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Sunday, May 06, 2012
How to be a Mensch
The Word of The Day for today’s Dictionary.com is Mensch. Co-incidentally I found a webpage of Guy Kawasaki’s that talks on How to Be a Mensch. Apparently, a mensch is defined as a person of integrity and honor.
Here are his points:
Here is my humble attempt to help you achieve menschdom.
- Help people who cannot help you. A mensch helps people who cannot ever return the favor. He doesn’t care if the recipient is rich, famous, or powerful. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t help rich, famous, or powerful people (indeed, they may need the most help), but you shouldn’t help only rich, famous, and powerful people.
- Help without the expectation of return. A mensch helps people without the expectation of return–at least in this life. What’s the payoff? Not that there has to be a payoff, but the payoff is the pure satisfaction of helping others. Nothing more, nothing less.
- Help many people. Menschdom is a numbers game: you should help many people, so you don’t hide your generosity under a bushel. (Of course, not even a mensch can help everyone. To try to do so would mean failing to help anyone.)
- Do the right thing the right way. A mensch always does the right thing the right way. She would never cop an attitude like, “We’re not as bad as Enron.” There is a bright, clear line between right and wrong, and a mensch never crosses that line.
- Pay back society. A mensch realizes that he’s blessed. For example, entrepreneurs are blessed with vision and passion plus the ability to recruit, raise money, and change the world. These blessings come with the obligation to pay back society. The baseline is that we owe something to society–we’re not a doing a favor by paying back society.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Entrepreneurship empowers you to change the world
While I haven’t gotten there yet, I know I will feel a great sense of fulfilment in life when I am positioned for major philanthropic work. It’s easy to get caught up with the daily hustles and bustles, trying to get bread on your table, looking for other ways to add some cheese or butter as topping.
I recently got Jon Kolko’s new book, Wicked Problems: Problems Worth Solving(I should write a review on this), where he talked about the challenges with tackling real problems. Real problems being real ‘life’ problems. More than half of the population in this world is under some distress or the other. Poverty looms in Africa, diseases, war, draughts and oppression have been the only things some children have known. Those are real problems. But we forget these things easily by trying to catch up with our neighbors, the Jones’. In Wicked Problems:Problems Worth Solving, Jon Kolko talked about how he worked on an MTN project for an African country. They changed so many lives through this, but it couldn’t have been continuous because it was more of a corporate social responsibility. The company had to go back to making big profits to impress their shareholders etc. Of course, you begin to lose your business when you stop making as much profit as previous years. So how do you as a corporate organization chase profits and still make MAXIMUM impact in society?
I just read on incomediary.com, Decoded: 17 Secrets to Jay-Z’s Entrepreneurial Success where one of the points, #16 wrote: Entrepreneurship Empowers You to Change the World. How true! How true! One needs to leave the level of making enough money to feed family and be able to move up to meet the needs of community and the world at large. That, I believe is the ultimate call and duty of our existence.
I refuse to stay complacent. I refuse to get lost in the fever of trying to make wealth for myself and my own. I aspire to change the world. Yes, for now one step at a time.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Jobberman Survey Infographics
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Kye Kye Violin Solo
Monday, February 20, 2012
Should you close the PHP tag ?> Two Arguments!
The two phrases in the title have no pun intended.
Anyways, I found out today that I could write PHP codes without the close tag. Trying to investigate this, I stumbled on these two opposing ideas.
- Should you close that PHP tag? by 卡车 Chuck
- PHP files – Closing the PHP tag or not? by Open Core
Thursday, January 12, 2012
SOPA needs to be stopped!
I heard about SOPA almost a year ago. Since then I had dismissed thoughts about this new Policy. But it’s 2weeks before the United States government votes for or against this bill.
Let me explain what this is in lay man’s term. SOPA is the Stop Online Piracy Act. It is an act that allows corporate organizations shut down unauthorized sites where videos, music or files could be downloaded from. Well, you may think this won’t affect you if you don’t download series, games or movies but this law covers even the lifting off of content or links from websites without obtaining permission.
