Wednesday 7 December 2011

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing


ü The law of Leadership: Make your brand the first in the mind of the prospect.

ü The law of Category: If you can’t be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in.

ü The law of the Mind: It’s better to be first in the mind than to be first in the marketplace. Being first in the mind is everything in marketing.

ü The law of Perception: Marketing is a battle of perceptions, not products. Marketing is the process of dealing with perceptions.

ü The law of Focus: The most powerful concept in marketing is owning a word in the prospect’s mind. Examples are overnight, cavities, driving, safety, computer, cola, e.t.c. The most effective words are simple and benefit-oriented. Focus on one word or benefit.

ü The law of Exclusivity: Two companies cannot own the same word in the prospect’s mind.

ü The law of the Ladder: The strategy to use depends on which rung you occupy on the ladder.

ü The law of Duality: In the long-run, every market becomes a two-horse race.

ü The law of the Opposite: If you are shooting for second place, your strategy is determined by the leader.

ü The law of Division: Over time, a category will divide and become two or more categories. Categories are dividing, not combining.

ü The law of Perspectives: Marketing effects take place over an extended period of time. In many areas of life (spending money, taking drugs, having sex), the long-time effects are often the opposite of the short-term effects. So are marketing effects!

ü The law of Line Extension: There’s an irresistible pressure to extend the equity of the brand. In a narrow sense, line extension means using the brand name of a successful product on another new product you plan to introduce. When a company becomes incredibly successful, it invariably plants the seeds for its future problems. In the long run and in the presence of serious competition, line extensions almost never work. Line extension may be a winner in the short-term, but it’s a loser in the long run. It leads to oblivion.

ü The law of Sacrifice: You have to give up something to get something. The law of sacrifice is the opposite of the law of line extension. The 3 sacrificial variables are product line, target market, and constant change. Good things come to those who sacrifice!

ü The law of Attributes: For every attribute, there’s an opposite, effective attribute. It’s much better to search for an opposite attribute that will allow you to play off against the leader. 

ü The law of Candor: When you admit a negative, the prospect will give you a positive. The purpose of candor isn’t to apologize but to set up a benefit that will convince your prospect. Ben Franklin was right: Honesty is still the best policy. 

ü The law of Singularity: In each situation, only one move will produce substantial results.

ü The law of Unpredictability: Unless you write your competitor’s plans, you can’t predict the future. Marketing plans based on what will happen in the future are usually wrong. Even sophisticated computers and meteorologists cannot predict the weather three days in advance. The good news is that you can capitalize on trends. Remember Peter’s Law: The unexpected always happens.

ü The law Of Success: Success often leads to arrogance and arrogance to failure.

ü The law of Failure: Failure is to be expected and accepted.

ü The law of Hype: The situation is often the opposite of the way it appears in the press. 

ü The law of Acceleration: Successful programs are not built on fads; they’re built on trends. A fad is a wave in the ocean, with lots of hype. A trend is the tide, with little hype but powerful over the long-term.

The law of Resources: Without adequate funding an idea won’t get off the ground. Marketing is a game fought in the mind of the prospect. You need money to get into a mind. And you need money to stay in the mind once you get there. Ideas without money are worthless.

Your Word, Your Brand

A true brand is a promise, a reflection of the entrepreneur's body, mind, and spirit. it's your word.   ---- Robert Kiyosaki

Jesus Says.....

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Health

Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie
Which we ascribe to heaven.       ------- Shakespeare

The Real U!

You have within you a force against which the world is powerless.    ------ Robert Collier

Money Management

Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship.    ------ Benjamin Franklin

Attend to That Child!

Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression. ---- Haim Ginott

Investing

Bulls make money, bears make money, pigs lose money.  ----- Legendary Wall Street Saying

You're Your Thought!

The great business of life is thinking. Control your thoughts and you control circumstance. --- ROBERT COLLIER

YOU'RE THE BEST!

For life is the mirror of king and slave.
     'Tis just what you are and do;
Then give to the world the best you have,
     And the best will come back to you.

