Gospel singer, voice coach, and motivational speaker, Shola Allyson, has taken to her Instagram page to emphasize on the need to thoroughly train the boy-child.
She said “Let us train them that putting money down is not everything.Their sense of value MUST NOT be tied to money! That being vulnerable to their loved ones would not reduce them. Men can cry. Men cry. Strong people cry. Sometimes, all the bottled up emotions manifest as violence.”
See her full post below;
I grew up loving the whole idea of looking beautiful behind a seat and reading off a sheet or screen.
I wanted to be a newscaster so Mass Communication was the answer.
However, i got to the university only to realise that news-reading wasn’t even a course.
I met courses like Graphics of Mass Communication, News writing, Photo-Journalism,e.t.c
Needless to say i was shocked.
All i want to do is read. Not all these hard courses. What has it got to do with looking pretty on TV?!
Don’t blame me.
I was fresh out of Secondary School and didn’t have much knowledge on how things worked.
I eventually adapted and discovered there were innate skills that were sharpened by those courses.
I began to understand me: my strengths, likes, dislikes, talents.
I saw the path i naturally drifted to and it positively affected my grades in courses like English, Feature and Article writing, Broadcasting e.t.c
When i left the university, i decided that i might do a thing or two with the print media but i must read news on TV.
I also realised i liked to talk about issues so i quickly added OAP to my ‘newscaster-ambition’.
It all worked out in my head till rubber met the road.
I went to broadcast stations, submitted CVs, went for interviews and got turned down.
No job! Nothing!
That they said ‘no’ was not the worst part.
Naa.
It was the fact that it would take them months to say no!
Wasting my time, wasting the money spent on frequent visits to their office, wasting my hopes!
I couldn’t keep staying at home. I needed to go out.
I re-wrote the CV severally and began applying for the position of a teacher, teller, correspondent, customer relations officer, administrative clerk, supervisor, receptionist, marketer…everything!
In fact, i actually went to a hotel and was told they needed a waitress.
I would have gladly accepted but that guy said i didn’t have previous work experience!
But Oga, shebi it’s just to serve tea??
OK, i can learn naa.
All the while, the desire to express myself was becoming strong.
I wanted to speak (and sing) words that provide direction, give encouragement and walk someone through a phase of their life.
Truthfully, that day i needed that job as a waitress but deep down i didn’t want it.
I needed a job but not just any job. It had to be the radio or TV!
I thought i wouldn’t be able to live out my dreams and express my desires if i don’t get a job as an OAP. Or how else would i reach people the way i wanted to?
How would i, if i signed up for any of those other things i was applying for?
Finally, i got a job as a marketer, an editor and later as a home tutor but i was still pinning for a time when i’d speak.
Gradually, i was becoming inflexible.
The temptation to carry on half-heartedly with the tutoring job was there.
I kept asking myself what it had to do with my dream, my goal, my big picture?
“This is not what i planned .This is not where i should be. This road doesn’t lead to the place i’m going”, i’d often think.
It felt like i was going the opposite direction.
Currently, i work in the Human Resources and Administration department of an organisation.
I remember almost disregarding the opportunity when it came.
I’m glad i didn’t.
Now, i’m beginning to learn that sometimes you flow with the tide, hoping and trusting you reach land safely.
I’ve not reached yet. I still want to speak and sing. I still want to motivate, inspire and create positive, long -lasting impact in the lives of people.
Yes, i still love the idea of reading and presenting but reminiscing on the journey thus far, i discover i had already started living my dreams.
I had begun towing the path without even realising it.
Apart from the people around me who seek for advice on issues, my job entails i speak to people on daily basis. I’ve not just collected CVs and issued queries.
The highlights have been saying something helpful to a colleague who’s having a bad day and being able to relate with an applicant’s struggles even as i say, ‘’no vacancy’’ – the same things i was longing to do on TV and radio.
Now, i don’t just see a job. I see people. I see me. I see purpose.
I realise that i can still be me in several ways, doing varied stuff.
