Goals & Path To Realization

(First Published in 2016, Still Relevant)

By the grace of the Holy Spirit, I have been able to share twice on Goals. Much more importantly we give Him all the praise for the testimonies that have trailed those posts.

Today, I would like to share with you how to take your goals from conception stage to realization, an area where many dreams remain just that – dreams. I encourage you to be diligent in taking these steps, and stay with the process. As it works for me, I am sure it would work for you too.

Action Point 1. Write Down Your Goals & Keep Them In Your Face!

Write down the vision, make it plain upon the table, that he who sees them may run with them, says Scrupture. So, maybe most of us do in fact write them down. Then what? Haha! Caught you there! You are not alone if you just dump the goals in the note book, waiting for another time; or you know it’s there but .. yes, I will look them up again – someday!

I counsel that you put your goals where they can ‘confront’ you DAILY; where they can’t be ignored. This will ensure you constantly, consciously or otherwise think about them. And I am sure you have heard it said that when you constantly obsess about something, it eventually consumes you.

Choose a location best suited for you. Mine are my mobile gadgets – phone, tablet and laptop – my mobile offices! I have synchronized my calendar and Reminders with my goals, that they ‘annoyingly’ pop up at regular intervals. This drives me ‘nuts’ at times but they do work!

This way, they become my dominant thoughts; and I have no choice but to constantly work at them until realization.

Action Point 2. Allocate 30 Minutes/Day To Your Goals.

Spend at least 30 minutes every day on your goals – working on them, making plans, making adjustments where necessary.

Everybody claims to be busy, right? So, where will the 30 minutes come from? Let me show you where.

No matter how tight your schedule may be, research shows that there are activities you carry out which, for lack of better word, I will call “unproductive” (forgive me if that offends you😜). Examples – chatting, watching TV (gotcha!!!), even travel time on buses, taxis, trains (if you’re that lucky) etc. So, if you cut out 10 minutes out of any 3 of such activity, you have your 30 minutes, don’t you?

Now that you can get the 30 minutes, what do you do with them? Think about the goal(s). Ask yourself questions such as – “what do I need to do to get this show on the road?”; “what kind of resources would I need?”; “what options do I have to raise these resources?” “what kind of skill set/knowledge/expertise do I need to deploy?” “How do I acquire the required skill set/knowledge/expertise” etc.

If you do this diligently, you will suddenly realize that to achieve any goal is really not difficult. Once you set out the parameters, once they stare you in the face regularly, suddenly your mind begins the process of REFRAMING, tossing the idea around to see other perspectives. This brings illumination, trust me.

What you spend 30 minutes a day to focus on will sooner rather than later become so crystal clear to your mind that it no longer seem daunting. Let me give you an illustration of this –

If your goal is to lose weight (ouch! Sorry), spending 30 minutes on a treadmill or swimming might not appear to be much. But what do you think will happen if you do this everyday for 30 days? Point made? Okay! Thanks.

However, if you still cannot find 30 minutes of your valuable time to set aside for a goal, then maybe that goal isn’t a valuable one to start with. So, remove it from your list and stop wasting mental energy thinking about it.

Action Point 3. Ascertain Why You Need To Reach A Goal.

David the shepherd boy did not just rush into battle with Goliath. Oh no. He made enquiries as to the reward for victory before he plunged into battle! See, at times you need a burning desire to meet targets. This burning desire is what would keep you going when you inevitably come across obstacles, low points and frustrations.

So, you need to ask yourself what I call the “why” questions. “Why do I want a new steam of income?”; “Why am I setting fitness goals?”; “why, why, why?”

Once you get a clear answer, you must now remind yourself constantly your “why”. This will not only recharge your batteries but also fuel a burning desire in you; and I am sure you know that

a burning desire will always get an outlet.

Action Point 4. Get Supportive Help.

You have to surround yourself with people who are going in he same direction with you, or those who already reached the destination you’re headed for. It may be a mentor, an accountability partner or someone you can agree with concerning your goals. Someone who will complement you, encourage you and if need be put the boot to your rear end to get a move on already!

