March 2021

Live in Day-Tight Compartments.

March 18, 2021 In Insight 9 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

One of my favourite takeaway from reading, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie, is the concept of living in day-tight compartment which is attributed to Sir William Osier.

In 1913, Sir William Osler delivered a speech at Yale University which he called “A way of Life”. He recommends approaching life as a series of “day-tight compartments,” which he likens to the water-tight compartments that keep a ship afloat. He suggested living in day-tight compartment as an antidote for worry, because worrying about either the past or the future is a burden that does nothing but reduce your effectiveness.

If you focus your attention on what you have to do today, then over time, a string of successful days will make for a successful life. He quotes Thomas Carlyle: “Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.” William Osler primarily attributes his own success not to talent or intelligence, but to good habits, consistently practiced, day after day after day.

“Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.”

The Art of Showing Up.

March 18, 2021 In Life 8 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do. – Pele

One of my favorite things to watch is Award acceptance speeches; I really love seeing people achieve their goals and get rewarded through awards and championships. I live for those moments, and I find it to be very inspiring. I am a fan of award shows, biographical documentaries, autobiographies, and rags-to-riches stories. I really enjoy knowing what makes people tick, the hustle, the grind, the betrayals, the ups and downs, and most importantly, the successful breakthrough,

I know firsthand how hard it is to be a creative, it is a very lonely path, and it is tough because most times, you need to go against the trend, follow your guts, bet on yourself, follow your bliss and trust the process. Woody Allen once said that 80 percent of success in life is just showing up. Becoming successful requires showing up for the practice, rehearsals, following through with the study plan, exercising regimen, and staying consistent with your commitment. Napoleon Hill defined success as the progressive realization of a worthy goal. He also quipped that Success requires no apologies and Failure requires no alibis.

80 percent of success in life is just showing up. – Woody Allen

Book Summary – Driving Digital Strategy: A Guide to Reimagining Your Business by Sunil Gupta.

March 17, 2021 In Book Summaries 9 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

Print | Kindle (eBook) | Audiobook

Sunil Gupta is the Edward W. Carter Professor of Business Administration and co-chair of the executive program on Driving Digital Strategy at Harvard Business School. The Driving Digital Strategy book is a comprehensive guide on how organizations can take full advantage of the limitless opportunities the digital age provides.

The book shows through a broad range of examples, how organizations are going about their digital transformation. Sunil compiles case studies and best practices from companies that have reinvented their businesses and provides a framework that can help in the process of an all-encompassing digital strategy while leading your entire organization through the transformation process.

Here are my favourite take-aways from reading, Driving Digital Strategy: A Guide to Reimagining Your Business by Sunil Gupta:

Doors of Daring by Henry Van Dyke.

March 16, 2021 In Poem 1 Min Read By Lanre Dahunsi

The mountains that enfold the vale
With walls of granite, steep and high,
Invite the fearless foot to scale
Their stairway toward the sky.

The restless, deep, dividing sea
That flows and foams from shore to shore,
Calls to its sunburned chivalry,
“Push out, set sail, explore!”

Book Summary – The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant.

March 15, 2021 In Book Summaries 11 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

“Most history is guessing, and the rest is prejudice.”

Print | Kindle(eBook) | Audiobook

The Lesson of History is a great book that distills the themes and lessons observed from 5,000 years of world history. The book is by the Husband and Wife pair of William and Ariel Durant, historians and winners of the 1968 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for their 11-volume book, The Story of Civilization.

The major lesson of history, according to the Durants: Human Nature has not really changed, but Human behavior has evolved. The Lessons learned from history were examined from 12 perspectives:

geography, biology, race, character, morals, religion, economics, socialism, government, war, growth and decay, and progress.

Here are my favourite takeaways from reading, The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant.

“The present is the past rolled up for action, and the past is the present unrolled for understanding”

Top 30 Quotes on Envy.

March 14, 2021 In Quotes 6 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

Envy /ˈenvē/ noun: a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, or luck. Envy is from the Latin root word, invidia, the sense of envy, looking upon associated with the evil eye, from invidere, “to look against, to look in a hostile manner.” Envy occurs when we pay attention to what we do not have. We pay more attention to what other people have; it comes from a place of ingratitude of our own blessings, it is a challenge of our perception, it is usually greener on the other side. Still, the truth is that those we are envious of also have their own issue.

In the age of social media, we are quick to compare the highlight reel and well-curated timelines of our peers to our own lives. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Envy is ignorance, Imitation is Suicide.” Envy is a cognitive distortion (thoughts that cause individuals to perceive reality inaccurately). Envy is the cause of our anxiety, worry, unhappiness, and our mental state. The only person you should be comparing yourself with is yourself, self-comparison with others only leads to unhappiness and resentment. Envy is as old as humanity itself from cain and able to Joseph and his brothers.