I’m not fixated on what i think i should have been. I’m learning to adapt, to maximise the now.
I’m learning to walk with God, to “trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus…”
You know that song, right?
I still don’t have it all figured out but i choose to take the route in front of me rather than wallow in indecision and deal with regrets later.
I’m still learning. I make mistakes but i choose to be on this path.
This path where i don’t need to wait for perfect conditions nor the dream job to do what i know i can do…to be who I am.
Maybe like me, you have your own big picture.
An image that makes your heart beat faster. The ‘one place’ you’ve always wanted to go.
A place where you know you’d be fulfilled and satisfied.
It might not be job- related. It might be going further in your education, becoming the best at what you do, starting up your own company, heeding the call of God on your life…
Start where you are with what you already have.
Be excellent at it.
If there are better places you think you should be, go there.
However, if for some reasons you can’t be at that desired spot. Then, treat the available like it was the desired.
Enjoy it. Give it the needed attention and zeal you would have given ‘the place’.
You may not know it but there are valuable lessons you can learn on this spot, at this stage of your life.
Lessons that would come in handy when you eventually get to ‘the place’.
You may have been experiencing too many detours already but who says you won’t get there?
Be open-minded. Be flexible.
Be willing to adapt.
Be you.
In whatever shade. In whichever way.In whatever circumstance.BE YOU!
There may be ‘one place’ but it’s allowed and it’s possible to have several routes.
Explore.
Live in the moment.
Live to the fullest.
DJ Cuppy has been honoured with an “Alumni Artistic Achievement Award” from her alma mater, New York University just over a year after graduating with a masters degree in Music Business.
See photos below;
The most common jobs in Nigeria right now are ones gotten from a third-party company that is signed to provide employees for various employers. While I worked at one, I found that, the reason employer companies choose the option of contract staffs is to reduce its expenses and improve profitability. So, while a full-time employee may get a 50% raise from your salary, including HMO benefits. This is even more annoying for Contract Staffs because they do more of the work but have less benefits, up until the length of days to go on leave. However, there’s always a way to have the life you want regardless of the situation presented to you.
KNOW WHO YOU ARE: This is nothing about your desires or visions (at least not for the purpose of this post). What makes you thick? Deep down your heart, what’s the core of your strength. The real test to enjoying your job, hence your life, is to know who you are. When no one’s watching, and you have nothing, there’s a core of you is the strength of your existence. It is what you will be regardless of the amount of wealth you amass. Although the search of identity may be an ongoing process, there’s a core of you that reveals your truth in whatever situation you find yourself. Everything you believe yourself to be should not be dependent on anything else but you. Once you can identify who you are, it would facilitate the emergence of what you’d like to experience.
CHANGE YOUR COGNITIVE EXPERIENCE: The natural cognitive of man is attracted to negative situations that appeal to his senses. So for example, you get to find out the extra benefits due to full-time staffs in your company and it freaks you out (well, you should), it is only normal that you begin to take it out on your daily routine, colleagues and even your line managers.
Two years after my experience as a contract staff in a financial institution, I was appraised and suggested to be converted into a full time staff. I was excited when my line manager hinted me on this new development and was waiting for the big announcement. To my greatest disappointment, when my appraisal form got to the office in charge, my group head was summoned and asked, “Who would you like to be retrenched in order to approve Adesewa’s conversion?” Confused, she responded, nobody. “Well, because the company cannot afford the cost for another full time employee,” they disclosed.
It was great consolation to have known that the reason for the default was a lack of the company’s capacity, not mine. If this happened to you, I know you would freak out, and probably drop your resignation notice to go somewhere you’ll be ‘celebrated, not tolerated’. Just calm down! LOL! The quality of the delivery of your duties should be influenced by positivity. Contract jobs hardly come with motivations. Thus, you must always find a way around it. While you have a plan to quit, be deliberately positive about your daily dealings. The more positivity you exude, the greater the attraction for more. If it doesn’t happen for you in this job, it would somewhere else.
CREATE VALUE FOR YOUR PERSONALITY: One of the many reasons people want to be in the full-staff cadre is so that the company can place value on them. The true value of your job however is not dependent on your position, but your personality. Quit thinking the reason you’re not doing well right now is because you don’t get so much pay. Your pay may not equal your plan, but it does not necessarily influence the core of you except you want it to. So, during a knowledge sharing session at your company or a proposal pitch, you have the platform to ‘show yourself’. Yes! Flaunt the stuff you’re made of! This is not PRIDE; it is PURPOSE-ON-DELIVERY. Always look for opportunities to reveal who you are asides from being the Front Desk Officer or Cashier. Profer solutions to problems. That’s what employers want to see. Even though it may likely not buy your conversion as a staff, it would increase your value as a person. You are first a person before being someone’s staff. Work at it!
WORK EXPERIENCE IS IN PHASES, ENJOY THIS ONE: A young entrepreneur who also works as an employee reached out to me one day. She shared all her frustrations as to how she was not getting fulfilments with her job. She mentioned how she knew this was not want she signed up for her life and all. The truth is, at every point in life, we get bored. This is not just a contract thing, stop blaming it on the job. Because, guess what, even if you were full time, you would still get bored. All days are not the same. So, here’s what you need to know. This same way with life, all work experiences are in phases. You have to learn the art of enjoying the phases by creating systems that work for you.
At the financial job experience I told you about, every week became annoying because there had to be something new to do – things that were way out of the initial job description(JD). Whichever way I felt did not matter to the company, the job had to be done anyway. And the only way to be happy with your job is to be happy with you, knowing that this is only a phase. You would get involved in better things and greater opportunities, so if you want to make your life count, you have to do it right.
ALWAYS WORK WITH THE END IN VIEW: You know, many times, we are motivated in the present by having a vision of what’s to come. Doing your job with the end in mind is one sure way to enjoy what you’re doing currently. So, pending the time you find something more ‘ghen-ghen’, let the ‘ghen-ghen’ thing inspire the not-so ‘ghen-ghen’ one. The vision you have for yourself should drive your passion for what you do now. You may not like what you do now, but when you look at the experience later from the inside in, you’ll see it was necessary for your journey. See the end in mind, Live the present, Create your future!
Adesewa Greg-Ighodaro is a certified leader and media enthusiast. She loves to inspire through writing and speaking. Asides from being a published author, she enjoys content marketing. Connect with her via social media @adesewainc
It was a women-only meeting, one of those organised by the women leader (usually the Head Pastor’s wife) to empower other women.
The agenda on this occasion was to inspire attendees to be more. To unlock potentials and harness their strengths.
I cannot remember what led to this conversation or the question that followed. However, I remember quite vividly how this beautiful unassuming woman stood up to ask a question, the question that changed the course of the conversation for that day and opened my eyes to the reality of some other women.
I call it a question because even though she presented it factually, I ‘decided’ it should be for her, a question. It was the most dramatic statement I had heard by then.
She said and I quote ‘When we get to heaven, our husbands will ‘face’ God on our behalf. Men will give account for the women-folk because they are our heads.
Saying I was dumbfounded is putting it extremely mildly but as one of the major participants of the event, I painfully had to snap out of my reverie. I mean, how beautiful will it be to carelessly dump my failures on HIS head at the end of time, I may as well start now. It will indeed be convenient to say the reasons I haven’t met deadlines and delivered or accomplished to the measure of expectations is because of a man/my husband.
Where ever this woman got her idea from, I may never know and honestly, it is irrelevant. The fact that she ‘lived’ (hopefully not anymore) with this idea carefully balanced in her head is what baffles me till date. I haven’t stopped wondering how many more women live with such ideas as this.
I may not even be as keen as talking about the end of time but I am so interested in how much influence, authority and rule we give men over us. Some ideas are as short changing as they are deadly.
To think we are not living up to the measure of our talents because ‘only men’ are expected to be talented is mind bugging.
An able bodied woman refuses to add value to herself because she believes women do not need to. Only men do. How lazily ridiculous! What books are you reading? What companies do you keep? Where do you get your ideas?
Snap out of the day dreaming for one, it is a bad dream and two, you are designed to do more; be more.
You may not be looking at making history like Michelle Obama but you need to be an example to the generation coming after you.
Stop shortchanging yourself with ridiculous excuses.
Stop applying the bible out of context.
Stop letting in junk.
Guard your heart with all diligence. These are the issues of life that we are talking about.
She took to Instagram to share photos from the matriculation ceremony and wrote:
Lord as i have lived to witness my daughter’s matriculation, i shall live to witness her convocation and many many more good things. Amen 😍😍😍😍😗😗😘😘😘 it can only be God ☝️☝️☝️Mama’s princess 😍😍😍 @its.priscy Stay True! Stay Real!! Stay Focus!!! Mama’s got ur back anyday, anytime, any moment, anywhere, but guess what? God’s got u biggest 😍😍😍 We Love u😍😍😍 ur Dad! Festus! Me!!! and a million others ……… keep soaring darling❤❤❤ u blessed & highly favoured!! Nothing do u…….. Ajoke mi😘😘 No pressure 😉😉😉 Love u like kilode gannnnn🤣🤣🤣😂🤣🤣🤣
Here are the photos:
Credit: stargist.com
Multiple award-winning tennis pro, Serena Williams said ‘I do’ to Alexis Ohanian in a Beauty and the Beast-themed wedding at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans on Thursday, 16th of November 2017, and released the photos of the elegant affair on Friday.
The couple who welcomed their first child together back in September tied the knot in a very hush hush event with about 200 of their closets friends and colleagues at a location that remained undisclosed till the last minute.
More details has since emerged of what went down inside the fairy tale wedding that saw the likes of Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, Ciara, JayZ and several other A-list guests in attendance.
Williams walked down the aisle in a stunning strapless gown by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen teamed with a glittering cape and a traditional veil,The New York Post reports. Her bridesmaids wore dresses by Galia Lahav with capes matching Serena’s. Williams shared a picture of her gorgeous dress (sans cape and veil) on Instagram.
After exchanging their vows, Williams changed into a Versace number for the reception with a detachable skirt for dancing. She also wore a pair of custom white Nike sparkly sneakers. The official wedding photographs were released by Vogue Magazine in the US.
According to The New York Post each table at the reception was named after one of Williams’ Grand Slam titles, and guests even took home replicas of her trophies which held their place cards. Guests all got white Converse to wear to dance, monogrammed with the couple’s initials.
The couple were said to have written their own vows and they were personal, bringing all their guests to tears. They danced their first dance to the Beauty and the beast theme song ‘Tale as old as time’.
They announced their engagement in December 2016 and the lavish reception was held at The Contemporary Art Museum in New Orleans.
Below is what Daily Mail UK posted;
Serena Williams proved her dominance off the court on Thursday, as she drew a celeb-packed group of A-listers to New Orleans for her nuptials to millionaire Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
The couple was surrounded by a bevy of friends, families and A-listers, including their two-month-old daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., as they said their ‘I dos’ in a Beauty and the Beast themed bash at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans.
Kim Kardashian, Venus Williams, Beyonce, and the members of New Edition, who played a five-song set during the reception, were spotted arriving at the venue’s VIP entrance for the biggest celebrity wedding in recent years.
Guests were also gifted one of Williams’ unique golden trophy party favors. Each guest table at the event had been named after one of Williams’ 23 grand slam titles, and her favors were recreations of the trophies she received for each corresponding title.
