WELCOME TO DAYSLOW BLOG: March 2017

Friday 31 March 2017

Dangote Opens New Shop in Onitsha, Floods Market With Cheap Products

Nigeria’s most successful conglomerates, the Dangote Plc, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with Bontus Group of Companies based in Onitsha for the supply and distribution of all Dangote products in the commercial city.

Director in charge of Dangote in the South East, Mr. Tunde Mabogunje signed for his company, while the chairman of Bontus Group, Chief Uche Okafor, signed for his company.
Okafor said at the signing ceremony that with the agreement, all Dangote products, including sugar, cement, noodles, rice and tomato, would soon flood the eastern part of the country at very competitive prizes.

The South East director of Dangote, Mr. Mabogunje, said in addition to sugar, salt, cement and other products, his company would launch its brand of rice before December 2017, just as Dangote tomato would soon be in the market.

Dear @Jack, I don’t love Twitter anymore

This isn’t an easy letter to write. I mean, we’ve been through so much together… Remember the good old days, back when everything was new and exciting? You were even trying to disrupt vowels then!

Oh how innocent we were. How full of hope for the possibility of a 140-character microblogging service. For the joy it could bring, and the good we could do together — even just with SMS.

Now I look back and I just feel numb.

What you did yesterday finally made me see it, Jack. You can’t hurt me anymore. All those years I was pouring my heart into 140-character snippets, eagerly retweeting the wisdom I saw bubbling up all around me, engaging in conversations with interesting strangers — but how did you repay so much goodwill? With coldness, Jack. With indifference.

Thing is, you never really listen.

Sure, you drifted away for a while. You had that new role — playing at being chairman of the board. Maybe you had started feeling rejected too. But instead of reaching out, like you could have, and listening to what I really needed, you retreated. You shrugged and said ‘not my problem’. You gave me the cold shoulder.

How did you repay so much goodwill? With coldness, Jack. With indifference… You never really listen.

But that’s not all. For years you and your friends held our perfect chronology hostage, threatening to destroy what we’d built together as you fell in thrall to your new algorithmic gods.

I begged you not to do it. I pleaded. But your heart had hardened. I doubt you even felt a flicker of feeling when you flipped that switch and rewrote our story.

I shouldn’t be surprised. For so long now you’ve been saying you know what’s best for me. Putting me through endless A/B tests. Becoming more controlling of what you think I should see.

I should have spotted the warning signs before it was too late. But I didn’t want to believe it, Jack. I wanted the old you back. So I defended Twitter — even when others were busy laughing.

And then there was the abuse. I pleaded with you to listen — to do something to stop it. I shouted and screamed. But for some reason you couldn’t fix it.

Maybe your attention was elsewhere. Or you didn’t feel it was your problem to solve. Sure, you said you were going to change things. And tried to fob me off with a few tools or by telling me to tell you when bad stuff happened. But I could see in your eyes you were conflicted.

You used to say you didn’t want to take sides. That it was not your place. But then you’d lash out wildly when under pressure. The truth is you should have been putting your energy into fixing the problem at source years ago. I don’t think you realized how much goodwill had been lost — until it was already gone.

It’s like you put so much faith in your algorithms you didn’t have eyes to see how much was falling apart around you.

Jack, I can’t feel sorry for you now because I don’t feel anything anymore. I’m at peace with what we have. I haven’t cut you out of my life entirely but nothing you can do can hurt me because I don’t love Twitter anymore.

I’m sorry. It should pain me to say so but it doesn’t — because you took all my passion for Twitter and crushed it.

And now I see you casually ripping up the threads of friends’ conversations — and, once again, failing to listen when people tell you what a mess you’re making — and I can only feel sorry for you, Jack. Sorrow. That’s all that’s in my heart now. I have no hope left for us.

I’m just sad it’s ending like this.

Source: techcrunch.com

SPACEX DRAGON CAPSULE RETURNS HOME, SPECTACULAR SCENE CAUGHT ON CAMERA

The SpaceX Dragon supply capsule returns to Earth after its 10th mission from the International Space Station (ISS).

