Esther Ijewere

In self development February 7, 2019 By Esther Ijewere

OYIBO HOSANNA: HEALTH BENEFITS OF IRON

Iron is one of the most abundant metals on earth, is an essential mineral to most life forms and to normal human functioning.

In humans, almost two-thirds of iron our body is found in hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to tissues. Smaller amounts of iron are found in myoglobin, a protein that helps supply oxygen to muscle, and in enzymes that assist biochemical reactions. Iron is also found in proteins that stores it for future needs, and are regulated by intestinal walls.

SOURCES OF IRON

Many foods contain high levels of iron, and you can easily find and combine them to make tasty, nutritious meals that helps boost your body system. They include:

Fruits and vegetables: Dried fruits (prunes, raisins), mushrooms, and dark leafy greens (pumpkin, spinach, broccoli), and citrus fruits, red and yellow peppers.
Nuts and seeds: cashews, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, pine, nuts, and pistachios.
Animal sources: Liver, egg yolks, turkey or chicken gizzards, meat and fish, beef, lamb shellfish, oysters, shrimp sardines, salmon, and tuna.
Dairy products: raw cow or soy milk, yogurt, and cheese.
Plant sources: black beans, brown beans, soybeans, kidney beans, chickpeas, black-eyed peas, and lima beans.

EFFECTS OF IRON DEFICIENCY/ OVERLOAD

The risk of iron deficiency is high in women (teenage girls, female athletes, and pregnant women), preterm infants, young children as well as people with certain health conditions (heart, kidney diseases, celiac diseases etc., its effects include:

The deficiency of iron leads to anemia, which occurs when the body does not have enough iron.
Reduced oxygen delivery to cells, results in dizziness, fatigue, and poor work performance.
Elevated levels of free iron stimulate the growth of microbes and increase the risk of infections thereby decreasing immunity.
Iron overload may lead to cancer, irregular menstrual flow, and infertility.
Reduced iron can affect mental alertness and sensitivity, as iron is required for proper shielding of neurons of the nervous system.

BENEFITS OF IRON

An essential component of proteins involved in oxygen transport.
Iron is an integral part of many proteins and enzymes that maintain good health.
It is also essential for the regulation of cell growth and differentiation.
Vital mineral in myoglobin, a muscle protein required for oxygen transport and contraction of the muscles.
Boost brain activity, as Iron helps supply oxygen to the blood and 20% of which is consumed by the brain.

WELLNESS CUES: TIPS FOR GETTING MORE IRON IN YOUR DIET

NUTRITION

Avoid the following, as they can interfere with iron absorption:

Drinking tea or coffee with meals.
Foods such as whole cereals, parsley, dark leafy vegetables, and chocolate, rich in oxalic acid, tannins, phytates, and gluten.
Eating foods rich in calcium with those rich in iron, as calcium limits iron uptake into the body.

Do your best to eat iron-rich foods along with those rich in vitamin C, for vitamin C aids the uptake of iron into the body.

Cooking foods for shorter periods and with a cast-iron skillet.

LIFESTYLE CHANGES

Keep a clean and safe environment as malarial infection paralyzes red blood cells, thereby causing anemia.
Avoid medications that can deplete iron such as tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, high blood pressure reducing drugs.
The iron from foods you eat may not always be sufficient, so supplementation may be needed. Speak with a doctor or dietician, who may recommend a supplement and it’s crucial to follow dosage instructions carefully.

Let the insights you have gained of risks and benefits, be an integral factor to your daily decision-making process on what you feed your body, and aim to get iron from a variety of sources.

About Hosanna

I am Hosanna Oyibo, a Public Health Coach. I am an avid reader, personal development enthusiast, network marketing professional and a volunteer. I’m also interested in travelling, gardening, and sports. You can read about me and visit my blog with a click on this link https://about.me/hosannaoyibo.

In Interviews&profile February 5, 2019 By Esther Ijewere

TALE ALIMI: THE YEAR OF DOING

Like most years, this year is already racing with full speed as the first month comes to a close.

At the beginning of each year or towards the end of the previous year, we make plans for the new year and set goals of what we want to achieve. A couple of years ago, after setting and not achieving my goals, I quit setting goals!

I decided to just focus on the moment, visualize what I want and go with the flow. That worked well for sometime as I did not feel like I was in competition with anyone and I was able to listen to my instincts. The problem with this approach was that I spent more time visualizing and creating my vision board than actually taking action!

That’s when I knew that there had to be a balance and I made up my mind to find it.

Fast forward a few years later, working with our clients at Tale Alimi Global, we usually start the year setting our intentions for the year we want and creating corresponding goals. As we work with clients, I have observed that some people are better at articulating their goals than others. However some people are only able to articulate averagely, but once they had clarity, they did a good job executing.

Our most successful clients are ‘doers’, they massively execute on the strategy we develop and achieve great results. I am big on strategic thinking and planning, but from my experience, I have to say that an average strategy with massive execution trumps a great strategy with poor execution.

If you are a planner and visualizer like me, its time to start doing more! And I have themed this year, ‘My year of doing’ because it reminds me of Shonda Rhimes ‘Year of yes’ and because I spent the last year exploring and visualizing.

To encourage us(yes we are in this together) to do more, I came up with five reasons why we should execute more this year.

The more you do, the more you know how to do

The sickness of planners is trying to create ‘perfection’. You want to spend all the time looking at various options, doing scenario planning and projecting outcomes. However, all this is theory until you start doing! I spent almost six months agonizing over the title and content of my next book. I will go on long runs, get inspiration about titles and a few days later I would begin to doubt its relevance. After going round in circle for too long, I put my foot down in October and decided to start writing. Surprisingly, the more I wrote, the more I had a better sense of direction.

So stop agonizing and trying to get things perfect and watch the months fly by, start doing and more clarity and ideas would come to you.

Execution is a cure for self doubt.

Another curse of perfectionists is self doubt. You never feel good enough to do what you know in your heart you are meant to do. Or you tell yourself you don’t have the resources or the time to do it. I was speaking to my team member some weeks ago about leading a segment at our year end event. I noticed she was hesitating and when I asked her why, she said she did not think she was qualified to stand before the calibre of people we were expecting. I immediately debunked her self doubt and told her about my mentor in my Social impact fellowship in the US who was a decade younger than me.

I told her to just do it and she did a great job that created a positive atmosphere at the event. When you begin to doubt yourself , don’t dwell on it, get up and execute. The more you execute on something, your self doubt disappears and you become more confident in your self.

When you execute, you make your own luck.

How many times have you looked at people and thought how lucky they are? Most times the so called ‘lucky’ people are busy executing on something. If you have been waiting for a lucky break and it doesn’t seem to be coming, maybe it is time to get up and execute so you can make your own luck. Yesterday, I saw a news headline that Kim Kardashian was expecting another baby, I decide to ‘keep up with the Kardashians’ as I hardly watch Television so I am not up to date about them. As I read the news, I realized that they were always busy doing something! From having new babies to starting beauty companies. They were making their own luck by executing.

This is the year to make your own luck. If you want to create a multimillion business, start grinding.

Execution builds your focus.

You need focus to execute. When you decide to execute, you cut out distractions. When I decided to start writing my new book, I started blocking out time and cutting out things that might distract me like excessive social media watching the lives of other people who were executing!

Execution is what brings dreams to life.

My favorite past time is imagining and day dreaming. My imagination has 3D capacity! I like to see things in my mind first because I believe creativity starts internally before it manifests externally. However after you are done dreaming, you have to take some action to see the dream come to life. If you have been seeing yourself as a millionaire in your dreams, or married to the person of your dreams, then make it a reality by taking action to bring your dreams to life.

Now that I have themed this ‘Our year of doing’, I am determined to lead by example. Some of the things I will be doing includes finishing up my new book before the end of Q1 and I am co-founding a new Company to address the milestone funding challenges that a lot of small businesses face.

If you are a small business that has had funding challenges, please fill this survey to help us understand your needs better. And if you have an interest in investing in small businesses , please fill this survey, so we will also understand your requirements.

I want us to hold ourselves accountable to our year of doing, so lets connect on Instagram so that as I share my progress, you can also share yours with me. Lets start doing!

In Interviews&profile February 5, 2019 By Esther Ijewere

MEET THE 10-YEAR OLD ENTREPRENEUR TAKING THE FASHION WORLD BY STORM!

Hailing from Johannesburg, South Africa, 10-year old Enhle Gebashe is already pursuing her dreams of becoming a well-known fashion designer and entrepreneur. She most recently founded Enhle Babes Couture, a children’s clothing brand specializing in glamorous African prints. Aside from the overwhelming number of orders, several doors have opened for her, including training opportunities and mainstream media interviews!

Young but with a vision

Enhle is a fifth-grade student at Rosebank Primary School in Johannesburg. She says her garments are all custom-made to meet the needs of her target market — girls ages 4 to 12. She envisions designing African prints, dresses, and anything in between that “princesses” can wear. So far, the support she received exceeded her expectations.

“So many people known me,” she told IOL. “I can’t believe this is happening to me. At school I’m getting so much attention, the people who used to bully me are now respecting me. The response is amazingly surprising for us.”

No time to play around

As a young entrepreneur with a hectic schedule, Enhle doesn’t have much time to play like other children. After school and every weekend, she goes shopping for fabric and doing photo shoots for her creations.

What started as an idea to make extra money for school trips is now becoming a reality. Enhle has been offered to study by a local design school on a part-time basis. Award-winning scientist Thulile Khanyile, who is her mother’s friend, also wanted to mentor her on the basics of money, saving, and business. She has also been in-demand in magazine and TV features. Regardless, she is still wowed by every like and comment she receives from her social media posts.

Staying balanced

Her mother, Desiree, is very happy for her daughter’s achievements. But she is still cautious about it. “Our plan was never to get her to be famous,” Desiree said. “I just wanted her to do what makes her happy, which is designing. I fear that she is very young for all this fame, so we need to be very careful about how she is handled going forward.”

Sometimes, Desiree still can’t believe what her daughter has achieved at such a young age. She said, “I’ve always known that Enhle is going to be something big one day. I kind of had it at the back of my head but I didn’t know it was going to be something this serious.”

Enhle aspires to someday be able to open up her own shop and reach out to other African countries as well. She credits her achievements to social media for helping people become aware of her creations. She said, “Nobody would know about Enhle if it was not social media. Social media has been the main marketing strategy for us.”

Source: Black Business

In self development February 5, 2019 By Esther Ijewere

GRACE ORISAKIYA: IDENTIFYING YOUR UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION FOR A JOB SEARCH

Everyone is unique in his or her own way. Those values, skills, ideas that’s makes you unique, different, special and can be used for various purposes and this is usually referred to as your personal or unique value proposition. Your value proposition can either get you that business deal or job your applied for several. However, some people are not fully aware of what their UVPs are, in some cases, it is mistaken for just their career. During some career coaching sessions with my clients, they express their inability to do things differently, their fear of failing and they usually wish to be different that is why it is important for everyone to know how special and unique they are and how this uniqueness can be useful. In a nutshell, your UVP is basically the things you can do but with a positive difference. The best ways to identify your UVP are to:

Know your strengths.
Create a difficult scenario and figure out how you could handle it in a different way (sometimes done during employees engagement sessions in companies).
Identify those attributes that matches your personality perfectly.
Think of what kind of solutions you can offer to problems.
Be authentic.
Ask people to identify what makes you unique to them.

Identifying your UVP however can give you the confidence you need to apply for a job. Remember these:

Everyone may know how to do a particular job but not everyone may have the right skills to get it done.

Social media has made it easy to have a false identity, so it’s important you focus on knowing what you can do uniquely than trying to be someone else. (Being inspired by someone isn’t wrong but being inspired should make you find out your path not live like someone else).
Your UVP can set prepare you for success. It can enable you know what you can do and how you can do it differently and better.
It makes you a better version of yourself.

Therefore, your UVP can set you one the right path for a successful job interview and employment when you can prove concisely why your values and skills can be vital to the organization you are applying to.

About Grace

Grace Asemota is a Business Psychologist (M.Sc) and a Certified Life Coach. She has partnered with Organizations and solopreneurs to grow their personal and professional brands and has coached students and staff in different institutions and organisations.

She continuously coaches and trains on the importance of goal setting, happiness, team management, personal development and self- confidence in a wide range of organisations (in Nigeria, UAE and US) and institutions by motivating staff to develop a collaborative culture and identify key factors that can enhance personal growth.