                                                          ----- MADELINE BRIDGES


Thoughts are Things!

The chief purpose of the body is to carry the brain around.    ------ Thomas Alvari Edison

Your Destiny in Your Hands

It matters not how strait the gate,
      How charged with punishment the scroll,    
I am the Master of my Fate;
      I am the Captain of my Soul. 

                                                      ----- HENLEY

God is Ever-Present and Mighty

The Father that is within you, He does the works!

God is Good

Remember God in prosperity and He will remember you in adversity. ----- Muhammad

Wisdom: The Master Key!

Happy is the man that finds wisdom,
And the man that gets understanding.
For the gaining of it is better than the gaining of silver.
and the profit thereof than fine gold.
She is more precious than rubies:
And none of the things that you can desire are to be 
compared unto her.
Length of days is in her right hand:
In her left hand are riches and honour.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
And all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her.
And happy is everyone that retains her.

                                                             --------- PROVERBS

Team Spirit, The Winning Way

It is not the guns or armament
Or the money they can pay,
It's the close cooperation.
It is not the individual
Or the army as a whole
But the everlasting team work
Of every bloomin' soul.

                                         --------- J. MASON KNOX




Tuesday 22 November 2011

IDENTITY

You have the DNA of the Almighty God. You come from a long bloodline of champions with creative intelligence, resounding victory, great faith, courage, supernatural strength, determination, persistence, sacrifice, heroism. You have the seed of greatness. You got the winner's blood!

Brands of Firsts - Cars


·       Jeep was the first in four-wheel-drive off-the-road vehicles;
·       Ford was the first mass-produced car;
·       Honda’s Acura was the first in luxury Japanese cars; Lexus was second; Infiniti was third.
·       Nash Rambler was America’s first small car;
·       Duryea introduced the first automobiles;

·       Hertz was the first rent-a-car service; Avis was second; National was third.




LOVE & THE CHRISTIAN


LOVE is the nature of God recreated in the human spirit who has been saved. It’s the fruit of the Spirit, and one quality that sets the Christian apart from the unbeliever. Love is the fulfilment of the Mosaic Law or any other law for that matter. God is Love personified! We have been born of God’s love, and as such we can easily express this love to our world because it has been shed abroad in our heart by the Holy Ghost. Love, as used in this sense, is from the Greek word ‘Agape’ – the God kind of love. God is a loving God. Christians are the beloved children of the loving Father.

Love is the bond of perfection. It is the guarantor and preserver of life. It is the source of joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, humility, faith, and self-control. Love makes faith work.  It’s an obligation for Christians to love their fellow human beings. Love is expressed by actions. We can demonstrate love by eschewing evil, supporting the gospel of the Kingdom, supporting the needy and less-privileged, praying and interceding for the nation and others, and being good and exemplary ambassadors wherever we are.

The Truth about Penny-Pinching



In business, every kobo counts! Someone calls it penny-pinching. Penny-pinching is the opposite of being wasteful. Most wealthy people are penny-pinchers; they calculate before they spend. They are in control of their money. At any point in time irrespective of the situation, one should make sure he or she is not being overcharged for any product or service. Penny-pinching is not being miserly or hoarding money unnecessarily. It’s being accountable. Always feel comfortable bargaining for what you intend to purchase. You deserve a discount for paying cash or paying a.s.a.p. You will be surprised at the discounts you get when you simply ask. You should be prepared to walk away but then after you’ve walked away a few miles, the price will reduce. It’s simply being penny or money-wise.
Some people make the mistake of buying brand names because of the belief that the higher the price, the better the product. The law of demand that states that the lower the price the higher the demand still holds true for the rich and poor alike. Ask the rich. Most brands have added features that you don’t necessarily need. All that glitters in advertising is not gold. Buy brand names when you can justify the quality and the benefits. Small, seemingly trivial numbers add up overtime especially when it comes to finances and can have gargantuan implications. For instance, a peanut of N10 can add up to exactly N18 000 in 1800 days without interest. When invested at compound interest over more days, the returns can be colossal. Also, always cross-check your bills to ensure you’re not being overcharge.

STRIKING A BALANCE BETWEEN MONEY AND MARRIAGE



Some say money is the root of all evil. Others concede that it is the root of all actions. But money, certainly, is at the root of major quarrels in many families. That you have money does not exempt you from trouble. Both the rich and the poor have money problems. It has been found that money is not necessarily the cause of disputes among couples, but the attitude towards it. If your love for money goes beyond the love for your partner, or the love for marriage as an institution, problems will inevitably arise, whether there is money or not.
Many families have been ruined because they do not know how to manage their finances. They have allowed Parkinson’s Law to dictate their lives. Their expenses are way above their incomes, year in, year out. Talking about money in a relationship is important. Care for your finances is synonymous with care for your health. Some people hate discussing money as if it is a swear word or taboo. Business can be tough, and so are relationships.

To deal with money issues, some people like billionaire real estate investor, Donald Trump, recommend a prenuptial agreement. This is a written agreement prior to marriage that helps to resolve certain critical issues that might arise. Others see a prenup as a lack of trust in the marriage. Ideally, couples should adopt a practical view. It is advisable to try to control the influence of money in your marriage. Proper budgeting, zero-based thinking, non-impulsive spending, and prudence can go a long way in balancing your money and your marriage.

Saturday 19 November 2011

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH A HABIT OF READING



The adage that readers are leaders cannot be overemphasized. Many leaders are made through cultivating the habit of reading overtime. Behind virtually every renowned leader is a library of books. Reading helps a lot in your personal development. You get to pick the brains of many people, and you get to understand life around you; it expands your views about life. Reading helps to improve your communication skills. Also, it makes you to see a whole lot of happenings in the world, especially the new world economic order. Reading helps to provide solutions to problems. Reading makes you aware; it confers knowledge. Reading helps to develop the citizens who develop the country. Developed economies are propelled by readers. Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States of America, was reputed to have attended formal schooling for less than 365 days. Thomas Edison, a great inventor, is known to have had only 90 days schooling. Steel magnate, Andrew Carnegie attributed a large degree of his success to books and that was why he donated immensely to the building of public libraries.

Get wisdom, says King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, get understanding. Learn what you need to know to move ahead. The pen is indeed mightier than the sword. Cicero said, “A room without books is a body without a soul.” Mark Twain added, “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.” Margaret Fuller quips, “A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body.” There’s abundance of things already done, of things that can be done, and of things that are being done in books. The secret of the wise is hidden in books. Reading is not at end in itself, but a means to an end. You can be free through knowledge! 

TRUTH AND FACT. Are they the same?



Truth and fact are sometimes used interchangeably but they are not the same!

Truth is evidenced-reality, and fact is evidence. Truth is timeless; it cannot change irrespective of time. Fact is subject to time, and therefore subject to change. Truth, unlike fact, can always be proved. All truths are based on God’s Word because the Word of God is Revealed Truth. Not all facts are based on God’s Word. Most facts are scientifically-based; others are simply religious. For instance, that the earth is a circle or spherical in shape is a revealed truth. Formerly, it was once a fact that the earth was a square until Galileo, one of the same breed, came on the scene and said nope. Also, it is a celebrated fact today that the human immune deficiency virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome has no cure because a formal announcement of a cure (in form of a capsule, tablet, or syrup) has not been made and accepted. The present-hour reality or truth is that HIV has got a cure! The Word of God! (See Proverbs 4: 20-22; Mark 16: 18; 1 Peter 1: 23; 1 Peter 2: 24; Isaiah 33: 24; Hebrews 4: 12). In short, the Christian is the medic.

