LOVE OR NOT...?

Just a few random thoughts on Learning to LOVE
You know love can seem complex at times describing, distinguishing, discerning and learning to love. Well, we always connect, learn and share at IGNITE, and I thought to bring you in to a thought shared by Phil Drysdale.

There's this story he shared of one near-death story that has always challenged me.

It was of a guy called Bob Jones, who had a famous near-death experience back in the 70s that shaped him profoundly.

He had died and was about to meet Jesus. He was in a huge queue of people and they were all only being asked one simple question.

Jesus looked them in the eyes and asked - "Did you learn how to love?"

That was it.

Jesus then sent Bob back to Earth to teach people to learn to love and he had a great ministry for several more decades.

Now - regardless of your views on Bob Jones, near-death experiences, or if Jesus will be asking that question - I do think the question is powerful.

The Bible has a clear definition of love in 1 Cor...
Patient
Kind
Without envy
Never boasting
Not arrogant
Nor rude
Self-less
Not irritable
Nor resentful
Does not rejoice in wrongdoing
Rejoices in the truth
Bears all things
Believes all things
Hopes all things
Endures all things
Wow! That's a tall order, right?

Then you look at who Jesus asks us to love!

Our enemies!

It's an even taller order, isn't it!

No doubt I am more loving than I used to be... but am I perfect in my love? Not a chance!

So that question could seem terrifying. It could fill us with fear. It could force us back into works.

But it has a rather different affect on me - it reminds me just how impossible this whole thing is. It's not something I can do in and of myself.

And that's exactly how God planned it.

I was never made to love on my own, I was meant to be possessed by Love Himself.

It's no longer I who lives but LOVE (Jesus) lives in me!

It's only as I learn to receive His love that I can love myself, others and God. (1 John 4)

So I like to ask myself that question often... "Have I learned to love?"

Because every time I do, I'm reminded that the way you learn to love is not by trying harder but instead ceasing from your efforts and resting in HIS love!

Hope this helped?

- Adapted for IGNITE Network from Phil Drysdale we connect learn and share!

QHSE Concerns: Is your Head Covered or decorated?

Many times a face cap, Women Hat, Hard Hat/Helmet is worn by different people for different reasons. You know, face caps could be a fancy touch to our dress up but in the Industrial World, a Hard Hat/Helmet is not in that category. However, you may be wearing a Hard Hat that's just a decoration rather than a protection. Since the industrial revolution, it has been agreed that Personal Protective Equipment are crucial for safety of personnel. That said, PPEs do not prevent accidents but only reduce the effect of damage or injury should it occur. PPEs are referred to as last line of defense.

Now, I want to share with you a learning point I received from others as well on the expiration of Hard Hats. You may have won a hard hat not knowing that its expired or deteriorated and should be replaced but you were ignorantly feeling protected. Remember we do not advance into a dangerous situation thinking that the PPE worn would protect you, it only ameliorates the danger.

Just before we latch on to the question for today, lemme remind you that at IGNITE Network we connect learn and share online, using social media interactive groups like WhatsApp, Telegram and Facebook groups etc to develop competence, hand out valuable notes and boost our proficiency as we grow on all areas of life.

Hard Hats do expire and need to be replaced. Hard Hats for example need to also be cared for and also inspected as a minimum good practise.

An expiration date is a safeguard for you as a worker. Ideally your hard hat will be required to be replaced before it’s worn out in order to provide you with maximum protection at all times. If you work in the sun long hours or in extremely hostile environments with chemicals or high temperature, you may need to replace your hat after two years of use. Most manufacturers recommend replacement of the suspension inside the hat every 12 months. Proper maintenance of your hat ensures a longer life. Clean it with soapy water. Cleaning products may contain ingredients that could have an unfavorable reaction with your helmet, compromising its integrity before its expected expiration date. Don’t intentionally do anything that can shorten the lifespan of your hat, such as paint it. This essential piece of safety equipment must be kept in top condition.

