THE LESSONS OF LIFE - OGUNTOLA ADELOWO

I feared people’s opinions until I discovered that they would have opinions about me anyway
I feared rejection until I learnt to have faith in myself
I feared pain until I learnt that it is necessary for growth
I feared ridicule until I learnt to laugh at myself
I feared changes until I saw that even the beautiful butterfly evolved from the caterpillar
In my recent adventure of what life brings, even in my darkest world, I feel you cannot be Mr. Right at all time but I am also certain I cannot always be wrong because dreams “nurture” and dreams “torture”.
WHAT A LIFE! 

OGUNTOLA ADELOWO
08106006057
oguntolaadelowo@gmail.com

DEVELOPING YOUR ENTREPRENEURSHIP POTENTIALS - OGUNTOLA ADELOWO

Entrepreneurs are individuals who are continually looking for opportunities to start or grow their own business. These are the kind of people who prefer to be part of those that determines the economic forces of the country wherein they reside.
Individuals are attracted to entrepreneurship by a number of powerful incentives such as profit, independence and a satisfying way of life. In general, there are four (4) ways to becoming an entrepreneur and these are:
Entering a family business
Opening a franchised business
Buying an existing business/Investing in various existing businesses
Starting a new business
THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILL
We will begin to ask the question (i) what skills do I need as an entrepreneur? (ii) What makes someone a successful entrepreneur?
It certainly helps to have strong technology skills or expertise in a key area but these are not defining characteristics of entrepreneurship. Instead, the key qualities are traits such as; creativity, the ability to keep going in the face of hardship and the social skills needed to build great teams.
DEFINING ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Some experts have tried to define entrepreneurs as people who are willing to take risks that other people are not ready to take. Some others defined entrepreneurs as people who want to start and build successful businesses. Thinking about the first definition, being an entrepreneur does not necessarily involve starting your own business as many people who do not work for themselves are recognized as entrepreneurs within their organizations. Regardless of the two definitions, one thing is certain; becoming a successful entrepreneur is not easy.
So we ask, how does one person successfully take advantage of an opportunity while another equally knowledgeable person does not? Though, many studies have gone over this subject there is an affirmative answer. It is evident that successful entrepreneurs seem to have certain traits in common. In this paper, four traits will be considered as follows:
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
To be an entrepreneur, we need to ask examine our personal characteristics, values and beliefs. The biggest question here is, do I have the mindset that is typical of successful entrepreneurs? This is more a question of behavioural pattern and innate values that define the personality of a human.
The mindset typical of successful entrepreneurs entails OPTIMISM, VISION, INITIATIVE, DESIRE FOR CONTROL, DRIVE AND PERSISTENCE, RISK TOLERANCE and RESILIENCE.

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
As a successful entrepreneur, you will have to work closely with people. This is where it is critical to be able to build great relationships with your team, customers, suppliers, shareholders, investors and more.
The skills needed here will include LEADERSHIP AND MOTIVATION, COMMUNICATION SKILLS, GOOD LISTENING ABILITIES, EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN PERSONAL RELATIONS, NEGOTIATION and ETHICS.
CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING SKILLS
As a good entrepreneur, you will need to always come up with fresh ideas and make good decisions about opportunities and potential projects. Most people are not born creative but creativity is a skill that can be developed if there is persistent investment of time and skills. A good entrepreneur will be able to THINK CREATIVELY, SOLVE PROBLEMS and RECOGNIZE OPPORTUNITIES.

PRACTICAL SKILLS
Practical skills and knowledge are also needed to produce goods or services effectively and run a business. These skills include GOAL SETTING, PLANNING AND ORGANIZING and DECISION MAKING.
Now that we have identified all the skills required to be a successful entrepreneur, the question becomes, how do we fuse them all together into a successful entrepreneurship move? The following points will answer this question.
START A SMALL BUSINESS: Entrepreneurship cannot be fully learnt within the confines of a school; rather, it is better learnt on the job because the lessons therein are practical lessons. To develop these skills quickly, you need to start a small business and learn on the job.
READ BUSINESS, INDUSTRIAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL MAGAZINES
READ BOOKS ON BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
ATTEND SEMINARS
READ AUTOBIOGRAPHIES AND BIOGRAPHIES OF SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS
JOIN ORGANIZATIONS
NETWORK WITH OTHER ENTREPRENEURS
FIND A MENTOR

In conclusion, I will always advise entrepreneurs to use every opportunity they have to learn something new and improve their skills.

