Esther Ijewere

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

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 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

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,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.

In self development January 28, 2019 By Esther Ijewere

JANE UDOKA: THE TRANSITION FROM DEPENDENCY TO INDEPENDENCY: WHAT NO ONE ACTUALLY TOLD US

Children are a gift from God, from the moment they are born, to their first significant life moments like their first baby step or their first word, those are all delightful times for their parents. The parents take it upon themselves to guide and steer their kids towards the right paths as they grow and usually the first educational step they take is enrolling the kids into schools as soon as they’re old enough. Henceforth that first milestone, it is always a parent’s pride and joy to see their ward grow and advance up the educational ladder. A parent would gladly sacrifice a lot just so their kids lack nothing and would do so with joy knowing in the years to come, their reward would come when the children are out of school and could fend for themselves and their parents as well.

And for us the children, from the moment we graduate from High school or secondary school as the case maybe, we look forward to being admitted into college, graduating from the university with a degree and basically starting our lives independently. Once, admitted into the university there is sort of a countdown on both sides : the parents and the child. They all both envision the world becoming better after graduation. The parents dream of finally relaxing and reaping the fruits of all that sacrifice and the child dreams of rewarding everyone who’s been there through the journey.

And alas! , it’s graduation day, the daughter/ son is a graduate and ready to go into the world. She/he is ready to take the reins from the parent’s and whilst, this is basically how it should be it sadly isn’t in most average cases!

For the child, the string of finances stops coming in from the family or the former sponsors. In return, they start expecting help from you instead. In some lucky cases, the child gets a well paying job and lives up to expectations but in other cases, it’s hard cause then you realize eventually what no one told you that would have better prepared you. Here they are:

Be prepared to go broke:

The transition from full on dependency to independency is not an easy one. In most cases, it will be tough cause you’ll be going from the care and reliable finances you had coming in, to fending for yourself. Just before, it becomes stable and better through hardwork, just be prepared to go low on finances.

Get a skill

Not everyone is lucky enough to actually make a living from their college degrees. A skill in programming, management, business or whatever sector you find interesting would go a long way in the transition.

Be prepared to be your own cheerleader

This is really important, the world is a tough place and only the best and tough people can survive in it. In as much as your family loves you, there will still be expectations from them and no one will really understand what you are going through. So, on the bad days, the times when it seems you can’t handle it anymore, you have to be able to brace up and cheer yourself on.

Be ready to take risks and try new ventures

There is really no script to life, so be ready to try new ventures not even related to your course of study. It always helps to look within you and figure out what other skills you have, embark on them and you might just have that smooth transition you desire

All in all, it’s never easy transitioning but just like every other change, it’s a constant and one we must learn to adopt, no just in going from dependency to independency but also in other spheres of life. Goodluck!

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 Editor's Choice January 26, 2019 By Esther Ijewere

THE HEALTH SYSTEM IN NIGERIA IS QUITE POOR – DR. CASSANDRA AKINDE, MEDICAL DOCTOR & ACTIVIST

Dr. Cassandra Bolanle Akinde is a young medical doctor with a burning passion for public health, humanitarian causes and the sustainable development goals. She obtained an MBBS (Bachelor’s in Medicine and Surgery) degree from the prestigious University of Lagos in 2016.

She is currently the Team Lead for The Nigerian Child Initiative, a non-profit which promotes child health awareness and sustainable education to empower them with healthy choices. Her work centres on helping these children understand that sound education and good health are vital determinants in ensuring their success as future leaders.

In her years of working with The Nigerian Child Initiative, she and her team have reached out to over three thousand children in schools on SDG education by organising interschool essay competitions, workshops, research masterclasses, seminars and capacity building programmes.

Providing essential care services and implementation in poorly accessible areas by targeting over five hundred children for the past 4 years is another area Dr. Akinde has uncommon zeal for. This young woman is an inspiration in multiple facets. In addition to the other brilliant aspects of her life, she’s got multilingual ability in fluent English, Spanish, Russian with a growing proficiency in German.

She considers it her life’s mission to improve quality of life of everyone she comes across using all of her unique abilities. This gives her inexplicable motivation and joy. Cassandra shares her inspiring story with Esther Ijewere in this intrview.

Childhood preparation & Parental Influence

My childhood really played a major role in my life as I was raised as a humanitarian. My parents are the biggest inspiration behind what I do now. I remember as a child I will follow my mother to church where she was always assigned one task or another for the congregation.

