THE STAGES OF LIFE

Life as is known is not one stretch of living. Life is divided in phases and periods. One phase doesn't last forever and only leads to the next one. How well an individual maximize a stage may determine how well the next stage might be. These are the stages of life.

1. The Stage Of Fun.(Birth to about 29 years)

This is the period from childbirth to about the end of youth. This period is divided into childhood, teenage, and young adulthood. This is called the age of fun because the approach to life is always weak. Most times in this period, individuals live a life of freedom and may lack resposibility.

Decisions in this stage are made mainly without regard of the consequences. Actions are carried out without thinking of the outcomes or implications of the actions to family and society. Because of all these weak approaches to life, individuals may lack little or no power of deep reasoning. It is also important to note that lifelong mentalities and philosophies are usually formed at this stage. Also, careers are usually determined at this stage and talents and gifts are also discovered.

2. The Stage of Reason.(About 30-59 years)

This stage encompasses adulthood. At this stage, youthful exuberance would usually had worn away and the realities of life has set in. This is usually a time when individuals get married, start working and also raise children. There is usually a high sense of responsibility to family, society, work, and religion and the effects of decisions are considered before making and implementing them.

This is the stage when men usually achieve or don't achieve the dreams or goals they set during the age of fun. At this stage, old habits(usually bad habits) are dropped and replaced by new ones(usually good ones). Dreams, aspirations and goals are still vigorously pursued at this stage, and making or having more money is usually the top priority of individuals. In the stage of reason, individuals usually regret the mistakes they may have made in the stage of fun, and may wish there is opportunity to go back and live it right.

3. The Age of Reflection.(60 years till death)

This stage is more of reminiscing about the past than looking forward into the future. This is the time when most individuals retire from working and the power and strength to work has greatly diminished. The approach to life is usually balanced and loneliness and boredom are usually the biggest nightmares of this stage. Individuals reflect on the lives they had lived from birth to that time, drawing strength only from good memories.

At this stage, individuals usually talk more about their lives and want to know more about what is going on locally and globally. Also, individuals tend to think that this stage should be used to heal old wounds, forgive people who had offended them and seek for forgiveness from people they had offended in preparation for death.

Whatever stage of life you are, I hope I am close to the truth in describing it. If you have enjoyed this post, please share. Thanks.

FOOD SHORTAGE : A CRITICAL VIEW

World food shortages is rising every year and poverty and diseases are ravaging mankind like never before. Poor countries seem to be getting poorer and rich countries seem not to be showing signs of trouble, even if they are in trouble.

Away from that is the issue of food shortage and abundance. Food shortages are generally presumed to be caused by conflicts, war, terrorism, natural disasters and others. Food abundance is generally believed to be a function of a peace, low inflation, food preservation and storage. But in a situation of stability, food shortage is usually still a mark of poor countries.

While a country like Nigeria has about 70% of her citizens as  agriculturers, a country like the U.S only has about 5% of it's citizens in the agricultural sector. The question is, what makes the difference in the two countries, that makes food abundant in one and short in the other.

A lot of times, bad storage facilities and mentality has been seen as the biggest challenge in countries far from food abundance. The argument is that, if food can be stored in abundance, then it will still be available when it is supposed to be scarce. If poor storage is said to be the biggest issue in food shortage, nobody seems to be talking about food preservation.

Places that have food in abundance always have it all throughout the year, even though they import most of those foods. Places that have food shortages would have scarcity of some foods even though they are the ones producing them. The argument now is what makes the difference.

If food can't be preserved, then there is no point trying to store them. A country without stable power supply would always have the problem of preservation which would eventually affect storage. Developed countries have power all year round, which makes presevation very easy. It is really hard to imagine that developed countries have food banks where they store their foods.

Adequate power supply, combined with the necessary technology will go a long way in solving the issue of food shortages. If you have enjoyed this post, please share. Thanks.

UNDERSTANDING TEENAGERS

Imagine a world where there would be an harmony between the society and the teenagers produced by it. Welcome to the world of teenagers and their many complexities. Trying to understand teenagers have always been like trying to unravel the mystery of coconut water.

Teenagers are generally assumed to be from thirteen to nineteen years of age, and those years seem to be the most important years in the lives of human beings. Whether teenagers can be understood or not is an open reasoning that readers would decide for themselves.

The teenage period is usually a period of subjective and objective discovery. The subjective is how teenagers view themselves in respect to the society, and the objective is the way teenagers view themselves in respect to life and the universe. These two views would eventually determine the lives they are going to live.

The two major challenges of the teenage period are seeking answers to the questions of the self and personality, and also simultaneously seeking answers to the questions of the meanings of life. Trying to find answers to these questions is what causes teenage crisis, which is a period characterised by rebellion, exuberance and individualism. When teenagers try to dig the well of who they are without finding water, and when they climb the ladder of life without getting to the top, then there will be trouble.

The lack of answers bounces back on the family and the society, who may not be able to provide these answers. When teenagers don't understand who they are, or their personality, they go ahead and take on the personalities of people they admire, thereby living away from themselves. When teenagers don't understand life and the universe, they wouldn't care about disrupting the normal workings of the societal system. That is why there are many juvenile homes for teenagers less than eighteen.

Teenagers would be rebellious and keep to themselves if they feel that their family, the society, the government, and their religion is against them and everything they do. The truth is, these cannot be said of all teenagers. It is an irony that the major decisions of life are made in the teenage period, which is the most unstable time in a person's life. This is when they choose careers and professions, and it is always a wonder how they choose rightly.

Whether teenagers will be good or bad is not a function of any determination. While some views believe that teenagers can be influenced to be good or bad, others believe that they cannot. Whether they can be influenced or not, there seems to be a fact that teenagers cannot be made to be good when they want to be bad, or made to be bad when they want to be good. Bad homes and parents have produced good teenagers and good homes and parents have produced bad teenagers.

Whether teenagers should be allowed to learn only by imitation, or experience, or by correction should cease to give adults headaches. How men learn will always revolve around those three things. Imagine a world where the understanding of teenagers would make the society a better place. Truth is, understanding teenagers does not determine having better teenagers. If you have enjoyed this post, please share. Thanks.

THE INTERNET CONTROVERSY

The internet, as we know and see it today is a virtual world as infinite as the universe. What we call the internet today has really gone beyond what the founding fathers really intended for it. This is called the internet controversy. Now, internet illiteracy is far becoming more pronounced than academic illiteracy.

With millions of websites already, more blogs than websites and still counting daily, these are staggering data that adds to the internet controversy. Today, many people use the internet for many different purposes as it has become the largest electronic and virtual library in the world. From doing serious researches to just leisurely surfing the web, and from receiving and rendering services; the internet is the happening place.

With the popularity of the internet soaring, fast thinking minds thought of ways to make the internet scenery more beautiful. Ideas gave birth to some serious actions, and a computer transformed from what is being used to calculate sums into what can generate money. And some serious money at that.

Just like the gold rush, the internet rush started several years ago, and it is still on. If the gold rush had ended, the internet rush may never end. With many people trying to take a piece of the internet cake, many with unhealthy desperation; the internet has turned into a virtual business global village with the players not needing to see each other.

Now, the internet controversy is how to identify the legitimate players from the illegitimate ones, as it seems to be full of illegitimate players. The controversy of the internet is not whether it is a powerful tool to make money or not, but of how to identify the genuine people from the scammers. Many celebrated gurus and webmasters are scammers, while unpronounced and simple people are doing legitimate business on the internet.

If you are a beginner looking for a way to make money on the internet today, you are likely to be scammed most of the times. The internet has come to stay for good, and if it does not end, then the internet controversy will always be. If you have enjoyed this article, please share. Thanks.

MISFORTUNE HAS IT'S BOUNDARY

For sports lovers, especially football, then we will all come to the conclusion that even misfortune has it's boundary. The English Premier League(EPL) teaches many bitter truths and lessons of life. The just concluded 2016/2017 season was another saga that football lovers would always remember for a long time.

A special focus would be on Arsene Wenger and his Arsenal, a manager and club that everybody has known to be most unfortunate. If Middlesbrough or Burnley goes into relegation, nobody seems to think they are unfortunate; but if Arsenal finishes a season trophyless, everybody sees it as a misfortune. But even misfortune has it's boundary, as the 2016/2017 season have prooven.

Arsenal is a club that last won the EPL in the 2003/2004 season, winning it unbeaten. Even though they were in the UEFA champions league final in the 2005/2006 season, and the Capital One final in the 2007/2008 season; Arsenal remained trophyless until they won the FA cup back to back in the 2013/2014 and the 2014/2015 season. All through their misfortunes, what surprises me is that Arsenal fans are the most die-hard fans in the world.

In the 2016/2017 season, although missing out of the champions league spot for the first time in sixteen years, Arsenal still managed to win the FA cup again, unbelievably against Chelsea who won the EPL. This means that Arsenal have won the FA cup three times in four years, and Wenger set a record of the only manager in english football to win the FA seven times. This is all coming in a season that Arsenal missed the champions league spot for the first time in sixteen years. You can agree with me that even misfortune has it's boundary.

Manchester United is another club that have been misfortuned for some while. Since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club after twenty years as the most successful manager in english football, Manchester United have become a shadow of themselves. After Ferguson left, the club had always missed out of the UEFA champions league and were always underperforming.

Fate smiled on Manchester United in the 2016/2017 season when they won the UEFA europa league in style. Even though they again missed out of the champions league spot, they would play in the 2017/2018 champions league season as the europa league winner.

No matter how long it lasts, even misfortune has it's boundary. If you have enjoyed this article, please share it. Thanks.

THE AMERICAN DREAM

The american dream don't cease to amaze me. For those who have been hearing about the american dream and don't know the meaning, it is so simple. The american dream is a philosophy that every american can succeed in any endeavor through hardwork and creativity.

Americans are so patriotic to this philosophy, which had been handed down to them by their founding fathers, and it has formed a part of their culture and mentalities. From the child to the adult, the american dream is so real and achieveable that you begin to wonder what sort of a people are these.

The american dream, though a great philosophy have pushed the american people into the abyss of fake living. If the american student cannot afford to go to school, they just take a loan and repay that loan when they graduate and have started working. This is only just the beginning of fake living.

When the american starts to work, they can't wait to live within their means and save to buy a car. The next thing they do is run to the car dealer and buy a car on deposit. Even if this deal would take the american five years to pay, the american does not care. Having a car is normal and they just have to have it at that time.

When the american wants to have a house of their own, the next thing they do is to rush to a mortgage bank or whatever and have a house by all means. They usually don't wait until they have enough money to invest in property by themselves. Even if the mortgage would take them twenty years to pay, the american doesn't care.

If the american is broke and has zero dollars in their account, they don't care as they go on collecting overdraft. If the american hits jackport and finds themselves very rich, the run to buy a mansion of fifty rooms and private jet. The next thing you hear is they are bankrupt. They always seem to know how to spend money when they don't have it, and seem not to know how to spend it when they have it. That's funny.

When the american has the slightest problem in their marriage, the next thing is to run to the lawyer and get a divorce. For the woman, it is usually good, but for the man, he looses his money, his wife, and his child or children. The americans are not at fault, as they have to live up to what the everybody expects of them as the superpowers of the world. Also, they have a very good system that had been put in place long ago, and which fuels their fire of living fake lives, which they all call their american dream.

INDIANS AND THEIR MOUTHSTACHES

Before, there was no big deal about India, but today, that has changed. I have not been to India, but India seems to be coming to people these days. The truth is, India is really changing for good. Bollywoood, their movie industry have gone through a drastic metamorphorsis, and could compete with Hollywood in America. Movies like 3 Idiots, Baahubali, and Bahgban are just too perfectly made. Sometimes, I can't imagine that indians did them. That is really awesome.

Next to that is their medical industry. Right now, India seems to be the place where medicine is. They even have an edge over America in that aspect. Everybody all over the world now prefer to go to India for treatment for complicated medical issues. This will not stop baffling people, including me.

India's pharmceutical industry is highly rated. For a country that is deeply religious, you would had thought that indians would be drinking herbs and concoctions, and praying to their gods for healing. Surprisingly, that is not the case. India's pharmaceutical industry is so highly developed and big that they get huge foreign exchange from just exporting their drugs. India keeps amazing me.

Academically, India also seems not to be lacking behind. The rate at which India is changing could largely be attributed to the quality of their academics. Added to the fact that there are numerous prestigious higher institutions of learning scattered across India, indians also travel all over the world to get education. It shows they value education, and it is reflecting positively on their systems.