“Envy is ignorance, Imitation is Suicide.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is closest people to us that are usually envious of us, our parents, siblings, friends, colleagues, childhood peers. As the African Proverb says “If there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do us no harm.” Dealing with envy is very tough as it is the people we love the most that eventually get envious of us because of our success or progress. The key is to give gratitude for whatever you have and be content with the world and yourself.

Here are some great quotes on Envy:

Book Summary – Bloomberg by Bloomberg.

March 13, 2021 In Biographies 15 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

Print | Kindle(eBook)

Bloomberg by Bloomberg is the autobiography of American Businessman and Politician Micheal Bloomberg. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P. He was a three-term New York City Mayor from 2002 to 2013 and was a candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination for the United States president. According to Forbes, Bloomberg is the 16th-richest man globally, with a net worth of $USD 59 billion as of March 13, 2021.

He got his start in 1966 on Wall Street at investment bank Salomon Brothers selling stocks. He rose to become a general partner at the firm but was fired in 1981, after Phibro Corporation bought Salomon Brothers. Bloomberg was paid $10 million for his equity stake in Salomon Brothers, and he used the windfall to start his firm Bloomberg L.P.

Bloomberg by Bloomberg is a great book by a hardworking successful entrepreneur and he shares his thought process, philosophy, management style, keys to becoming successful, his highs and lows. The book is a great read and I would recommend it highly for every aspiring and budding entrepreneur. Lots of insights, nuggets, words of wisdom and practical lessons for navigating life and dealing with the challenges of business.

“Our greatest challenge today? Fighting the stultifying effects of success, the paralyzing results of growth, the debilitating cancer of entrenchment.”

Here are my favourite takeaways from reading, Bloomberg by Bloomberg:

Book Summary – How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie.

March 12, 2021 In Book Summaries 14 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

“My life has been filled with terrible misfortune; most of which never happened.” –Michel de Montaigne

Print | Kindle(eBook) | Audiobook

90% of the things we worry about usually do not happen, but we worry and fret anyway. Most things in life are transient. Cherish the good times, for they would not last forever, and do not sweat the tough times as they also won’t last forever. No one has a problem-free life, murphy’s law is always around the corner, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” In How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, Author Dale Carnegie shares some great insight on managing worry, dealing with the vicissitudes of life, and living a life filled with joy and happiness.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Here are my favourite take-aways from reading, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie.

30,000 Days to Live.

March 11, 2021 In Life 15 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

“When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a manner that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.” – Indian Proverb

Depending on the part of the world you live in, you have about 30,000 days to be alive. According to Life expectancy and Healthy life expectancy data published by World Health Organization in December 2020, Japan has the longest life expectancy (84.3), and Lesotho has the shortest life expectancy (50.7). The average life expectancy is around 82 years; if you multiply 82 by 365 days, that equates to roughly around 30,000 days, and if you are lucky, it could be more.

Life Expectancy: The number of years a person can expect to live.

We cannot control the length of our lives, but we can control its width and depth. Our time here is limited, but we mostly live like we have all the time in the world, so we waste it. As the Buddha once said, “The trouble is you think you have time.” We overestimate what we can achieve in the future and underestimate what we can achieve in the present. We delay living; we say someday I’ll, and we eventually realize that someday becomes never.

David McCullough’s ‘You Are Not Special’ 2012 Commencement Speech at Wellesley High School.

March 10, 2021 In Speech 10 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

You are not special. You are not exceptional.

Print | Kindle(eBook) | Audiobook

English teacher David McCullough Jr. delivered a witty and thought-provoking speech ‘You Are Not Special’ to the 2012 graduating students at Wellesley High School. You Are (Not) Special is a love letter to students and parents as well as a guide to a truly fulfilling, happy life.

You are not Special Book

In You Are (Not) Special, McCullough elaborates on his now-famous speech exploring how, for what purpose, and for whose sake, we’re raising our kids. With wry, affectionate humor, McCullough takes on hovering parents, ineffectual schools, professional college prep, electronic distractions, club sports, and generally the manifestations, and the applications and consequences of privilege.

Book Summary – 20,000 Days and Counting: The Crash Course for Mastering Your Life Right Now by Robert D. Smith.

March 10, 2021 In Book Summaries 11 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

“When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a manner that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.” – Indian Proverb

Print | Audio

In 2009, the author Robert D. Smith had a paradigm shift about his life on his 54th birthday; he realized that he has been alive for nearly 20,000 days, 480,000 hours, 28,800,000 minutes, and 1,728,000,000 seconds. 20,000 Days and Counting by Robert D. Smith is a short and precise book on the art of living life to the fullest. Robert shed light on the need to use our time efficiently, live a legacy in the world, and become better every waking day of our life.

The Basic premise of the 20,000 Days and Counting book: Live every day like it could be your last, and do not take any moment for granted because life is very transient and temporary. We overestimate what we can achieve in a year but underestimate what we can achieve in a day.