One event that stands fresh in my memory is the day I accompanied my mother and my brother to an orphanage for the first time as it was our turn to help out in church by bringing some relief materials for the children. I met a young girl who was suffering from cerebral palsy. Part of the activities included engaging her in pottery work. We made a very beautiful clay pot that I really admired. When she saw my wistful face, she selflessly gave it to me. I was so startled, but she insisted I keep it. She was so happy giving me that pot, that till this day I remember her happy face. This was the moment I decided that giving is more fulfilling than receiving and that is how my journey to making social impact began. I kept coming back to play, teach and engage them in various games and artworks over the years.

My dad also taught me to be selfless, innately kind and liberal whenever the opportunity arose by donating all my unused toys, clothes and sporting equipment to charity.

Meet Me

My name is Cassandra Bolanle Akinde and I am a medical doctor by profession. I am the current Team Lead of The Nigerian Child Initiative and assistant coordinator at Medglobe Volunteers. I am very passionate about Health Advocacy and the Sustainable Developmental Goals. I am also an activist for women and children. I love meeting people and expanding my network, reading, teaching, spending quality time with my family and friends, scrapbooking and I absolutely love to volunteer! On an average day when I am not at the hospital working or out volunteering, I would usually relax at home, engaging social media and watching movies. I also spend adequate time praising God for all my blessings and asking for forgiveness for my sins.

Inspiration behind TNCI

The Nigerian Child Initiative began with the simple vision of providing a platform that would create a brighter and rewarding future for children. Since its foundation by Dr Yusuf Shittu, it has become much bigger than that. It is now a large volunteer-based platform for transforming the lives of Nigerian children by improving their access to healthcare and mentorship and building the capacity of young people to be change makers and leaders. I began as a volunteer who caught the vision, committed to the vision and slowly climbed to the leadership position of overseeing the team of vibrant young people eager to make a positive change.

Transforming Lives

With interests in Child Health promotion, Development Education and Mentorship, the team mentors children in schools and engages them with the Sustainable Development Goals and brings healthcare within the reach of children underserved and low income communities. Through our annual Essay Competition on SDGs for Secondary School students, winners are matched to mentor organisations. Since inception, we have reached up to 3,000 children with essential healthcare services including Malaria Screening, Dental Checks, Vaccination, Deworming and Essential Drugs in 5 communities across Lagos. The organisation has also educated about 5,000 children and teenagers directly on the Sustainable Developmental Goals through talk sessions in schools and at 3 Competition Grand Finales. We are also currently mentoring our 3rd cohort of 17 Global Goal Ambassadors who make us proud with their exciting social impact projects and innovations. They are each influencing other students in their schools and setting great examples for them to follow.

Work challenges

One of the major challenges was funding of course. We had difficulty getting sponsors and raising funds for our programs but with meaningful partnerships over the years the problem has been circumvented but we are always open for more opportunities.

Another challenge is that of recruiting volunteers who share the same vision ,passion and possess similar character to do what we do .A lot of young individuals are looking at our platform as an avenue for furthering their career or adding portfolios to their CV without actually having any passion or zeal to do any real work but just in the name only and that can be disheartening.

Being a Medglobe Volunteer

MEDGLOBE VOLUNTEERS is an international organization that started out of an urging desire to increase drug adherence, therapeutic outcome, decrease drug abuse and misuse; hence promoting health worldwide. We also conduct health outreaches and participate in various health campaigns and community health walks thus promoting health advocacy.

Other Projects

After working on #StopPneumonia campaign,I intend to collaborate with Dr Chioma Nwakanma on #CheatonCervicalCancerAwarenessCampaign as this is the awareness month.

My other projects in the year will include; Neo Childcare Solutions Limited, a mobile clinic health service provider which seeks to bridge the gap of access to healthcare for the children in remote areas. WASHED UP- Water Sanitation and Health Education against Diarrhoea, Malnutrition and Pneumonia. SkillsUpForGood – Capacity building seminar,Substance Abuse project ,Domestic Violence Docuseries

TNCI in 5 years…

In the next five years I see The Nigerian Child Initiative as a leading non-profit organisation expanding across all the states in Nigeria and hopefully even across some West African countries. I see it being on the world map for the impact it is making, with a larger volunteer base who capacity has built to reach out to more children. I can also see it as a platform for transforming lives of the young people and providing employment opportunities. As for me personally, I can see myself on the board of trustees of the NGO still spreading the word about health awareness and sustainable education both locally and globally.

Health sector in Nigeria

I have been practicing for almost 3 years now and can say categorically that health system in Nigeria is quite poor. In my humble opinion, one of the biggest health challenges is inaccessibility to quality health care. The Government performance in health sector has been abysmal. Investment in infrastructure has been poor and meager remuneration for health workers has created massive brain drain to the U.S and Europe. It is such a shame that despite the huge talents of Nigerians excelling in health sectors across the world, our own health system is failing.