On Sunday, the SpaceX Dragon ended a 1-month mission to the ISS. The 12-foot-wide unmanned spaceship survived up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit during re-entry. Luckily, its ablative heat shield did not break into pieces before even landing on the Earth's surface.

"Good splashdown of Dragon confirmed, carrying @NASA science and research cargo back from the @Space_Station," SpaceX tweeted. The capsule was expected to hit the Pacific Ocean about 200 miles southwest of Long Beach, California. It dropped around 10:46 a.m. EDT (7:46 a.m. PDT).

Meanwhile, the spectacular scene was caught on camera as one SpaceX recovery crew waited for it on the exact location of "landing." According to Space Flight Now, two drogue parachutes deployed to stabilize the free fall. Eventually, three iconic orange and white parachutes were released to minimize the impact. The latter is measured at 116 feet in diameter each.

The same crew hoisted the Space X capsule onto a marine vessel. The boat will then transport the space shuttle to the Port of Los Angeles. Once it touches the ground, the company will deliver "time-sensitive" research samples to NASA.

"Houston, it looks like it's time to say goodbye to Dragon," Thomas Pesquet, a European Space Agency astronaut radioed before the SpaceX capsule was released from the ISS. "There's a part of us that will come back down to Earth with her," he added. Apparently, the Dragon carries about 3,600lbs of cargo including some experiment samples directly obtained from the crew.

On the other hand, CBS News reported that Astronaut Michael Hopkins in the Johnson Space Center mission control answered: "You guys did a fantastic job." The latest campaign was just part of over two dozen planned SpaceX resupply missions in the future. Consequently, another expedition is set to be launched on March 24 from Orbital ATK. It will send more than 7,500lbs of equipment and supplies to the ISS.

For the record, the samples inside the SpaceX Dragon include a tissue from a mouse that was euthanized in orbit. Well, scientists have sent 40 mice into space to study how bone fractures heal without gravity. It hopes to finally give an answer to the question: Why do most animals and humans fail to regrow lost limbs?

Source: universityherald.com

11 Ways to Beat Procrastination

TRAVIS BRADBERRY

GUEST WRITER

Co-author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0 and President at TalentSmart

Procrastination strikes everyone, and once it gets ahold of you, it can be very difficult to shake it off. When you imagine a highly productive person, you likely think of someone who focuses effortlessly on the job and never succumbs to procrastination. You know, the type who can sit on the ground in a subway station with their laptop and still manage to get more done in an hour than you would in a day at the library.

The truth is, ridiculously productive people face the same procrastination challenges as the rest of us. The difference is, they beat procrastination by using a calculated approach. First, they understand why they procrastinate, and then they apply strategies that beat procrastination before it takes hold. Anyone can follow this two-step, research-driven process to overcome procrastination.

Instead of being lazy or disorganized, people usually put things off because they aren’t in the right mood to complete the task. Doing so places you firmly inside the procrastination doom loop. Since you’ve decided that you aren’t in the right mood to work, you distract yourself with other tasks -- checking email, checking the news, cleaning your desk, talking to a coworker, etc. -- and by the time you come up for air, you feel guilty for having wasted so much time. This only worsens your mood, and as the deadline draws closer, you feel worse than you did when you first put off the task.

Overcoming Procrastination

Beating procrastination is a simple matter of exiting the doom loop by taking control of your mood. With the right strategies in place, you can take the reins and get yourself in the mood to get things done. The strategies that follow will help you to make this happen.

1. Figure out why.

When you aren’t in the mood to work, procrastination is telling you something important. It could be something simple, such as you need to take a break or get something to eat. It could also be something complex, such as you’re carrying the team on your back or you’re dissatisfied with your job. Whatever it is, instead of punishing yourself for procrastinating, take a moment to reflect and figure out why you’re procrastinating. This could end up being the most productive step you take in conquering your task.