You can get in touch with her on

grace.orisakiya@gmail.com

LinkedIn @Grace Asemota-Orisakiya

In lifestyle February 5, 2019 By Esther Ijewere

CHISOM WINIFRED: THE THING ABOUT NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

Feel free to blame it on the spur of the moment. Everyone is excited and feeling like they can take on the world. At this point, we can promise God anything.

We’re gearing towards that time of the year again, the time for New Year resolutions. I hope you had a jolly Christmas, with plenty rice and chicken? Good, because it’s time for a blast of the naked truth.

We’ve all done it. Promised heaven and earth on New Year day. God, I will stop smoking. I will read my books this semester. I will serve you more this year. No sex for me this year. I’ll give all my time and energy to my business idea. Blah blah blah.

9 out of 10 times, we don’t even keep our promises till mid-January. After the first few weeks, everything flies out the window. It is okay to want to be better, set goals, turn a new leaf, but I think the concept of New Year resolutions is overhyped. I’ll tell you why.

If a person truly desires to make a resolution about his or her life, I don’t think they would wait for January first to do it.

So in 2019, instead of listing those things you know in your heart you probably will never do, why not set a definite goal? Don’t call it a resolution, call it a goal and map out strategic steps to achieve it.

A goal is the ongoing pursuit of a worthy objective until accomplished. Ongoing means it’s a process because goals take time. Pursuit indicates that a chase is involved. There will likely be some obstacles to overcome. Worthy shows that the chase will be worthwhile, there’s a big reward at the end to endure the tough times. Until accomplished suggests you’ll do whatever it takes to accomplish the set goal.

Instead of our usual litany of things to do and stop doing, why not choose one goal and give it all your energy?

Another mistake we often make is creating unclear goals, vague goals. I once had a New Year resolution to buy a car. I was 14 years old and in junior secondary school. Was it a reasonable goal for a 14-year-old? I think so. We’re supposed to dream big, right? But if you asked me then, how do you intend to accomplish this goal, I would have mumbled a bunch of good sounding gibberish because I always had an answer to everything. But I wouldn’t have had a clear answer. In creating goals, use this trick: Be more specific. When you write your goal down, tell yourself, Be more specific, then write your new answer. Keep repeating this until the goal is crystal clear and measurable. There are no such things as unrealistic goals, only unrealistic time frames. If I had said as a 14-year-old, “I’ll buy a car before I’m twenty-five,” that would have been more realistic, wouldn’t it?

Last tip for setting your 2019 New Year resolution (goals): What can you create using your unique talents? What do you do that other people find difficult? What opportunities exist in today’s marketplace for your area of exceptionality? I don’t know about you, but the New Year is about working smart, not hard.

About Chisom Winifred

Chisom Winifred is a creative writer with a flair for freelance articles. She’s currently a content creator for Blueafric Media where she also heads campaigns that focuses on brand introduction, positioning and promotion of its clients.
A red carpet and TV host, she was the red carpet host for Blueafric media at the just concluded 2017 AFRIFF. Reach out to Winifred on Chisomwinnifred.cw@gmail.com or her blog http://blueprintafric.com/

In self development February 4, 2019 By Esther Ijewere

JANE UDOKA: THE LITTLE THINGS OF LIFE THAT MATTERS

The world and life itself is a never ending maze filled with similar looking alleys called twists. Everyone constantly runs and walks through this maze searching for particular and specific life goals. For some, these goals maybe love, suitable life partners, stable income, friends or something as intricate as finding one’s true self. Truth is though, no one knows what she may find at the next corner and while life is generally that uncertain, and nothing can ever fully prepare us for it, there are certain things that can sure help along the way.

I’m and will always be a strong advocate for healthy friendships. Amazing friendships are almost a basic necessity of life. No man is an island they always say and if you want to go far in life, you have to learn to work alone some would also contradictorily say. Yes, I do believe them both, you know why? Because just as friends can be a strong help, they can also be your downfall if you happen to come across the wrong ones. Friends are family when you make the right ones, they’re the ones who’ll stretch out their hands and pull you up when it feels like you’re drowning. I’ll strongly say, in navigating this maze called life, get you, a great friend and be one too.

Your essence is something you have to find and stay true to. It’s amazing just how much people undermine this seemingly simple yet so important aspect of life. Your essence is your being, basically speaking it is who you are, what makes you who you are and anything that makes you tick. In the world of ever changing social trends and the glamour filled social media life, your essence is something that staying uncompromisingly true to, will help you navigate this maze. Understanding you are different from any other person, that you are unique and amazing and there’s no other person just like you will always help you find your path in this maze.

Self confidence and self preservation is yet another great help. Often times, along these alleys in this maze, you’ll find people that will seek to grow on you, or put you down just to help themselves in the process. That is when self confidence comes in, understanding that you’re worth so much more. Self preservation simply put means safeguarding your emotions and senses, sifting through yourself and gradually blocking that with disturbs your inner peace.

Inner drive is something that you definitely need in this journey, it’ll push you to always aim higher than the last achieved feat. It’ll be there, to push you and encourage you when you lose your way in the maze, it’ll be there to wake you up and seek ways to improve your life in the maze.

About Jane

21 year old Udoka Jane O is a trained Engineer, She is a professional freelance writer on Relationship and healthy lifestyles. Jane has written a number of mind engaging articles….

In self development January 31, 2019 By Esther Ijewere

QUEEN ESOHE IGBINOBA: 5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD COMMUNICATE YOUR BRAND STORIES

I want us to talk about 5 reasons you should communicate your brand stories.

First of all, I’ll like to clarify what brand storytelling is.

Brand Storytelling is a way of thinking and communicating a brand that puts a narrative at their very heart and thereby makes them both meaningful and compelling – for the audience and the brand.

Now that we understand what brand storytelling is, we need to understand how brand storytelling can help us achieve our communication goals

Usually, we have 5 major reasons for communicating our brand stories:

– Brand awareness and visibility

– Top of mind in our industry

– Communicate brand positioning

– Promote products and services

– Drive sales and conversions

There are a couple of strategies and tactics that can work for your brand, you need to find them and apply them to make your brand storytelling effective.

You need to understand that people are generally ‘’selfish’’.

They care ONLY about their problems and they are very preoccupied with finding solutions to those problems, hence, you need to do your market research and use social listening well, so you can immerse yourself in the lives of your ideal audience and know their pain points and challenges.

Once you do that, you need to think of solutions that provide UTILITY, CONVENIENCE, and MEANING.

Utility- solve a problem

Convenience – Save me time, money, stress

Meaning – provide me with a relevant solution that changes my life and helps me to be a better person.

Once your stories and solution do these 3 things, then you know that you are going to be successful at communicating your messages with influential storytelling.

About Esohe

Esohe Igbinoba is the Founder, The Global Brand Network. GBN is a brand management organization with a focus on teaching entrepreneurs the art of influential storytelling for attracting visibility and building an engaged audience so they can build profitable businesses. She helps them to achieve this through her unique system: The Influential Storytelling Formula. She has helped over 150 people in 10 countries. She helps them through her online school, GBN Business School where she offers one on one coaching programs, online courses and training programs.

You can connect with her on

Social media @queenesohe

Or send an email to esohe@queenesohe.com

Or on her website queenesohe.com

In self development January 31, 2019 By Esther Ijewere

OYIBO HOSANNA: STRESSED OUT?

I am stressed out! This sentence you hear from most persons in this modern age. The abundance of activities that have streamed from increased knowledge and technological advancement, has made us seen stress as a negative feeling.

WHAT IS STRESS?

Stress is a natural physical and mental reaction to life experiences. It affects people of all ages and walks of life, and there are aspects of your life and environment called stressors that trigger this reaction. These triggers can be your finances, work, relationships, responsibilities you carry and other situations seen as a threat to your well-being.

Your body responds to stress by releasing larger quantities of hormones: cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline, which increase your heart and breathing rates, sweating, alertness and heightens your muscles to respond. Hence, you can see that your adaptability in life is largely due to the changes and stressors that you have faced and mastered.

FACTS ABOUT STRESS

Stress affects everyone, while some people may cope with stress more effectively or recover, others may not.
Short-term stress can be helpful, but long-term stress is linked to various health conditions.
Stress can be a motivator for people to prepare or perform at a task, and can even be life-saving in response to some dangerous situations.
Some stressors are particularly associated with certain age groups or life stages. Children, teens, the newly married, working parents, single parents, and the elderly.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF STRESS

Frequent headaches, jaw clenching, and grinding teeth
Cold or sweaty hands and feet
Difficulty breathing, constant tiredness, and Insomnia.
Excess anxiety, nervousness, anger, Depression, frequent or wild mood swings
Increased or decreased appetite, which leads to improper weight gain or loss.
Difficulty concentrating, learning new information, forgetfulness and confusion.
Social withdrawal and reduced work productivity
Increased smoking, alcohol or drug use.