So, my suggested solution to this problem lies in the Nigeria’s policy makers and health professionals including the Nigerian Diaspora to come together and create a long-term blue print for the sector. This shall involve intersectoral cooperation and collaboration between different health related ministries as partnership is very key in sustainability. The blueprint will include strategies, time lines and key performance indicators to ensure success its success in the long run. Creating the blue print and making it a reality is one of the most meaningful ways in improving health care for Nigerians.

Also, as health care professionals we must think of new, cost effective and innovative ideas to solve our healthcare problems. Several Nigerian digital health start-ups like HelloCareNg and Doctoorah are already doing work in this area. After all,being tech- savvy is very imperative in this world and era.

My Inspiration

My biggest inspiration comes from God the Almighty. I also get inspiration from my parents who are the real humanitarians and my biggest cheerleaders. I also get inspired daily by women all over the world achieving success in all their endeavours despite the setbacks of their background, culture and traditions. Lastly, I would say that all the volunteers I know inspire me by their selflessness and their enthusiasm with which they diligently offer their talent and service.

Being a woman of rubies

I am a young woman who takes immense pleasure in celebrating other women around Nigeria and the world. I think it is a trend we should all adopt as one’s woman success is ours too. Women should always support women and surround themselves who will do the same. It’s a huge honour for me to to even be featured on this great platform celebrating women and their successful stories of gallant exploits. And I hope someone reading this will get inspired and in turn inspire others .

In Interviews&profile January 25, 2019 By Esther Ijewere

ENTREPRENEUR CREATES DOLL COLLECTION TO HELP BLACK GIRLS OVERCOME DEPRESSION

TiffanyJ, an artist and entrepreneur, suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts when she was young. So, in hopes of helping young Black girls that are battling depression, she has created an avenue to boost their confidence and self-esteem through a new superhero doll called “Super Beauty”.

At 12-years old, TiffanyJ started to experience depression that is considered common to young Black girls. At 14-years old, she realized that she can share her feelings through songwriting. But by the age of 24, she became self-employed and became the author of her first published book titled It All Starts With Me: An Interactive Guide To Discovering Self and Loving.

Through her book, she shared her own experiences and gave some advice to those who have been battling depression like how she used to be. She also held an annual Beauty, You Are Boot Camp. It was such a great advocacy and she saw that she can do more to reach more.

“For a while, I had been on a mission with self-esteem advocacy, but that book did not reach the audience and mentees I had that were young girls,” she told Black Enterprise.

Now, she has created Super Beauty Pep Talker, a speaking doll that says positive and inspiring messages such as “Nobody Do Me Better Than Me.” She hopes to let young Black girls know that they are unique and beautiful.

TiffanyJ hopes to sell the Super Beauty Pep Talker in Wal-Mart and other retail store chains.

In Interviews&profile January 25, 2019 By Esther Ijewere

PHOTOS & MOMENTS FROM ADENIKE OYETUNDE BOOK LAUNCH

Broadcaster, lawyer and social worker, Adenike Oyetunde launched her autobiography, Adénìké: Your Story, Your Movie, His Glory, on Sunday, January 6th, 2019, in Lagos at Harbour Point, 4 Wilmot Point Road, Victoria Island Lagos. The book was launched by Senator Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon, a father figure to her.

Adénikẹ́ is a real-life story based on the power of faith, hope and love against the odds of life’s circumstances. You’re about to read an intriguing real-life story of a young girl whose life’s trajectory completely changed overnight and is still evolving. It’s a story that will take you through her denial, strength, resilience, confusion, pain, tears, brokenness, surrender, and finally her freedom and liberty into true life. If you ever doubt that you cannot possibly pass through the trials and tribulations of life no matter how harsh it may be, Adénikẹ́ will inspire you to re-think that though.

Through reading this book you’ll see her fight for her life when all she had left in her was nothing but the hope to fight, you’ll see her find herself through a community of love and most of all you’ll see her come into her own. You’ll read about her determination and genuinely see through her experiences; you’ll almost be able to live and be present in this book as much as she was while going through the experiences stated in it. It is my hope that lives will be impacted through this read. On that same day, Adenike Oyetunde launched her not-for-profit organization, Amputees United Initiative.

According to Adenike Oyetunde, (founding trustee of AUI) the initiative was birthed from a place of personal journey to provide a safe haven for amputees, fresh and old, where journeys will be shared and experience heard, to strengthen each other, as these special humans continue to clamour for an inclusive society geared towards preparing Lagos and Nigeria towards the United Nations path to achieving an inclusive society in line with SDG 17.

Amputees United Initiative also creates a platform for persons with special needs to discuss matters affecting them specifically; ranging from educational needs, medical needs and infrastructural needs.