Here's a few tips I gleaned that may help

• Hard hats should not be in service for longer than four to five years depending on manufacturer guidelines.  Using a permanent marker to write the first date of use inside the hard hat can help you track this. ANSI statute Z89.1-2009 requires particular information to be permanently printed inside each hard hat, including the date of manufacture.

• Check the date of manufacture on the inside of your hard hat if you did not write a date on your hard hat when you started using it. Based on the manufacturer’s guidelines, you can determine whether the hat has expired.

• Proper care of your hard hat includes washing it with a mild detergent and water and inspecting it for damage on a regular basis.

• Inspect the shell for signs of damage such as dents, gouges, scrapes, holes or cracks.  Other signs of aging include a shell that is fading or chalky looking or a suspension with signs of wear such as fraying, cuts or tears and dirt.

• The suspension on the inside should be replaced every twelve months.  Replace with a product from the same manufacturer.

• You should never paint your hard hat and there are guidelines to follow if you apply any stickers.

• If you drop your hard hat or something hits it, it may no longer be safe to use.

• Storing your hard hat on a dash board or in the back window of your car causes the same sun damage as wearing your hard hat outside and decreases its useful life.

Hard hats are an essential piece of personal protective equipment.  Keep yours top condition

Nigerian 8 - Year - Old Twins Break World Mathematics Record

Meet the twins Paul and Peter Imafidon - they passed  the University  of Cambridge  Advanced Mathematics A level at age 8!

See video…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UD4X7a0J_ng

Meet twins Paula and Peter Imafidon – they passed the University of Cambridge Advanced Maths A level at age 8! They chat with GMTV’s John Stapleton.

Scroll down for videos…

The 8-year-old twins from Waltham Forest in northeast London are a part of the highest-achieving clan in the history of Great Britain education.

The two youngest Nigerian siblings are about to make British history as the youngest students to ever enter high school.

They astounded veteran experts of academia when they became the youngest to ever pass the University of Cambridge’s advanced mathematics exam. That’s on top of the fact they have set world records when they passed the A/AS-level math papers.

Chris Imafidon, their father, said he’s not concerned about his youngest children’s ability to adapt to secondary school despite their tender age.

“We’re delighted with the progress they have made,” he said. “Because they are twins they are always able to help and support each other.”

To Peter and Paula’s parents, this is nothing new. Chris Imafidon said he and his wife have been through this before: They have other super-gifted, overachieving children.

Peter and Paula’s sister, Anne-Marie, now 20, holds the world record as the youngest girl to pass the A-level computing when she was just 13.

She is now studying at arguably the most renowned medical school in the United States, Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore.

Another sister, Christina, 17, is the youngest student to ever get accepted and study at an undergraduate institution at any British university at 11. And Samantha, now age 12, had passed two rigorous high school-level mathematics and statistics exams at the age of six, something that her twin siblings, Peter and Paula, also did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jVl0KtUlvQo

What's Special About: WARREN BUFFET?

Why Warren Buffett Is So Successful

 

Warren Buffett is an American investor, business magnate and philanthropist. Buffett is the CEO and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the most successful investor of the 20th Century and he is consistently ranked among the world’s richest people.

Buffett has been consistently referenced for his investing prowess, his frugality and his amazing philanthropic work. He plans to give away ninety-nine per cent of his billions to charitable causes.

Warren Buffett’s Early Years

Even as a young boy Warren Buffett displayed skills in making and saving money. He would sell Coca-Cola, chewing gum and magazines door-to-door and he worked in his grandfather’s grocery store. In high school Buffett was making money through the sale of stamps and newspapers among other things. When completing his first ever income tax return, at the age of fourteen he took a $35 deduction for using his watch and bicycle on his paper route. At the age of fifteen Buffett pooled his resources with a friend to buy a pinball machine and place it in a Barbers. After a few months they owned several machines across several shops.

Warren Buffett’s estimated net worth is$73.3 Billion.

Buffett’s interest in investing in the stock market also started as a schoolboy when he would spend time in the client lounge of a regional stock brokerage office near his father’s office. At ten years of age he visited the New York Stock Exchange and at eleven he purchased three shares of Cities Service for himself and three for his sister. In high school, he invested in a business that his father purchased and also bought a farm that was worked by a tenant farmer.

At nineteen Buffett graduated from University with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration before progressing to earn a Master’s in Economics from Columbia after being rejected by Harvard Business School. He chose the Columbia Business School after finding out that Benjamin Graham, a well respected investor worked there.

Warren Buffett’s Career

When Buffett graduated, Graham refused to hire him, saying that he should avoid a career on Wall Street. This was something that Buffett’s father agreed with and Buffett returned to his hometown of Omahato work for his father’s brokerage firm. Shortly after Buffett’s marriage, Graham had a change of heart and offered him a job in New York.

Once he had arrived in New York, Buffett had the opportunity to test and develop the theories he had learned from Graham during his studies. The centrepiece of these theories was ‘Value Investing‘ which involved looking for stocks that were selling at a large discount when compared to the value of their underlying assets. Buffett took on this concept and made it his own by looking beyond the numbers and considering the company’s management team and their competitive advantage in the marketplace.

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett

Buffett launched Buffett Associates Limited in 1956 on his return to Omaha. By 1962 Buffett was already a millionaire and went on to enter into a collaboration with Charlie Munger. This partnership resulted in the two of them developing an investment philosophy based on Buffett’s broader view of value investing. They purchased Berkshire Hathaway, a struggling textile mill on this journey and what looked like a classic Graham style value move actually turned into a long term investment when the business showed signs of improvement.  They used the cash flow from the improving textile business to finance further investments with the original business surpassing the other holdings. Buffett closed the business in 1985 but chose to keep the now famous name.

Becoming a Billionaire

The Warren Buffett investment philosophyevolved to be based on the idea of purchasing stock in well run, undervalued companies with the intention of holding the securities indefinitely. Giants like Coca-Cola, American Express and the Gillette Company all met his criteria and remained in the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio for many years. In several cases he bought the companies outright and let their management teams carry on running the companies. Companies that are in this category include See’s Candies, Fruit of the Loom, GEICO Auto Insurance and Dairy Queen.

Buffett became a billionaire when Berkshire Hathaway began selling class A shares in the middle of 1990 with the market closing at $7,175 per share. His reputation remained solid until technology stocks increased in popularity. As a self-confessed technophobe, Buffett opted out of the incredible rise of technology stocks during the latter part of the 1990’s and decided to continue to only invest in companies that met is criteria. Buffett was heavily criticised for this but many of the Wall Street experts responsible for this criticism went bankrupt when the dotcom bubble burst and Buffett’s profits doubled.

“It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.” –Warren Buffett

Frugality and Philanthropy

Even though Warren Buffett is one of the wealthiest people on the planet he has remained extremely frugal. He continues to live in the house that he purchased in 1958 for $31,000, he eats at local diners and still opts for simplistic, wholesome meals. He really didn’t want to buy a corporate jet and when he finally did, he named it ‘Indefensible’.

Running parallel to this frugality is Buffett’s philanthropic nature. In 2006, he made the stunning announcement that he was going to donate the vast majority of his wealth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which aims to conquer global health issues. Buffett’s total donation to the foundation numbers around the $37 Billion mark and he his donating the rest to three charities run by his children along with a donation to honour his first wife.

Conclusion

Warren Buffett is the best example of how finding a winning strategy and continuing to use and develop that strategy, (as long as it keeps winning) can generate extraordinary results.

Still, perhaps the most remarkable part of Warren Buffett’s fortune is that he plans to give most of it away. He is going to leave a legacy that will have a positive impact on the world and that is bigger than any car, home or jet that money can buy.