This might not necessarily be someone you know very well, or even a friend. You have to be proactive in seeking such people out; so long as you get the help you need.

Action Point 5. Set Yourself A Time-line For Achievement Of Set Goals.

Time is the most important resource available to man simply because every man, regardless of status has access to just 24 hours per day. And also because once lost, you cannot redeem it. So, you need to wisely utilize the limited time available.

To achieve this, I counsel that you set schedules to achieve each goal. This offers you pressure to keep working on realizing your goals, thereby help to sharpen your focus. Once you are able to set a realistic time-line you suddenly would need no promoting to focus on only those things that will enhance your realization of the goals. This will help you discipline your flesh (remember I mentioned this in 2016, Goals & Your Role. Please get this if you have not read it.)

On this action point I need to sound a note of caution. Do not be w slave to your own scheduling and time-line. Remember, the sabbath was made for man, not the her way round. If you chose your Supportive Help wisely, s/he should be able to help you deal with scheduling issues that I have no time to discuss here.

Action Point 6. Incentivize Yourself.

Human beings love to be appreciated, to be celebrated. It is said that the best way to get a smile on a person’s face is to reward him. So, set yourself rewards for achieving set goals within time. Nothing motivates like a reward, well earned.

It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant, particularly if you’re still trying to build a business or profession. But it has to be enjoyable enough to make you want more. For me, I splurge on books when I hit a milestone. For you, it may be another motivation! But reward yourself!

It is my wish that you succeed and prosper. If you think I may be of any help, please get in touch with me. We will share our experience and help you with tips. My contact details are below:

salvationhouse@gmail.com or +2348098445165. You can also like our FaceBook page – SalvationHouse to get regular tips on life issues and success tips.

Now go and achieve!!! I love for you to succeed! Enjoy 2020!!!

© January 2016. Adewale Adeniji

SHM WEEKLY WISDOM TITBITS. WEEK 14. NOT MONEY, PLEASE.

God has never and will never think in monetary terms. Show me one thing He created with money and I’d shut up. None?

So, I encourage you to stop praying amiss for money. I make bold to say that no amount of night vigils or fasting will put money in your pocket or food on your table. Anybody who teaches you otherwise does not himself understand the way God prospers. Why? Because it is contrary to the principles of our principled God.

Pray instead for ideas. The chair you sit on came from someone’s idea. In fact every raw material God created in this world have made people and nations money because they generated ideas to mine and market them! It is not enough for you, for example to catch game. You must add value to it by knowing how to roast it!

Not knowing how to add value to natural resources remain one major problem for developing economies despite in some cases vast mineral resources. Some have oil, but cannot refine it. Some have coffee, cocoa but cannot turn them into chocolate products. So, they can only export them as raw materials to developed economies who add value to these raw materials and sell it back at exorbitant values.

I repeat, pray not for money; instead pray for unique ideas. Like God gave Jacob in Laban’s house; like He endowed Joseph with in Egypt; such as He gave without measure to the Lord Jesus Christ who went about doing good relieving those oppressed of the devil.

Think ideas, pray for solution to problems that will make a difference in your environment. And then, sit back and watch your finances explode. Been there, done that; so this is no theoretical teaching.

That’s how you prosper, that’s how you conquer poverty. It’s your time to shine and I see the season changing for you.

You shall excel In Jesus’ mighty name. We love you!

April 3rd 2018. (First published in February 2016)

Salvation House/LexConsults Humanae International.

2018 SHM WISDOM TITBITS. Week 4. WHERE DO YOU LIVE – THE PAST OR PRESENT?

 

 

My dear reader, how has your year been so far? Mine has been great, praise God! This week, laid on my heart to share with you is that success and failure are dangerous in equal dimensions! That sounds strange, doesn’t it? If all we work towards is succeeding, how can we then interpose a danger in it? If all we aim to change is failure to success, why then glorify failure, right? Come along with me, and see for yourselves.

