Toochukwu Leonard's Blog

Sometime ago, I was reading a book I like to call, the Ultimate Guide to Excellent conduct and performance; when I saw what I’ll describe as the best business advice ever. The explicitness and truth in that advice was superb. It was very significant; more valuable than a lot of business advices I’ve ever heard from top world business people. To save you some suspense, the book I was reading then was the Holy Bible, and this best business advice was gotten from:

Sometime ago, I was surfing the internet in an ICT center close to my apartment, then something interesting happened. So interesting that it made me pause for a few moments, record the incident in my journal, made an article out of it before I then continued what I was doing. I titled the article: ‘How I got a free mango” and frankly, that was exactly what happened- I got a free mango. I’ll tell you the story. It’s a short one. A short, funny, interesting, life-changing story. OK, Let’s go right to it: I like mangoes a lot, especially the type that everything except the seeds are completely eaten (you know, the type above). They appear very yellow and mere sighting them makes me salivate even after I’ve stopped looking. Those were the kind of mangoes I saw that day at the ICT center.

Hope is universal. It is the sole reason for existence. Without it, there would be no reason for living or achievements for how can one explain existence without looking forward to something better in the nearest future. You’ll agree with me that one primary reason why some people commit suicide is that they cannot possibly see a better future for themselves. Hope is a belief of expectation and desire. Hope is stronger than a mere wish. While a wish can come out of anyone’s clutter of thoughts and imaginations, in any circumstance, sporadically, without regard to ends and means, hopes are more of emphatic, with a greater propensity of being realized.

I know of a fellow. You cannot but notice him. He always makes himself noticed by all, announcing his peculiar presence everywhere he goes. He likes to be given the best recognitions and praises wherever he is. He always thinks and believes that he’s smarter and better than everyone present in a particular place. This felling gives him utmost pleasure and satisfaction.

I grew up to be a hyper-inquisitive kid. I was so inquisitive that I had a question to ask about almost anything. Sometimes it freaked out whoever was unfortunate to be the recipient of the almost endless barrage of questions.  A a lot of times, though, people were glad to answer my questions, other times, however, when some of the questions I asked were too strange or too inappropriate; I would receive, in return to my questions, responses such as a blank to almost horrid faces (and every other facial expression in between), of which, even without them speaking, tells me quite clearly, to zip my mouth a bit and be more careful with my almost obnoxious inquisitive nature.

I'm melancholy. It's in my nature to spend so much time brooding and thinking about what others say or think about me. Agreed, some people don't know how to talk. Agreed, some people are rude, discouraging and annoyingly critical.  Agreed, some people think in an untoward and irritating manner. People are not that bad sometimes, but like I said, my imaginations and thinking as a melancholy made me think they are. At a point, however, I asked myself a simple question. Will all those matter in the nearest future? I came to the conclusion that it won't. I know, because I've been there...several times.

Do you have something you’d like to share with others in form of writing, but you’re at a loss on how to do it well? Or probably, you have a pressing inspiration to write something on a particular interest of yours but don’t know where to start? Could it be that you occupy a position and an article is needed from you to show or share your expertise and experience, and of course, you are knowledgeable in the field but you’re still confused as to how to go about writing? Or maybe still, you’re a writer and wish to improve your writing efficacy and prowess and make people get magneted to, and anticipate your articles with an eager interest and actually benefit tremendously from them?

This is a short post for students preparing for exams. Below are 10 quick tips you must follow to ensure you succeed in any exam. These tips are based on unfailing principles. Ignore them to your peril. Here we go...

There are many definitions of ‘spillover effect’ ranging from economical to emotional definitions. But I’m not talking about all those stuff. The type of ‘spillover effect’ I’m interested in now is a special one that I created myself, still using the same term. What am I talking about? The spillover effect I’m talking about here is this: ‘If as an individual, you tend to manage an area of your life very well, the effects of such a control or management will be evident in other areas of your life. Sounds cool,  doesn't  it?

I was walking briskly along the street one afternoon rushing to the bank to deposit some money into a friend’s account. I noticed something; not that it  wasn't  happening before or that I  wasn't  noticing it before per se, but it just struck me. What was it? It was MY HEART!

Crossroads… Hmmm; sounds familiar? We’ve all been there before, haven’t we? It’s a ‘place’; a situation in which you’re at a loss on which step to take. Just like when you come to a road which bifurcates and you don’t know which path is the right one; a situation in your life may arise in which you don’t know exactly which step to take. You’re confused and at a loss.  You’re at a critical point when an important decision must be made. That’s what being at the crossroads mean. Yeah, we’ve all seen this kind of situation times without number. Can I ask you something, though? What exactly did you do when you were at your own crossroads? Did you just blindly choose one option and got going? Did you ‘follow your heart’? (What does that even mean?). What do you think is appropriate to do when at the crossroads?