OGUNTOLA ADELOWO A.
+2348106006057
oguntolaadelowo@gmail.com

WILL THE PROPHECY COME TO PASS? - OSUN GO!

Sometimes in the year 2005, some funny elements in Monatan area of Ibadan Oyo State named a bus stop ‘Osun go’ meaning ‘Osun is stupid’ (that will be the direct translation) or more carefully explained, ’Osun people are stupid’ (Can be so explained because Osun is a state that has people as its constituting elements and cannot be referred to without making reference to the people that makes up the state, ta ba pe ori aja, a pe ori ikoko ta fi se e).
You will ask me, why will anybody go ahead and do anything so inciting? The reason for their actions was one mighty structure that was under construction in their neighbourhood which belonged to the then Secretary to the State Government. In their limited thinking, they believed for a Secretary to the State Government to be building such a wonderful structure, that administration must have milked the state dry. They were obviously oblivious of the fact that a combination of entrepreneurial acumen and will power can move mountains. As was later stated by the Managing Director of Wema Bank Plc at the launch of the Golden Tulips Owu Crown Hotel, Monatan Ibadan (the building in question), Wema Bank was involved from the beginning to the end, as financiers. Obviously, Osun was not stupid in that era. Osun o go laye Olagunsoye, dipo bee, Osun gbon.
However, we cannot completely say those unscrupulous elements are crazy, Infact, the costly joke of that time, is now quickly unfolding as a prophecy (omi tuntun ti ru, eja buruku ti wo inu e). When on November 26, 2010 the controversial Appeal Court judgement brought in Ogbeni as the Governor of Osun State, people rolled out drums in certain quarters to celebrate ‘Oranmiyan’ the one they believed will deliver them from their self-induced bondage (a o m’erin j’Oba, eweku ewele). He came in too with so much boasts, promises and condemnations of those who had laboured tirelessly before him.
Two years and nine months down the line, Osun can only boast of projects flag-off, uncompleted projects and semi-completed projects (completion of engineering construction must really be a time-wasting venture oh). Where are the O’School buildings? The ultra-modern infrastructure in the health sector nko? Where are the O’RAMP roads? What of O’FISH? O’BEEF nko? Where is O’TOURS? O’MEDIATION nko? If we cannot have our O’GOODIES, God please deliver O’DABO to Ogbeni and grant him a portion in O’PRISON if You sentence him accordingly.  
Just as if that was not enough, Ogbeni is now leading Osun in the path of hell! I was preparing to go do some transactions in the bank today when I heard on the morning news that Osun declared public holiday to celebrate Isese day (something very similar to FESTAC – a celebration of the Orisas). It is pathetic to note that while Christianity and Islam are trying to lead people away from idolatry towards the living God, the man at the helm of affairs in Osun State is giving more prominence to the practice of idolatry; the fake Alfa, pretentious Muslim! 
Nigeria never gave such prominence to idol worshipping because even the fore-fathers were aware of the existence of a living God and they built the Nation on the solid foundation of those two religions that worship solely, the living God! Where exactly is Ogbeni leading the state if we follow him? HELL! Apologies to Orisa worshippers, but I serve only the living God and I implore them to come into His living light and be free from the hot fire of hell.
When he came in, his initial move was to grant Orisa worshippers pilgrimage to Cuba, I guess this was in a bid to bring them to par with Christians and Muslims who go on Holy Pilgrimage every year. He went further by granting them a slot for prayers at every government function i.e. When a Christian prays, a Muslim will pray and them a traditionalist will pray too! Why should we reference a lesser god when we already made reference to the Almighty?
As I heard the news of the public holiday this morning, I reasoned within myself that this must signify the point where Osun people will collectively rise and say O’TO to this fake Muslim who is trying to take us into the embrace of Lucifer! I thought, if Osun people will not rise up and say O’DABO to this Mister come 2014, the Monatan prophecy would have come to fruition – Osun go!
We must rise up and say a collective O’FAREWELL to the Lagos invaders who are trying to take us back to those days when we were primitive, naive and uncultured! Now we know the true God, we serve Him, we do not keep the affairs of our state in the hands of lesser gods anymore and any agent of these gods will be shown the way out of Bola Ige house. Failing to do this will be giving strength to that 2005 prophecy – Osun go. Succeeding in sending him packing will send clear signals to those funny elements of Monatan that in Osun State, we are wise and resolute – Oyo le go sha! 

BOUATE: SALUTE TO THE HEROES WHO PAID THEIR DUES

The street urchins common with streets in Lagos use to have a peculiar way of saluting those they hold in high esteem. They raise two hands up in their air and shout ‘Touale’. You hear ‘owo meji fun eeyan Kan, touale baba’...meaning, ‘two hands for one person, touale old man’. This trend got into the student community and ‘touale’ quickly became the mode of salutation even in the learned environment. Along came this Yoruba actor, renowned for his usual invention of new street slangs, they call him ‘Ose Ose Omo Banke’, wherever he got that from. He re-modelled the street salute and invented ‘bouate’. He said, “no more touale, now bouate”. Whatever that means, I say my own ‘bouate’ to ‘Ose Ose Omo Banke’ for his street charisma (I don’t know if that is positive).
So, if I were to be a senior colleague of yours, what do you do when you see me coming? You raise your two hands in the air and shout ‘BOUATE’. Toh, President Goodluck Jonathan, ‘Bouate’: Rauf Aregbesola, ‘Bouate’: Abiodun Akinwale, ‘Bouate’. Those are the people running the affairs of the governments that directly concern me (Do not make the mistake of thinking I like all of them).
Why do we salute people with our two hands in the air? It is because they are superior in some sense, or they are respectable in another sense, or they are people of honour in some other sense: ‘Bouate’ once again. However, there are people who are not only superior, but they have laid the solid foundation for the betterment of our own lives. Some laid down their lives, some other spent the better parts of their lives in prison, some watered the trees of liberty with their sweat while some prayed fervently in the confines of exile for the future wherein we now live. To this people, it is not only just to respect them, ‘bouate’ at the top of our voices is the least honour we can do them. So, let us salute the heroes who paid their dues....BOUATE!
Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Obafemi Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa, Nnamdi Azikwe, Herbert Macauley, MKO Abiola, Abraham Adesanya, Murtala Muhammed, Ajibola Ige, Shehu Musa Yaradua, Chinua Achebe, Dele Giwa, Tunde Idiagbon, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Ladi Kwali, Margaret Ekpo, Samuel Okwaraji, Odumegwu Ojukwu, Adekunle Fajuyi, Gani Fawehinmi, Umar Musa Yaradua, Fela Anikulapo, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Olusola Saraki, Lamidi Adedibu and all other dead heroes of ours....TRIPLE BOUATE! God rest your souls.
Shehu Shagari, Ernest Shonekan, Nelson Mandela, Olusegun Obasanjo, Abdulsalam Abubakar, Alex Ekwueme, Emeka Anyaoku, Oladipo Diya, Femi Falana, Austin Jay Jay Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Samson Siasia, Onyeka Onwenu, Sunday Adegeye – Sunny Ade, Ibrahim Babangida and all those still alive...DOUBLE BOUATE! Long life in good health.
To those of you reading this article who feels a great need to salute these people and many more like them who paid huge prices for the freedom that I and you enjoy today, I salute you...BOUATE!
Let us salute these people again, because the tree of liberty survived because of their non-stop supply of sweat to water it, they paid prices just so me and you may be alive and well in the future most of them never tasted, they worked for their children, for me, for you and for the good of the world.....Raise your hands in the air and let me hear your reverberating BOUATE!
The soldiers who lost their lives while chasing insurgents, those that died in peace-keeping missions across Africa, those police officers who lost their lives in active service, those servicemen who died so the rest of us can sleep with our two eyes closed...the least we can do to salute their courage is a loud shout of BOUATE....Two hands in the air for you people!
Those journalists who died while compiling news so me and you can sit in front of our television sets and watch the news, those researchers who accidentally died in finding cures to different ailments, those footballers who slumped and died....we owe them a very loud salutation, with our two hands in the air...BOUATE!
To those hands still paddling the boats of our society, the political leaders, the Obas, the Obis, the Etsus, the Emirs, the Chiefs, the Civil Servants, the teachers, the servicemen, the road sweepers, the gatemen, the vigilantes, the nurses and midwives and their doctors, the artisans...even the leaders of tomorrow who are going to take us to the future....two hands in the air, at the top of our voices....BOUATE!
BOUATE!!! Salute to those who paid their dues and those who are stillpaying!

ODERINU ADEDAYO
08067361945/08079077040
Odeday2000@yahoo.co.uk

BOUATE: SALUTE TO THE HEROES WHO PAID THEIR DUES

The street urchins common with streets in Lagos use to have a peculiar way of saluting those they hold in high esteem. They raise two hands up in their air and shout ‘Touale’. You hear ‘owo meji fun eeyan Kan, touale baba’...meaning, ‘two hands for one person, touale old man’. This trend got into the student community and ‘touale’ quickly became the mode of salutation even in the learned environment. Along came this Yoruba actor, renowned for his usual invention of new street slangs, they call him ‘Ose Ose Omo Banke’, wherever he got that from. He re-modelled the street salute and invented ‘bouate’. He said, “no more touale, now bouate”. Whatever that means, I say my own ‘bouate’ to ‘Ose Ose Omo Banke’ for his street charisma (I don’t know if that is positive).
So, if I were to be a senior colleague of yours, what do you do when you see me coming? You raise your two hands in the air and shout ‘BOUATE’. Toh, President Goodluck Jonathan, ‘Bouate’: Rauf Aregbesola, ‘Bouate’: Abiodun Akinwale, ‘Bouate’. Those are the people running the affairs of the governments that directly concern me (Do not make the mistake of thinking I like all of them).
Why do we salute people with our two hands in the air? It is because they are superior in some sense, or they are respectable in another sense, or they are people of honour in some other sense: ‘Bouate’ once again. However, there are people who are not only superior, but they have laid the solid foundation for the betterment of our own lives. Some laid down their lives, some other spent the better parts of their lives in prison, some watered the trees of liberty with their sweat while some prayed fervently in the confines of exile for the future wherein we now live. To this people, it is not only just to respect them, ‘bouate’ at the top of our voices is the least honour we can do them. So, let us salute the heroes who paid their dues....BOUATE!
Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Obafemi Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa, Nnamdi Azikwe, Herbert Macauley, MKO Abiola, Abraham Adesanya, Murtala Muhammed, Ajibola Ige, Shehu Musa Yaradua, Chinua Achebe, Dele Giwa, Tunde Idiagbon, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Ladi Kwali, Margaret Ekpo, Samuel Okwaraji, Odumegwu Ojukwu, Adekunle Fajuyi, Gani Fawehinmi, Umar Musa Yaradua, Fela Anikulapo, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Olusola Saraki, Lamidi Adedibu and all other dead heroes of ours....TRIPLE BOUATE! God rest your souls.
Shehu Shagari, Ernest Shonekan, Nelson Mandela, Olusegun Obasanjo, Abdulsalam Abubakar, Alex Ekwueme, Emeka Anyaoku, Oladipo Diya, Femi Falana, Austin Jay Jay Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Samson Siasia, Onyeka Onwenu, Sunday Adegeye – Sunny Ade, Ibrahim Babangida and all those still alive...DOUBLE BOUATE! Long life in good health.
To those of you reading this article who feels a great need to salute these people and many more like them who paid huge prices for the freedom that I and you enjoy today, I salute you...BOUATE!
Let us salute these people again, because the tree of liberty survived because of their non-stop supply of sweat to water it, they paid prices just so me and you may be alive and well in the future most of them never tasted, they worked for their children, for me, for you and for the good of the world.....Raise your hands in the air and let me hear your reverberating BOUATE!
The soldiers who lost their lives while chasing insurgents, those that died in peace-keeping missions across Africa, those police officers who lost their lives in active service, those servicemen who died so the rest of us can sleep with our two eyes closed...the least we can do to salute their courage is a loud shout of BOUATE....Two hands in the air for you people!
Those journalists who died while compiling news so me and you can sit in front of our television sets and watch the news, those researchers who accidentally died in finding cures to different ailments, those footballers who slumped and died....we owe them a very loud salutation, with our two hands in the air...BOUATE!
To those hands still paddling the boats of our society, the political leaders, the Obas, the Obis, the Etsus, the Emirs, the Chiefs, the Civil Servants, the teachers, the servicemen, the road sweepers, the gatemen, the vigilantes, the nurses and midwives and their doctors, the artisans...even the leaders of tomorrow who are going to take us to the future....two hands in the air, at the top of our voices....BOUATE!
BOUATE!!! Salute to those who paid their dues and those who are stillpaying!

ODERINU ADEDAYO
08067361945/08079077040
Odeday2000@yahoo.co.uk