“One of the illusions [of life] is that the present hour is not the critical, decisive hour. Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. No man has learned anything rightly until he knows that every day is Doomsday. – RALPH WALDO EMERSON AMERICAN ESSAYIST, LECTURER, POET B. MAY 25, 1803, D. APRIL 27, 1882 (HE LIVED EXACTLY 28,827 DAYS

Here are my favourite take-aways from reading, 20,000 Days and Counting by Robert D. Smith:

Can’t by Edgar A. Guest.

March 9, 2021 In Poem 2 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

Can’t is the worst word that’s written or spoken;
Doing more harm here than slander and lies;
On it is many a strong spirit broken,
And with it many a good purpose dies.
It springs from the lips of the thoughtless each morning
And robs us of courage we need through the day:
It rings in our ears like a timely-sent warning
And laughs when we falter and fall by the way.

Book Summary – Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by BJ Fogg Ph.D

March 8, 2021 In Book Summaries 12 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

“The essence of Tiny Habits is this: Take a behavior you want, make it tiny, find where it fits naturally in your life, and nurture its growth. If you want to create long-term change, it’s best to start small.”

Print | Kindle | Audiobook

Tiny Habits—created by Dr. BJ Fogg, a world-renowned Behavior Scientist at Stanford University—is based on 20 years of research and Dr. Fogg’s experience personally coaching over 40,000 people. Tiny Habits is a great book on the art of habit formation; in the past 12 months have been fascinated by the power of micro-habits and have been experimenting with getting things done using micro-habits. The tiny habits approach has been transformative in my quest to achieve goals such as 100 Books Reading Challenge, 100 Books Audiobook challenge, Project Python 2021, 5 Minute daily gratitude journaling.

There are only three things we can do that will create lasting change: Have an epiphany, change our environment, or change our habits in tiny ways

Brian Jeffrey Fogg is an American social scientist who is currently a research associate at Stanford University and an author. He is the founder and director of the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab, later renamed as Behavior Design Lab,

Here are my Favourite Take-aways from reading, Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg:

Just for Today.

March 8, 2021 In Insight 3 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” – Abraham Lincoln

In his 1948 self-help book “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living,” Author Dale Carnegie shared an insightful program he attributed to Sibyl F. Partridge. He writes:

Just For Today

Just for today I will be happy. This assumes that what Abraham Lincoln said is true, that “most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Happiness is from within; it is not a matter of externals.

Just for today I will try to adjust myself to what is, and not try to adjust everything to my own desires. I will take my family, my business, and my luck as they come and fit myself to them.
Just for today I will take care of my body. I will exercise it, care for it, nourish it, not abuse it nor neglect it, so that it will be a perfect machine for my bidding.
Just for today I will try to strengthen my mind. I will learn something useful. I will not be a mental loafer. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration.
Just for today I will exercise my soul in three ways: I will do somebody a good turn and not get found out. I will do at least two things I don’t want to do, as William James suggests, just for exercise.
Just for today I will be agreeable. I will look as well as I can, dress as becomingly as possible, talk low, act courteously, be liberal with praise, criticize not at all, nor find fault with anything and not try to regulate nor improve anyone.
Just for today I will try to live through this day only, not to tackle my whole life problem at once. I can do things for twelve hours that would appall me if I had to keep them up for a lifetime.
Just for today I will have a programme. I will write down what I expect to do every hour. I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it. It will eliminate two pests, hurry and indecision.
Just for today I will have a quiet half-hour all by myself and relax. In this half-hour sometimes I will think of God, so as to get a little more perspective into my life.
Just for today I will be unafraid, especially I will not be afraid to be happy, to enjoy what is beautiful, to love, and to believe that those I love, love me.

All the Best in your quest to get Better. Don’t Settle: Live with Passion.

Top 30 Quotes on Procrastination.

March 7, 2021 In Quotes 5 Mins Read By Lanre Dahunsi

“In a moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing to do, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”– Theodore Roosevelt

Procrastination originates from the Latin procrastinatus, which itself evolved from the prefix pro-, meaning “forward,” and crastinus, meaning “of tomorrow. Procrastination is the act of delaying a set of tasks or actions, despite the fact that we know it might have negative consequences. We have all been through it, at the beginning of the year, we are all motivated to set big goals but as the journey becomes harder, we delay, we stop, we postpone, and say someday I’ll. The challenge is that someday becomes never and we forget our goals, dreams, and aspiration hence we settle for less than we can become.

You do not need to be great to start but you have to start to be great. The key is to break the habitual delaying and procrastination, you need to have a bias for action, the discipline, and dedication to follow through, even when your goals get tough. We procrastinate because it is not a priority for us, until you make it a priority, you would continuously postpone your goals.

Here are some great quotes on Procrastination: