Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Is Luck Related to Success?

I fully agree with the claim that there is no correlation between success and luck. Moreover, I understand success to refer to one’s ability to achieve the predominant part of his goals in his lifetime, which in turn leads to a correlation between success and income since the accomplishment of such a natural goal as to provide a good future for your loved ones demands the means. What is the simplest and most lawful way to earn enough to consider yourself a successful person? To receive a good education and to find a good job. Both receiving an education and making a career presuppose one’s readiness to work hard, and success without hard work is simply not possible for the vast majority of the world's population. The reasons andexamples listed below will strengthen my point of view.First of all, considering an education and a career as key factors of success, one will choose to pursue a degree from a college or a university.

 One wishing to be admitted to the university will have to take several tests. It is doubtful that someone will be so lucky that knowing nothing, he could pass the test with a high score. A low score means failure, and that test taker will not likely be admitted. Therefore, in order to be successful, one should prepare for the tests and work hard, because a good education will provide him with a good job and an opportunity to accomplish some of his goals and dreams. In my lifetime, I have never met a person who could graduate from a college without working hard.Secondly, it is impossible to make a career if one is indolent and lacking knowledge, at least in developed countries. Luck plays no role in achieving this success.

Even if someone was unbelievably lucky enough to become a manager not being qualified enough, he will be asked to resign in the near future because of his inability due to lack of knowledge and experience to make right decisions. For instance, I used to work for a very small company owned by a friend. This company was later closed because of bankruptcy. The cause of bankruptcy was wrong strategies and decisions made by the owner. After the failure, he went to a university and worked for another company so that he could obtain experience and become a successful businessman.

 Nowadays, he considers himself a successful person because he had turned into reality his two biggest dreams of producing consumer goods of high quality and making charitable donations to needy people.In sum, as long as someone understands success as an ability to turn into reality some of his dreams and goals, he will have to work hard because he will need money. And his chances to earn that money will remarkably increase if he could graduate from a college and make a career. All of these things are simply not possible without hard work. Luck has no place in such a scheme of events.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

LOCUST SEASON

You know that many of us, we miss those days of harmony
And we’ll like to see them again
You know that many of us, we miss those days of innocence
And we’ll like to see them again
Tell me where are you now Victor Banjo?
We look to the sky and the stars are gone
Only vultures feeding off the backs of the poor, the weak and the people’s frustration
Tell me, where have you gone Kaduna Nzeogwu?
The sun doesn’t shine in the east anymore
And the west no longer sees any ray of hope
And in the north, in the south, it’s locust season
So tell me, where will it berth this floundering ship?
The storm is gathering and the moment comes
When denial will no longer be enough
And the horrors of the past will be exposed
So tell me how will you gag millions of voices?
The season of reckoning is drawing near
When the people come together to make a new pact
On how to live together or move apart
E don tey wey we dey talk am
No be today o, no be today
(It’s long we’ve been talking about this, not just today)
We seek justice and liberty
Truth and honour in high places
We seek freedom and prosperity for all
We seek an end to poverty in this land…

king of procrastination

All of my life I don dey try o
To be the best I can be
To be somebody’s hero
But I am the king of procrastination
And now that you’ve come my way I really see o
Your beauty glows in the dark
My former life was a deep hole
You are the queen of illumination
So here I stand, wash me woman
Make me clean, put a new song in my mouth
Don’t give up on me now…
Time has passed again I’m in the shadows
The darkness come anew
My lonely feet grow heavy
These are the days of tribulation
But then, I hear your voice calling out
You beat a path through the jungle
You’ve got a smile on your face
You’re reaching out in invitation
But girl I’m afraid my past will never let me be
They say old habits die hard
Don’t give up on me now…
Today we meet as planned at the crossroads
I’ve got my offering ready
I go down on my knees o
And plead with the Lord of confusion
But you, you have eyes only for me o
Your plate is full of riches
You treat me like a hero
You feed me love and devotion
Yes queen I am ready
Hold me woman, make me strong
We’ll be together through the storm
Don’t give up on me now…

Someone like Biko

Weariness in my soul, pain in my heart
See you there little child, fear in your eyes
The road ahead will be rough, we seek the land of hope
No vision, no clear direction
Only the fittest of the fittest shall survive and that’s why
I’m crying for the future
I worry about the future
I’m working for the future, yeah
Will we ever truly be happy
Will we ever know the good life
Will there ever be justice and equality for all?
So give me a man like Malcolm in this time
Someone like Sankara with the love of his people
Show me a man like Neto in this time
Someone like Biko…
Then we were slaves taken away from here
Now we’re still slaves right on our own land
Nothing is settled my brother, the battle rages on
We’re still the pawn in the game
And half the story is never told and that’s why
I’m fighting for the future
I’m working for future
I’m looking to the future, yeah
Will we ever really be free
Will ever stand up and fight
Will we ever speak together in one voice?
So give me a man like Cabral in this time
Someone like Lumumba, with the passion of youth
We need men like Garvey in this time
Someone like Biko…
So give me a man like Shaka in this time
Someone like Nkrumah, with the love of his people
Show me a man like Boro in this time
Someone like Biko…
Weariness in my soul, pain in my heart
Close your eyes and sleep child,
Everything is going to be alright…

Love; a temporary madness

Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are.
Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident

attitude

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money. Than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... any religious gathering... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.