An average man is not just the product of good times and happiness. He is also the product of sorrow. Most of us are average men because that's what average means: the category with the most people.

I'm an average man. Just one with an overactive blog. And though I have an always happy outlook, it is a very recent development. I have seen the other side of life, a few times. I talk more about my hopes, dreams and positive expectations because sharing those ones will send me into a deep depression. Even the memory of them wipes all smiles from my face in an instant. They are experiences I struggle to find the lesson in. The only good side to them is that they made me more resilient, able to weather other sorrows better.

I think our life experiences are the food our mind feeds on. And just as a balanced diet will require eating not just sweet foods, but also not-so sweet foods. In fact, the foods that do us the most good are the bitter ones. So also is it with having a balanced mind diet. It will require both good and bad life experiences. The truth is, it's the sorrowful moments we pass through that make us the strong and respectable person we are.

My dad loves saying this wonderful Yoruba proverb, "A young man can have as many clothes as an old man, but never as many rags." It's much deeper than the English translation makes it look. It means regardless of what you have or know, an old man has made more mistakes. He has seen more of the other side. And that's the biggest distinction between a young man and an old man. 

Experiencing only the sweet life experiences is like feeding on chocolate, pizza and burger everyday. You will be happy eating them but they will cause you more harm than you can imagine. You'll become obese, lacking some other vital nutrients that can only be gotten from non-sweet foods and possibly end-up with a health disease that will be named after you. It's much worse with the mind. You will lack the very gift that makes old age a delight. You will lack strength of mind, of character and resilience. You will always look like an over-sized teenager. 

The sorrowful moments we encounter in life are like the multivitamin supplements we take, the dark green vegetables we force ourselves to eat, the no-sugar drinks we take, the fruits diet we go on, and the bitter pills we swallow. They are the more important experiences in life. 

Sometimes, we do not see the value in them. And the ones I find most annoying are the ones that teach us a lesson we already know, lessons we've been taught over and over again. Experiences we can't see any value in. Just misery and sorrow. Experiences that take from us more than it can ever give. Experiences that send us down to hell and leave us to crawl our way up. Experiences that mute every joy we have and wouldn't leave us alone. Experiences that we can't share and we can't forget. Sometimes, they don't leave scars; they turn us into a big scar. 

And how do you handle them? 

They provide us our purest moments of truth. It's said that behind every smile, there's a hidden frown. Behind every laughter, there is silent cry. Behind every joy, there's an unseen sadness. It could be in form of, "If only so-and-so was here...", "If only this happened before that...", "If only I had that in addition..." True moments of joy are very rare. But behind every sorrow, there's no pretense. Everything is clear: true friends, false friends, and hidden enemies. You see them all. All pretense gone. But best of all, you see the true you too. All your assumptions about yourself are tested. Your priorities come out clear. Life suddenly becomes a nexus of simple needs and clear dreams.

The right way to handle sorrow is the same way you handle prescribed drugs. You brave up to it, swallow everything, don't blame the doctor or the mosquito, and you try to prevent a future occurrence. 

Today's your lucky day. I'm going to up your Excel skills dramatically in this single post. You'll almost hug me. And for the superbusy ones, here's the actual Excel file with the chart made.

In the end, you'll be able to make the Chart above. And with the added functionality to change State dynamically.

So let's select Kaduna state.

Voila! The entire chart has changed to Kaduna's without me redoing the chart. 

So how do you make a chart like this? It's amazingly easy. And I will be holding your hands throughout (hence, the numerous screenshots you'll see).

So here's the original table with the data I used.

You can create yours or copy the one in the file I gave you the download link. 

So let's begin the simple task before us.
From scratch this is what you'll do. No color formatting for now.

Same as this:

I like to remove Gridlines (those background lines in Excel). Here's how to do that. Go to View tab and untick Gridlines.

Now that we've got the skeleton in place.
Let's prepare the chart part. 

Click on the cell below State. And goto Data tab ==> Data Validation ==> Data Validation

A dialog box comes up.

Change the Allow box from Any value to List
And select the states in the Source box. In the end, you should have something similar to this:

Great! We are almost done.

You've just added the ability to select state. 
Check it out. Whoever sees this will be wowed.

Now let's populate the Men, Women, Children and Cars. Dynamically too.

We'll use a formula called VLOOKUP It's super easy to use and understand.
It simply checks takes the selected state, look it up in the big table and return whatever cell you want on that state row.

