Re: Secret of long life

(PANORAMA)
BY REBECCA AKINMOLAYAN
A RESPONSE to my last week’s article is that was it actually meant for Nigerians, how many Nigerians will enroll for a course in the Red Cross?
What makes some people live long while their mates do not? It is a question that has dogged some of the finest minds for generations. A long healthy life is no accident. It begins with good genes, but it also depends on good habits. If you adopt the right lifestyle, experts say, chances are that you may live up to the century mark.
Though many are responding to the call to change in diet and exercise, the guarantee of living a long life goes beyond these rituals.
Experts reveal that our position in the hierarchy of long life is influenced by two things — how much control we have over our lives and what role we play in society. This holds true for every group in society, from politicians to those living in poverty.
It is all about our mindsets too. One thing everybody should know is that they own their bodies and are therefore responsible for what ever happens to them. Our thoughts lead to our actions and if you do not value your self, how can your take care of your body?
Everyone should realise that he or she should exercise a level of control over his or her bodies. This was the original reason for the article.
Also, anyone who wants to live long will not take unnecessary health risks. Tell some people to stay clear of tobacco; it is akin to banishing them to Antarctica.
Limit the intake of alcohol, another no-go area and they want to live long. These are attractive poisons with chronic effects, that is, the results of their damage does not come immediately but many years later when you are counting your years and wishing to add more to them.
How much do you know of your body? With so much information, ‘in the air’, many are still ignorant of how the body they carry around everyday works. And that is every small pain takes them to the dispensary and thereby render themselves open to exploitation by the unscrupulous.
Study your body, it will save you time and money. It is not uncommon to hear many people when they return from overseas boasting of the superb treatment they got over there.
Ask them about the treatment and the reason for it, they become speechless. When you visit the hospital, ask questions, and don’t let your body be used for guesswork or experiments.
Be immunised; not against polio or tetanus this time but against the negative influence of life and the bad-belle people around
Finally, enjoy your life, you only have one go at it.





Emotional intelligence, financial intellige
(Biz tool Kids)
BY BRIDGET OLOTU
I WAS having a discussion with one of my business partners on a project we were working on recently and he shared with me what I think would also help many of us in our businesses, workplaces and lives.
He told me he was a partner to the guy who started the business of packaging comedy shows in Nigeria. He said after the first two events were held; he quit because they didn’t make any profits. Meanwhile, the other guy continued.
The third show he held was a flop, followed by the fourth until the fifth show where the guy was able to recoup his investment. Then followed the sixth which was a huge success and the rest is history.
But my business partner quit early enough. He scored low on emotional intelligence. The lesson he picked from that experience still guides him till today. Financial intelligence is also the same as emotional intelligence. Warren Buffett once said, “If you cannot control your emotions, you cannot control your money.”
In the art of money making, we all have unique and different processes to get there. Some will achieve their financial freedom as employees in establishments while some others will achieve theirs running their own businesses. Whichever route you want to take, just bear in mind that there’s a process to pass through.
So, in improving your financial status, you need to understand some facts that can stop you from getting out of the rat race into financial freedom. Let’s consider some of them.

If you cannot control your emotions, you cannot control your money. People’s money decisions are not controlled by their wives or friends or family but by their emotions. They buy on impulse, invest on impulse, want to live like the Joneses, acquire a lot of non-productive assets that turn out to be useless liabilities, etc. Their money decisions are controlled by their emotions. Who or what controls your money decisions?

If you quit when you are depressed, you cannot control your money. Quitters rarely win. Like the story in my introduction, my business partner lost out in that business deal that could have been fetching him 7-digit figures every time the event is held because he couldn’t fight back the negative emotions to quit.
I
f you lose your temper when you are frustrated, you cannot control your money. Many have lost business deals, closed the door of friendships, lost customers, missed opportunities, lost job or promotion opportunities and suffered untold financial losses because they could not manage their temper. Angry people can’t keep relationships. Even in marriage, their spouses live in fear with them; they sleep with one eye shut and the other open. Your temper can make you lose business deals if you don’t wake up and start growing your emotional intelligence.

If you cannot continue to study when you want to run away, you cannot control your money. Some have lost vital opportunities of mentorship, training, education and coaching because they lost their emotional handle to fear, disappointment, unforgiveness and anger. How it works is this, whatever was the first emotion that comes to you when you are down or depressed or even afraid, check it out. Don’t obey it! Do the opposite if that is the commonsensical thing for you to do.

If you cannot live without instant gratification, you cannot control your money or be wealthy. Some of us are carried away by instant gratification. To be rich, you have to overcome your itching for instant gratification. Choose delayed gratification over instant gratification.

If you want to keep up with the Joneses, you cannot be rich. You may run into trouble when you want to be like the Joneses. Your financial path may be different from your friends. You may have to start a new and/or small business and grow it from there. You may also have to work for many years and rise to the top of your career, thereby making a lot of money and using that to meet your financial objectives. But make sure you are true to yourself per time.
Emotional intelligence, as we have seen, is similar to financial intelligence and guides our money decisions. So, when that emotion or those feelings are asking you to do what you know won’t help your financial goals, think again.
Olotu is the CEO/Lead Consultant, DEAIM Innovative Resources Ltd,
bridgetolotu@gmail.com