Yes, indeed we have come to the end of Season 3 . . . woo-hoo!

How do I feel?  Hmm! You know that feeling when you start out with a task or project and you have held on through the ups and downs and kept pushing even when it didn’t feel as easy? But eventually in holding on and putting one foot in front of the other, you arrived at the finish line. That joy of wow! I made it . . . that's what I feel right now. And I have you to thank for keeping step, listening and engaging from season 1, 2 and now as we wrap-up with season 3.Thank you, thank you and thank you again.

And with that I encourage us to hold on and keep faith because this too shall pass. And also because when you let go instead of holding on, you never get to see the finish line. Yes we may not have experienced the current situations we’re facing but we need to hold on a bit more because it will indeed pass, but while we wait and hold on, we need to do it right.

So what’s the best way to ‘Hold On’? Listen Now

In this episode, I want to encourage you to do whatever you can within your means and capacity to spread love, joy and cheer - by being a source of encouragement and support to at least one person.

Each One Reach One simply means,  each one of us reaching out to at least one person to check up on them in whatever capacity we can afford to, just to ensure that they are doing good. It could also mean each one of us who isn’t exactly feeling like they are in tip-top shape, reaching out to at least one person to say, hey! I am not quite sure I am feeling good. When we do this, we are creating a huge umbrella cover of care that ensures everyone is covered in one way or the other. The effect of this love and care umbrella has the strength to subdue the effect of the spread of fear, especially during this pandemic.

I am here to encourage faith and hope in us and also share tips to keep us going, amidst the constant unpleasant media releases that grace our phone and TV screens.

We may have zero control over the news of new Covid-19 confirmed cases and deaths reeling out daily, but we can control how we choose to respond to them. Choosing to respond to fear and anxiety negatively impacts our physical and mental well being. It continually breaks us down and makes it difficult for us to function optimally and keep it going. So, I employ us to choose to stay fearless and engage in activities that boost positive energy.

This week I bring you a short charge that will help you consciously fight the urge to feel trapped or fearful during this challenging period.

In this episode, I share a few tips to help you stay productive and channel those feelings of fear into activities as you self isolate and practice social distancing.

In simple terms, Productivity Brilliance is the light or radiance that you emit by being the best productive version of yourself. This means that showcasing the best productive version of yourself sparks brilliance. Another way of couching it could also be that; Productivity Brilliance is, ‘the intense presence, aura or fragrance a person exudes when they are their best productive self.’ Generally speaking, brilliance is intense brightness/light.

I dare say, that it is incomplete to talk about brilliance of any sort, without categorically mentioning that there is an extra hint, touch or zest that being your highest productive self contributes to the quality of the sum total of who you are as a person. Permit me to say, therefore, that it is only when you are showcasing the best version of yourself possible, that you can categorically say you emit brilliance.

If Rome wasn’t built in a day, or babies are not conceived, fully formed and delivered in a day, why then are we always in a hurry, rush processes or cut corners with tasks and even prematurely execute projects as serious as our personal growth or development?

We are constantly hurrying or cutting short processes and then end up with half-baked results that are barely able to stand the test of time. They have no growth patterns or processes that reflect how we progressed when ordinarily, our growth patterns should serve as a guide or case study that forms structured systems that we can always use as reference points. Unfortunately, that is rarely the case these days.

Someone called it the two-minute noodles or microwave growth process and I couldn’t agree more. Another person completely took it to another level of concentrated pidgin English altogether . . . I will say it in its original form and then breakdown for the benefit of those who may not understand it. “No wuru-wuru to the answer, please show working” Lol! This imply means, “Do not cook up the answer or dabble your way into arriving at it, clearly show/state the steps you used to arrive at the answer. Does that make sense now? We tend to look for shortcuts and quick fixes forgetting that Rome was not built in a day. So what do we mean when we say, Rome was not built in a day?

Our topic this week is, ‘Ready But Not Ready’.

Are you wondering what that is all about? Well you know that familiar table yes? The one where we decide in our heads or minds that we are ready to make the very best of life and prepared to do whatever it takes to be the best versions of ourselves. Yet when the moment comes to actually put in the work, the drama begins.

If for any reason you happen to be on this table that I am about to shake, I ask that you forgive me in advance, because - shake it I will. Hmm!  If it breaks with you still on it and you land on the floor, dust yourself and get back up on your feet. Be determined to begin to act and put in the work, instead of looking for a similar table to get on. Lol!

So straight up, there are usually two categories of people on this table in question.

Today we will be sharing on something called, “The Impostor Syndrome” . Some of us may be familiar with it and others, maybe not. We spoke about it extensively in Episode 25 but from the angle of “When Life Doesn’t Measure Up”. It would help to listen to it.

I am very familiar with this syndrome because I have been there myself and can tell you for free that it’s a real threat and hindrance to productivity. The Impostor Syndrome is a serious deterrent to becoming the best productive version of yourself. So what is this Impostor Syndrome all about, what does it really mean?

Welcome to this week’s episode of the Life Lessons podcast. Our discussion today is tagged, ‘The Best Version of Yourself’

Being the best version of yourself means consistently being the best you can be at every point in time. by constantly raising the bar for yourself to ensure improvement every step of the way. Being the best version of yourself is a lifestyle and not a destination that you arrive at. As a lifestyle, it requires that you make progress daily as against rushing to arrive there and then stay stagnant.

We must be careful not to mistake being the best version of ourselves with trying to look like someone else we envy or admire or someone who is trending so that we too can trend. Our world today has mastered the act of copying so well that we are fast losing our unique individuality.

I was recently having one of those ‘table-shaking’ conversations with a friend, where we both came to the conclusion that one of the few things that cannot be contracted out and has no shortcuts is ‘Physical Fitness’. With weight loss there are countless shortcut or quick fix options ranging from paying to go under the knife or liposuction, etc But with physical fitness, mba nunu, meaning ‘not at all’ YOU MUST PUT IN THE WORK, there’s absolutely no other way to be physically fit. You must engage in physical fitness activities and break a sweat. As human beings, we have successfully crafted and mastered the act of finding shortcuts to practically everything, except this one though. With physical fitness you literally can’t. You can pay someone to coach you but they cannot do it for you, you have to Put In The Work yourself.

This reminds me of my instagram post a few weeks back and a similar scenario I have observed time and again. That scenario where we pay for coaching or strategy sessions and expect things to miraculously change without putting in the work.