Very easy. Done for Men.
Let's do for Women, Children and Cars

Cool.

Let's now insert a Chart. 
Select the small table.

Goto Insert tab and insert a chart.

We'll use a 3-D chart. It's beautiful.
And here's what you'll get.

Let's do my favorite formatting.
Remove the Legend (that stuff at the extreme right showing a small blue rectangle and "Rivers" beside it). Under Layout tab.
Show Data Table below chart. Also under Layout tab.
Choose a cool background. Under Format tab.

If you can't see the Layout and Format tab, click on the Chart you just inserted, they will appear.

Let's change the color of the chart walls to white.
Right click on the space just above the cars' bar. Click on Format Walls. Change background color to White.
Then right click on the bottom space between the Children's bar and Cars' bar. Click on Format Floor.
Change background color to White.

And congratulations!
You're done. You've made a dynamic and professional chart.

Change the state and watch the chart change. You can now add color to the small table too.

You can forward your hug to my GTB account. I'll make sure I send you a personal thank you note.

Whenever I see the life below the 3rd Mainland bridge, at the Oworonsoki end, I'm reminded of how not to live. 

image: oyibosonline.com

Two weeks ago, my mum finally succeeded in making me come tour her newest business venture: piggery. I already told you about her, that she's a business freak. That's probably the 39th business venture she has started, and it's among the 3 she's currently doing. When she rattles off the figures and business projections, I'm very happy that I don't have enough money to be tempted to join her. 
I got to see how piggeries are run. And I found out why pigs are called pigs. They have no sense of cleanliness. They will pee in the same water they drink and poo right next to the food they are eating. They are just pigs.

And that's the memory that comes up whenever I see the life below 3rd mainland bridge. My mum's pigs are even enjoying better living conditions. I see people fish and shit in the same water. It's the ultimate example of how not to live. We are humans, not pigs. 

And that inspired me to make an exhaustive list of how not to live:

1. Following the crowd all your life. If I was born into a family that lives in that area at the Oworonsoki end of the 3rd Mainland bridge, and things are so tough that I can't start life someplace else. I will simply quit Lagos altogether. Anyone that survives in Lagos (whether rich or poor) till his 20th birthday, will thrive anywhere else. We work terribly hard for everything in Lagos, even a breath of fresh air can be as expensive as travelling to one's village. Well, maybe, I wouldn't know any better and just keep living like a pig. Whichever the case, it's still not a way to live. It's not a poverty issue. Even in the days when there was nothing called money and we were walking around with leaves wrapped around our waist, we were not living like pigs. It's a thing of the mind, of demanding dignity from one's self. Of being human. Not a mere animal.
2. Selling your soul. I believe this is the cause of our problems in Nigeria. We have people who have sold their souls for money. They would make $20 billion disappear. But it's not just the people at the Nation's top. The government school I did NYSC in had a paid librarian and no library. It was like free money. He didn't even show up at the school. Then there are civil servants who spend more time at their own business that at the job government is paying them to do. Some don't show up at work everyday. Then we've got employers that make employees sign bonds. Then we've got small business owners who can't remember the last time they told a truth. They would lie from morning till night. Every day I see people who have sold their souls for money. It's the most terrible way to live. In fact, it's not a way to live. Some have made a habit of being so untruthful that they now have strange reasons to lie; like "I just can't keep telling him the truth.", "Don't let anyone know too much about you.", "Nobody tells the truth anymore."
3. Being pushed here and there. I've stopped asking people for career advice. People often project themselves and their desires, unknowingly, into every advice they craft for you. Ask for life advice from a doctor and you will get health advice. Ask for life advice from a lawyer and you will get legal advice. Ask me for advice, and you will get a crazy advice. We don't tell people what they should do, we only tell them what we would do. And if you base your life on advice from people, you'll end up being pushed here and there. Frustrated. Though not asking for advice for major life issues is equally bad; I will advice that you ask for advice just to see things from other people's perspectives and make a better informed decision rather than to adopt someone else's view and recommendation. Following everyone's advice is not a way to live.
4. Having no passion. I have met with a few people who have no passion for anything. They will agree with you on anything. They let everyone have his way at their own expense. They don't have future plans. They talk very gently and dispassionately. When we are so down and everything seems to be falling apart, we love to take consolation is comparing ourselves to them. We conclude that as down as we are, there is still someone below. Too bad the few people I have met who are like this do not even know and, probably, will not know if they read this post. It's that bad. It's no way to live.