I define mediocrity as accepting and working with things the way they are without reasoning, asking questions or attempting improvement. Mediocrity is being comfortable with the average or even below the average. Mediocrity is, not even feeling bothered with the status quo; not even thinking of planning for improvement in any aspect of life. That is my view of mediocrity. You see, it bleeds my heart to see how OK and comfortable majority of people are about issues around them; issues that concern their very lives. It’s indeed seriously baffling. Mediocrity is very rampant. There’s a likelihood that you’ll find it around you, even in your very life.

A friend of mine wrote a post on facebook. The content of the post wasn't something strange. It's something most youths think seriously about frequently. It was an after-school-then-what kind of post.  There were several comments. However, one striking thing about the comments, though, not strange too, is that at least 90% of all those who commented said similar things. They were of the normal popular opinion; which is, after school, get a good job, make some money (for the guys most importantly) get married, raise kids... And in so doing, your life seems to step aside for those of your kids as you work harder and harder to cater for your ever growing family. Is this what you really want?

I’ll tell you how a significant number of people succeed in working so hard and reaping very little, by giving you this simple illustration. Imagine a small room, and a tap of running water located somewhere in the room, perhaps in a sink. You were instructed to mop the room dry. With the tap still running, will that be possible?

A sincere ‘thank you’ is one of the loveliest things to be heard. It warms the heart, puts smile to the face and adds joy to the heart. It makes one feel like a fulfilled hero even though he may have accomplished the smallest of tasks with the slightest of efforts. We starve others of this little but lovely expression due to several reasons, most evidently; self-centeredness, pride, or a mere nonchalant and uncaring attitude. Hard as it may sound, if we can be honest, this is often the case.

In comparison with building, destruction can be considered very easy. But come to think of it, is it really correct to say that destruction is easy and has no definite pattern? Perhaps; but you’ll soon agree with me (if you don’t already) that a patterned destruction will cause more calamity, in a much easier way, than one with no pattern. Just imagine this scenario. You intend destroying a 3-storey building. There are several ways you can do this:

  First of all, this post is for bachelors. So if you’re not a bachelor, well, go have some fun with some other stuff. OK, now that I have my target reader, I guess I can now start.

Well, well, well. Let’s take a quick review of today. By the way, the time is 22:22 of 3 rd January, 2013 and few hours ago we just returned from Akatta, Oru East LGA Imo state, where my late grandfather was laid to rest today. He was aged, 95. Our prayer is that may his gentle soul rest in perfect peace. I arrived the very busy and noisy scenario & was practically & literally turned off (busy & noisy places or events turns me off big time). I had to sneak in through the backyard (pitiable for me).

1. Pick the Right Person. 2. Match the requirements of the job to the abilities of the person. 3. Delegate effectively to the Right Person (teach more people; this enables you delegate more hence frees more useful time for your other activities).

Just a few moments ago, I was downloading some software with an APP store manager. The download manager stopped responding for a while and windows asked me if I'd like to wait for the program to respond or to exit.

In my opinion, courtesy is the most important social skill. What does it mean? Have you thought about it? What does it really mean to be courteous? It's simple. Courtesy simply means kind and polite behavior.

Just recently, I was thinking about something, and that is, are thoughts the same as actions? Will someone be guilty of something if he/she just thought about doing it? It's kind of crazy if you think about it. 'How can my I be guilty of my thoughts alone?'. But it's true. When you realize that thoughts are things, you guard your every thoughts.

Are you planning to attend an interview soon? Or perhaps you know someone who is about to attend one. Then read this carefully as the following tips will be of immense help to you. Interview etiquette can be spitted into the following three headings: 1.    PREPARATION 2.      DRESSING 3.      COMPOSURE & ATTITUDE

Just for today I will be happy. Just for today I will try to adjust myself to what is, and not try to adjust everything to my own desires. I will take my family, my business, and my luck as they come and fit myself to them.

Assumptions are vital to the development of Health, Wealth, Strength, Agility, Valor and Success. Let’s take the example of Health and Strength. Make the assumption that you’re healthy and strong even if apparently, you’re not. Just keep thinking you have incredible health and strength. Make the thought your obsession. You know what’s going to happen? Listen what your body will say: “O boy, look at the way this guy is thinking, we had better get him to the shape he has in mind because soon enough, we’re going to get into real trouble if we don’t”.

These are areas which when you continually develop yourself, will make you a force to reckon with in your discipline & your life in general. They are not listed in order of priority (they are listed alphabetically) You alone know which comes when. For effectiveness, I advocate a simultaneous practice of all areas, like I do. Remember, there's no absolute state of development. Self development always remains a diligent process, never an event- till you breathe your last. With diligent pursuit of these, the sky's the limit of your achievements. In all, there must be balance. 1. Character, Habits and Lifestyle