BLOOM AND GROW

We should be concerned about our world. As Chimamanda Adichie alluded in her 2019 commencement speech at the American University (AU), we should try to change a tiny bit of our world.  We don't realize that when we choose to do this, we are indirectly making efforts to improve our lives.  When this subject of "changing our world" comes up, we are quick to think this means we should go green or save the endangered animals. However, let's remember that our world is also about humans and our social-cultural exchanges.  So, below I share my take on four very important points  on changing the world, raised by Adichie in that speech  ,  1. DO SOMETHING "Do something is to try", says Adichie. In my opinion, to do something to look at your immediate environment and take an action that improves the lives of those around you.  It is to give some of your money to deserving charities.  It is to give some of your time to helping others.

Bestselling Author  Brene Brown  has a simple formula for understanding the concept of trust. She calls her formula,  BRAVING ; which means B-boundaries, R- reliability, A-accountability V-vault, I-integrity, N-non-judgement, and G-generosity. You can find some explanation on this Braving acronym here I first heard about her formula after listening to her Supersoul session titled  the anatomy of trust.  So let's find out whether you should be trusting that co-worker, friend or spouse, as much as you do. Loading… . Done with the quiz? scroll up to check your scores! What's interesting is that you can always test for as many people as possible. Perfect scores are not required. Although based on this braving formula, the higher you score for someone, the more trusting you should of that particular person. However, even when the scores are low,  they can improve because with the feedback from the questionnaire, you have a basis for discussing trust with p

  photo credit: Instagram: @opeyemii_ 1.   You have time to self reflect Time for personal reflection is very important. That is, you actively take stock of your goals and decide the next steps to take in order to push yourself forward.  Having time for yourself also means being disciplined about your goals.  2.  You have a positive mental picture of your future. You know you are going to make it in life. At the moment, you may be far away from your goals, but you know it’s going to be OK eventually. Your perception of your future will influence the choices you make in the present.  3. You have the right value system . Honesty, trust, integrity, fairness, kindness, and tolerance are a few of the values you hold with high regard. There is a direct correlation between your value system and the choices you make.  You can’t just say you act with integrity when your actions say otherwise. Again, your choices have to align with your values otherwise, you will start to feel li

Crowdyvest About a week ago, Farmcrowdy announced that we they had launched a new crowd-funding business called Crowdyvest. Crowdyvest is a morphed version of Farmcrowdy which enables customers to invest in other sectors of the economy (technology, finance and transportation) in addition to agriculture.  Well, the first investment on crowdyvest.com (a beef processing project selling at 60,000 Naira per unit with returns of 14% for a 6 month tenure) went live last Tuesday, the 6th of August. Here are some things to consider before deciding to invest with them.  Founder Onyeka Akumah 1. The founder .  Crowdyvest's founder, Onyeka Akumah, seems passionate about making agriculture work effectively and efficiently in Nigeria. He's also the founder of the online forum (agricsquare) for discussions regarding agriculture. Before Farmcrowdy, he had worked with Deloitte, Jumia, British council, Konga and so on. 2. Age of business:  New businesses are at a hig

Oprah is someone I consider to have an awakened spirit. I listen to her a lot of the times and I believe she's pretty deep. Today I watched the finale of the Oprah Winfrey Show again eight years after It first aired, and all I can say is that she has become more of who she was back then. I mean that she has been able to use her new platform to further her work on human spiritual and emotional development through TV shows and Dramas like Greenleaf and Supersoul sessions. The lessons here are about the choice she made to end a succesful show after 25 years. 1. Know When You are Ready to Move. In life you have to move. And I know change is hard because every time I have had to switch jobs, I have gone through hell. It always feels like I am betraying somebody. However, change is needed for growth.  2. You Have to Give Up the Old to Accommodate the New. This is law actually. Again if you don't try new things, you will be stuck with what you have. Be willing to le

Image: Feeddough.com Crowdfunding is not a new idea. It refers to raising funds through the public.  This financing method is fast becoming very popular in Nigeria; especially for debt financing.  Some start-up tech companies are using this same idea to finance agriculture in Nigeria (which is fantastic for our self-sustenance).  Anyway, since news broke about how  Farmcrowdy  raised $1M in seed funds, several other start-up companies have joined the bandwagon of crowd funders  helping farmers raise monies to finance their farms. However, a few of these companies (not necessarily part of the bandwagon) stand out:   Agropartnership Thrive-agric Farmcrowdy Porkmoney I use all the above mentioned platforms except for  Pork Money (their capital requirement is too high and their interests rate low. Therefore Porkmoney is not for me).   Anyway, this review is based on my own customer experience on these various platforms. Agropartnership: Plus: