Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.
For every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of happiness.
Whatever you decide to do today, make sure it makes you happy.
Have a fab day!
xoxo
SL
It is very heartwarming to read the stories of young people across the world who are championing the cause for positive changes in their communities. You would recall that some months back, I made a call on my social media pages for young Nigerians who are promoting good causes to submit their entries for the Queen’s Young Leader Award. I am particularly proud of the four Nigerians who were selected for this prestigious award. This restates the fact that young people can not only bring real lasting changes through their actions, but they are also having a tremendous impact by serving as role models for other young people.
The Nigerian winners are: Isaiah Owolabi, Kelvin Ogholi, Nkechikwu Azinge and Oladipupo Ajiroba.
Isaiah Owolabi
Isaiah co-founded HACEY Health Initiative, which helps disadvantaged women and children to lead healthy lives. In 2012 HACEY launched Hands Up For Her, which promotes the rights of African girls. The award will help HACEY develop its Women’s Health and Productivity project, ensuring women in rural areas have access to health services and training.
Kelvin Ogholi
After seeing livestock farmers – including his father – struggle to pay for feed, Kelvin co-founded UNFIRE. This social enterprise has found a way to produce poultry feeds from organic waste such as mango seeds, seaweeds etc. It costs half the price of normal feed, and so far it has helped more than 70 farmers.
Nkechikwu Azinge
Nkechikwu grew up with close family members who have the hereditary blood disorder sickle cell anaemia. After witnessing the physical, mental and emotional challenges it can lead to, she set up The Sickle Cell Aid Foundation. The organisation encourages people to get tested to know their haemoglobin genotype, and has set up sickle cell clubs in schools to inform and educate young people about the condition.
Oladipupo Ajiroba
Growing up with bronchitis made Oladipupo very conscious of pollution. He set up The Environmental Advocacy and Management Initiative, which has engaged more than 10,000 volunteers in campaigns and workshops. Oladipupo intends to use The Queen’s Young Leaders Award to encourage greater respect for the environment and to create green jobs.
There’s a lot that young people can achieve if they set their mind to it. I am very proud of these selected four and say a big Congratulations!
About The Award
The Queen’s Young Leader Award aims to recognise exceptional people aged 18-29, who are taking the lead in their communities and using their skills to transform lives. Winners of this prestigious Award will receive a unique package of training, mentoring and networking, including a one-week residential programme in the UK during which they will collect their Award from Her Majesty The Queen. With this support, Award winners will be expected to continue and develop the amazing work they are already doing in their communities.
Since its inception, the goal of the Extended Hands Foundation which I founded some years back has been to restore hope and put smiles on the faces of women. For some years now, the foundation has been focused on helping women with Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) – a serious disability that can be experienced by women after childbirth – and giving them a chance at living normal lives through free repair surgeries.
Recently through the support of Diamond Bank PLC, 15 women living with VVF received free repair surgeries at the Kwara Specialist Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara State. The women all had successful surgeries and were nursed back to health at the hospital. Before the surgeries, many of them had been shunned and separated from their families as a result of the embarrassing effects of the condition. Some of them lost their jobs, their husbands, and were forced to live in degrading conditions. Thanks to the successful surgeries, they are now back with their loved ones and are living their dreams.
Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) is a serious disability that can be experienced by women after childbirth. They are holes resulting from the breakdown in the tissue between the vaginal wall and the bladder or rectum caused by unrelieved obstructed labour. The consequence of such damage is a woman’s inability to control the flow of urine or faeces. It occurs more often in young women during childbirth, as their bodies are not yet mature for the process.
The pool effort was lauded by the First Lady of Kwara State Mrs Omolewa Ahmed who received me and my team from Extended Hands Foundation as well as the Diamond Bank team at the State House in Ilorin. The state Commissioner for Health Alhaji Kayode Issah, also received the us during our stay in Ilorin.
I am thankful to everyone who has supported this exercise, especially Diamond Bank, and pledge that we would continue to do more to touch more women with VVF across the country.
Time or fate may separate friends, lovers,
But friendship or love that’s true will ever
Thenceforth continue to live forever,
True love conquers the odd with its power.
As time passes by, things change with the time,
Every moment, hour, day, month, and year,
All things have their turn to change with the time,
Life, time, and events change with the years.
Everyone, everything, have a time and day,
A time to change, end, begin a new day,
Change is life, the course of life everyday,
All things change, and we change with them all days.
Only the Eternal one is constant,
All things in the universe, inconstant,
But despite it all, love is important,
The world may change, but true love is constant.
by Merlin Archivilla
I feel the need to share this poem with you dear SL Fabz this morning. This is especially for those going through a major change in their lives. Have you recently started a new job, gotten married, had a sad breakup, lost your job, moved to a new city, lost a loved one…..?