Ciara, La La Anthony and Kelly Rowland arrived together at what must surely be the biggest wedding of the year
Kim Kardashian was seen arriving at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans for Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian’s wedding
The platinum haired beauty was busy on her phone as her car pulled up at the venue for the tennis star’s nuptials
Three’s company: Beyonce was seen touching down in New Orleans for Serena’s wedding
Ghosting: Beyonce hid behind a sheet as she was driven away from the venue on Thursday night (above)
Baby, baby: Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. heads home after her parents wedding (above)
Anna Wintour hits the bar at the cocktail reception in a closed-off street outside the Contemporary Arts Center
Wintour enjoyed a non-alcoholic beverage during the mini street party for the wedding guests
Anna Wintour and guests enjoy a street party with a New Orleans band at Serena Williams’ wedding
The Vogue editor was spotted chatting with guests, and with a staff member at the reception
The Knowles family arrived together at the venue’s VIP entrance. Pictured are Beyonce’s mom Tiny (backseat, right) and her new husband actor Richard Lawson (backseat, left)
Tina Knowles looked glamorous in red lipstick and curled blonde hair, while her husband Richard sat next to her
Guests enjoy a cocktail reception in a closed-off street outside the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans
Tennis pro Caroline Wozniacki and actor Colton Haynes were seen leaving Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian’s wedding. Wozniacki was seen holding a pair of silver, Converse sneakers in her hand, while Haynes was carrying one of Williams’ party favors, a golden ‘tennis trophy’
Caroline Wozniacki was seen walking hand in hand with her boyfriend David Lee, alongside the Teen Wolf star Haynes
Tennis star: Caroline Wozniacki and fiance David Lee carrying the Yondr that will keep their cellular devices powered off for the ceremony
Colton Haynes was also seen leaving the venue with his own golden trophy, which had his name and ‘Wimbledon 1′ written across it – to represent one of Williams’ grand slam titles
The trio appears to have been sharing a car, and Haynes flipped a peace sign to photographers before he climbed in after the couple
The table settings had all been named after Williams’ 23 grand slam titles, and her party favors were recreations of the trophies she received for each corresponding title
Every guest had their own named, golden trophy waiting for them on a golden party favor table.
Credit: stargist.com
dailymail.co.uk
Agusi Tobby Nazaar, fondly known as Gusi Tobby Lordwlliams, is a 21 years old driven young lady, an aspirant to the Nigerian Bar and founder of one of Africa’s fastest growing female volunteering network “Girlhub Africa” . Toby is also a talkshow host, and a professional make up artist. The young serial entrepreneur who is very passionate about creating more opportunities for African women and dedicated to her humanitarian service believe women are a treasure trove of possibilities. In this chat she talks about not being tempted to give up, her eureka moment, why she created her platform and where she sees herself in five years.
Childhood
My childhood did a whole lot to influence what I do today. In fact I’m a product of the saying “Train a child the way he should grow…”My parents are my NO 1 fans…My mum is a GHAV herself (GIRL HUB AFRICA
VOLUNTEER)…They both have always encouraged volunteering to us when we were kids.. My mum will take us during school holidays and after
summer lessons, to the hair-dressers shop and tell the hairdressers that we were there to help them for free, I never understood why she did that until i was much more older, but i loved it. Eventually I
realized this was done so we could learn the hair making skill. On another holiday she will take us to the tailor, and she kept on taking us to various artisans until she found out our areas of interest,
then she encouraged us to carve a niche out of what we have learned and also to help develop our skills…especially at church events,
weddings and other programs, my mum will make myself and my sisters help the organizers, we didn’t call it VOLUNTEERING then (Laughs), my
sisters’ friends would even call us “Over sabi”, but my mum knew what she was doing. And I thank God I want through all that process. Having all those experiences, now I can bake, make hair, sew cloths, repair a generator (Laughs), make some simple furniture, to mention but a few.
Meet me
I am a 21year old Nigerian. The last born of 4 girls from a family of 6. I started volunteering for social clubs back in my school days from my first year, and the impact/advantage it had on my life made me realize that a lot of people especially young ladies needed to engage themselves in several opportunities in other to really find purpose. I am currently the lead volunteer and founder of GIRL HUB AFRICA a professional female Volunteering Network. I love meeting people, reading, teaching, and traveling. I am an addict entrepreneur. On an average day, when I’m not on the move, I’m in my shorts and top, exchanging emails and closing deals. I also spend time praising God and running my other business.
Inspiration Behind Girls Hub Africa
I noticed there is a gap in our society where we preach being our brothers keeper but we don’t teach or encourage it. Our schools and society don’t necessarily provide a structure or avenue neither do they have a curriculum for people to give their time to a cause or movement without monetary reward. Our generation gradually have become self centered unlike previous generations, this days its all about financial gain or celebrity status, we are becoming desensitized, then I realized when we volunteer, that humane side of us grows, we become more humble and value our place in society as someone who can do their little bit which adds to a collective achievement with the objective of a positive influence. I was also tired of seeing a lot of young ladies after school/NYSC say “My sister work no dey”, Yes I believe things are not so easy in the country, but life itself is not a bed of roses, you have to go out there and create what you want for yourself. There are alot of opportunities out there to engage these youths if only they are willing to be selfless about it. I am glad to say since we started in April this year, we have recorded a 30% increase in employment among our volunteers, because what you do well for free can eventually bring you your fee.
How I feel about my achievements so far…
Graced… its simply a proof that there is more to be done. All these have made me realize that the sky is truly my starting point.
Projects and activities
I do have a lot of projects at the moment, but my pet projects which I have passion for are;
a) The TOUCH ME NOT CAMPAIGN by the AMAZING AMAZON INITIATIVE –
Speaking and counseling children in upper primary schools and secondary schools on the prevalence of rape, domestic violence and child sexual Abuse.
b) The GHAV project – engaging young minds in the act of volunteering, hence our *TEENS WHO VOLUNTEER* campaign,We basically make them understand that they can find purpose early in life as well as give back to their society simply by rendering a selfless service.
Greatest reward
That would be seeing my volunteers find purpose and also become successful at any niche they carve for themselves simply because they volunteered.
It brings me so much joy that these opportunities we provide are properly utilized by them.
Where I see my brand in the next five years..
As the Ministry of VOLUNTEERING in Nigeria 😄 (Laughs) Well we do have a plan…
We are currently talking with our partners.
our focus is people development, we haven’t crystallized our strategy but we have the resource to evolve and identify growing trends and
building up the relevant skills in our volunteers so that stay relevant.
In 5 years, we intend to have GHAV in all West African countries with a good membership strength of professional volunteers.
On giving up
Have I ever felt like giving up? Not at all, but this is true, I have always loved this and as the day goes by, I want to do even more until VOLUNTEERING becomes a lifestyle for young African women.
Who inspires me
God is my first inspiration, and then my mother. She is a typical example of a virtuous woman. I would also say my GHAV’s (GIRL HUB AFRICA VOLUNTEERS), they inspire me a lot, you need to experience the
feeling of seeing ladies unite just to render selfless services in our present day Nigeria. The joy and hard work they put in inspires me alot, now I believe that women are a treasure trove of possibilities. This one itself is so much more than inspirational.
I am a Woman Of Rubies
I am a WORrior because I believe the potential every woman has can be resourceful if given the right opportunities. Personally, I look beyond the ordinary, what every other person will deem impossible is
what’s possible to me.
Final words for women
What’s your passion? find it, work and focus on it, you are the best thing to happen in your community, you need to take advantage of every
opportunity so you can shine brighter than you can ever imagine but in doing that, learn to support every woman around you.
Hello WORriors, It’s #ThrowBackThursday and we are throwing back these old photos of Mavin singer, Di’ja!
See photos below;
Nollywood actress and producer, Funke Akindele-Bello, has just hit 4million followers on Instagram. This makes her the first Nigerian actress to attain that in the movie industry.
She is also the first female celebrity in Nigeria to attain that number of Instagram followers beating the likes of tiwa savage, yemi alade,Genevieve Nnaji etc.
The actress took to her instagram page to appreciate fans. She wrote;
Wow!!!! 4M followers on Instagram!!! Thanks to all my followers. I really appreciate all my fans for their support and kind words. God bless you all. I will be giving out some lovely gifts to celebrate this. Watch this space…
She shared:
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