See you tomorrow.

We've all heard of people who won millions in a lottery. 
Remember the MTN Airplane mega promo? Even the winner, Gladys, thought it was a scam when she got a call from MTN. You can still read her interview via this link. She opted for the N64 million cash equivalent of the airplane. During the interview, she said she did not remember taking part in the lottery. And that she never imagined having that huge sum of money and was shocked. 

image: sunnewsonline.com

Here's how she put it:
"I have never fainted in my life before, so when they called the amount I did not faint. I just became thirsty, I kept asking for water and I kept smiling, again and again. I thought I was dreaming but with the kind of people I have been shaking hands with, people hugging me, asking to take photographs with me, I think it’s an act of God. I can imagine how many numbers they played and mine was singled out, just like that."

Now tell me: isn't that luck? I'm sure if you had met her and told her that luck is when preparation meets opportunity, and she must have been prepared someway, she would begin to think you want to ask for some money. How can you factor in preparation when she already said she couldn't remember participating in the lottery and even accused the MTN staff that called her of trying to "scam" her? She wasn't any bit better prepared than every other person that participated in that lottery.

Truly, there is a luck that comes with preparation. But this one wasn't that kind of luck.I prefer to call this: pure luck.

And today, I'll be telling you about a third kind of luck. I call it: the luck within.

Yesterday, I got a mail from one of my esteemed blog readers who is now a friend. She was asking how I come up with the posts I write. It's a question I have been asking myself lately. Where are all these ideas coming from? When I began this one post a day project last year, I was always spending hours on other blogs trying to find something inspiring to write about. It used to be a lot of work and I sometimes end up with no post idea after reading about 20 blogs. Nowadays, I just stare at my PC screen in a half-sleepy way and 5 minutes later I come up with a post idea. Then I place my hands on the keyboard and the words stream out. I don't do any major editing. I re-read once or twice to fix my grammar errors. Then I publish the blog post. And that's all.

That I now write great blog posts and with very little effort is my classic example of the luck within. It's that special type of luck that makes you excel at something in a way you never dreamed of. It comes from within you, and sometimes it doesn't show up until you are the end of your line. When you are almost giving up. And sometimes it shows up the very instant you attempt a seemingly impossible task. 

I call it the luck within because like winning a lottery or getting a surprise business deal (preparation meeting opportunity), it's unpredictable and life changing. 

So whenever you've got a seemingly impossible task before you, and you're dead sure you can't get it done. Just give it a try, you never can tell if it will awake the luck within.



P.S.> It's in God we live, move and have our being. All luck -- pure, prepared for or internal -- ultimately come from Him.

I think I have crossed my last "starting up" hurdle. I've lost all my reasons to not go on my own.

Here's a hurried breakdown of how it all happened:

• In 2012, a colleague suggested I start an Excel consultancy. He was blown away by my Excel skills. That day I contacted a graphics designer friend and placed an order for 500 biz cards. 
• I began sharing my biz cards and telling people I'm an Excel Consultant.
• In 2013, a company contacted me for Excel training for their staff.
• Same 2013, I got several calls from people requesting for Excel training.
• Still same 2013, I got mails from people who found me online, and were requesting for a custom service
• I almost resigned my job in 2013. I was turning down too many offers because of my day job.
• I emailed some of the top Excel consultants in the world for advice. About half said I should go for it and gave tips of what worked for them. Of the remainder, one told me he still works full-time for a big company. Another one told me how he began about 25 years ago and that things  have changed, and that he had no advice for me. The rest didn't reply my mail.
• I got a private limited liability company registered and built a simple company website.
• All my clients were very pleased with my work for them
• In 2014, I began shifting the focus from me to the Company. 
• I began doing things in a corporate way: corporate email and signature, professional invoices, sales receipt, and already in the process of having 1000 one page fliers printed.
• Then 2 days ago, I figured out that for every one person who contacted me out of the blue there are at least 10 more with same need. If I can reach everyone in corporate Lagos. Which I know I can (I've done something similar before, 3ce). I will survive and then flourish.

image: barsmash.com

Now it's a countdown to resignation day. Which surprisingly, I'm no more in a hurry to do. I guess knowing that I will do it removed the urge of wanting to do it today or first thing tomorrow morning.

I'm now working on a sales and prospect tracking strategy. I have tried Pipedrive, Nimble and Base CRM. I'm finally settling with Base CRM. At the cost of $15 (about N2,800) per month I get all I need to track my prospecting activities, leads, contacts, deals stage and client interactions. And it's got a very easy to use Android and iOS app, which makes life after day job easy for me.

What I now need is expert advice from Sales experts. I don't need advice on whether to resign or not. You will only make me feel sad by giving such advice. What I really want you to give me are practical well-tested strategies that I can use to achieve my goal of getting the attention of everyone who needs my services and closing lots of sales. 

Right now the only strategy I have is to attend events and talk to people. I'm sure there are more effective strategies. Somehow, emails aren't working for me. I sent emails to over 900 people, the only person who replied wanted to know how I got her email. She is a LinkedIn contact. Then I thought my mails weren't personal enough. I decided to send a personal mail to another set of people, people I had some level of connection with and even reminded some of how we met and what we've done together before. Again, only one replied.

It's really amazing how people need you and will still be playing hard to get. 

I know people who are almost always confused. Who can't seem to align their goals and plans with reality. They make living a lot hard for themselves. It's not that they are trying to do some impossible thing or trying to live a superhuman life. Their goals are sort of the regular ones people make, and their plans are good and logical. But somehow they always feel overwhelmed.

I consider myself one of the few lucky people who seldom get overwhelmed. Maybe when I get married I will lose that luck. And that's the main reason I have to make this post now. When it's easier to live what I preach.

So how do you stop getting overwhelmed by regular issues of life?
Live one day at a time.

image: woodenurecover.com

Living one day at a time is simply having all your life goals and plans broken down to manageable daily tasks, and never worrying about how you did yesterday or going to do tomorrow.

It takes a lot of practice and frustrating failures to become very good at living one day at a time. And that's where the bulk of my luck lies. Being an extreme introvert made me very individualistic and a planning-freak. Ever since I was 8 years old, I have been planning every single day of my life. I love monotony. Things happening in the same sequence every day. And I recently started to break free from some of the embarrassing ones: eating same thing for lunch every (week) day. But the good side is that I succeeded in breaking all my plans into manageable daily actions that I turn to habit. Like blogging daily. I seldom experience a bad day. I do get a hectic day or a boring day, but hardly a bad day. Because a bad day will mean a day I didn't achieve my daily goals, goals I have turned into habits. Some are as sticky as the habit of brushing daily. Just the same way I wouldn't eat or step out of the house without brushing my teeth, I wouldn't sleep at night if I hadn't written a blog post. 

Living one day at a time starts with a deep soul search. Finding what really matters to you. Then having a life goal. Or life goals. But I think everyone should have one life goal. If you think hard enough you will find the one thing all your goals have in common, then weave your ultimate life goal from it. 

Next step is having a detailed always-in-progress life plan. A plan so well made you can break it down to daily actions/goals. Once in a while, you do a major review. But the key point is breaking it down into daily actions. Then you can begin to live one day at a time. Because each day is now a part of something much bigger, and everyday you achieve your simple daily goals you are achieving your life goal. The other cool thing about this is that it's not possible to end up with overwhelmingly crazy daily goals. There's no way one life goal can be broken down into anything but simple easy daily goals. It's people with confused life goals, people who have a list of a 1000 things they want to do before they die; they are the ones with complex daily goals. They want to learn 10 languages, visit all the countries in the world, visit the moon, have 2 boys and 2 girls, own a private island, shake hands with Bill Gates, be a celebrity... To me, they don't have a life goal; just childhood dreams.

And then there are those who have read too many motivational books. Books written by people who write books and give talks for a living. They become obsessed with figures. They'll say their life goal is to retire at 45. Or to have a billion naira by age 50. Or to be a CEO by 40. I really don't know how someone made in God's image will think that the purpose for his living is to retire at age 45. Is he telling God to kill him at age 45? 

Don't have a life goal that is tied to a figure: age or money. What will happen when you pass that age or you make the money? No more life goal. That's not a life goal. When you have a goal like that, you'll become obsessed with "how much time do I have?", "I need to do more." There'll be no way you can fully enjoy a day, detached from yesterday or tomorrow. 