Adenike Oyetunde’s ultimate goal with the initiative is to create a facility encompassing amenities to promote and es-sir adaptive lifestyle (learning to use prosthetic limbs), establish recreational centres that are suitable for people with special needs, a gym specifically for PWDs; equipped with cycling and swimming facilities.

Where necessary, books can be bought at

Jazz Hole, Ikoyi
Terra Kulture,
Jed Mega Stores, The Palms
Amazon
Kindle
Okada Books
Bambooks
Patabah Books
Roving Heights
Book Peddlers
Book Errands
Guft Source, Abuja
Book Sellers, Ibadan and Abuja
Buy Books Port Harcourt
Didis Cafe, Warri
Boldoz book Store Uyo
Quintessence Park View

#AdenikeTheBook

Live Your Life Like It’s Golden

Source: Bellanaija

In self development January 24, 2019 By Esther Ijewere

QUEEN ESOHE IGBINOBA: WINNING THE STORY WARS AS AN INFLUENTIAL STORYTELLER

I want to quickly share something that limits us a lot as entrepreneurs and even as individuals.

I call it the ”Story Wars”.

Story Wars is not my invention, I just borrowed it. lol

I call it Story Wars because there’s a struggle between your present reality…which seems very real to you and your future reality…which seems like a distant aspiration or dream that you may someday realize.

One way to win this war, is by asking yourself, ”what narrative am I going to believe?”

You can choose to believe the narrative that you are too limited in your present capacity, so you can’t achieve your goals.

Or you can choose to believe that you are more than enough and that by disciplining yourself to put in the work, over time you will achieve your desired result.

Before you choose the second worldview, you need something called ”Mental Assent”

You need to believe in your mind, heart and confess with your mouth your belief and faith in yourself to achieve your desired result.

Failure to do so means you will quit when challenges come or people come and start asking you questions.

You will quit because you haven’t made up your mind to give it all it takes or die trying.

Going all in is how champions win championships.

You need to be a practising extremist with a disciplined work ethic to achieve desired goals.

That’s how you win the story wars as an influential storyteller.

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 Interviews&profile January 24, 2019 By Esther Ijewere

MEET THE WOMAN WHO OWNS THE FIRST EVER BLACK-OWNED HOSTEL IN THE U.S.

Deidre Mathis, a 31-year old African-American woman and a self-proclaimed avid traveler, used her love for wanderlust as an inspiration to build her own hostel in Houston, Texas. Now a successful entrepreneur, she is the author of a budget travel book and the owner of WanderStay Hotels, the first Black-owned hostel of its kind in the U.S.

Growing up in Florida, which is considered a vacation place with beautiful beaches and good weather, she said she wasn’t really interested in going to different destinations before. Until a study abroad program at Florida A&M University sent her to the Dominican Republic and she told herself, “I need this all the time.”

Since then, she has traveled to over 37 countries on all 7 continents and learned a lot of things. She shared those in a book she wrote entitled Wanderlust: For the Young, Broke Professional where she talks about tips on how to save money, manage time to prioritize travel, and plan your dream trip.

Moreover, one of the best things she said she discovered through traveling alone is how hostels build instant connections and cultural diversity. It has inspired her to build her own hostel in the most diverse and fourth largest city in the U.S. which is Houston, Texas.

Hostels, different from hotels, are popular types of establishments that provide inexpensive food and lodging for backpackers, students, and other types of travelers with limited budgets. Some hostels offer travelers their own private rooms, but many hostels operate as dormitories whereas travelers can rent a bed and space in a large room with others. There are currently more than 50,000 hostels around the world.

In self development January 24, 2019 By Esther Ijewere

OYIBO HOSANNA: OVEREXPOSURE TO THE SUN AND YOUR HEALTH

You will agree with me that we are currently experiencing a rise in temperature, due to the decline in our atmosphere’s natural protection, the ozone layer which protects us from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. We can’t stop going out: the only way is for us to be aware of its adverse effects and how to maintain our health.

NATURE FACTS

The sun gives off rays of light called Ultraviolet rays (UV) that can either benefit or harm you.
It doesn’t matter your age or skin color, everyone is at risk especially people whose endeavors entail that they work in the sun all day.
UV rays reflect off smooth surfaces, such as water, concrete, sand, and snow; you are more at risk in these areas.

HERE ARE THE EFFECTS

Skin changes – you begin to see signs like wrinkled, tight, freckles, and dark spots on your skin.
Skin cancer – overexposure can lead to the development of melanoma, a severe kind of skin cancer that can spread to other areas of the body.
Premature aging – The more time you spend in the sun makes your skin age earlier than normal.
Eye injuries that could lead to blindness – UV rays pose a threat to your cornea, which can lead to blurred vision, cataracts and blindness if not treated.
Suppress proper functioning of your body’s immune system and skin’s natural defenses.