You may be overwhelmed by this new phase in your life and wonder how you’re gonna get by. I’d like to encourage you to stay strong. It’s gonna get better, maybe not right now, but eventually it will. Remember that despite it all, love is important. The world may change, but true love is constant.
Have a splendid weekend.
SL
With age comes experience, with experience comes knowledge and with knowledge comes understanding.
Many times as young children, teenagers and even in our post teenage years, we get advice from our parents and older ones which we just shun. We’ve all been there. Sometimes we think they are old fashioned and don’t just want us to have our way. Or we do things just because they said we shouldn’t do it. We probably succumbed to peer pressure and were affected by our mates telling us we were not good/talented/pretty enough.
Many times, we get really burnt when we don’t listen to such advice and we only realize that when we’ve learnt our lesson. We have regrets for actions we took even when we were warned not to and wish we could reverse the hands of time. That we know is impossible.
But today, let’s just imagine we could. Let’s imagine we were much younger, moments before we took that step/did that thing we were not supposed to do. That thing we wish we didn’t do. Now that you know better, what advice would you give your younger self?
Hi SL Fabz,
Thanks for sending all your entries for the Make Me Fabulous Reality TV Show – Family Edition. It was quite touching reading your stories and I really wish I could pick more winners.
Below are the names of the shortlisted winners (not final winners). You would get an email soon from info@stephaniedaily.com and perhaps, you just might be the eventual winner.
Here they are:
If your name is on this list and you did not send in your phone number before, kindly put your number in the comment box below.
Keep being fabulous!
xoxo
SL
I know its barely a week into the new year, but trust me, some people have already found themselves in this trap.
Why is that we start the New Year off determined that this is the year to get our lives together? This year I’m going to eat better, loose weight, go to the Gym, give up drinking or whatever. We start with so much enthusiasm and determination. But some how a couple of weeks in, other things are more important, we run off time or steam and we slid back into our comfortable old habits.
There are several reasons for this. Some people only make New Year’s resolutions because other people are making them. Also, sometimes we set the wrong goals for ourselves.
So if you really want things to change you do need to put some effort in. Here are some ways to get back on track:
1) Reconfirm to yourself what you want.
2) Make sure that your goals are realistic
3) Spend a few minutes every morning reading your goals and feeling what it will be like when you achieve them.
4) Make a plan to achieve your goals
5) Take small steps each day or each week to achieve your goal. A great man once said the way to achieve your goals is to underachieve each day.
Take a minute and think about some of the most successful people you know.
I’d bet they’re great with people, are super-productive, and think differently than most. After all, that’s how they got to be where they are today.
Jealous of them? You don’t have to be. You can learn these same skills by studying some of the best business books that can help you take your game to the next level. Here’s 7 of my favorites.
1. How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie
2. Purple Cow by Seth Godin
3. Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
4. The Monk and the Riddle by Randy Komisar
5. The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
6. One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard
7. Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
Part of my goals this year is to read more. I haven’t read all the books on this list, just some, but I intend to read them.
How about you? Have you read any of the books on this list? Do you have any other influential business books to add to this list?
“I started working in the fields when I was five. After that, I worked construction for thirty years. Eight years ago, I was between jobs and I wanted to do something useful, so I started going to school. It took me 8 years to get through middle school, because I could only go to classes when work was slow, but I finished with a 9.3 out of 10. Now I’m moving on to high school. The toughest part is Algebra.”
(Mexico City, Mexico)
Many times we think time has passed us by and it would be impossible to achieve our dreams. But stories like this make me realize that it really is never too late.
I found this story on Humans of Newyork and just knew I had to share it here. Imagine being in high school at this age! However, he has a dream and he is living his dream regardless of his age.
It would be really terrible to get old and have regrets of not doing things you really wanted to do when you had the strength. You want to start a company, go ahead! You want to go back to school, take that exam! You want to write a book, get started! You want to go somewhere, take a first step!
It’s never too late. Don’t focus on what was taken away. Find something to replace it, and acknowledge the blessing you have. You never know what you can accomplish until you try.
Have a great week!
SL
Sometimes in life, its the people who have so little that give so much. Such stories are truly heart warming and inspiring.
YouTuber Josh Paler Lin – better-known for his hilarious pranks – was feeling the holiday spirit and decided to give a homeless man in California $100 to see what he would do with it.
He followed the man, Thomas, with a camera to see how he spent the money.
How he spends the money will astonish you.
His first stop was a liquor store, but not for the reasons some might think: He bought bread and then headed over to a park, where Lin filmed him distributing the food to other homeless people.
Although some people on social media have claimed the video is staged, but only time will tell. What isn’t staged is that warm feeling inside you get when you watch this video.
The video has been viewed over 29 million times and counting. This goes to show how one kind act can affect an entire generation. I’m definitely inspired to do more and I hope you are too. Have a great Sunday!