You Have No Cause To Achieve Lower Than Your Mark

In-case you missed the heading, I would repeat it again for free; You Have No Cause To Achieve Lower Than Your Mark!

Like someone once said "Find out what you are really here for and chase it down with every sweat and fiber in your being". This quote applies to every aspect of your life, be it your academics; find out why you are really in school and chase it down with every sweat and fiber in your being. Until you begin to ask 'Why', you would never really appreciate the value of aiming and achieving the best in wherever you find yourself. It is an indisputable fact that if you do not know 'Why' you are in school, you would never understand 'Why' it is important that you read your books and achieve high grades every semester/term. Even in your local societies and even in politics at different levels, until you ask yourself 'Why' you have been elected to lead, you would never come to the complete understanding of the responsibilities and achievements that are expected of you. Wherever or at whatever task you find yourself, always ask 'Why' and assuredly you would always get an answer. When you get these answers, give your very best at it, I mean, all you've got and the results/milestones would amaze you. Success can never elude a man who gives his all in small, just as he would in big.

Why seek a second opportunity to right a wrong when you could have made it right at first instance if only you gave your best and didn't aim below your mark. Why seek a second opportunity to make an 'A' in class when you could have made it at first instance if only you had asked yourself 'Why' you were there in the first place and then given your very best at it.

Why seek a second chance to be a better leader when you could have been a better leader at first instance.

Why ever seek second chances when we all know that the clock never pauses nor rewinds. In essence, why seek to do the same thing twice when it could have been amazingly done at first instance, most especially as we all agree that time waits for no one.

Get a grip of yourself! Always ask 'Why' and it would always and assuredly help you focus on the task and achievement(s) expected of you.

Even if everything and everyone fails you, you cannot afford to fail yourself! Refuse to understand or believe in Excuses. The only people who give excuses are those who seek a second chance on one and same task.

Remember this; Champions do not give excuses! Champions always ask 'Why' and then they get answers and then they give their best at it and then they Win!

Shalom.

Eta Uso Jr
Twitter: @royaltyuso

My National Service

With pride in God, I can boldly say; I have served my country well.

It has been months of dedication and service, both in the sun and in the rain but it was worth the while. Today, I receive the certificate of honor, of which stands as a testament to my 365 days of total service to my nation (Nigeria).

For many, it may have been a bumpy ride, but I am thankful to God Almighty that he took me in his arms and made mine a pleasant experience and a period I would cherish forever.

To my good friends at my place of service (Zain Aberdeen, Dr. Inih, Abbey, Okeke Oguejiofor, Itohan Ukpebor and few others to mention) i'd say; Together, we made it.

To my family, i'd say; Thank you. Your support cannot be quantified.

To all those who gave me undeserved privileges because of my service uniform; I say, God bless you.

I not only feel honored, I am honored.

Looking back, I smile because it was worth it.

However, while today marks the end of my service to my nation as a Youth Corper, it does not mark the end of my service to my nation as a Nigerian.

On this, I replace my head-dressing and give a dignifying salute!

Thank you GOD, for the beginning and the end belongs all Glory to you.

... GOD BLESS NIGERIA.

Eta Uso Jr.
Corper (Oct. 2011 - Oct. 2012)

Usain Bolt: The Fastest Thing Running

Usain Bolt (World's Fastest Man Since The World Begun)

I waited three years for this moment. Finally it came! Usain Bolt is the Olympic 100m champion and more-so, he has re-written the history books by setting a new Olympic record with 9.63 seconds. GOD bless you. JUSTIFIED!

Why The Bruhaha About Cassava Bread?

In the aftermath of President Goodluck Jonathan's approval of major incentives, aimed at encouraging the production of Cassava bread in the country, lots of people have come up with different satirical phrases across social media. 

Based on the above background, it became pertinent and in the spirit of objectivity that I outlined few cogent benefits of the scheme below.

 

When people make fun of Nigeria using the 'Cassava' phrase, it only goes to show how far people would let themselves be led by their misunderstanding.

I am certain that those who jeer the words 'cassava republic', certainly have not even bothered to see the many benefits the production of Cassava bread in Nigeria would bring.

Do you know that with the cassava bread initiative, the nation would be saving the N635bn being spent on the importation of wheat?

Do you know that Cassava bread is cheaper and healthier?

Do you know that jobs would be created as more manpower would be recruited in order to meet up with demand?

