How many people do you know, who live in the home of their dreams, enjoy spectacular vacations, give their children the education they deserve and live a lifestyle with the emphasis on STYLE?

New technology was supposed to be the means by which people would have more leisure time and higher living standards…

The reality is that those in employment are working harder and longer, with ever-increasing numbers of other people being declared ‘surplus to requirements’…

Instead of freedom, advanced technology has brought insecurity. How many of us now feel secure in our chosen careers?

An increasingly competitive marketplace has changed forty-year job and career plans into short-term contracts, assignments, or even worse, no contracts at all…

These things have brought the realisation, that exchanging time for money in a job or profession, rarely creates long-term security or financial freedom.

How many people do you know, who live in the home of their dreams, enjoy spectacular vacations, give their children the education they deserve and live a lifestyle with the emphasis on STYLE?

Unless you run your own business you will rarely achieve these things…

If your answer is YES or you’d like some more information, then contact me by leaving a comment or emailing me @ diihype@gmail.com…Would love to hear from you…

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Anoda Phase is 1 today! + How I Got the Name “Over and Out”…

Hurray!!! Anoda Phase is ONE today! I can hardly believe how far we’ve come on this journey…God has indeed been very faithful…and thanks to all of you who read Anoda Phase…without you, we can hardly call this a blog, for what is a blog without readers?

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On anoda note, I did promise that my next post would be about how I came about my business name “Over and Out“… with subtle reminders from Rita , Myne, and Chika, I wasn’t about to forget, so here goes!…

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“Over and Out”? I wondered…

I had just woken from a dream in which I had heard the phrase “Over and Out” repeatedly dropped into my subconscious…

Over and out? I asked myself again…What’s that? And why is it being repeated several times to me in my dream?

Then it came back! That still small voice that had dropped the phrase in my heart in the first place…Yes! “Over & Out” it said…

Oh-kay…so, what does “Over and Out” mean? I asked…

What does over mean? The voice asked.

Over?

Yes, over!

“Well”…I stuttered, definitely unprepared for this…over means…more than, above, or in excess of something…

Good! Said the voice. And what does out mean?

Already getting tired of the conversation, but eager to get to the bottom of this impromptu English language class, I replied; out means not in, or away…

Okay, said my new English teacher, let’s get to the point… (Thank God! @ Last!)

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That was almost 10 years ago…

“The Voice” explained to me, using an analogy of a glass cup being filled with water…

…at some point, the cup fills up, but if the pourer doesn’t stop pouring, the glass begins to run over, and then out…

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I received the remaining part of that message in 2007, during my Masters Degree @ the University of Birmingham…I was on my way to catch the bus to school…taking slow, purposeful steps, I think I was singing to myself, when The Voice returned…

“When the blessings begin to run over, it said, do not let the portion that flows out go to waste…make good use of it; to bless others around you; whether individuals, nations, or organisations – the Church inclusive…or else, I will take it from you!”…and the voice was gone.

Ha! Take it ke?…

Oh Lord, no, I won’t…I won’t let your blessings upon me go to waste…I would use them just as you have instructed…thank you Lord…and I joyously went on my way…

Later, I began to ask myself several questions; When the blessings begin to flow Over & Out, I would know, wouldn’t I? Or how do I know whether or not I’m obeying the instruction?

I concluded that when God blesses you, and it begins to flow over & out, it would be obvious for the world to see…there would be no hiding or denying it!

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That, my dear folks, is the TRUE LIFE STORY of OVER and OUT…and to all those who have indeed taken the time to visit Over and Out online, I say a very BIG thank you, and to those who have taken the next step by actually patronising a sister, I say anoda very BIG thank you + God bless you real good…I hope you are enjoying your all-natural products…Remember, if you are interested in the business opportunity, I’d also love to hear from you…cheers all!!!

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Re: A Job, or a Business of your Own?

Thanks to everyone who responded to my question last week Monday about having “A job, or a business of your own“…your comments and remarks have indeed been enlightening contributions to the discussion of Africans being pro-job, and Asians being pro-business…

This post serves as a quick round up of all your comments, highlighting the trends I observed; the consensus on the topic, reasons given in support of readers’ opinions, and other thoughts…

Consensus;

• Most people seemed to prefer (or have an ambition) to own their own business, but agree that a job is a good starting point, for the acquisition of essential skills.
• There was a lot of reference to the African “mentality/mind-set”, which readers described as; “survival-oriented” (Teegirl), “stuck-in-the-slave-trade-years” (Niyioski), “inferior” (Ochuko). Most touching to me though, was Olukemi‘s (btw, she’s my sis) description…she refered to a “defeated mindset of a settle-for-less mentality”, and pointed out that some people are used to having “just-enough-to-survive”…oouucchh!
• Most readers also opined, that there is a lack of “co-operation and trust” among Africans, which prevents them, unlike their Asian counterparts, from pooling resources together, to start a joint venture (business) of some sort…

Reasons;

Readers expressed their opinions as to why most Africans are job-conscious, and most Asians, business-conscious, mainly referring to the environment, i.e. the African continent and the individual countries (especially Nigeria) that make her up…

• Africans are taught to, as FG put it, “go to school, graduate, get a good job, and get married” while Asians, in Teegirl‘s words, “from an early stage in life, are taught the gains of running and owning businesses”…in other words, unlike our Asian counterparts, not many Africans receive even the most basic entrepreneural training, either from home or school, while growing.
• Ochuko however, attributes Africans’ lack of entrepreneurship to “fear” – of the unknown, and of failing.
• Rethots seems to think it’s because Africans are more “professional/career-oriented” while Asians are more “profit/business” oriented.

Other thoughts;

• Original Mgbeke pointed out that not everyone can handle the rigours of owning a business
• Justdoyin has been opportuned to have both a job, and a business (albeit on a small scale) and can authoritatively say that there are pros and cons of each option…but that is a topic for an entirely new discuss.
• My personal preference would be to start with a job, learn all the essential skills including; communication and interpersonal skills (which would enable good working relationships and networking with people across different levels and cultures), team-working, and professionalism…and eventually, own and run my own business…I certainly aspire to be a big-time employer of labour some day soon.
• On the African/Asian debate, I’d say from my observations, it does seem that most Africans prefer the “safety/security” of a job, while most Asians seem to prefer having their own business. However, nothing stops us from having both a job and a business, as long as we can manage both, and not allow one to disturb the other.

In conclusion (can we really conclude?), this is a very wide topic and no matter how long we stay at it, it will continue to evolve and expand…I can only hope and pray for a healing in our land (Africa) so that the issues of  “lack of trust and cooperation” and a “slave-mentality”, would become “of-the-past”… then, and only then, can we even begin to think of…

Couldn’t comment on the first post, or have something else to add to your initial comment? Please go ahead and share your thoughts…

Welcome to a new week…

Suggested Further Reading;

• Income Opportunity
• A job or a Business of your Own?
  

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A Job, or a Business of your own?

Which would you prefer?

A job? or a business of your own? what reasons inform your choice?

Hubby once read in a book (and I paraphrase) that;

Most Africans, on arrival in a foreign country, seek a job…where-as most Asians, on arrival in a foreign country, seek business opportunities…

What is your opinion on the above statement? Do you concur? Do you not?

The above question and statement have been on my mind for a while now, and I would like to know your thoughts on them…comments please!

Have a lovely week…
Also Read;

A Job, or a Business of your Own (II)

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