Success becomes a foundation to much more success ONLY for those who use whatever success they achieve as a stepping stone or leverage to other successes. Get your first, say, real estate, and leverage it to get more – that grows your portfolio, doesn’t it? But not many are able to turn success into a leverage for more. These are those who are easily satisfied with whatever it is they achieve. They build a monument to the achievement, and religiously relive it, year in year out!

They become so successful about the past that they fail to prepare for the future in the present. Many whose earlier successes turned to failure fall squarely in this same category.

Now for failure, the same principle applies. A lot wallow in the pain and regret of deals gone bad, or relationships gone burst! Some even wear it as a badge of honor! Come on, already! Your present life must not be held hostage by the past, so that your future can be better!

Every one of us is better served leaving things of the past just there – in the past; and pressing toward better marks! Forget the myriad reasons why you failed, learn lessons from the failure and MOVE ON, never looking back to mop or grumble. Same for successes, MOVE ON! Leave history the job of recalling and regaling others of your past successes. This is the secret of many omnipreneurs of today. {An omnipreneur takes an entrepreneurial approach to every aspect of life–work, family, community, health, finances, spirituality, and more.}

You shall excel In Jesus’ mighty name. We love you!

January 23rd 2018. Salvation House/LexConsults Humanae International.

2018 SHM WISDOM TITBITS. Week 3. HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU SET ASIDE FOR THINKING?

To say we live in a fast-paced world is to state the obvious. We indeed live in a ‘microwave’ era, where not only do we live on the fast lane, but we curiously want solutions and results in a way food is made hot in a microwave. Sorry, but a past-paced lifestyle and effective, long lasting results are mutually exclusive!

 

Why?

 

For the same reason it takes about 9 months for a foetus to become a human child! For the same reason it takes a newborn baby time to talk intelligibly, walk, and develop other motor competences to last a life time!

 

So, in this era when we are constantly pressured to be on the move, we need to carve creative time for ourselves. At least for those who want to be in the top 10% of their professions or business endeavours – just to THINK. The quality of your thinking time would determine how far you can see and go in life or any thing you venture! I am yet to see any short-cut to this.

 

If you master the art of deep thoughts, you will discover that: (1) you will not be easily tossed around by the doctrine of men,

(2) your output into any thing you venture will become better refined. Often, the first ideas are not the best ones. It takes devoted thoughts to refine them,

(3) your earning power will increase by the reason that well thought out solutions attract better value.

 

So, be smart, live a life of deep thinking!

 

You shall excel In Jesus’ mighty name. We love you!

 

January 16th 2018. Salvation House/LexConsults Humanae International.

2018 SHM WISDOM TITBITS. WEEK 2 – HOW FAR CAN YOU SEE?

Every new year, goals are set, strategies are agreed, and many look to the year with optimism. My dear friend, I need you to know that there is a deep spiritual element to what is eventually achieved. Some cultures have perfected the art I am about to encourage you with, and have taken that deep spiritual angle for granted by not even acknowledging it; but it is there.

 

It has to do with how far into your future you can see? I dare say it is not enough for you to have goals set; the real work is how to translate what is on paper to reality (remember that in Week 51 of last year, I reiterated the need to commit your goals to paper?)

 

Simply, what we need to translate these set goals into reality is our IMAGINATION. It was the same thing the Almighty God used in His re-creation work. With the darkness on the face of the deep, He brought forth those things which were not as though they already were! That is the power of imagination. And I have discovered that the most potent achievers are those who are ‘slaves’ to their imagination.

 

See, nobody can see what is in your imagination, so there is little chance your strategies would be stolen before you deploy them. You can become whatever you want in your imagination, and no demon from the pit of hell can see what is in your imagination, if you master the art positively.

 

How to horn your imaginative skills should be your next question. The answer is in our topic this week – HOW FAR CAN YOU SEE? If all you can see is just 2018 vis-a-vis your goals for 2018, then I am afraid you cannot really be as imaginative as you need. See far ahead into the future. Imagine what you are planning will be like in the life of your generations unborn. That was what the Almighty God wanted Abram to do when he asked him to imagine his generations as the stars of the sky!

