You Need Motivation.

  

Motivation In Your Pocket.

When you have no shoulder to lean on and you conclude that you are alone,

look within you and pull out the motivativation in your pocket;

In your pocket, you will always find the strength to carry on, beyond the limits of your imagination. 

This strength is the power of positive belief. 

Positive belief will always see you through the darkest valley, carry you over the tallest mountain and keep you company until you reach your goal.

So, keep on believing that your tomorrow will always be better than your today and, always do all you can today,  to live to see a better tomorrow.

Your positive belief is the motivation in your pocket 

***

Download your free copy of the book, "Motivation In Your Pocket" here. 

- The gods - The beginning

 

Saiz walked in a hurry in the dark. He glanced over his shoulder for the umpteenth time, to check if there was any suspicious movement behind him. It wasn't out of fear but out of habit. 

"I am a master of the night."  He reminded himself.

"It should be about 2:30a.m now." He thought to himself. 

He remembered checking the clock on his mobile phone when he was leaving the house. The time was 1:45 a m. Since then, he hadn't checked. On his way, he didn't dare or he would've revealed his position to the patroling local police. 

"I shouldn't check now." He thought, "I've to approach the prayer mountain as discreetly as possible. Pastor Peterson wouldn't want his spiritual focus to be distracted." He reasoned.

He was happy for the opportunity. He had waited for five months to be invited by the pastor to the prayer mountain. 

"Only five months..many ." He said under his breathe. 

He had met many in the church who had waited fruitlessly for years to be invited for special prayers with the pastor on the prayer mountain.

"I am a lucky man." He whispered to himself and smiled in the dark.

He increased his pace along the foot path, he didn't want to be late for the appointment with Pastor Peterson. His mind went back to the discussion he had with the pastor two days earlier.

"My son, I've a rule not to see new converts, converts less than two years, on my prayer mountain but I'm going to break that rule for you."

"Thank you daddy." Saiz said.

"I hope you're ready to make the best of this opportunity because you young ones are never serious about the things of God." The Pastor expressed his concerns. 

Saiz said, "Sir you've told me that my time has come, I will not allow anything to stop me." He meant what he just said from the bottom of his heart 

The pastor gave him a serious look and said, "Okay then. The time is 2:45a.m. You wouldn't see me if you come a second after that. Is that understood?"

"Yes Daddy." Saiz answered.

"You can leave now my son." The pastor dismissed him.

The prayer mountain was a mud house on a cleared land at the center of a cluster of trees. The mud house was the prayer house  The silhouette of the prayer house came into his view. His heart began to pound faster. He wanted to run the remainder of the distance but decided against it. 

"No need for that." I'm not late." He assured himself and maintained his pace.

Then he stopped abruptly, he was few meters from the prayer house. He stood motionless for few seconds, he could swear he heard a conversation.

He heard it again,...he couldn't hear it clearly from where he stood. "Maybe the pastor is praying..." He thought. "But...there's someone else there with him..I can swear." He said under his breath.

He tiptoed towards the prayer house. "I'm not taking chances, I don't want all these busybodies in the church asking questions and gossiping later about my business." He told himself.

As he got closer, the sound from inside the prayer house became clearer. It was a conversation between the pastor and a woman. 

He crawled on all fours to the window, then lifted himself up and placed his ear on a crack in the window.

"Daddy, I'm tired." A female voice said.. Saiz could recognize the voice instantly but he couldn't immediately attach it to the name of anyone he knew.

"Come on! I'm just getting started." Pastor Peterson said in a pleading tone.

""Daddy, we will continue tomorrow." The woman pleaded.

"Look woman, tomorrow is the last night for the special prayer session..."

"I know Daddy..."

"Thank God, you know. Don't you want a child any more?" The Pastor asked.

"Daddy, I'm desperate for a child. My marriage depends on my having a child quickly for my husband."

The pastor sighed and said, ""I know woman.This is the sixth night." 

He paused for few seconds and continued, "You know I'm a very busy man." He reminded.

"I know Daddy." The woman confirmed.

"If I wouldn't have the chance to come out tomorrow night, I would send brother Radoe..."

"No Daddy..the woman interrupted quickly. I want you to finish the work. You're my spiritual father, no one else should know about this.  Yoou're the only I trust to keep quiet about the whole of this "

The pastor sighed. The woman continued in a measured tone, "I don't want a man coming in the future to blackmail me. I don't anyone to come in future and do anything to destroy my marriage. I know you will never do that Pastor."

"God forbid! The Pastor exclaimed. That would destroy my reputation as a spiritual father and general overseer. I would lose the respect of my members and I would also lose my prestigious position in the body. "

"Thank you Daddy. " Said the woman.

There was silence for few seconds. Then the pastor asked  "Shall we?"

The woman hesitated for a moment then said, "Okay."

Saiz could recognize the voice now. It was Madam Sarai Bambi, the wife of Mr. Bambi, one of the financial pillars of the church.

Saiz was disappointed. He lowered himself and crawled away from the pastor, Mrs. Bambi and her moaning sounds.

