How to increase your productivity in one simple step
In September, I found myself asking myself a series of questions
I know you’re thinking “Such as?”
Well…
Like: "What is it that makes me the most happy, and how can I incorporate that into my life on more of a daily basis?"
But that was very much at the beginning of the month
I think that anybody who knows me well, knows that I love traveling
Yes, it's because I get to experience different cultures and spend time with the people that I love and eat delicious food and all of that sort of jazz
But I also realise that part of what I love about holidays and traveling, is also the person that I am when I'm on holiday
I know what I'm going to wear on each day, and I'm hyped to wear those things. I know what I'm going to do, I know who I'm going to see
So, not only am I more relaxed, but actually, I am more organised
With this in mind…
In line with that, one of the things that I started to ask myself every day in September (after this realisation) was:
Why you should share your gifts with the world
What kind of birthday celebrant are you?
Are you the sort of person who:
A) Is very low-key (as in “I don't celebrate at all” or “if I do, it's just on the day?”)
B) Is more of the mindset that the whole month is your birthday?
I'm the latter, as in:
I always say “October is my birthday” even though it’s only technically today
(October 3rd, on the day of sending this email)
This whole idea of October being my birthday is not just this self-centred wish to make it all about me, though
Believe it or not…
It has always been a celebration of life and an acknowledgement that there but by the grace of God go I
Why you are already enough
Earlier this week I attended the funeral of Mr Williams, my old secondary (or high) school teacher
He was my very first form tutor and my chemistry teacher throughout
More than that, though, he was one of my favourites
It's literally impossible for me to talk about my best memories from that time without mentioning his humour, passion and huge impact
One of the things I remember most about him is that he practised something called “peer teaching”
I.e.
If I managed to solve a problem or really impress him with my work, he would have me come up to the board, write out how I solved the equation and talk both him and my classmates through my process
But the reason that he did this wasn't because he thought I was a science genius, but because he wanted to:
Check my understanding (or that I didn’t cheat!)
Give the class the opportunity to hear an explanation in language that they could understand and relate to
When Mr Williams was calling me to the front of the class to help my classmates, he didn't require me to:
Become more of an expert
Gain more experience
Jump through a bunch of hoops to prove myself before diving in (or further)
That wasn't an issue or what he was even looking for
What he wanted was someone who knew just a bit more than his other students and could share it effectively
And that's all you need when it comes to PR too!
How to make a positive impact in the world
“Thank you for being the sent one to do and show us how possible it really is to execute an idea- a God-given idea… This is so deeply encouraging, Nina, honestly…”
This was a message that I received from my good sis, Rebekah, shortly after coming back from hosting Media Magic…
(the luxury retreat that I held in Tulum, Mexico in July teaching business women how to get PR for themselves)
…and updating her on how well it went
A theme that I was surprised to see come up in many other conversations that I would go on to have with loved ones afterwards
Aside from being beautiful words (that still have me emotional even now), there are a few key take-aways:
How to live your legacy now
My grandma was born in the village in Nigeria at a time where girls were not sent to school
That meant from then until the time of her passing in 2022, she never learned to read or write
Despite this, she worked her butt off as a trader in order to afford my mum's school fees when she was growing up
This is because, to this day, education is not free in Nigeria
My mum was then able to move to the UK in the early 80s, where I've been born and raised, and push both me and my sister all the way to degree level
What to do when people don't support you
When I first started to gain traction with PR it was as a blogger in the first quarter of 2017. However, by that December, I was ready to quit writing all together
Here's why 👇🏾
"If someone who I've considered a sister for 10 years could so misconstrue and under rate my writing," I remember thinking, "What hope is there that strangers will get me?"
And so, like I said, I seriously considered calling it quits with The Far Above Rubies Collection and all the business ideas that I hoped would come out of it
Fast forward to now and I am an award winning blogger, international speaker and freelance writer who has not only been able to monetise my gift but get featured on platforms such as Thrive Global, The TEDx blog, HuffPost, Bustle, Mic, Addicted2Success, Black Ballad and more. I also just got rave reviews for Media Magic (the luxury retreat that I held in Tulum, Mexico in July teaching business women how to get PR for themselves)
What led to this success was...
Why you need BHAGs
Have you ever heard of a BHAG?
(pronounced bee-hag)
According to Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, who coined the phrase, it stands for "Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal"
It can be defined as follows:
"It’s a goal that has a clear finish line so you know when you have achieved the goal. And it’s one that you have a 50 percent to 70 percent chance of achieving. It’s not something so outlandish that it’s highly unlikely that you will ever achieve it, but it’s definitely something you’ll have to stretch yourself to make happen" (Rachel Rodgers).
Although BHAGs have many benefits
Such as: