According to dictionary.com, dysfunctional means not performing normally as an organ or structure of the body, having a malfunctioning part or element, behaving or acting outside social norms.

This last thought, 'behaving or acting outside social norms', is the focus of our discourse because it is a social discourse that dwells on the things we do daily, the activities we engage in and how we create and use the society we both create and are a part of.

Prayer is a communion between earth and heaven. It is a request made by man on earth to the Divine who dwells in the unseen. But this man on earth follows the will and promises of heaven on earth: 'Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.' On the question of heaven, you have to have Divine presence within you just as the Master said that the kingdom of God is within you, and that's because you have received the Holy Spirit and become the temple of God. This is what makes it possible for you to live on earth as it is in heaven.

Your investment is the seed you sow today to ensure that you reap fruit tomorrow. What you sow today is what may guarantee what you can get in return tomorrow. The good seed that you have today but refuse to sow because you did not want to lose it will never die and so will not return anything to you.

What you know you should do today but refuse to do by reason of the lack of resources, by reason of fear, by the lack of knowledge and perhaps the degree of self-awareness or esteem you have, will determine what does or does not accrue to you tomorrow. It will determine what you are not able to attract tomorrow. You can only attract as much as you sow. Attraction is just a little more than vain thoughts which are not backed up with consistent action.

Lao Tzu said: Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

As I learn each day and each time through observation and paying close attention to things, ideas, events and activities of creatures, I find that slaves enslave others, the hungry peddle hunger, the one who plagues others with one form of bondage is actually plagued by a kind of disease which drives them to act the way they act. Those who are bound usually do relish in having other persons in same if not worse conditions. What you are and have is actually what you share. You cannot share or give what you do not have or possess. It is a law of life and existence.

It takes the discipline of conviction to stay focused on goals even when you are not seeing the key results you envisaged when you set the goals.

While persistence is a great value, it is usually tough when you begin to imagine that you are actually doing the wrong thing or you are doing the right things wrongly as you labour.

However convinced you are about what you are doing, it is almost impossible not to have doubt creep in at intervals. One thing overrides doubt: The drive to keep going regardless of mixed feelings of conviction.

According to Seth Godin, "There's no shortage of remarkable ideas. What's missing is the will to execute them." In the world of productivity, nothing can be truer than these words. What is the benefit of supposedly good or great ideas without execution? No idea is really either good or great until it is executed, and when that happens, value is created and lives are impacted positively.

Oftentimes, I hear thought leaders, business leaders and others make statements like, 'The more we learn, the more we earn', and it gets me thinking because I do know that there is a difference between the art of learning and the acquisition of knowledge, which is about the first call of the learning process.

The acquisition of knowledge is the first step or foundation of the learning process. We cannot activate learning unless we first get exposed to some knowledge or information.

"Self-discipline begins with the mastery of your thoughts. If you don't control what you think, you can't control what you do. Simply, self-discipline enables you to think first and act afterwards." Napoleon Hill

A disciplined mind is a sound mind and vice versa. The mind is disciplined because it has been subjected to sound principles and judgement over a period of time and so thinks differently from many others. Regarding issues of common concern and interest, many people, between 85 and over 95% tilt towards one point of view and the remainder 15% and less are often hounded.