Living one day at a time will require you to let go of yesterday. Whether you failed at your daily goals or succeeded is no longer relevant once it's a second past midnight. It's a new day and a new sheet. You simply live fully each day, detached from yesterday. And if you have a true life goal, your daily goals will be so easy that you wouldn't need to try to do tomorrow's just to free up time or make tomorrow easier. You will live today with little worry for tomorrow.

And that's what it means to live one day at a time.

image: mgbookreport.wordpress.com

"No?" Then you're not alone. I haven't seen it too.

But there's something about thing that we'll all benefit from. And that's why I'll be talking about it today.

I'm sure you've heard of the Statute of Liberty. Well, this statue's fame is getting close to it. And I'm going to tell you the amazing story behind it. It's the story of a man. A man like you and me.

It's the story of Arturo di Modica. He is a sculptor. Sculptors are artists who rather than paint a charging bull, will make a life-like version of it with bronze. And that was what Arturo did in the year 1989. He spent about $360,000 of his own money and 2 years on a surprise gift. He called it his Christmas gift to the people of New York. On the night of December 15, 1989. He hired a flatbed truck and with help from friends, moved the "Charging Bull" to the front of New York Stock Exchange. The bull is 11 feet tall; as tall as a house. And 18 feet long. And looks like it's coming after you. The next morning, people couldn't believe their eyes. How did something this big suddenly appear? 

Now it's one of the most photographed artworks in the world. It is a popular tourist attraction. Tourists love to take photos beside it. And Arturo ended up making one for China and Holland.

But what is the special thing I said we'll benefit from?

Arturo wasn't looking for someone to discover him. He felt he could make the most amazing bull statue and went for it, using his own money and 2 valuable years. He's not the type of man that will say he didn't execute the great idea he had because no one supported or funded him. Last year, at the age of 72, he told a journalist that he still works 7 days a week and sleeps 3 hours a day.

The bull statue is not the first statue he made without someone ordering it or promising to foot the bill. He's constantly making something and sharing it with the world. He lets his brilliance and works speak for him. He molds statues that even children love. Simple and brilliant.

He takes his own bull by the horn, not tying his dream or ambition to another man's. He spends his time and money on creating something that never existed. Adding beauty to his world and sharing it freely. 

The special thing I want you grab is -- never hold yourself back. 

You don't need to be rich to know how to become rich. And that's my excuse for writing this post. 

image: emirates247.com

There are a lot of ways to become rich. But I will be listing the only two legit ways I know of:

1. You can work with a company like Shell, Mobil, NLNG or Total, and save/invest more than half of your salary.
2. You can be like me, and try to give life to every business idea that hops into your head.

Obviously, you know I have no credibility as regards number 1. So the rest of this post will be on how to become rich by working your butt off.

And here are the steps:

1. Know where you are. You have to do a personal inventory. Write down what you are worth (what you have minus what you owe). Write down your age on the next line. Write 1 billion naira on the third line. Ask yourself, "If I continue the way I am, how many centuries will it take me to make 1 billion naira?" Trust me, there's no easier way to know where you are, financially. But don't take this too seriously, being a billionaire is not the only way to live a fulfilled life. 
2. Have a Budget. And follow it. Having a budget is not hard. You just document every expense you make on daily or weekly basis. Then compare it with a threshold you have set for the month. It's that simple. And the ways you can do this are numerous. I follow a simple method. Some people prefer having a budget worksheet. I have a phone app I use daily to log my expenses and categorize them. I have been doing this since 2011. And consistently, every day, since Sep 2012. If I resign my job today, I know just how much I need to survive every month. That's the beauty of tracking your expenses. Then a budget takes it one step further, you not only track your expenses, you set a threshold for them that you work towards and also plan your savings/investment. This is going put you on a good standing to begin growing your income consistently and pursuing big financial goals in a predictable manner.
3. Have an Emergency Fund. Having a good budget and following it will mean that you don't leave much money in your regular bank accounts. You have everything so well planned out that you end up with almost nothing at the end of the month (before salary comes in). But there will always be unpredictable expenses that a budget does not factor in. Expenses like helping a friend with part of the bill for a urgent life saving surgical operation. Or a sudden house or car repair. This is what having an emergency fund caters for. Have between 3 to 12 months living expense equivalent in a special savings account. You only use the money in it for emergencies. And you replenish the account as soon as possible. I have mine in a high yield savings account with Diamond bank (HIDA account). Having this prevents you from derailing from your long-term financial plans. You won't have any reason to liquidate your pension fund account or investment accounts prematurely (before they mature in your original plan). If you can, have a health insurance. In countries where it works very well, it's a necessity. It saves life, physically and financially.
4. Don't buy what you don't need. It's said that if you keep buying what you don't need, someday you will have to sell what you need. I didn't buy a new laptop for 5 years because I followed this rule. It's sometimes hard and following this rule will make us look frugal. But it's necessary if you want a great financial future. I struggle with following this rule, but I still fair better than most of the people I know. I can pack all my valuables into one bag. One BIG bag. The aim of this rule is to make you develop the good habit of a moderate lifestyle. A lifestyle that doesn't keep ballooning with every salary or income increase.
5. Invest, invest and invest. If you did that exercise in step 1, you will know that there's no way you can save your way to 1 billion naira. Even if you save all your income. The only way to make true wealth is by investing, investing and investing. First invest in yourself, increase your market value. Second, invest in sound relationships; network with the people who can become future business partners. Finally, invest all of the money you can spare; invest them in your own business ideas, in solid stocks and in other people's great ideas. And this is how Dangote likes to explain his wealth. And I believe him.
6. Don't lose yourself. Don't trade one poverty for another. Don't be so poor that all you have is money. Don't be a slave of your own money. Be like Richard Branson, do all the crazy things you've always wanted to do. Inspire others with your wealth.
7. Finally, start today. Yeah, start today. It's going to be a long journey; you have no time to waste. Or as my friend would say, "No time to check time."