EFFECTS OF STRESS ON THE BODY

Increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (blood pressure, stroke or heart attack) due to a rise in pulse rate rise from heart muscles trying to meet body needs.
Stress hormones decrease your immune system defense and response to foreign invaders
Chronic stress may increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Respiratory Health conditions like asthma are intensified by stress, making breathing difficult.
Increased stress lead to decrease mental alertness and sleeping disorder.
Sexual desire is affected as stress is exhausting for both the body and mind.
Chronic stress may also increase the risk of infection for female and male reproductive organs.
For women, stress can lead to an irregular menstrual cycle and hasten menopause.
The rush of enzymes and stomach acids can cause diarrhea or constipation, and the inefficiency of the digestive system.

WELLNESS CUES

You can prepare for stress by imbibing self-management and lifestyle changes.

Recognize the Signs of your body’s response to stress and take action to renew yourself
Set Goals and Prioritizes. Decide what must get done and what can wait, and learn to say no to new tasks that will overstretch you.
Get an adequate amount of sleep, eat a healthy, balanced diet.
Get Regular Exercise. Just 30 minutes per day of walking can help boost your mood and reduce stress.
Stay Connected with people who can provide emotional and other support.
Schedule steady time for relaxing or stress managing activities such as meditation, deep breathing, massage, and yoga.
Avoid tobacco use, excess caffeine and alcohol intake.
Setting aside time for hobbies, such as reading a book or listening to music
Seek for help from a health professional, when you are overly crippled and losing your sense of life.

Whether as an entrepreneur or an employee, changing the stress mindset not only minimizes its effects, but it also enhances your productivity and appreciation of life.

About Hosanna

In self development January 29, 2019 By Esther Ijewere

GRACE ORISAKIYA: TEAMING UP IN A RELATIONSHIP

No man is an island of his own, there will be times you will need people’s contributions, opinions and help. Working together with people has been useful in different circumstances and has contributed to productivity and time management. Team work is essential in the organization and management of tasks. Team work isn’t confined to the corporate world, you could have teams in schools, religious gatherings and some couples even consider their relationship or family a team. When managed properly, there will be a positive impact on the team goals and its members. Have you ever been friends with someone and one day you get to know people are being selected for different teams and you wish to be in the same team as your friend. After a while you hear you names announced under the same team, if this were you, how would you feel? Teamwork can contribute to having a higher sense of purpose with its members. This article will concentrate on how a relationship/marriage can be seen as a team. Some factors that shouldn’t be ignored when building a team includes;

A common goal-

Without a common goal and interest, it is considered a group. A team is usually formed with the desire to achieve a particular goal and all members of the team will be interested in accomplishing this goal. For instance if you consider your relationship a team and decide to achieve a common goal which is ultimately to build a future together, you both should make it your priority, talk about it and plan to make it achievable.

Compatibility –

Two or more people can’t work together if there is no compatibility. I don’t just mean in personalities, you might not have compatible interest or future plans. Although some won’t mind as long as they ‘love’ each other but how sustainable can love be when faced with issues that could have been avoided? Being realistic about your compatibility is huge step in becoming a team.

Team size

A team consists of people with a shared goal, since this article addresses relationships becoming a team, it should consist of TWO individuals who love each other, have the desire to build a future together not Two individuals and some people by the side. If you wish to include your children, that is totally fine as long as the size is restricted to your family. Being in a relationship and having others by the side destroys trust, respect and the overall purpose of the team. Being committed to your partner is of essence in becoming a team.

Shared task –

Like any other team, a relationship team should have shared task. This can be developed or identified by recognizing each other’s strengths. What are you good at? How will the bills be shared? Who will take the children to school in the morning? Who will pick them up? And so on. It is important to discuss tasks that should be performed, failure to do so might lead to expectations and disappointments.

Conflict management –

As long as two people are involved, there will be disagreements. How do you plan to manage conflict? What’s you apology strategy? What can you do to make things better. Don’t assume that there won’t be conflict as this is considered failing to prepare or assume that there should always be conflict as this is considered preparing to fail. Sometimes conflict can be avoided when there’s understanding in the relationship and when it occurs, the ability to resolve quickly depends on how you are willing to make it work.

A leader –

First of all, I believe everyone should do what they are comfortable with. Some believe men are the leaders or head of a relationship/ home while others believe both people in the relationship are leaders. In my opinion, my husband being the leader doesn’t make me a weaker member of the team. It has been that way right from our dating phase. Let’s face it, What are the qualities of a leader? They should be willing to communicate, guide, direct, listen, give constructive feedback and so on. A leader sometimes may need assistance in taking a decision and he will consult his team member. That goes to show how much he’s interested in your opinion.

In summary, making your relationship/ marriage a team requires commitment, understanding and a common goal.

About Grace

She continuously coaches and trains on the importance of goal setting, happiness,personal development and self- confidence in a wide range of organisations and institutions by motivating staff to develop a collaborative culture and identify key factors that can enhance personal growth.

You can follow her on

LinkedIn @Grace Asemota-Orisakiya

In self development January 28, 2019 By Esther Ijewere

DOROTHY ODHIAMBO: FEAR OF BRANDING

Branding. The first thing that comes to mind when you hear of branding is the typical assigning of something a name or label. Branding can be negative or positive depending on the term used to identify the brand. In our case today, we are going delve into negative branding that most women trying to rise to the top in their careers or whichever profession often fall prey of.

Most women in corporates, military and even politics are often afraid of being who they really want to be in terms of how they do their work or in other words leadership skills and often coil back to being reserved in the fear of what people will think of them, in the fear of being negatively branded. You want to be softer to your seniors, juniors and even equals for you not be perceived as a hard one. You want to strive to get along with everyone at the same time exercise authority for things to be done correctly. In such confusing situations, what do most
women do?

In this case, I will use an example of one woman who has by all means broken the corporate glass ceiling and is still excelling at her profession, Ginni Rometty. To me the first thing I think of when I mention the name Ginni Rometty is the company that is in the top 15 at number 12 to be specific in 2018 worlds’ most valuable brands. This company is none other than IBM which is being led by the very capable Ginni Rometty.

When you look at the rise and rise of Ginni Rometty ever since she joined the company in theyear 1981, it is clearly open to everybody that she has had to work hard to get to where she is right now. She once stated in an interview that growth and comfort don’t usually coexist. To succeed one must be willing to push through barriers. This is the barriers that most women in their careers and even those in entrepreneurial stage are afraid of breaking. As a woman, you have to work twice as hard to level up.

Negative branding might come along the way and you might receive all sort of it but most at times they are only meant to slow you down.If you are a single woman, you have to prove that the results of your work define you and not your looks or marital status and if you are a married woman, apart from your looks, you have to
prove that you can multi task and do it good.

You have to be a mom at home and a boss at work and you don’t have any room for letting your personal life get into your work lest people see you weak. This is the daily fight that women trying to rise up to the corporate ladder are dealing with. You always want to prove yourself that you are capable. Quoting Meryl Streep, an American actress often referred to as the best of her generation, she says, ‘People will say to me, you’ve played so many strong women’ and I’ll say, ‘have you ever said to a man, ‘you’ve played so many strong men?’ No! Because the expectation is (men) are varied. Why can’t we have that expectation about women?’ Why do women have to work extra hard in order to be recognized in their fields?

We want our women to excel but the moment they start doing things out of the normal, the moment they start being brave enough, we start branding them to make them cower and make them feel like they are not ready. It is time women come to the realization that no great woman reached those coveted tittles without obstacles. Negative branding happens to be one of them. We cannot stop negative branding of women at work places or in any growth sector but we can empower our women to rise above it. There is nothing more fierce and determined
than an empowered woman. Through this empowerment, instead of the negative branding acting as a motivation killer, it will in turn act as a motivator itself.

About Dorothy

She is currently a front desk agent/cashier at Acacia Premier Hotel Kisumu .Passionate about writing articles that has direct impact on women. She is 24 years old,determined to empower fellow women and just shed light on different relevant issues.You can contact her via her email address ; odhiamboodorothy1@gmail.com.

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