2. Remove your obstacles.

Prior to getting started on a task, take a moment to carefully consider the obstacles that might get in your way. Then, develop a plan to ensure that they don’t. For example, you might have instructions for a task in your e-mail inbox, and if you don’t do anything about it, you’ll repeatedly go back to your inbox to look at them, only to get distracted by other incoming e-mails. In this case, your management plan should be to get the instructions out of your inbox prior to starting your work. By planning ahead, you can maintain your focus and avoid procrastination. After all, it’s much harder to regain focus than it is to maintain it.

3. Jump right in, no matter what.

Sometimes it’s really hard to get started on something, even when it’s something that you love to do. I might be staring at a blank Word document or standing on the beach on a cold winter morning. That first step is difficult, but once you get going -- typing that first paragraph or taking off on that first wave -- your mood improves dramatically. When you focus your attention on how difficult and cruddy it is to get started, you discourage yourself from doing so. When you dive right in no matter what, your mood quickly improves, which helps you to stay on task.

4. Cut holes in your project.

We often procrastinate because we feel intimidated by the size of a project. To minimize intimidation, try cutting holes in it. Find smaller pieces of the task that you can quickly and easily accomplish. For example, writing a proposal might require 10 hours of intense concentration, but you can spit out an intro in 15 minutes and develop a list of deliverables in 10. Before you know it, these smaller tasks have cut serious holes in the project and it’s no longer intimidating.

5. Work in the right environment.

Even if you do everything else right, working in the wrong environment can make you succumb to procrastination. This means keeping yourself away from television, electronics, friends, and loud places. This isn’t what works for everyone, but you need to exercise discipline by working in the environment that’s right for you.

6. Enjoy small victories.

There’s nothing quite like checking something off of your to-do list. To keep yourself from procrastinating, you need to experience this sense of accomplishment by tracking your progress carefully. Small victories build new androgen receptors in the areas of the brain responsible for reward and motivation. The increase in androgen receptors increases the influence of testosterone, which further increases confidence and eagerness to tackle challenges. This keeps you fired up and moving forward. Sometimes crossing a few easy things off of a list is all it takes to build up the mental strength to tackle something big. Remember, it’s not about doing small tasks to avoid big tasks; it’s about including small tasks in your daily checklist to build your confidence and momentum.

7. Get real.

Setting unrealistic goals for your day is a great way to become discouraged and to succumb to the negative moods that fuel procrastination. Setting realistic goals keeps things positive, which keeps you in the right mood to work.

8. Take control of your self-talk.

Saying to yourself, “I’m not going to procrastinate. I will not procrastinate,” virtually ensures that you will procrastinate. There’s a classic study where participants were told to not think about a white bear. It turns out it’s nearly impossible to avoid thinking about something that you tell yourself not to, as your mind gravitates towards the thing you’re trying to avoid. The trick is to shift your attention to something completely different (and positive). Instead of telling yourself not to procrastinate, think about what you will do and how great it’s going to feel to have it done. This way, your mind fixates on the action you want to take instead of the behavior you’re trying to avoid.

9. Don’t be a perfectionist.

Most writers spend countless hours brainstorming characters and plot, and they even write page after page that they know they’ll never include in the book. They do this because they know that ideas need time to develop. We tend to freeze up when it’s time to get started because we know that our ideas aren’t perfect and what we produce might not be any good. But how can you ever produce something great if you don’t get started and give your ideas time to evolve? Author Jodi Picoult summarizes the importance of avoiding perfectionism perfectly: “You can edit a bad page, but you can’t edit a blank page.”

10. Focus on results.

Chances are, you don’t enjoy going to the dentist. Not many people do. So why do you go? It gets results. Your dentist is quite good at making your teeth and gums healthier and more appealing. You also go because the pain of having someone pick at your teeth for an hour is nowhere near the pain of getting a cavity filled, a tooth pulled, or a root canal. You go to the dentist because you know the process is worth it. The same mentality applies to a challenging task. While it may make you anxious to get started, don’t focus on that. Just think of how great it’s going to feel to get things done and how much worse you’ll feel if you wait until the last minute and don’t give it your best effort.