Do you know that this is a boost at reviving our low-status as regards local production as we are commonly known worldwide as importers of everything even tooth-picks, of which isn't positive for us as a country and that's what this administration is determined to change and has taken a first step.

*You  can follow me on twitter; @royaltyuso

Even The Waters Danced To Michael Jackson

If you have been to the Dubai Mall to see the water-display, am sure seeing the fountain choreograph different kinds of music would surely not be new to you.

However, what makes this video special is that not only did the water dance, it danced to one of the greatest hits by the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

Watch and See for yourself. :)

In Uyo on the 25th of June, 2012.

Arrived Uyo around 8:30am and just as usual, I was welcomed into the city by the exquisite roads, courtesy of the very high standards in road construction delivery as executed by the German construction giants; Julius Berger.

On getting done with my engagements in Uyo at around 10am, my intention was to travel back to my state that same day. However, I chose to spend some time in the city (Uyo) till 3pm before leaving and as it turned out, I met these friends of mine (youth corpers serving in Akwa Ibom State) who were like " you cannot leave today o, you must hang-out with us today ". It might surprise you that in as much as it was a simple decision to make, it took me a little over three hours to finally make up my mind to stay. Even at the point were we all got into a car and each of them took turns in getting to their respective houses to change into casual wears, I still had not yet decided if I was willing to spend a night there.

Well, after everyone was set in their casual wears, our first port of call happened to be the Sliverbird Cinema located inside the Tropicana Resort in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Being my first time visiting the Sliverbird Cinema in Uyo, I expected so much, especially with the image of other Sliverbird Cinemas at other locations in the country still being very fresh in my memory. As we arrived the Tropicana Resort and stepped out of the car, the first thing that got my attention was the unkempt surroundings of the car-park that faces the entrance door into the Cinema. The parking-lot itself was well swept and neat but the grasses of which I am sure where planted for beautification, was rather what turned the beauty of the environment into ashes as the grasses were overgrown and sprouting at every corner. By the standards I have always come to expect from such leisure environments, I must say that the exterior environment of the Tropicana Resort of which houses the Sliverbird Cinema complex alongside other arenas, surely fell short of my expectation.

What Are You Doing With Negative People?

Yes, this question is for you; what are you doing with negative people? I bet you are having problems giving yourself an answer to this question. Anyway, I can help here and my advice to you is that you take a walk out of the presence of such people and never look back.

It is easier to be discouraged than to be encouraged. Therefore, it is easier for the negative to influence the positive, rather than the other way round. We are living in a world today where worldly ideologies seem to have a better part of the populace, so on this; I guess you now see why the chances of embracing negativity are higher and why you need to avoid such environments or people at all cost.

Negative people come in different forms; could be those who are just totally sinful and would never see any reason to be upright or responsible, could also be those who although are living responsible lives but somehow they never stop being pessimistic about every situation. The list is endless but the bottom-line is that, just as Water or Coca-Cola are still liquids, any type or format of negativity is still Negativity; stay away from it at all cost, including those it embodies, as well as its environs.  

Big Brother Stargame: #Bad-iDea? Or #GoodPlanGoneBad?

One cannot ignore the fact that this year’s (2012) Big Brother Edition tagged ‘Big Brother Stargame’ was meant to be the best and most thrilling ever in comparison to previous Big Brother Africa editions. However, with over a month to the end of the game, the Big Brother Stargame house has experienced eight (8) unforeseen evictions. Four of these being as a result of health / emotional issues of a partner and the other four resulting from the violation of the house rules, of which earned them an expulsion from the game.

Without missing anything, I think this is the first time the Big Brother Africa reality show would be experiencing such massive disruption to the show. The nearest to this was the disqualification of Mr. Hannington Kavuma of Uganda during the Big Brother 5: All Stars season due to same rule violation. Nonetheless, the case of Mr. Hannington was an isolated case and really didn’t or in fact, didn’t cause any disruption to the game.

Still on the Big Brother Africa Stargame; two weeks ago, the Sunday eviction(s) in the Up-Ville House (VIP) had to be cancelled due to the fact that two of the three nominated housemates were disqualified before the Sunday LIVE eviction show due to improper conduct and this resulted in the nullification of evictions for that Sunday, of which caused the Sunday LIVE show to appear dull and without glamour and was more like a hush-hush event of which am certain had caused the show to lose a chunk of their loyal viewers as well as create a whole of new bunch of dissatisfied viewers.

The names and countries of housemates who had to leave the Big Brother Stargame in circumstances other than the official Sunday eviction shows are;

Depend on GOD

I personally need no one to school me on the fact that humans would always fail you. Most times, this happens in situations where you believed that everything was within their jurisdiction to grant your request, either directly or indirectly. How many of you have experienced this? And how many of you are experiencing it now?

Today, I have very few words for you.

I can stake my life that GOD would never fail you. Whenever you need that job / favor / contract / scholarship / music deal or whatever, just take up your request to GOD Almighty, trust me, he would deliver to you that divine helper that would grant your earnest request without your ever needing to experience sleepless night or nights of tears.. Take this from me, if you depend on men(humans), that very person whom you think can help you by virtue of his/her high position in the society, is more likely to fail you ninety-nine (99) times out of a hundred (100).

I am a witness to this and I can speak with all authority, that when you take your request to GOD through prayer and supplication, he is sure able and would always grant your request in more ways than one, and mostly through a source or person you least expected or could ever comprehend.

I remember chatting with a young man sometime back and in the course of our discussion, I discovered that this young man was very familiar with many highly-placed men in the political circles. I remember saying to him "you must be very well to do, considering the fact that you know all these big men". He smiled and then gave this response "my brother, it's not as you see it" and then he continued " if people were being awarded a PhD for knowing big men, I would have had uncountable PhD's by now, but the truth is, these big men do not help as people think, many of them only offer little help when they need something from you". His answer struck me and I then said to myself, "why depend on man (humans), who would often seek to take before giving, why not depend on GOD, who is openly telling you that his wealth has no end and you should come in and have as much as you desire even to its overflowing".

My brother, sister, friends and all, this is my ministration from me to you. I have tasted both sides; GOD & Man, trust me, GOD's taste never gets sour.

You can follow me on twitter; @royaltyuso

How To Handle Insult And Maintain Compassion....A Short Story

One day a wise man was walking through a village. A very angry and rude young man came up and began insulting him. "You have no right teaching others, he shouted." You are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothing but a fake."

The wise man was not upset by these insults. Instead he asked the young man "Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?"

The man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered, "It would belong to me, because I bought the gift."

The wise man smiled and said, "That is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you. You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself."

"If you want to stop hurting yourself, you must get rid of your anger and become loving instead. When you hate others, you yourself become unhappy. But when you love others, everyone is happy."

The young man listened closely to these wise words of the Wise man. "You are right, "he said. "Please teach me the path of love. I wish to become your follower."

The Wise man answered kindly, "Of course. I teach anyone who truly wants to learn. Come with me."

*Culled From The Internet.

Don’t Worry

Why worry? I have come to a conclusion that worry does no good but rather rubs us of the next step that would have likely bailed us out of whatever predicament we are facing.

Most of the time, people easily succumb to worrying over issues while a solution is just a step away. When next you come across an obstacle whilst chasing your dream, rather than stop to worry, simply put in same effort into taking a bold step forward and you would be amazed with the magical effects this bold action would produce.

Aside the fact that worry doesn’t solve anything, too much of it also causes physical strain on the body, which of cause makes one look older than their mark. Your worries could only get worse when you have to contend with whatever you are worrying about, alongside having to worry about your strained physical appearance. Most especially, in our generation of today where the 50 year olds want to look like the 30 year olds, I bet you sure would not want to look older than what you really are as a consequence of worrying, of which does not help your situation.

Lies: Never Underestimate It’s Ability To Ruin All You Got

This is one issue which I had trouble in making up my mind to write on. I detest it so much that I would rather have nothing to do with it, not even write about it. Nonetheless, I got myself around into writing about it, so feel free to read on and see what I really feel about lies from a very personal perspective.

Here is a secret about me;

“If you want to turn me off like a switch, just lie to me” – Eta Uso, June, 2012

Lies have always been told for generations past; yes, but does that make me accustomed to hearing it? No.

You surely cannot comprehend how one’s reputation falls like a pack of cards whenever a lie finds its way out of one’s mouth. If you want to know how one feels when lied to, simply recall how you felt when someone thought he/she was smarter and therefore tried to play a fast-one on you with a lie.

I would prefer not to restate over and over again, the negative effects of lies, because trust me; there is sure no positive side to this.

I thought I was going to write a lot on this topic, however, few paragraphs into this and I am just feeling the need to stop here. I know you have either lost out of love, friendship, job, favour, etc, as a result of telling a lie.

Feel free to share your stories by posting in the comment section below.

You can follow me on twitter; @royaltyuso