BLOOM AND GROW

I promise you, this is a serious article. I love music and I understand that music influences the way we lead our lives whether we believe it or not. I love Beyonce's music and I appreciate the fact that she pays a lot of attention to the artistry of her videos. Here are life lessons from 5 of my most played Beyonce songs ever! 1. Party (Beyonce ft. J.Cole)  This is my TGIF song. The visuals depict being with friends and having a good time. It is important to know how to balance work and leisure and I've come to understand that productivity levels are higher when we give some time to play. City life can be isolating and stressful. So here's a reminder to be socially engaged and to have a strong social support system. 2. Dejavu ft. Jay-Z It's a high energy video. There is a dance movement in almost every frame of the video. And this is where I highlight the importance of exercise in keeping us strong and healthy. There's a strong correlation between length of life an...

  I usually start my year with a vision board. A vision board contains images of things I would like to have in my life. This might include images of people I aspire to be like, inspiring quotes that resonate with me, and places I would love to visit. I think that the first step to setting successful goals is having dreams. Also, you need to believe that you are capable of achieving those dreams Before setting goals, I make sure I have the tools I need to achieve those goals.  For example, if I am to set a goal to travel to Cape Verde for vacation, then I must have the means to do so. In essence, your dreams need to be practical and attainable within the current level of resources you have available. So I set goals based on the money, time, and skill I have to invest in achieving those goals.  Also, I try to figure out how to achieve a goal before setting off.  You might not have a blueprint but you need to know how to get to your destination.  For many years, I...

As a child, I was not one of the cool kids at school. I didn't play sports nor walk with a swagger. Instead, I was one of the goofy musical club ones (like the characters in Glee).  Things didn't change when I got to the university and I often worried about not being "cool enough". Over the years, I have learned a few things about becoming my own person and building my self-worth.  Self-worth is about the value you put on yourself. It's not always about your job or how much money you earn. Rather it's about how you are leading your life and being aware of the reasons for your actions. It's being honest with yourself and working to improve in areas where you might be deficient. At some point in my life,  I thought my worth was tied to how much I could make other people think of me as a good person. But that made me secretly bitter because I kept enduring people's trespasses.  Things changed when I started to pay more attention to myself by exploring my ...

There's a Yoruba saying that translates loosely to, "Lagos money always lives in Lagos". That is, whatever money you make while in Lagos, you'd end up spending while living in Lagos.  I was raised by an Ijebu woman so I guess that's the reason I'm so prudent with my spending. However, I see a lot of people, including those who make good enough money, struggle with their finances.  I, on the other hand, can save for Africa! People show off their lavish lifestyles on social media and I'm observing a trend where people just want to amass money and buy things. But certain principles in personal finance are universal like,  1. Thrift shopping I sometimes shop at the second-hand clothes market in Lagos especially for items like sportswear. The idea is not about buying second-hand clothing, It's realizing that not all the items in your wardrobe need to be expensive. That's why you see billionaires wearing T-shirts that cost less than a dollar.  Obviously,...

I decided to focus on entrepreneurship studies for my MBA because it was the most relatable subject for me, of all the areas I had to choose from. Regardless, I had no intention of practicing entrepreneurship after my studies. In fact, to tell the truth, after semesters of studying accounting, marketing, and business law, I just wanted something easier to learn. But after obtaining that almighty MBA in entrepreneurship, people started asking me why I had chosen the subject over finance or marketing; so I decided to start a small business selling kitchen-use products and water bottles. The enterprise was named “Tiny PreciousThings” . The idea was to curate a collection of home use items. Things like gas lighters, water bottles, and thermos flasks. I started exploring the Lagos Island market (precisely the market called “Corudum”) for these items.   The unique feature of this market is that you can find products that are “one of a kind”.   That is items that you wouldn’t...

"Confront the brutal facts but never lose hope."  I first came across this quote while reading Good to Great by Jim Collins and it means to face our truth but remain optimistic. It's about facing what makes us uncomfortable but having faith despite. The reality of death is one of those topics we are very uncomfortable with. However, I feel that we need to live our lives purposely because it is finite.  We need to appreciate that life is such a remarkable gift and that wherever we are in the spectrum of bliss, we are OK because we are alive. When we fall on hard times, it might be tempting to commit suicide because we are trying to escape our pain. But the actual way to escape pain is to understand that life is never about us.  The real purpose of life is service and I know this for sure because everyone is a beneficiary of someone else's service. And everything we do matters to the perfect stranger. Life is about being present. Not worrying about tomorrow and not regr...

You only have one life and until yours is full and running over, you can't really give your best to others.  Self-care is not about being productive.  It's just about being present, feeling yo ur senses, and taking a break. I have curated 25 great ideas for self-care and I've even adopted a few already; highlighted in bold text. Enjoy   1. Wake up without using an Alarm clock this week.  2. Donate some time to charity 3. Dance to your favorite tunes 4. Doodle  5. Watch the clouds early in the morning before the sun gets hot.  6. Complete a task you've been putting away and savor completing the task.  7. Unfollow (or mute)  negative people from your social media 8. Take a 10-minute power nap 9. Order a home spa.  10. Focus on being in the present moment for 10 minutes 11. Listen to inspiring podcasts or watch an inspiring video on Youtube 12. Stretch for 20 minutes.  13. Mimick your favorite celebrity and record a video of yourself d...

We work really hard in order to live well and take care of our loved ones. Some people say that money burns the pocket. That is, money is always hot and never enough. But I think that we can lead meaningful lives with the money we have while we work towards having more.  I constantly live on a budget. It's just my nature regardless of how much I earn. Over the years, I have learned a thing or two about maximizing my income. If you earn 100k or less per month in Lagos, the following tips will guide you well.  1. Divide Your Salary into Portions:  In my opinion, fifty percent (50%) of your income should go into living expenses and this should include housing, transport, electricity, groceries, and other expenses related to keeping your work-life in motion. Then twenty 25% should go into meeting your lifestyle needs in terms of health, fitness, fashion, dining, and holidays. Budget another twenty percent (20%)  for savings and  5% (five percent) towards an educatio...

CB has been my friend for the last 15 years. In my blog post about how I become a B student after years of being dubbed "not very bright" , I mentioned someone who made me study for my finals amidst having a tummy bug and a high-grade fever. CB was that person. Thanks to her, I passed my  Bachelor of Pharmacy finals in the first sitting. So, In this interview, CB shares some of her tips for academic and personal success as well as the great work she's been doing with hypertensive patients across Nigeria.   Tobi: Hi CB...How are you doing? Cb: I'm doing very well. Thank you Tobi: Thank you for joining this series. So let's get on the subject of achieving personal and academic success. I know you had a distinction in both your undergraduate degree and your postgrad degree. However, take us back to your childhood. Were you always shining academically? Cb: I'd say yes. I've always been a straight-A student. (laughs). Throughout primary school, I bagged tons a...

Prototyping is about executing your ideas by producing samples for testing. You then apply whatever results you get from testing to produce an updated prototype or version which would go through a new cycle of testing and adjustments. You might need to go through several cycles before you achieve a product good enough for marketing. I know prototyping is synonymous with the tech industry but it's actually a business-wide principle.  We all have big dreams. But to achieve your dreams, you must take action; and prototyping is like taking baby steps. Even if you fail, you will learn your lessons and try again. For example, I have had so many blogs that are no longer in existence today. But the truth is that each new blog is an improvement on the last unsuccessful one. In the last few years of prototyping as a blogger, I have improved my writing style and learned about niche blogging.    Whatever your dreams are, start working on them. Your first result does not need to be pe...

Your body is the vehicle for your life and the first step to achieving a wholesome life is taking care of your body and mind. I started to take exercise seriously after my mum passed from a heart-related condition likely worsened by her obesity. My grandmother who was also obese died from a heart condition. So, I knew that  I had to embrace a healthier lifestyle if I wanted a different fate from theirs.  Holistic health goes beyond losing weight. It is about taking care of your spirit, mind, and body.  Before you read  my tips for making healthy habits stick, please think over these questions below as a way of examining yourself  1. Am I taking care of my body? 2. Am I getting enough sleep? 3. Am I doing enough exercise?  4. Am I eating healthy? 5. Do I feel good about my body? 6. Do I have joy in my life? To have better answers to these questions, you need to develop healthy habits, and here are my top tips, tried, and tested.  1. Find a Gym Close to ...

Discipline is such an important trait to develop. Often times, it is what separates professionals from dilettantes. It really is the currency of super-achievers and without some level of self-discipline, you cannot achieve much in life. Below are my top five tips for developing self-discipline. 1. Do Something You Enjoy. I have learned that it is easier to stay consistent at something you enjoy. There is this idea that humans are always seeking the path of least resistance. So, it might be less difficult to develop self-discipline if you engage in an activity that comes naturally to you. Otherwise, find something meaningful to you, even if you don't like the activity. For example, I am learning French on Duolingo and it is not something I particularly enjoy doing. But I understand the significance of learning a second language to having a global career, so I just keep at it.  2. Be a Part of a Community:  I strongly believe that self-discipline can be fueled by interactio...

Like other nights before any big day, I can't fall asleep; excitement and anxiety wouldn't let me. I heave a deep sigh and reach for my transistor radio to tune into a station still playing some music at 3 a.m.  My only sister is fast asleep next to me and, honest to God, she snores like a camel- I fight the urge to poke her, to scold her for sleeping anyhow. I love my sister now but this wasn't always the case growing up.  I called her "BBC" because she was so nosy; always telling our parents what I said or did wrong in their absence.  "Mummy, guess what! Fadekemi's teacher beat her today because she didn't do her homework and she was crying like a baby."  My mum would look at me with piercing eyes and ask if Remi was telling the truth.  No matter what I said, the scene always closed with my mum hitting me with whatever object was within her reach.  I am 50 today and in a few hours, there will be loud music and lots of food. There wi...