PLANTAIN



Almost everybody eats plantain. Some people eat it boiled. Some like it roasted. There are others who eat it with palm oil or groundnuts. Whichever way you eat it, it is nutritious. It is medicinal. It can be very profitable.
Experts say its fruits provide one of the major commodities in international trade; but that it is far more important as a starchy staple in local food economies. It contains carbohydrates, phosphorus, calcium, iron, potassium, and vitamins A and C. Over 75 million people in West and Central Africa are estimated to derive more than one –quarter of their food energy requirement from plantain, thus making it one of the most important sources of food energy, third only to cassava and yam. It is a staple diet for diabetic patients.
Plantain does not require much maintenance; also, it requires little investment. Plantain cultivation only requires land, suckers, and a few other things like planting (i.e. labour & clearing). One sucker alone can generate at least eight other suckers. You will need fertilizer at the beginning stage to make the suckers grow.
The market for plantain is stable because demand is high. One hectare of plantain can take up to 2000 suckers, which translates to a minimum of 23 000 bunches. Ample space is needed to yield optimum results. You also need the right species. There are a lot of species. Some species of plantain can grow wild for two years without producing anything. The dwarf variety is ideal. As will be expected, it doesn’t grow too tall, and its canopy is not that wide. Within a season, you can harvest 2-3 times of the dwarf variety.
Though a seasonal plant, plantain are usually available during off seasons.

Brand of Firsts - ICT


          IBM was the first in mainframe computers or the first in computers;
       Tandem was the first in fault-tolerant computers;
        Strauss was the first in fault-tolerant minicomputers;
       Cray Research introduced the first supercomputer;
   Convex was the first mini-supercomputer;
   Amiga (by Commodore) was the first multimedia computer;
·       MITS Altair 8800 was the world’s first personal computer;
·       Dell was the first to sell computers by phone;
·       Toshiba was the first laptop computer; 
·       Wang was first in word processors;
·       Lotus was the first software company to develop a successful groupware product;
·       Sun Microsystems was the first in workstations;
·       Microsoft was the first in operating systems; 
·       Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) was the first in minicomputers;
 ·       Du Mont invented the first commercial TV set.

Monday 5 September 2011

Brand of Firsts - 1

·       God is the first with creative intelligence;
·       Jesus Christ is the first & most powerful and marketable brand;
J   Jesus Christ was the first to rise from the dead;
·       Jesus Christ is the first saviour of the world;
·       Jesus Christ was the first to descend from heaven; He is the second;
·       Jesus Christ is the first to be born of a virgin; He’s the last;
·       Jesus Christ is the first living man to raise the dead back to life;
·       Jesus Christ is the first to turn water into wine;
·       Jesus Christ is the first to sit at God’s right hand;
·       Jesus Christ is the first King to be born in a manger;
·       Jesus Christ was the first King to be crucified;
·       Jesus Christ was the first to calm the storm;
·       Jesus Christ was the first person demons could not withstand;
·       Jesus Christ is the first and the last;
·       Jesus Christ is the first person to bear His name; 
     Adam was the first man with an earth suit;
·       Eve was the first woman;


Sunday 4 September 2011

Rewriting the Rules of Money


5 New Rules of Money

  • Money is Knowledge: In this brave new world, your knowledge is the new money.
  • Get smart with debt: Debt is not bad, misuse of debt is. To get ahead financially, learn how to use good debts.
  • Control Cash flow: When you are in debt, your cash flows from you to others. Learn how to have cash flowing into your pockets.
  • Prepare for Bad times and you will only know Good times:
  • Speed is essential

Strategies to employ:
  • Get paid by the minute, hour or second instead of by the month
  • Earn 24/7
  • Have multiple streams of income
  • Create passive income using financial derivatives principle.

How to Minimize Stress and Tension


Stress and tension are synonymous. Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense; it causes anxiety, worry or emotional tension. Stress causes ill-health and can be fatal if not arrested. Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression. A sound heart is life to the body. A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dies the bones.
If a person is tense, then his perception, observation and expression suffer. And you have only two ways to get rid of tension: either lessen your workload or increase the energy level. In today’s world, it is not possible to lessen the workload; it will keep on growing day by day. The alternative is to increase our energy. Let’s consider different sources of energy. Food is our first source of energy — proper food and right amount of food, neither too much, nor too little. Second is proper sleep. Third, that is the most important source of energy, is breath, which we have ignored or forgotten about. 90% of impurities in the system go out through the breath. With every breath we exhale, we are throwing out carbon dioxide, toxins are going out of the system and blood is getting purified. Breath is such an important source of energy but we have not done much to learn and study about. The breath is the link between body and mind. For every emotion there is a corresponding rhythm in the breath. You would have noticed that when one is depressed, unhappy, anxious or tense, the breath moves and flows differently. Notice how we breathe when we are tense; when we are angry we breathe differently. Breath is the key to eliminate these toxins, negative impressions, and harmonize the emotions.
We can be creative and productive, and at the same time not lose the human, the humanness that we are all born with. Just material things or comfort alone do not really make a person comfortable. He may have a good bed to sleep on, but is unable to sleep due to insomnia or worry. He needs to get a broad understanding about himself and his priorities. Clarity in the mind makes things much easier -understanding his basic emotions like love, his interaction with people around him, knowing about his own ego or what his own intellect or mind is saying to him and introspection, will give him a few minutes of relaxation which is very vital. Then, of utmost importance is a smile. People who smile are givers and make the world habitable.

Tuesday 16 August 2011

How to Minimize Stress and Tension


Stress and tension are synonymous. Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense; it causes anxiety, worry or emotional tension. Stress causes ill-health and can be fatal if not arrested. Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression. A sound heart is life to the body. A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.
If a person is tense, then his perception, observation and expression suffer. And you have only two ways to get rid of tension: either lessen your workload or increase the energy level. In today’s world, it is almost impossible to lessen the workload; it will keep on growing day by day. The alternative is to increase our energy. Let’s consider different sources of energy. Food is our first source of energy — proper food and right amount of food, neither too much, nor too little. Second is proper sleep. Third and the most important source of energy, is breath, which we have ignored or forgotten about. 90% of impurities in the system go out through the breath. With every breath we exhale, we are throwing out carbon dioxide, toxins are going out of the system and blood is getting purified. Breath is such an important source of energy but we have not done much to learn and study about it. Your breath is the link between body and mind. For every emotion there is a corresponding rhythm in the breath. You would have noticed that when one is depressed, unhappy, anxious or tense, the breath moves and flows differently. Notice how we breathe when we are tense; when we are angry we breathe differently. Breath is the key to eliminate these toxins, negative impressions, and harmonize the emotions.
We can be creative and productive, and at the same time not lose the humanness that we are all born with. Just material things or comfort alone do not really make a person comfortable. He may have a good bed to sleep on, but is unable to sleep due to insomnia or worry. He needs to get a broad understanding about himself and his priorities. Clarity in the mind makes things much easier -understanding his basic emotions like love, his interaction with people around him, knowing about his own ego or what his own intellect or mind is saying to him and introspection, will give him a few minutes of relaxation which is very vital. Then, of utmost importance is a smile. People who smile are givers and make the world habitable!

A Healthy Life!


Life has four characteristics: it exists (at birth), evolves (when growing up), expresses (when interacting with creatures) and extinguishes (at death). And for these, it depends, as Empedocles confirms, on five elements: air, earth, fire, water, and ether. These correspond to the five senses: sight, smell, taste, sound and touch. These 5 elements flow into one another. Each one of the elements contains the other four. The subtlest element in us is space (ether), which the mind is made up of, and the grossest element is the earth, which our bones, skin and body structure are made up of.
To bring good health to your system, first, attend to the ether element, that is, the mind element. A mind clogged with too many impressions and thoughts drains you of your resistance power and prepares your body for some illness. If the mind is clear, calm, meditative and pleasant, the resistance in the body increases; it would not allow an illness to come into the body. Thus, the first remedy is to calm down the mind, provided by the ether. Then proceed to the air element, the breathing. Aromatherapy depends on this element. And then light — the colour therapy. You can see an illness in the aura of a person before it manifests in the body. By energizing our system with the prana — life energy or breath — you can clear the aura and prevent the illness before it comes. That is what yoga does. Patanjali, in the Yoga Sutras, says that the purpose of yoga is, “Stopping the sorrow before it arises.” And then, come to the water element. Fasting with water, purifying the system with water can bring a balance in the system. And final recourse, of course, is different medicinal herbs, medicines and surgery. All these come when everything else fails or when we neglect these other steps; then it becomes inevitable.