Now, how does this affect you or me? Most of the growth in developing countries, Nigeria included have been through the help of the internet. Not just the internet but access to loads of resources online. The access to these resources will in the future be extremely limited if this law takes effect.
In fact, websites like Facebook, Youtube and Twitter can be shut down if a user breaks any of the guidelines. They could even sue search engines for indexing sites that have download links to ‘unauthorized’ resources. You and I know that most of the sites where you download things like stock images, scripts, tutorials also have content that may be tagged as suspicious. For the mere fact that these websites have the illegal stuff, the whole site could be shut down.
It will also cripple new start ups because it allows companies sue websites that are not doing their filtering well enough.
To fully understand what is going on, you can watch this video below.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Lessons from Branding
As a web developer with recent focus on front end development, I have found myself working closely with Corporate and Branding departments of different companies. I have gained deeper understanding of branding processes and brand identity.
This short vacation I embarked on, I loaded myself with a lot of books- most on management and others on Start ups, User Experience Design and Branding. Some titles include The Lean Start Up by Eric Ries, Seductive Interation Design by Stephen P. Anderson, KaChing: How to Run An Online Business that Pays and Pays by Joel comm and of course the biography Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.
Apart from the Joel Comm book that I found particularly interesting, Brandwashed was a very interesting book, captivating me from the very first leaf.
It is so interesting how selling a brand and selling a product can start from the psyche. Why are soft drinks hardly colored blue? Do you know how fear gets introduced into selling? The book exposes secrets in making sales through the sensual stimulations, brand addictino, peer pressure, celebrities and fame etc .
Today, I flipped on my Feed Reader and read Binary Moon’s article on Business Lessons From Innocent Drinks. Reading this article re-emphasized to me the importance of your own brand image.
Working with Nysteria, I must admit we never really got into our consciousness our Mission Statement. I believe if we had, it would have reflected more in our work ethics and of course, the way we perceive each other- the business as a whole.
In his article, Ben Gillbanks points out the importance of Openness, Mission statements and positive ethics- things he learned when he visited Innocent Drinks.
Saturday, January 07, 2012
Using Mind Maps
What is a Mind Map
A Mind Map is an extremely useful tool and an equally forgotten tool when it comes to planning- and planning anything. Taking a course in User Experience design, I was reintroduced to Mind Mapping and I must say it is pretty amazing how good use of this tool can add positively to the planning of your project or your task.
I have spent hundreds of hours planning different aspects of my life, including pet projects, relationship management and career development objectives and I see the use of Mind Maps invaluable.
According to Wikipedia, ”Mind maps are, by definition, a graphical method of taking notes. Their visual basis helps one to distinguish words or ideas, often with colors and symbols. They generally take a hierarchical or tree branch format, with ideas branching into their subsections. Mind maps allow for greater creativity when recording ideas and information, as well as allowing the note-taker to associate words with visual representations.[citation needed] Mind maps differ from concept maps in that mind maps focus on only one word or idea, whereas concept maps connect multiple words or ideas.
A key distinction between mind maps and modelling graphs is that there is no rigorous right or wrong with mind maps, relying on the arbitrariness of mnemonic systems. A UML Diagram or a Semantic network has structured elements modelling relationships, with lines connecting objects to indicate relationship. This is generally done in black and white with a clear and agreed iconography.
Mind maps serve a different purpose: they help with memory and organization. Mind maps are collections of words structured by the mental context of the author with visual mnemonics,and, through the use of colour, icons and visual links are informal and necessary to the proper functioning of the mind map.
What is a Mind Map Used For?
Mind Maps can be used for
- problem solving
- outline/framework design
- structure/relationship representations
- anonymous collaboration
- marriage of words and visuals
- individual expression of creativity
- condensing material into a concise and memorable format
- team building or synergy creating activity
- enhancing work morale
How to use Mind Maps
| 1. Take a blank piece of paper, A4 or larger. | Blank paper allows 360º of freedom to express the full range of your cortical skills, whereas pre-drawn lines restrict the natural flow of your thoughts. |
| 2. Use the paper in landscape orientation. | Words and images have more space in the direction we write, so they don’t bump into margins as quickly. |
| 3. Start in the centre. | Thoughts start in the centre of our mental world. The Mind Map page reflects this! |
4. Make a central image that represents the topic about which you are writing/thinking:
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A picture is worth a thousand words. It opens up associations, focuses the thoughts, is fun and results in better recall:
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5. The main themes around the central image are like the chapter headings of a book:
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The main themes, connected to the central image on the main branches, allow their relative importance to be seen. These are the Basic Ordering Ideas (BOIs) and aggregate and focus the rest of the Mind Map:
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6. Start to add a second level of thought. These words or images are linked to the main branch that triggered them. Remember:
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Your initial words and images stimulate associations. Attach whatever word or image is triggered. Allow the random movement of your thought; you do not have to ‘finish’ one branch before moving on:
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7. Add a third or fourth level of data as thoughts come to you:
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Your brain is like a multi-handed thought-ball catcher. The Mind Mapallows you to catch and keep whatever ‘thought ball’ is thrown by your brain. |
| 8. Add a new dimension to your Mind Map. Boxes add depth around the word or image. | To make some important points stand out. |
9. Sometimes enclose branches of a Mind Map with outlines in colour:
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The outlines will create unique shapes as you find in clouds and will aid your memory:
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10. Make each Mind Map a little more:
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Your eyes and brain will be attracted to your Mind Map:
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| 11. Have fun!
Add a little humour, exaggeration or absurdity wherever you can. |
Your brain will delight in getting the maximum use and enjoyment from this process and will therefore learn faster, recall more effectively and think more clearly. |
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
My Church Mind: Forget #OccupyNigeria (Omojuwa.com)
Disclaimer below the post
Forget #OccupyNigeria for a minute. Let us not get too emotional about our national challenges. Emotion and sentiments have failed us over and again as a people and are still failing us. What I see on Facebook and on twitter as reasons for the #OccupyNigeria movement are still based on emotion. No man has ever succeeded based on emotions alone. We need to engage our minds. We must set our head in order. We want to #OccupyNigeria? Why? The why will give you the purpose and the objective of occupation. If your “why?” is so we can kill all the rulers and take over leadership, then your end is that you will eventually get killed too because that is how it works. Nigeria has a myriad of problems. The biggest and most costly of which is leadership. Nigeria has no leadership whatsoever! This piece is not about our failing sorry failed leadership, it is about us so called young people…Youths of Nigeria.
The time has come. The time has come for us to forget our differences and preferences and look at ourselves in the face and ask…will it matter or make a difference to this country I for the first time in our lives, we all come out and speak for ONE cause? If your answer is No! thank you for your sincerity. This is where my musing ends for you…
If your answer is Yes! We should talk because you are right, we as a people speaking in harmony as one voice we can change this country. We need a place to start and the proposed fuel subsidy removal by the Federal Government is a very good place to start. In starting, we are not going to be chanting “All we are sayinnnnnnnnng, leave subsidyyyyyyyy. All we are sayinnnnnnnnnng, leave subsidy….” No we won’t do the usual thing because that will get us the usual result – nothing. We can do better and this is what we ought to do.
What informed the plan to remove the subsidy in the first place? Simple, the government is broke and government cannot run on anything but money. In fact, the only reason Nigeria is still running is because we have enough money to keep it running, otherwise our rulers haven’t done much to keep Nigeria running. Government wants to raise about $6billion per year from subsidy removal. They have promised that they will then use the money to invest in health and infrastructure. That sounds good enough, especially the promise part but apart from the fact that promises by the Nigerian government are nothing but words offered to keep Nigerians perpetually hoping for a tomorrow that will never com, the government has said it will reduce recurrent expenditure by 1% every year from next year for the four year duration of the government. With recurrent expenditure at 75 per cent this year, it means that at best recurrent expenditure will be 70 per cent by 2015. Guess what that means? It means the money raised from subsidy will still be funding salaries and emoluments of political office holders and intangible wastes in government. But that is not the end of the argument. Government also says that there is so much corruption in the subsidy set up it has to stop the process in its entirety. That sounds really cool until you ask, why can’t the government having discovered corruption in its own system not cut out the corruption if the cannot go a step further to bring the perpetrators to book. Let us not even consider the argument about the fact that there is no subsidy but a ruse of lies and scams. Let us for a minute forget the fact that we export about the world’s best quality of crude but import the worst type of fuel imaginable. It has been written elsewhere on this blog how Nigerian business men and indeed government shortchange the country in the whole process of petroleum exploration and consumption. It goes from exploitation to confusion. Okay, these are complex issues so we need to pick out what is clear-cut and deal with them.
Government needs money and we know without money government cannot function. This is how we will help them raise money. They will not need to raise money from 150 million Nigerians and they will still raise about $20billion! 744 Local Governments have 744 Local Government Chairmen. How much do they earn? Imagine if we clamour for a 70 per cent reduction in their salaries. Multiply that amount by 744 and by 12 months. Don’t forget the councillors. How many councillors are in each Local Government? How much do they earn? How many of them do we have nationwide? How much can we save for a year if we reduce the salaries by 70 per cent?
Remember the 36 states and their Governors? How much do they really earn per month? How much can Nigeria save per month if we cut their salaries by 70 per cent? How much per year?
Look at the House of Representatives where 90 per cent of them represent nobody but their bank accounts. 360 men earn $1.2 million/year/person. What if we reduce their pay by 70 per cent? We will raise $840,000.00 per Legislator. Multiply that by 360 people you get $302,400,000.00! think of the 55 or so ministers, have that number reduced by 25 and have the remaining have their salaries halved, what do you get? Money into government’s coffers for capital projects. I could go on…
As far as corruption in the subsidy process goes, identify the loopholes and fix them. Nigeria is subsidising its neighbours, we cut out that delusion and subsidise only what our people consume. What happens the little petroleum refined here? It is of far higher quality than the petrol we import. The government should release a timeline and action that states with dates the liberalisation calendar of the downstream sector. What is so difficult about this/
We will never have to occupy if the Nigerian government does the above as I now state categorically.
• Retain the subsidy
• Cut out the corruption in that system and stop subsidising our neighbours’ petrol consumption.
• Reduce the pay of public officers across the board by 70 per cent to generate money and reduce the number of ministers and aides.
• Release a timeline and action plan for the downstream sector for the eventual liberalisation of the downstream sector especially in terms of having private investors refine our petroleum so that we don’t just have enough for our people but we also export petrol and petroleum products.
Is this too much to ask for?
Yes WE WILL #OCCUPYNIGERIA and these are our demands!!! We will not go and march if all of these get done at the point of engagement, where engagements fail, we will sleep and dine on the streets of Nigeria. We are not mad people, we are reasonable young Nigerians and irrespective of where you stand, what you want to see is a better Nigeria where life matters. Get on the #OccupyNigeria train, it will be peaceful and we will achieve results Nigeria and Nigerians will be proud of
@omojuwa
This post was been pulled off Omojuwa.com and a trackback has been sent.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Therapy for Boredom Or Passageway to Death: 74hour youtube video of a man who counted to 100,000
There are many things to do when you are bored.
I could take you through the list. An expert at curing people’s boredom with proven track records, I am able to recommend the newest and best therapy when the case arises. The video below is what I am talking about. Please note also that in as much as its a therapy, there are contraindications. Just a bit too much can throw you off. But one thing is sure: If you watch this to the end, you are either going to be cured of your boredom or you are going to pay for it- in DEATH.
Allow me to introduce you to the man who counted 100,000 in 74hours 29minutes and 8 seconds. Enjoy!
Please visit my friend Nogo’s blog. We decided to write about this at the same time and compare stories.
This article was written by Seye Kuyinu. My name is Seye Kuyinu. My daily job is to write and draw with languages that translate to 1010101010s. By so doing I give people a better image on the web, and also make life easier for them. You can click here for more about me.