After crawling a good distance away from the prayer house, he got up and began to walk back towards the road. He was mad at the pastor and at the church. 

"I now believe the story about the pastor and the two teenage girls, aged 12 and 14." Saiz told himself as he made his way towards the road.

Helena and Gloria were in the choir and in the prayer band. They were living with their single mother, a jobless poor woman who spent virtually everyday in the church 

The two girls spent most of their days in the church too. They were not in school as other children their age. They had no one to pay the necessary fees for them. The pastor paid the rent and occasionally, gave their mother little money, barely enough for feeding. So, the two girls and their mother spent everyday in the church, cleaning it and praying endlessly for a miracle that never came. They were always in the church, it didn't matter whether there was an activity or not.

One day,, the church members woke to learn that the woman had left the church with her children. It was strange. 

Saiz heard but didn't the rumour that flew around in the church after the woman and her children left.

He doubted that the Pastor Peterson he knew as the oracle of God, was making out with the woman as the rumour  said. That wasn't all to the rumour,  some people said that the woman left the church when she learnt that the pastor raped her little girls. Saiz didn't believe any of the stories.

He believed the version the pastor told the congregation on the Sunday after the woman's departure. He told the church that the woman with her children had a habit stealing from him and the church. 

He said, "I did everything I could to get her to stop the bad habit. I placed her on weekly stipend, paid her house rent, and paid the children's school fees."

"What else should I've done?" He asked the attentive assembly.

He didn't get any answer, he wasn't expecting any, so he continued, "Last Friday, I caught her and her children in the church, stealing from the tithe box..." He voice rising an octate with every word. "Can you imagine, stealing from the Lord?"

When members heard this, they began to murmur and argue among themselves. The pastor raised his hand and the church was silent. "I had to tell her to go and never to return. And.." The pastor paused and stared down at the congregation from the elevated pulpit..."I'll lay a curse on any of you that talks to that woman and her children again." 

Members were scared.. Saiz had believed the pastor then but not any more now. 

He screamed out in anger in the dark, "He's nothing but a liar, a dirty womanizer, a pedophile and an unapologetic rapist " 

He was almost at the road. "No more church for me. I'll see Macho this morning for the job. I've to take care of my poor mother and my pregnant wife. The brotherhood may turn out to be better than the church."

When Saiz got back to the little house he shared with his pregnant wife and his mother, he sat down outside on the veranda. He didn't want o disturb the two women.

His mind was made up. "The brotherhood is going to know my true worth.

Read the complete stoy at:

The gods. The beginning.

Which primary effective spending habits guarantee personal budget discipline?

First, why is personal budget discipline necessary? 

It's necessary because without it, you're going spend more than you earn and end up living the rest of your life in debt.

Spending one's entire life in debt doesn't produce growth. Personal finance growth is founded on having substantial savings, which could form a significant portion of initial investment capital. 

Investments drive personal growth. 

So to grow financially, personal budget discipline is necessary. However personal budget discipline can't be obtained in the absence of effective spending habits.

What are the effective spending habits that guarantee personal budget discipline?

1. Having the habit of preparing a personal budget regualrly.

Having a personal budget is the starting point and the driver of effective spending habits. A personal budget is a financial plan that clearly defines your expected revenue and expected expenses.

For a personal budget to be effective, it must be realistic. That is, you should be certain about sources of anticipated revenue. The regular the sources, the higher the certainty 

2. Having the habit of distinguishing between needs and wants.

Your personal budget should separate spendings between on needs and on wants, with needs taking the larger percentage. 

Your needs are, simply put, those things you can't do without. These are food, shelter, clothing and health needs. You may wish to add eudcation to the list of needs 

Your wants are those things you desire but which you can do without, aomething like entertainment. 

After separating the two and making provisions in your budget for them, remember to set aside a percentage of your regular earnings as savings.

3.  Having the habits of drawing up a shopping list.

 And sticking to it.

Stick to your shopping list, everytime you go shopping . This habit would condition you to stay within your personal budget. 

It does more. The habit of sticking to a shopping list stops impulse buying.

Buying on impulse increases the chances of wasting money to buy stuff you don't need. When you make conscious efforts to grow your personal finance, you force yourself to stop wasting money and start saving it.

4. Reconcile every emergency spending.

Sometimes, the need to spend on an emergency may arise. When such a spending is made, it makes financial sense to reconcile it by sacrificing an item or some items of equivalent value in your personal budget.

An item or items sacrificed shouldn't be of immediate need. And the satisfaction of sacrificed items should only be postponed and not eliminated completely. That is, go for a virement instead of a cancellation.

At the end, having the habit of sticking to personal budget saves money for you.

What is that one thing that guarantees business survival which every startup must know and do?

 

There's no one magic wand. Business survival and success depend on managing a combination of factors successfully. 

Pause! This combination must be driven by a clearly thought out selling point matched by a singularity of focus.

This selling point, a summary of  the primary reason customers should choose you to do business with instead of competition, is the driver of business survival and success 

After you have clearly defined your selling point, shift your focus to situate it with needs and expectations of your target market, investors, suppliers and the public.  While at it, don't forget to be flexible and adaptable to changes.

Don't also forget that the customer is king. Therefore, customer satisfaction should be regarded as a very important consideration for the sake of business survival and success. 

Another point to keep in mind is that business success takes time. At the early stages of the business, expect expenses to exceed revenue. But with time, a great team and excellent financial managment, your business should break even and go on to make steady profits.

Excellent financial management can be summarized as;

1. Effective budgeting,

2. Efffective source and application of funds management,

3. Effective accounts receivable, cash flow and inventory management strategies.

Now know that no matter how good you're at managing your business, you would still face challenges. But none would be insurmountable.

Which dividend stocks will continue to grow over the next 5 years?

 

Businesses associated with constantly rising share prices and a corresponding constantly rising dividend payouts are  attractive to dividend stock investors.

This is because, investors are confident that these businesses have managements that set and achieve progressively increasing total sales revenue and declining total costs. 

The result, progressively rising profits for appropriation as retained profits, dividend payouts and reinvestment for growth and expansion purposes.

Now, which dividend stocks will continue to grow over the next 5 years?

No one can accurately predict future share prices. Share prices are influenced by speculators' often irrational decisions. 

However, as an investor, you can make near accurate predictions by picking and investing in a portfolio of at least, 15 financially strong and stable high dividend paying businesses. Such businesses can be selected from the "New York Stock Exchange’s 106 Best High Dividend Stocks - Analyzed and Scored” reference book. This book was released in December, 2022.

From this book, the following dividend stocks would, all things being equal, continue to grow over the next five years;

1. Delek Logistics Partners LP (DKL)

2. Chevron Corporation (CVX)

3. Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ)

4. CTO Realty Growth (CTO)

5. Chenier Energy Partners LP (CQP)

How does price earnings (P/E) ratio affect the dividend policy of a business?

 

Every business set up for the purpose of making profit is primarily interested in reaching and maintaining a high level of performance where revenue exceeds expenses.  It measures its performance in terms of of the price of its shares, dividends and number of issued shares.

A business's dividend policy including the stability of the policy, is tied to the business's earned profits, cash flows, prospects of growth and the preferences of shareholders or investors.

Shareholders or investors considering investment options would assess dividend policies and results of shareholder or investor ratios (especially the price earnings ratio) of available businesses before making an investment decision..

The dividend policy indicates the proportion of earned profits a business is willing to pay out and the regularity at which dividends are paid out. 

Now note, when a company is not making stable profits, their shares will not yield regular dividends. 

What is the price earnings (P/E) ratio?

The price earnings ratio is an investor or stock market ratio that compares the market price of the shares to the earnings per share. This is calculated thus;

Market price/earnings per share.

Earnings per share (EPS) shows the proportion of a business's profit attributable (after deducting tax, minority interest and preference dividends but before considering extra ordinary items) to each common stock (or share) or attributable to issued number of common stock ranking for dividend. 

What is a good price earnings (P/E) ration?

There's no fixed rule for determining a good price earnings ratio. Generally, the lower the P/E ratio, the better. Why is it better? Because as the P/E ratio falls,  the dividend payout ratio is also lowered.

A lower dividend payout ratio is an indication that a business can pay regular dividends as it would have more retained profits to expand and grow. Dividend investors like a lower payout ratio.

The dividend payout ratio is calculated thus;

 Annual dividend per share/ earnings per share (EPS)

Organizational structure analysis Vs Financial analysis; Which is a better investment decision tool?

 

It's common for an investor to do the financial analysis of the company they want to invest in. It's uncommon for an investor to do the organizational structure analysis. The latter is usually done by management for the purpose of internal decisions.

The organizational structure of a company defines its business approach. The way a company approaches its business operations has a significant impact on its performance. Its performance is the primary determinant of either profitability or non-profitability.

The profitability of a company is known by carrying out the financial analysis of its performance within its industry over a range of financial years. 

Profitability and its consistency form the primary concern of an investor. It is the consistency in profitability that guarantees regular payment of dividends, interest on debt and return of principal.

The foregoing indicates that both organizational structure and financial analyses of investment options could improve investment decisions reached.

By studying the organizational structures of the companies they're interested in, an investor can compare these structures, assess weaknesses and identify strengths to better understand the performance behind the figures in the financial reports.

It is important or understand that the organizational structure of company defines its levels of control. For instance, an organization with a hierachical structure gives managers high levels of control over what employees do and how they work. An employee in this kind of organization reports  to a manager who in turn is responsible for outcomes 

Why should an investor be interested in levels of control managers have over employees?

An investor that is interested in investing in a stable business environment should prioritize a company with the hierarchical organizational structure. This structure gives managers high levels of control to demand that employees either produce accepted levels of performance or get disciplined.

On the other hand, an investor looking to invest in a rapidly changing business environment should consider a company with the matrix organizational structure. The matrix has lower levels of control.