11. Forgive yourself.

There’s no point in beating yourself up when you slip up and procrastinate. You might think that punishing yourself will help you to avoid procrastination in the future, but it actually has the opposite effect -- beating yourself up sends you right back into the procrastination doom loop.

Bringing It All Together

The key to beating procrastination is to understand that procrastination is rooted in emotions. The strategies above will help you to turn the procrastination doom loop on its head and to achieve greater productivity than ever before.

Source: entrepreneur.com

MTN PAYS ADDITIONAL N30BN FINE TO NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT

MTN has made an additional payment of N30 billion ($98 million) to the Nigerian government.

The money is part of a N330 billion fine imposed on the telecoms group for not disconnecting unregistered SIM cards.

Africa’s largest telecoms company has already paid N80billion of the total fine, said a source who confirmed the latest payment to Reuters on Thursday.

MTN Nigeria was originally fined $5.2 billion last October for failing to deactivate more than five million unregistered SIM cards.

The fine was reduced in a settlement that paved the way for MTN to list its subsidiary on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Nigeria has been cracking down on unregistered SIM cards, concerned that they are used for criminal activity in a country fighting an insurgency by Islamist militant group, Boko Haram.

MTN, which operates in 20 countries, had set aside $600 million last year to pay the fine.

Source: dailypost.ng

8 Habits of Wildly Successful People

Rather than an 'either/or' set of static characteristics, wildly successful people demonstrate both.

You know what they say about opinions -- everybody has one. If you want to see that truth in action, just Google “characteristics of successful people.” Some of the results will undoubtedly point to the famous Marshmallow Study at Stanford, which demonstrated that the ability to delay gratification is a key component of success.

But that’s far from the only theory:

According to Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, it all comes down to mindset. She conducted a series of experiments that demonstrated that, while the average person sees their abilities as fixed assets, successful people have, what she calls, a “growth mindset.” In other words, successful people focus on self-improvement and overcoming challenges rather than seeing their mistakes as the products of insurmountable personal flaws.
In another study conducted by Penn State and Duke, researchers assessed the social skills of 700 kindergartners. Twenty years later, they followed up and discovered a strong correlation between social skills and success. The children with the best social skills were more likely to have earned a college degree and to hold a full-time job, while the kids who struggled with social skills in kindergarten were more likely to get arrested, binge drink and apply for public housing.

And the list goes on and on. So, what is happening here? Why are there so many different theories, complete with the science to back them up, about the traits that contribute to success? I think it’s because most wildly successful people are complex -- so complex that many of their defining qualities are paradoxical.

Rather than an “either/or” set of static characteristics, they’re more likely to demonstrate both. This is a key to their success. Here are some examples of what I’m referring to.

1. They’re polite, yet completely unafraid to rock the boat.

Successful people are, what I like to call, “graciously disruptive.” They’re never satisfied with the status quo. They’re the ones who constantly ask, “What if?” and “Why not?” They’re not afraid to challenge conventional wisdom, yet they don’t disrupt things for the sake of being disruptive; they do it to make things better. Still, they’re polite and considerate, and they don’t draw attention to other people’s mistakes just to humiliate them. However, that doesn’t mean they sit back and let people wander off in the wrong direction. They won’t hesitate to speak up when it’s time to change course.

2. They’re deeply passionate, yet rational and objective about their work.

Successful people are passionate about their work, but they don’t let it skew their thinking. They have the ability to step back and look at their work with a critical eye and to accept their mistakes. If it’s a disaster, they’ll admit it, because they realize that it’s better to try something different than to put out something subpar with their name on it. That sense of detachment also allows them to accept feedback from others without taking it personally.

3. They’re convergent and divergent thinkers.

Convergent thinking is what’s measured by IQ tests: rational thinking that typically results in a single right answer. Divergent thinking, on the other hand, is less precise. It’s about generating ideas and asking questions that have no solid right or wrong answers. Both are important. No matter how high your IQ is, you’re not going to be successful if you can’t think outside of the proverbial box. On the other hand, you need rational thinking skills to correctly judge whether your ideas have merit. That’s why this particular paradox is so important.

4. They’re both energetic and calm.

Successful people seem to have limitless energy when it comes to doing the things they’re passionate about, but they aren’t frantic. They can keep that energy under control. They work hard and focus on the task at hand with devoted concentration, but they’re so smooth that they make it look both easy and fun. Some people are so energetic that they’re hyperactive and unfocused and constantly bouncing from one thing to another. Successful people know how to harness their energy so that it works in the service of progress and doesn’t undermine it.

5. They like to work and play.

Successful people personify the often-repeated quote, “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Because they love what they do, they find brainstorming, problem-solving and grinding out tough projects thought-provoking, engaging and deeply satisfying. And though they take their work very seriously, the enjoyment and gratification they derive from it blurs the common demarcation between work and play.

6. They’re ambiverts.

Successful people are comfortable acting in ways that amplify their introversion and extraversion, depending on what the situation calls for. They can sit in the back of a conference room and silently listen to what’s going on, or they can go up on stage, grab a microphone and engage a huge crowd -- and they look just as comfortable doing one as they do the other.

7. They’re naïve and smart.

No one would argue that intelligence isn’t an important part of success, but many successful people also have a childlike lack of awareness (or maybe it’s a lack of respect) for the type of constraints that other people blindly accept. They’re not limited by what other people tell them is possible.

8. They’re both humble and proud.

Taking pride in your work is absolutely essential for success, but successful people know they wouldn’t be where they are without the people who came before them and those they’ve worked with along the way. They know that they didn’t achieve their success all on their own, and because they’re OK with that, they don’t have anything to prove. That’s why so many incredibly successful people end up coming across as grounded and humble when you meet them in person.

Bringing It All Together

The reason that there are so many different opinions on what traits are necessary for success -- and the reason that so many of them contradict each other -- is that successful people are complex. They have a wide variety of paradoxical skills that they call upon as needed, like a mechanic with a well-stocked toolbox.

Source: entrepreneur.com

First Bank, others roll out gifts to Nigerian Lady who refunded guy their date money (photos) Read more: https://gossip.naij.com/1096783-first-bank-roll-gifts-nigerian-lady-refunded-guy-date-money-photos.html

On Thursday, March 30, the story of how a Nigerian lady refunded a guy back their date money after the 18-year-old latter goes on Twitter to rant went viral and people could not stop talking about it. First Bank, others roll out gifts to Nigerian Lady who refunded guy their date money The story has been trending on Twitter and a lot of people and company have called out the lady to congratulate her for such a mature and epic response and popular bank in Nigeria, First Bank decided not to be left out of the congratulatory gifts.

NAIJ.com gathered that the now famous, #KeepTheChangeBae, Ore has now been rewarded with N5000 by First Bank Plc for being an empowered woman and a source of inspiration to other women in Nigeria and across the world. First Bank also disclosed it has welcomed Ore to #FirstGem Family, a special account designed for women from various works of life. Other gift she got was a spa treatment and a free wig from a hair store. See how people and companies intend to shower her with freebies below:

First Bank, others roll out gifts to Nigerian Lady who refunded guy their date money (photos)

How Fabolous Built His $20-Million Empire

Entrepreneur Network partner Kelsey Humphreys chats with rapper and entrepreneur Fabolous about his eight keys to sustained success.

I love to interview artists and comedians -- a special breed of entrepreneur. It’s argued that much of their success comes down to their raw talent, and the amount of hours they put in to perfect that talent. One could also say it comes down to the right mixture of managers, agents and a small army of support staff. However, the ones who break through do a lot of brand building on their own, and exhibit the resilience, resourcefulness and grit that propels them from humble creator to household name. They find the perfect harmony between art and commerce, and some of them do so to the tune of millions of dollars.