 

And it is for this same reason that successfully run organizations plan for periods of long years not for singular years! Reason why 1st world nations plan for at least 5 years ahead on issues! Nigeria too started on this road at independence with the FIVE YEAR DEVELOPMENT PLANS, but which again, bad leadership canceled on the altar of expediency. See how moribund our infrastructure became! So, all I have been explaining above is the reason why you and I must see farther than we ever have this year! And I am certain we would reap the rewards abundantly! So, my friend, HOW FAR CAN YOU SEE?

 

See you next week by His grace. You shall excel In Jesus’ mighty name. We love you!

 

January 9th 2018. Salvation House/LexConsults Humanae International.

2017 SHM Weekly Wisdom Titbit_Week 1_Imagination.

Week 1. IMAGINATION.
Imagination is its own form of courage. God Himself admitted that can do anything you envision possible! To lack imagination therefore, is to be without concrete hope for success.

 
Dream dreams, dream them big.

Imagine yourself getting that job; achieving that goal, that objective.

Place yourself in that role in your mind.

Let the picture of it be seared in your consciousness.

 
That was exactly how God recreated the world as we know it! Stop cheating yourself, IMAGINE! Those who call you crazy now will be the first to celebrate you!
You shall excel In Jesus’ mighty name. We love you!
January 3rd 2017. Salvation House.

 

2016_Critical Thinking: a sine qua non for Success.

If anyone were to ask all of us this question – “are you intelligent?”, some will be angry, some will be amused, while many more will immediately retort, “yes, what do you think?” The reason for most of the aforementioned reaction would be “well, I can read and write, can’t I?”. Some might even reckon, “I see trends, don’t I?”

My dear friends, the truth of the matter is that intelligence is about more than simply finding out facts or ‘seeing trends’. It’s more about properly analyzing those facts and trends; so that you’re positioned before the fact or trend to know what to do per time!
For example, can you say for a surety that you have an idea of where your personal economy is headed this year? Oh no? Oops, sorry. You see, many had anticipated the current struggles of this economy a long time ago, and are positioned to prosper in the midst of it! 
Another example. Do you have a clue about how that relationship issue currently confronting you will pan out – for you and those around you? 
If anyone of us is honest enough to admit we are not so sure, what are we to do? Increase your intelligence quotient I’d say. But you will be right to ask, “that simple?” Not so simple, I agree. So, you need to learn how to spend quality time in critical analyses of every situation before you venture on anything! You also need to develop personal discipline not to react in a knee-jerk fashion to all you hear, feel and see. Trust me, there is usually more than the naked eye can see, in every situation.
Do not be deceived, or left behind – deep knowledge of things do not just happen. No one is innately wired for it. Not even in Scripture! Because only the deep can call unto the deep. And no human is born that deep. One of the mysteries of the Almighty. 
Unique ideas only come to those whose minds are prepared to (1) grab the enormity of the discovery, and (2) know how to use such information! This unfortunately is the real reason why many of us walk past our miracles everyday! Simple put, critical thinking leads to unparalleled wisdom! Trust me, Solomon in his prime was a deep thinker.
This is an eternal principle, that even God is not immune to! See, it was for nothing that even the Lord Jesus Christ constantly separated Himself from others to meditate! Go back and read what happened after each such recorded separation and meditation. You’d be amazed! It was the reason He had special help from on high so that He could go about doing good, relieving those oppressed of the devil!
The third but oft overlooked key in this wise is the ability to love silence. You will be amazed how many of us hate silence. I am not joking! I met someone who keeps one form of sound or the other blasting around her – at work, at play and even when sleeping! Because she suffered sedate phobia (means fear of silence). She has been delivered now, thank God, and now enjoys a productive life. 
See, because no meaningful work can be done in the cacophony of voices you must learn to separate yourself far from every madding crowd. Hug silent moments with deliberateness. Thinkers of repute love the quiet environment. Unfortunately, many are city people who miss out on the serenity a rural setting affords!
So, do you meditate? How and where do you meditate? How reflective are you? How do you react to facts available at your disposal? Do you try to see beyond the obvious? How well have you been able to do this? What tools do you apply to dig deep? These are critical issues of intelligence that, for most people, have to be learnt. There are principles to these things, and it is your responsibility to find them and apply them. We may be of little help if you wish.
Have a great day, y’all! Go out and prosper, as is your divine lot. We love you.
PS: Test – I deliberately omitted directing your mind to the second key I discussed above. Can you find it? Share it if you did!
© March 2016. Adewale Adeniji/LexConsults/SHM.

