promise to follow through with their dreams, goals, and vision. You may have heard of the practice or even engaged in it yourself. Sadly, the statistics have revealed that over 90% of people who make new year resolutions ditch them before the middle of February forever. If ten people made a new year resolution, only one would stick to it! The question then would be, did you keep the ones you made last year? If not, how do you intend to keep the ones you may have made or will make this year?

Resolutions or goals are not bad because they give you a sense of direction and tell you if you are on track to success. Imagine if you had a game of football without a goal post! The players would just be running around the field aimlessly for 90 minutes without achieving anything. In the same way, when you have goals you are chasing, such as finishing a book, gaining admission, learning a new skill, etc., they help you to be focused. A person who has a goal is better than a person who has none. So, we encourage you to have achievable goals and write them down. However, you must understand that success is more than just writing down on paper.

For you to achieve any goal, you must be dedicated. The Cambridge dictionary defines dedication as the willingness to give a lot of time and energy to something because it is crucial. Most people underestimate the process of success. Whether learning a new skill, going to university, or completing a book, the process is the same. It would help if you committed time and energy to achieve them. 

As you start this year 2022, don’t just shoot aimlessly; instead, ensure that you have goals that you are willing to spend time and energy on. That is the only way to succeed. If you follow this principle, you will be smiling at the end of the year.

What are your goals this year? Are you ready to give them time and energy? If you are not prepared to do that, we advise you to reconsider your plans.

We are always here to help at B2SL. Let us know if you have any issues, comments, or questions about this topic in the comments section below.

Happy new and prosperous year once again.