Fabolous, for example, is a Grammy-nominated hip-hop star from the Brooklyn projects, now worth an estimated $23 million. He landed the opportunity to rap live on local radio at the age of 17, landed a record deal and is still relevant today -- over 15 years later.

His first release in 2001, Ghetto Fabolous, spawned the hit singles "Can't Deny It" and "Young'n (Holla Back)." Those two singles led him to prominence, and his second album, Street Dreams, also had two Top 10 singles. He’s since had many successful singles, albums, mixtapes and collaborations, has been nominated for Grammys, American Choice Awards and Teen Choice Awards, and has won ASCAP and BET awards. He's also amassed an impressive social media following of over four million raving fans.

Recently, the rapper participated in New York Fashion week with the launch of Blood's Thicker, a line of men, women and children’s clothing and accessories. He’s also partnered with RapSnacks to launch a New York Deli Cheddar potato chip. He’s just been awarded a key to the city of Brooklyn and is about to head out on tour with Chris Brown and 50 Cent -- but had time to sit down with us on RocNation’s famous #goldcouch to discuss his many endeavors and the key to his sustained success.

Here are eight lessons from my conversation with him.

Give each opportunity 100 percent.

When we spoke about his first record deal, and other opportunities throughout his career, his advice was clear.

“You gotta make the most of it,” he said. “I [told myself], ‘I don't know when this is gonna happen for me again, so you'd better at least shoot 100 percent here and then whether you get it or don't get it, you know that you put your all into it.’”

He also explained that while you need to be incredibly determined and committed, you also need to get educated and willing to ask for help.

“Don't be afraid to ask questions. You see somebody who's in it and doing something that you are, [ask them], 'Hey man how do I go about getting the quality of my stuff to your quality, like I'm making?' . . . you gotta ask those questions and do your homework, do your research.”

Keep trying things.

Fabolous has been active in the entertainment industry for over 15 years -- something very few hip-hop artists, or any artists of any genre, can say. Part of his longevity? His willingness to try new things and possibly fail.

“I think the worst thing you could do is not shoot the shot,” he explained, continuing his basketball analogy. “When you shoot you got two options: It can go in or you can miss, and even in the miss you might learn.” He added that he does like to discuss his new ideas with his team and community. “We just try to make it happen. Sometimes you have crazy ideas that sound crazy to everybody, but I'm sure everybody has had a crazy idea before. When you pull it off and you don't look crazy anymore, you look like a genius.”

Learn from your mistakes.

Fabolous admitted he has had his share of missteps. He has had to ward off rumors of gang connections throughout his career, and was arrested in 2003 for possession of an unlicensed gun in his car.

“It taught me a lesson as well. It showed me that I didn't want to jeopardize what everything that I had going, trying to even [protect myself.]” he shared. “Sometimes in life, your best teacher is experience and going through something to figure it out.” He added, chuckling, “If you don't have to, that's good too.”

Build a community -- and listen to them.

His fashion label, Blood’s Thicker, started as a simple line of merchandise to sell to his fans; he explained that for fans to stick with him for this long, they are more like family, hence the name. When he created an artistic album cover for Summertime Shootout -- a twist on a Roy Lichtenstein piece -- his fans loved it. He noticed that followers were sending in photos of the art in their lives -- even as their personal tattoos.

“Anything that we would put the cover artwork on, they would pay for it and buy it,” he explained. “[It started as a way to] show appreciation and at the same time have a deeper connection with the band and the people who wanted to support us.”

He began offering more designs, and was invited to be a part of New York Fashion Week. In an effort to connect his Brooklyn community to his NYFW experience, he livestreamed much of the event on social media, and then launched a pop-up shop and show actually in Brooklyn. Fans, and even some celebrity guests, stood inside and out for the entire event, watching through the large windows, even though it was freezing out.

“It was overall a great event. It was a way to bring fashion week to Brooklyn and to bring Brooklyn to fashion week.”

Stay observant.

When asked about mentors in his life, he shared that can’t specify a few key people; instead it’s been the mixture of all the people around him. Like other people I’ve interviewed, namely Gary Vaynerchuk and Seth Godin, he explained that he’s always noticing things. He gave the example that even then, during the interview, he noticed how my videographer was wearing his pants with his boots. He surveys the market and others in the industry and then evaluates how he can incorporate what he sees into his strategy, art or brand.

“I'm very observant. So, my mentor is really basically a lot of people who are just around me and life itself. Just living and going different places and traveling.”

Stay vigilant.

When it comes to his music, his endorsements, his social media accounts, etc., one thing is clear: If he doesn’t think it’s cool, he’s not doing it. He is adamant about protecting the Fabolous brand, only jumping on board with projects and products he really believes in.

“I don’t compromise myself, I don’t compromise my cool. I don’t compromise who I am,” he shared on The Breakfast Club in 2016. “I’m not chasing the fame or the hype. I’m just who I am.”

Stay relevant.

In addition to his artistic talent, Fab definitely has a gift for social media. He doesn’t have a structured strategy, he just makes sure every post is a true extension of his life.

“My social media tag is @myfabulouslife, so I kinda try to show what goes on, what I do daily in my day-to-day life. I just show people what I'm doing and things that I'm involved in. Truthfully, social media, my following, just came from me doing that.”

His advice to aspiring artists is to attack social media platforms and get seen. I asked him if breaking through online was still possible, now that there are many more aspiring artists making waves online. "Your talent speaks more than you can . . . . I still think talent shines through.”

His next venture, RapSancks, doesn’t seem to fit the cool factor of the Fabulous brand, but Fab knows what he’s doing. His face is on every single bag, which will expose him to a wide new audience, particularly young people.

“It's dope and it's great marketing . . . . Everybody likes chips!” he said, smiling.

Stay grateful.

It’s clear that Fabolous loves his work and his supporters in the hip-hop community -- which he loved as a kid, before it was his profession.

“It was just a hobby for me and I liked doing it.” he recalled. “You're lucky if you get to really be in a profession that you really love to do. I was fortunate that's what I was able to do . . . . I'm so grateful.”

Thursday 30 March 2017

10 Money Habits That Will Help You Get Serious About Prosperity

Take your financial life to the next level through actions like seeking new income sources, making debts your priority and separating friendship from business.

The power of habit can be quite interesting. Rather than create 2017 resolutions that may not stick, a good alternative is to develop positive habits this year. Especially when the category is financial life.

So, make it your goal to form new habits that will take your financial life to the next level.

From learning a new skill every day to hitting the gym regularly, habit takes away the one singular thing that prevents us from getting things done -- resistance. With good habits, we no longer resist. We just do it.

You can quickly attain financial freedom by positively channeling the power of habit toward how you treat money. But, first, let's look at the steps to developing new habits.

Author James Clear breaks down habit formation into three steps (the three R's): reminder (what triggers the behavior); routine (the habit itself) and reward (what you get from this behavior). In order for a habit to stick, it must follow the three R's rule. By practicing some of the following habits, your reward will be a more financially rewarding lifestyle.

1. Be clear about your financial goals.

One habit you need to develop is clarity toward your goals. Your goals can shape your attitude toward whatever you do and put you in the right perspective about your financial life. Lack of clarity is equivalent to having no goals at all.

"Clarity about your money goals is the first step towards getting your finances right," Yasir Khan, founder and chief editor at WealthKept.com, told me. "Getting your finances right -- being able to prioritize what you do with your money -- can only be achieved by clearing the unnecessary obligations out of the way."

Developing a habit of being clear about your financial goals will also create a sense of focus, which is the psychological effect of setting goals. Let's assume your aim is to start your own business this year. You'll outline how much funding is required to do that, and how much you want to raise yourself.

2. Stop associating guilt with money.

One habit which keeps a person from growing financially is how he or she feels about money. A lot of people feel guilty, which is why they often find it difficult to discuss the financial terms of a business relationship before starting one.

Develop a positive attitude toward money this year by overcoming any guilt you feel about money.

3. Seek more income sources.

The best way to improve your financial life this year is to use your free time to earn an extra income. Start by looking at areas where you can fill a need and earn extra money in the process.

And make converting your spare time into income opportunities a habit. You could freelance for businesses or help people with things they can't do themselves. Khan said he was able to start two small businesses apart from his main job when he noticed he could use his free time to help others. Now that his side businesses are growing, he hires people to help him run the business.

4. Make clearing your debts a priority.

One of the biggest hindrances to financial growth is debt. The problem is that debt keeps compounding, making it your most expensive liability. Start paying off your debt with each paycheck you earn. By forming this habit, you could become debt-free by the end of 2017.

5. Save to secure your future.

Make saving a habit in 2017. The more you save, the more you'll have when you retire. JPMorgan Chase puts together an annual guide to retirement that provides investment and savings strategies for all stages of life.

6. Separate friendship from business.

Underscore the purpose of your relationship with others, and make it a habit to always separate money from friendship and friendship from business.

A lot of relationships have gone to ruin because of money. In 2017, be careful when forming business relationships. Make sure you know enough about someone before entering into such a relationship. Use background check tools like Check Them or Check People before a first meeting. Entering into a relationship with the wrong person could be costly or devastating to your financial life.

7. See money as a means, not an end.

Many people get the notion of money very wrong. Because we see money as the end goal, it affects our orientation about it. See money as what it is and what it's meant to be -- a tool, a means to an end. What the end is for every one of us may be different. For most, it might be happiness, while for others it's simply a comfortable lifestyle.

8. Seek advice from money experts.

Develop a habit of seeking advice before making any major financial decision. This will help you avoid making any decision you'll end up regretting. When you make a habit of seeking financial advice, you'll be less likely to take financial risks that could hurt your lifestyle.

9. Decide against impulse buying.

Make it a habit to spend only on things you need. Cut back on impulse buying by weighing your options before making any purchase. When you buy on impulse, you only gain a temporary sense of satisfaction. Once this instant gratification has worn off, what you're left with is a shrunken purse and a tinge of regret, or buyer's remorse.

10. Live below your means.

Many wealthy individuals mastered the habit of living below their means, even before they became hugely successful. A lot of wealthy individuals prefer to live a frugal lifestyle.

Source: entrepreneur.com

EFCC takes 5 "yahoo-yahoo boys" into custody

The Ibadan Zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Monday, March 20, took over five suspected internet fraudsters arrested by men of the Oyo State Joint Security Task Force, 'Operation Burst' for further investigation.

The suspects, which includes Oyewole Oyeleye Olatunji (28), Adeniran Adeyinka Yusuf (29), Samuel Olumide Adeola (29), Israel Adeola (24) and Olorunyemi Savior Imonah (24) were arrested March 13, 2017 during a routine surveillance at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Ogbomosho. They were thereafter interrogated at the Operation Burst headquarters, Agodi where they confessed to have defrauded some American women through various romance scam using different dating sites. They also confessed to have obtained different sums from their victims. NAIJ.com gathered that at the point of arrest, four HP Laptops, three Nokia phones, four I phones, one Infinix Hot Note Phone, a Flash Drive and four Military camouflage T-shirts were recovered from them Investigations have also revealed that the suspects have various incriminating documents in their Laptops and Phones. They were posing on the dating sites as American Soldiers and using different identities to defraud unsuspecting American Ladies.

Oyewole confessed to have been posing as Billy Philip, Johnson Moron and Montegro respectively. According to him, he collected itune cards from one Stephanie and has been using the card to chat with Holly Donis, Dona Rissmiller and Mona Venziano among others who were also Americans. Adeniran also posed as Cheryl Ann and Cindy Grant on Facebook and engaged unsuspecting ladies in dating. He had also used the medium to defraud and obtain Dollars from one Cherly Chambers.

Samuel has been posing as Gome, Rundell, and Klaus. He confessed to have collected itune card and different sums of dollars from Linda and Patricia on a dating site.

Source: naij.com