Our breath has a lot of secrets to offer to us, because for every emotion in the mind, there is corresponding rhythm in the breath. And each rhythm affects certain part of the body physically. Observing the great correlation between these sensations, the level of body and moods of the mind is meditation. Breathing is the first act of life and this is also the last act of life. In between, though we are breathing in and out forever, we do not attend to the breath. If you attend to the breath, you'll find that in one minute we breathe nearly sixteen to seventeen times. If you are upset you may go up to twenty; if you are extremely tense and angry, maybe twenty-five breaths per minute. But if you are calm, pleasant and happy, you will breathe ten times; and if you are in deep meditation, then only two breaths or three. If you observe an infant and its breathing pattern, you will be amazed how balanced it breathes. Infants breathe from all the three sections of the body. Their breath goes very deep, and as they breathe in, their belly comes out; as they breathe out their belly moves in. But the more nervous and tense you are, the more you will do the reverse.

The Qualities of Good Leadership

I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be flexible at all times. ---- Everett Dirksen


To lead people, walk beside them … As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate … When the best leader’s work is done the people say, ‘We did it ourselves! ----- Lao-Tsu

 How can you be a dynamic, confident and enthusiastic leader?

ü  The first quality of leadership is to set an example. A good leader doesn’t just order things; he does it so that others can do it.

ü  A leader takes good care of those whom he is leading (that is, the led).

ü  A true leader doesn’t create followers; he brews leaders. And then chain action happens. A leader should delegate responsibility.

ü  A leader doesn’t depend on authority. He just does a thing, whether authority is invested or not. It comes by itself.

ü  A good leader does not worry about position. The respect that you gain through virtue is very different from the respect you gain through the position. The respect you get through a position is short-lived and temporary. But the respect that you gain just because of your smile, your attitude, your virtues are there with you all the time. You may be a chairman of this committee, a president of that committee, or you are barrister here or governor of that state — these are all momentary, temporary. They come and they go. And the respect you get because of this position is not genuine, it is not from the heart, it is not true. But the respect you gain because you are a nice person, is genuine, it lasts long. It is spontaneous.

ü  A leader is alert and when challenges come, he is unperturbed. A good leader is one who does not drop things when challenges appear.


 The seventh quality of a good leader is one who does not care for comfort, but who stretches himself beyond the comfort zone. Anything creative, dynamic and great can happen only when you stretch beyond your comfort zone where we are often stuck. We think we cannot do something: just make an effort and put one step ahead, and you will find that you are expanding your comfort zone. Creativity transcends your comfort zone. Or, when you step out of the comfort zone, your creativity comes into play.

ü  A leader should not mix head and heart. If you mix head and heart, you are in a mess! When you have to work, you work with commitment and you live with your head. In life, in situations other than when you are working, listen to your heart.

ü  A good leader should be multidimensional and see from the other’s point of view. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes, look from the other person’s point of view.

ü  The leader doesn’t depend on one-sided information. When you get some news from one side, don’t take any decision or conclusion till you hear from the other side also. Leader should be a good communicator.

ü  A leader should have a direct approach. 


good leader is not to judge oneself. You have this tendency of judging yourself, “Am I good? I’m no good.” The self-judgment is an obstruction. Stop doing that. Don’t judge yourself. When you judge yourself, you are judging others also. Then you oscillate like a pendulum. If you feel you’re good, then you are saying that others are not so good. So when you find that others are good, and then you feel that you are no good, you blame yourself. Judgment is very similar to self-blame and blaming others. We have to get out of this vicious circle of self-judgment. That is also the state of surrender. When you have surrendered to the Divine that means that you no longer judge yourself. Self-judgment is not necessary. A child is so innocent, why? Because the child doesn’t judge itself.