All the best! See you at the billionaires club!

Occasionally I type "Michael Olafusi" in Google Search. 
It's amazing how much information about me is online.

I've got friends who will gladly pay to have someone remove everything about them that can be accessed via Google Search. They don't want to come up at all in a Google Search result page.

Today, I'm going to show you an excellent way of managing your online identity.

image: vickstromlaw.com

1. No one is anonymous online. If you want to post something online or insult someone online and don't want it traced to you, be assured that you are embarking on an impossible mission. Everything online can be traced to the exact time, the source, and source's location. Even if you are anonymous. Or xxxgeye_tthhe. Whatever you don't want traced to you, don't put online.
2. The online world is just an extension of the offline world. So it's just as real as the world you interact with outside internet. You shouldn't think of taking up another identity online. You might end up doing more damage than you can imagine or manage. 
3. Hackers aren't interested in you. I know it sounds strange, especially coming from a tech geek like me. But it's the truth. None of my accounts online has ever been hacked. Online security is not more complicated than offline security. The best security is going to secure places only. Just as I won't try to visit a friend in Borno state, there are some places online you shouldn't visit. No hacker will single you out for attack. And thanks to our online reputation, no hacker will be proud to say he hacked a Nigerian's account. Not even Goodluck Jonathan's.
4. Stop trying to be famous online. Now some of you might call me a hypocrite, since it looks like that's what I'm trying to do. Here's the reason behind the statement. I see a lot of people wasting time they could put to productive use tweeting and trying to amass followers on twitter. I think that's the new form of brain drain we are experiencing. I have a combined twitter followers of over 6,000. I got 5,000 of those followers without posting more than 50 posts manually. Over 90% of my twitter posts are automated and system generated. When you try to be famous online, you'll only end up being everywhere and getting nowhere. You'll waste valuable time, internet resources and your device's battery. I care about very few of those 6,000 followers. I'm only focusing on creating value through my blog. My goal online is not to be famous, but to express myself and discover things that might interest me.
5. Background check. Some people won't do anything creative online because of fear of a possible background check when they finally get the opportunity to join their dream company. I have no facts or anything beyond my intuition to comment on this. The main reason I'm this very transparent online is because my online life is just an extension of my offline life. If you find me unfit for your job or business based on the online me, then you will find me unfit if you meet only the offline me. 
6. Stalkers. No one enjoys an experience with a stranger who seems to know everything about you, who had spent days searching the internet for your details. Most times people do this because they find you interesting and just want to know all they could about you. Then there's the risk of a few who would want to use what they find against you. Especially if you are running for a political office. There are two ways I handle this: (1) I don't plan running for any political office and (2) I really don't care about what people do. The urge to discover myself and try out all that interest me has made me insensitive to the vulnerabilities my online activities create.
7. Treat emails as physical letters. If you won't type and print your account details, then go to the post office, buy an envelope, put inside the envelope  the paper with your printed account details and pay for stamp to post it to a stranger/company who sent you a mail asking for your account details. Then don't send emails with your account details to anyone you don't know. There is no free money online. What you won't do with letter mails, don't do with emails. 
8. Finally, be courteous online. Don't be rude or insult people just because they can't physically reach you. It's not that doing so will get you into trouble. It's because what is not right is not right. Be respectable, both online and offline.