Adapted from:Entrepreneurs

Which President was The Shoemaker's Son?

Sing your own song!
Dance your own dance!
Give the world a gift of you!
Do something that comes out of you!
Give the world a gift of you, bring forth treasures from your heart!

So many had been incapacitated trying to prove a point to men, trying to assert themselves, when they could express themselves, the gift of their life expressed daily which will result in true joy and fulfilment.
If only we would shred inferiority complex, which is simple, in about two decades, the next generation will be free of it. And people will express their creativity. There will be amazing shoemakers, musicians, painters, engineers, carpenters, ...gifted men emerging across the world! There will be all form of creativity, innovations... nobody will be competing unhealthily with another, but simply doing their best, just joyful and living fulfilled.

There is no joy in unhealthy compettion, the joy is not in coming first, the joy is in doing it!
Its not outside the act, it is intrinsic to the act!

When Abraham Lincoln became the President of America, his father was a shoemaker. Naturally egoistic people were very offended that a shoemaker's son should become the president of America. They were aristocrats, super-rich, who thought that it was their birthright to be in the highest position.

On the first day, when he was going to give his inaugural address to the Senate, just as he was going to stand up, one ugly aristocrat stood up and he said "Mr. Lincoln although by some accident you have become the president of country, don't forget that you used to come with your father to my house to prepare shoes for our family. And there are many senators who are wearing the shoes made by your father"

He was thinking he can humiliate him.

Abraham Lincoln said something which should be remembered by everyone. He said "I am very grateful to you for reminding me of my father just before I give my address to the Senate. My father was so beautiful, and such a creative artist-there was no other man who could make such beautiful shoes. I know perfectly well that whatever I do, I will never be such a great president as he was a great creator. I can not surpass him.

But by the ways, I want to remind all you aristocrats that if the shoes made by my father are pinching you, I have also learned the art with him. I am not great shoemaker, but at least I can correct your shoes. You just inform me, I will come to your house".

There was a great silence in the Senate, senator understood that it was impossible to humiliate this person. Only small people, suffering from inferiority, can be humiliated; the greatest of human beings are beyond humiliations.

Although, he was the President of America, he was ready to make another pair if there was a complaint.
The man looked silly. Lincoln insisted, "You have to speak! Why have you become dumb? You wanted to make me a fool, and now, look all around: you have made a fool of yourself"

The whole Senate was dumbstruck, but soon laughter turned into sincere applause.

Remember, no one can hurt us without our consent.
It is not what happens to us that hurts us, it is our response that hurts us. There are people out there whose only job is to hurt others. Don't give them a reason to have so much work on their hands.

Story of the Blind Boy

Hey, I found this story online and thought you will enjoy it. Especially the changed sign that changed the blind boy's fortune will help you see things a little more differently.

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words. Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognised his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?" The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way. "I wrote: 'Today is a beautiful day; but I cannot see it.'"Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign reminded people how fortunate they were to have their sight. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?
Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear. It's a beautiful thing to see a person smiling. But even more beautiful if you are the reason for the smile!
Faith is not about everything turning out good. Faith is about being good no matter how things turn out.
I'll like to see any moral lesson you have from this story
#HappyThanksgiving

'...GIVE UP THE TRAINING WHEELS'

Let the excuses go...the ones that have kept you stuck in a past you can not change while looking toward a future you can not predict. 
Give up the training wheels...the invisible walls around your own mind that have kept you in the safe, secure, shallow and familiar waters of your life.
Life will take you over some bumps, bruises, potholes and cliffs. 
Do not let these clip your wings, scare you out of living or shake your belief in the power of your own dream. No matter what your past has been, or where you find yourself right now...know that it is possible to laugh, love and live again. 

Believe that you can make a difference ~ right here, right now..with your voice and your story!

ADAPTED FROM LES BROWN