Evans Akpo

Your beliefs don’t make you a better person, your behavior does.Your behavior stems from your belief. If you belief humans are good, you treat them good.
As humans we are quick to judge people by what religious groups, cultures or race they belong to, and we base this judgment on their behavior. Yet we forget this is exactly what we have done – we have based our opinion on their behavior, and not on what that belief, religion or culture actually represents. So before judging any group, culture or religion in the future, don’t judge it by the ‘rotten apples’ out there, rather judge it by those who actually walk their talk and follow a lifestyle of purity of spirit.

Napoleon – The world suffers a lot. Not because of the violence of bad people, but because of the silence of good people. Never complain about a situation if you are not prepared to do anything about it. I have found that today, we live in a society of complainers, yet no one stands up and demands 100% service. How then can you complain that things aren’t working? If you decide not to vote in an election and the wrong party wins, don’t complain – you didn’t vote or stand up for who you believe in. If service is bad, or someone does you in – speak up so that it doesn’t happen again. Silence is what lets inefficiency, unprofessionalism, bad service and bad people get ahead. Stop being quiet – stand up for what is right!

Just because you are struggling, does not mean you are failing. Every great success requires some kind of struggle to get there. Opportunity always comes with opposition – hang in there.
Speak to any successful self-made person. It’s rare that something lands on your lap and takes no effort. Most success stories start out with much struggle and hardship. It’s all part of the journey. I once read a great quote by another unknown author that said, If no one criticizes you, then you are not doing anything right! In other words, when people oppose and challenge you – that’s when you are seen as a threat – and that’s a sure sign you are on the right track. Makes sense… doesn’t it?

Wikipedia describes Goethe as a writer and Statesman. He was so much more than that. He was a philosopher, he was a poet, he was to Germany what Shakespeare was to England. Only that is True which turns out to be fruitful… this can be interpreted in many ways. For me Goethe implied here that optimistic people who are productive can change the world for the better. They have something to show for their efforts – hence there is a truth in what they do and leave behind. As for the rest that produce nothing – they are simply forgotten. Are you following your true purpose in life?

There are two eternities that can really break you down, Yesterday and Tomorrow. One is gone and the other doesn’t exist… so live today.

Einstein – I am thankful to those who said NO to me. It’s because of them I did it myself.

Wow, wow, wow! This quote is definitely worth three wows!

I remember how many interviews I attended after graduation from Webster University, St. Louis.  Rejection letters  were as many as the bills. It was real. I dealt with several rejection letters. I volunteered my life to the point I started asking when the career path will start. It took me back to how real life was. After the rejection, I said “No”   I’ve decided from that point, “I was going to do it myself.”

When things don’t go your way, or someone turns you down, NEVER see it as a failure, but see it as an inspiration to try harder the next time. Just investigate the success stories out there, a small percentage succeeded right away – the rest struggled their way to the top. Where did they get the drive to do this? – they believed in themselves.

Remember the first time you started driving a car? It was a bit scaring, so is life when you start taking on some new task. It’s usually risky – so it appears.. Would you rather avoid risk or avoid life?

You cannot avoid risk without avoiding life. – As Henry David Thoreau once said, “When it’s time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived.” Living is a risk. Happiness is a risk. If you’re not a little scared sometimes, then you’re not doing it right.

Don’t worry about mistakes and failures, worry about what you’re giving up when you don’t even try. Worry about the life you’re not living and the happiness you’re forgoing, as you merely exist in the safety of your comfort zone.

Give yourself permission to be one of the people who survived doing it wrong, who made mistakes, but recovered from them and grew into your truest self. Life is a risk, to conquer you must risk. The unanswered question is whether you should avoid life or avoid the risk of living.

Don’t let the noise of other people’s opinions drown out your inner voice – Steve Jobs. 

Interesting, to this day, even today in 2016 people still criticize Apple Computers – yet they are the top IT company… and that’s exactly the root of the problem today. We let the jealous, pessimistic, ignorant, lazy people and losers influence us with their negativity. Stop listening to them. Believe in yourself. The only person that can stop you from achieving your own dreams is you! As an unknown author once said, “Winners are not those who never fail, but those who never quit” and Steve Jobs was proof of that! So what’s your excuse?

It’s not the finish line that matters, it is having the courage to start.

Be specific! If you have a disagreement then know exactly what it is about. Never (and we all fall into this trap) generalize! By moving from a specific issue to a general set of statements, you are taking the quarrel to another, and at times, a silly level. If there is a disagreement, remain specific and most of the time it will then remain at a disagreement. Often, the other person may not even have been aware of the issue at hand. However, as soon as you add in generalized comments and issues about the other person, you make it personal and veer away from objectivity. That’s when the real quarrel starts. Relationship quarrels are a good example here. Please be specific, its saves friendships and relationships.