Please share any important tip you think I'm missing.

The world is changing very fast, and our current educational system is becoming obsolete. In the US, President Barack Obama has put in place a vision 2020. Just as we have our own government set vision 2020. Except that they are backing theirs with SMARTER (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound, Evaluate & Re-evaluate) actions. Ours are backed vigorously with TTT (Talk, Talk & Talk).

In Obama's vision 2020, one of the goals is to have an educational system that makes it extremely easy for anyone to get a University education and degree. Especially the people who couldn't afford a university education while growing up but are discouraged by the volume of course work and time required to get a degree now that they can financially afford it. They dread having to start from the scratch, put in same classes with their youngest child. Yet they would love to get a university degree.

And how is America trying to achieve this? Through competency-based education. 

And here is how it works.
The current educational curriculum will be scrapped. We won't have to pass through Primary 1 to Primary 6, then JSS 1 to SS 3, and then do a regular 4 or 5 years university programme to get a BSc. The new curriculum will be skill/competence based. Every learning module will aim to teach you a specific and measurable skill. The new KG1 might be broken into 2 learning modules. One is to teach you to count from 1 to 1000. And the other is to teach you to read and write all the letters of the alphabet. No child will be mandated to spend a whole year in the KG1 class. If you achieve the learning objective (skill) in 3 months, you move to KG2 instantly. If your parents had taught you these before enrolling you in school, you'll skip KG1 altogether. And if it takes you 2 years to achieve this, you'll remain at KG1 for the entire 2 years. It's until you achieve the competency before you can more to others that depend on that particular skill. 

But here's the big picture.

image: cruisenigeria.com

 Last week Emeka was given a chieftaincy title at Anambra state in acknowledgement of his philanthropy and the huge employment opportunities his company is creating for youths of the state. But despite the fame and money, Emeka is not happy. He lost his parents at the age of 10 and had to stop schooling. He used to be the brightest boy in his class and enjoyed school. And though, he began living with his grandparents who couldn't afford to keep in him in school, he was always borrowing and reading the schoolbooks of his friends. His dream was to become a Doctor. But the death of his parents smashed it. And every year that passes reminds him of how impossible it is for him to go back to school and get his primary school leaving certificate, secondary school leaving certificate, scale JAMB, and do the stressful 7 years to become a doctor. 

Then a miracle happens. I become the President (now you understand the miracle part; it will take a miracle for me to become a President). Then I institute the Competency-based education system. Now Emeka can realise his dream. He applies to University of Ibadan to study medicine. He is made to go through an intensive 2 days knowledge and skill test. They found out that his Use of English is good enough, his mathematics skill is good enough, his computer knowledge is good enough, his knowledge Biology is amazing perfectly and his knowledge of Physics is acceptable. They list out all the other competencies he must acquire to be considered for a spot in the University. Chief Emeka goes back home extremely happy. He hands over the day-to-day running of his company to his eldest son. Then spends the next 2 years acquiring all the requisite knowledge and skills he's deficient in.

He hires expensive personal tutors and does rigorous study. Then he goes back to University of Ibadan for another assessment. And this time, to the pleasant surprise of everyone, he meets all requirements and brilliantly too. And with that fervor, he begins his MBBS. 7 years later, he becomes Chief Dr Emeka Obi. 

He is so happy he renovates Anambra state hospital with over a billion naira and begins working there as a junior doctor. He's finally living his dream.

And that's how revolutionary competency-based education is. It's like working in a bank, they don't care what your first degree is. They train you for the job and evaluate you regularly, and a Yoruba history graduate becomes a risk analysis expert. And that's what the modern world has turned to. It's no longer certificate based or years of formal school education based. It's competency-based, and recognizes skills you acquired in a non-formal education setting. It gives equal weight to same knowledge regardless of the mode of acquisition. 

And that, my friend, is the future of education.