SHM SUCCESS TIPS_Not Money, Please.

God has never and will never think in monetary terms. Show me one thing He created with money and I’d shut up. None?
So, I encourage you to stop praying amiss for money. I make bold to say that no amount of night vigils or fasting will put money in your pocket or food on your table. Anybody who teaches you so does not himself understand the way God prospers. Why? Because it is contrary to the principles of our principled God.
Pray instead for ideas. The chair you sit on came from someone’s idea. In fact every raw material God created in this world have made people and nations money because they generated ideas to mine and market them! It is not enough for you, for example to catch game. You must add value to it by knowing how to roast it!
That is the classic problem of developing countries with mineral resources. They have oil, but cannot refine it. They have cocoa but cannot turn it into chocolate drinks. So, they export it to the developed countries who add value to them and sell it back at exorbitant value.
I repeat, pray not for money; instead pray for unique ideas. Like God gave Jacob in Laban’s house; like He endowed Joseph with in Egypt; such as He gave without measure to the Lord Jesus Christ who went about doing good relieving those oppressed.
Think ideas, pray for solution to problems that will make a difference in your environment.
That’s how you prosper, that’s how you conquer poverty. It’s your time to shine and I see the season changing for you.
You shall excel in Jesus Mighty Name.
© February 2016. Salvation House Ministry.

Financial Issues – How You Can Be Debt Free, Part 2.

  
Financial Issues – How You Can Become Debt Free, Part 2.
In part 1, I introduced the topic, made general statements of principle and shared a life defining experience for me, shaped by my Mum. Today, we want to examine tips that should keep you debt free.
By the way, if you are yet to receive my replies to your questions it must be because your correspondence details for reply are not quite right. You may wish to take another look and resend.
Now, there are several definitions for debt, but my personal definition is simple: By their nature, debts are losses acquired ahead of income! Losses because they are more than the income that comes in. Look at the definition again and you will discover my first tip.
(1) Never spend more than you can bring in! Simple right? Don’t count on it! Let’s do a small test. Your income is, let’s say, N150,000 (One Hundred and Fifity Thousand Naira only) per month. After deducting for essentials and running cost, let’s say you have a disposable income of 30% which is N45,000 (Forty five thousand Naira only). What do you do with this? I bet the reaction of some would not be to keep this locked up in savings or investment. More people than I can remember who I have counseled on finance confessed that at the end of the day, this ‘extra’ gets spent – on what they cannot even recall!
So, if you see this disposable income as just that – something expendable, then automatically remove the covering you have to weather the storm of any emergency spending that may arise. Adopt the principle that no income is disposable but extras must be banked!
(2) Never enter into a market (super or otherwise!) without a shopping list. Research has shown that any shopper who does this ends up spending about a third more than is really required! See, entering a market with a shopping list suggests that you already have an idea of how much you really need to buy and spend; and you have no business been in that market if you had not made a list! Why? A lot of impulsive purchases happen from the ‘innocent’ venture of browsing in malls and supermarket! And you end up spending more time than required. So, discipline yourself by making a list and sticking to it. You will cut down on your expenses by at least 30%. I saw my mum do this time and time again, and she corralled my sister and I to make those lists! No wonder it has never left me.
An interesting aside on making a shopping list is that many times I end up buying less than I have written down. For reasons I have not yet fathomed, I just discover that I could even do without some things on my list! Has his happened to you before?
(3) Do a direct debit for savings or investment. A wise tip is to pay yourself first out of every income that you get in. The easiest way to do this is to open a savings/investment account and do a standing order to deduct a percentage of every income straight into such account. Now, this does 2 things for you immediately. First, it grows a safety net for emergencies and/or investment; second, it gives you peace of mind that you are not vulnerable. This cannot be quantified because your mind has leverage that would allow you move on and think more of how to improve your finances.
(4) Do not borrow for consumables. Now, it is practically impossible to do some kinds of business without resorting to funding because of the vast capital outlays involved. 
However, as a private legal practitioner who is privileged to work for financial institutions, one thing I have discovered over the years is that loans and overdrafts easily go bad when same is utilized for consumables. 
Simple put, consumables are expenses that cannot pay for themselves, like salaries, emoluments, automations that do not generate direct income like status cars etc. So, never borrow for consumables. If your borrowings would not add value to you or your business in a way that it will afford a return of investment, do not take that loan or overdraft. My own principle has always been if I can’t find it, I can’t spend it. The money you take a loan or overdraft, the cost of taking that money itself already compounds what you have to pay back. 
Let me give a practical illustration. Imagine you take a loan to buy a bag of rice valued at N10,000 (Ten thou shad Naira only). The moment you take that loan, it becomes N10,000 plus the interest element applicable to the loan. This is the real cost of that bag of rice! Now, if you bought the item to feed your family, then that value is drained because it cannot amortize itself by bringing in money! So, borrowings should only be for production, not consumption.
(5) Cut down or eliminate the cost of cultural pressures. What do I Mena by cultural pressures? Activities that cost us money because we want to be part of a crowd. In Nigeria (as in other parts of Africa and the Caribbean), festive occasions put a lot of pressure on resources. Until my wife and I delivered ourselves from this menace, we have ‘wasted’ resources that otherwise would have added value to our lives! 
Let me be practical. For every wedding, burial ceremony and the like society expects you to buy clothing materials picked by the celebrant – called Aso Ebi in my Yoruba dialect. Now, if you have such ceremonies once a month (although for some this happens every week!), and you buy a piece of 6 yard cloth for N4,000 (at times as high as N25,000 or more!). Multiply that by 12 months and you get N48,000 (Forty-Eight thousand Naira only). This does not include the accessories expected to compliment the material! Do this for 10 years, and you have lost at least N480,000 (almost half a million Naira!). Consider that you invest that same amount in mutual funds! How much return do you reckon you would have made?
No matter your income band, this is money wasted! I have yet to hear a justification that removes the stench of wastage my mind now attaches to this use of resource! The honest truth is that many of us spend ourselves into financial morass unwittingly!
(6) Cut up that Credit card! There is absolutely no commercial sense to spending money you have not yet earned! None whatsoever! 
In economies where credit is liberally accessed, the ratio of users to borderline poverty is high. A study of multi-millionaires in the United States showed clearly that only 5% of the pool those surveyed use a credit card, despite been offered premium service by most card issuers. That is not even the key thing for me. The reason for this was what opened my eyes – those surveyed claimed that they never regard credit card use as Other People’s Money (OPM)! That it cyclically puts active users in debt! Rather, 65% of them preferred debit cards and coupons (say what?!) for their purchases!
So, I repeat my counsel, cut that (or those) credit cards in pieces!
In part 3, I will address how those who may have fallen into a debt trap can successfully come out of it. 
It is my wish that you succeed and prosper. If you think I may be of any help, please get in touch with me. We will share our experience and help you with tips. My contact details are below:
salvationhouse@gmail.com or +2348098445165. You can also like our FaceBook pages – SalvationHouse and Adewale Adeniji_Nation, Heritage, Self – to get regular tips on life issues and success. 
Now go and achieve!!! I love for you to succeed! 
© February 2016. Adewale Adeniji.

Financial Issues – How You Can Become Debt Free, Part 1.

  

We now live in a world where you are constantly assailed with a lot of advertisement, (mostly subtle), where you are surrounded by a plethora of consumer goods and items that appeal to the ego, where you are encouraged to hold plastic credit cards that offer the illusion of instant cash access, where you are required (at times by regulation) to carry debit cards even on saving accounts.
The ultimate effect of all the above on the unwary is a gradual descent into debt, often a lot of debt that way outstrips income. And the capitalist financial doctrine is very unforgiving to a debtor – personal, corporate or national!
By careful choice I have been able to avoid the pitfall of dibilitating debt, despite the fact that I have been a successful business entrepreneur since January 1990 (privileged to grow a business from scratch, employing scores of professionals to boot, without ever failing to meet commitments and more importantly without debt!)
So, I can confirm from personal experience that living a fulfilling, debt free life is possible. And so can you!!!
Also, I need you to know that since 1997 I have carried, and continue to carry credit cards denominated in British pounds sterling and American dollars; and of course, Naira debit cards. Despite these ‘traps’, I can still confirm that a fulfilling life, free of debilitating debt is possible!
If you permit, in this series, I would like to share with you tips that continue to work for me.
But before then, let me share with you an experience I had with my mother (now of blessed memory) in 1982. I was an undergraduate then, the first in fact in my family (nuclear and extended), so I had this attitude of entitlement. For those who remember that period, it was a season where Caudroy trousers was the must get for guys. (If not, don’t worry you missed nothing major!)
Long story short – I needed one and asked my Mum for it. She promised to get me one. And because I knew her never to go back on her word, it was settled in my mind. Or was it? Days became weeks that became months and no pair of Caudroy pants! Can’t she see that I stuck out as a sore thumb among my friends? I tried every trick in my arsenal – constant reminders, grumpy, rude mannerisms, subtle and obvious emotional blackmail, ‘hunger strike’ when she wasn’t looking etc. Still, no dice! 
Was I frustrated! And boy, did I show it… She plainly ignored me. And I couldn’t protest to my Dad! Why do you reckon I didn’t approach the Head Master in the first place for my pair of Coudroys?
After a while Caudroy trousers faded in fashion and Denim jeans came on board. Of course my friends moved on to these new items of choice. Then my Mum bought me two (not one) pairs of Caudroy trousers!!! I mean, who does that?

My reaction? You guessed right!
I was least pleased, and contrary to my home training refused to say ‘thank you’! And I made my feelings known! I mean, what for? Who wears these things anymore? You wouldn’t catch me dead going to FAZE 2 (a popular lounge proximate to the University of Lagos, Akoka where boys had fun) in these trousers – not any more! 
And then she dropped the bombshell – IF AFTER THIS LESSON YOU STILL FOLLOW THE CROWD TO ACQUIRE ALL MANNER OF STUFF THAT ARE HERE NOW AND GONE SOON, YOU WILL FIND IT HARD TO SAVE AND REALLY BE FINANCIALLY FREE!
Viola! I got the lesson, prostrated my apologies and thanks as trained and began to enjoy my largesse! Funny thing though, I thoroughly rocked those trousers, and even my Jeans wearing friends made a detour to their Coudroys once in a while! (Don’t ask me what I did in them – wouldn’t even tell you!)
Let us end it here for now. In part 2, I shall take you on a journey of how to live through this season of ‘free’ credit and remain debt free. Part 3 will deal with how to get yourself out of a debt hole you may have fallen into.
It is my wish that you succeed and prosper this year more than before. If you think I may be of any help, please get in touch with me. We will share our experience and help you with tips.  
My contact details are below:
salvationhouse@gmail.com or +2348098445165. You can also like our FaceBook pages – SalvationHouse and Adewale Adeniji_Nation, Heritage, Self – to get regular tips on life issues and success. 
Now go and achieve!!! I love for you to succeed! 
Copyright emphasized.