For a Better Quality of Life.



Whether it's having a more successful business, a healthier body, a stronger relationship or all of the above, people are always on the lookout for ways to improve. The good news is everyone has the power to create a better quality of life, says author and entrepreneur Tony Robbins, speaking recently at Oprah Winfrey's SuperSoul Sessions. The key is answering these three questions:

What are you going to focus on?: People tend to focus more on what's missing from their lives, says Robbins. That's not always a bad thing – it's important when you want to make a change, he explains, "but when you do it as an ongoing pattern, how are you going to feel when you're always focusing on what's missing from your life? Awful. "When you're in an awful state, do you feel like changing things? No, it sucks the energy out of you," says Robbins. "If you focus on what you don't have, it's very hard to succeed." Instead, become clear about what you want and get obsessed with it, because that combination of emotion and vision is what will drive you. "We need to get laser focused on what it is we really want," he advises. "Having a clear result or outcome and consistently focusing on it immediately changes your behavior, giving you the momentum" to achieve. 

What meaning are you going to give things?: "The meaning you give events, interactions and outcomes determines how you feel," explains Robbins. "By creating a ladder of positive and empowering meanings, you effectively change the direction of your life and provide yourself rational, proven reasons your success will continue."

What are you going to do?: "Knowledge is not power, it's potential power," says Robbins during SuperSoul Sessions. "Execution trumps knowledge every day of the week."

Most people get inspired to make a change, then end up doing nothing about it.

Robbins says the smartest thing he does is refuse to "learn something or make a decision about something valuable without making myself do something in the moment that commits me to follow through."

Everyone who wants change should do the same, Robbins says, whether that's scheduling a meeting or telling someone else what you're committing to, because if you hesitate, a million distractions will come up and you'll lose your momentum.





Courtesy: Oprah Winfrey's SuperSoul Sessions.

America and the So-called African Writers.

Why is it that the only authors and books of African origin that are acknowledged and celebrated in the American media are those with negative stories? 

They are the books on civil wars, social vices, prostitutes and human trafficking. The more gory and pathetic the story-line, the greater media coverage the book gets.

For instance, two particular books that enjoy continuous accolades are; one that gives a portrayal of the African man as a savage who will act first and think later and the other book paints the African man as a philanderer who drinks his life away.

Even when Oprah Winfrey finally selected a book by an African author during the glorious days of Oprah Book Club, it was a book that was entirely devoted to stories about some prostitutes in Africa. This was in spite of the abundance of several great books by accomplished authors among which were those that document the political emancipation and self-determination of the African people.

It’s no wonder therefore that a whole lot of writers with African origin have since resorted to the sad habit of playing to the gallery for financial gains. There are two losers here; first are the authentic and positive African stories that never attract the interest of publishers. And second is the gullible American reading audience that is fed the false impression that the African society has a monopoly of social ills.

So far, only authors of African origin are branded as “African writers”. No where do we hear or read of “American writers” or “European writers”.

What a shame!