The most odd thing I have discovered in the dynamics of indians is that their men don't joke with their mouthstache!! Their women!! They don't joke with those tiny dots on their forehead. The average indian man is naked without his mouthstache. The mouthstache crave of indians have become a part of their culture. The average indian man is very hairy, and it's like all of them have hairs in their genes.

I just don't understand their madness about their mouthstaches. Even their military find it hard to be clean-shaven. Really serious. If the americans are known for their basketball and coffee; and the chinese are known for their kung-fu and tea, then the indians are known for their shiva and their mouthstaches!!

ACADEMICS IN NIGERIA: AN IRONY

This is one big irony that will continue to give thinkers many headaches for some years to come. This is the view of a nigerian living in Nigeria.

The average nigerian child starts out in life with the pressures of life heaped upon him/her. Although, they may not know it, but already, a lot is expected from them, even before they start to crawl. The rat race begins for the nigerian child even before he/she starts to crawl and they are put in a pre-creche, or creche, or whatever they call it nowadays. A lot of factors could cause this premature plunge into the world of academics, but the main factor is competition.

Before creche, the nigerian child is expected to be able to read figure one to ten, when they are not even supposed to know what figure one is yet. At creche, they are expected to be able to read figure one to hundred, be able to read the multiplication table from two to twelve. Worst of all, they are already expected to be able to read "Akin Goes To School."

In primary school, the focus is for the child to keep getting the number one position all the time. Any deviation from that would not be appreciated and the child would even know it from the reaction of his/her parents. Females are put under pressure to compete with guys in everything, and they may grow up thinking that life is a girl versus boy thing. Unfortunately, life is not that way and it would never be that way.

At primary four, the child is expected to write common enterance and get into JSS1 at the age of nine. The child would start to write his/her ordinary levels from SSS2, and at SSS3, he/she is supposed to come out with nine A's. That same year, they are expected to write JAMB and score three hundred at the first sitting.

Even though the child may not be sixteen at the year of admission, parents would do age declarations for their wards claiming that they are eligible. In the higher institution, the emphasis is again on having first class, at all costs. These are all the artificially induced academic pressures that the average nigerian child goes through, all in the name of academics.

The child is expected to get a degree at the age of nineteen and go for NYSC at the age of twenty. By twenty-two, they are supposed to have finished their second degrees, and start their third degrees. At the age of twenty-six, the average nigerian child is expected to have his/her PhD and be called a Doctor of whatever.

It makes me wonder whether today's children are academically more better than when I was also a kid. In my own days, you can't smell school at all until you are two or more years old, but today, a three month old baby is dumped in school. This is all in the name of being better than their mates and colleagues.

The irony of all these academic pressures is that there are not enough jobs to cater for the thousands of graduates that Nigeria produces each year. For the children of the very rich, they would have everything packaged for them, and it makes us wonder what the children of the poor should do.

If you are a nigerian child, I am deeply and sincerely sorry for you. Why? Because you are in for a life of pressure induced academic exellence.

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF LIFE

Many times, I have wondered what it takes to living a fulfilled life. I talk to a lot of old people and everything they keep saying revolves almost around the same things.

I have interacted with older people for many years, and many times, it seems to me that they think they had not made the most out of their lives. Out of everything they had said, I have come up with nine important things to do to make the most out of your life.

1. Get education.

"Education may not put you at any advantage, but ignorance would put you at a disadvantage." Francis Anuma.

In some parts of the world, they think education is the number one way to succeed in life, but I don't think so. Education may not necessarily make you successful in life, but it is still important. Getting an education would give you a broad view about life. You won't be ignorant about a lot of things.

It would put you at an advantage of meeting new people who may be important to you later in life. Also, education would give you the ability of being able to do something differently. When you compare an educated person and an illiterate person doing the same thing, you tend to discover that the educated one usually has an edge. Older uneducated people always tend to regret not having an education, even if they are successful. To make the most out of your life, get an education.

2. Value time.

For those who don't value their time, they end up wasting away their lives in bits and pieces. Time is money and money is time. I have discovered that when you don't have anything tangible to do with your time, people will hijack it and make it theirs. You then discover that you would be going all over the place fulfilling people's dreams, while your own remain.

Apart from valuing time, manage yourself in time, so as to be able to be doing the right things at the right age. It is not good enough to just be entering higher institution when your colleagues have finished their second degrees. In making the most out of your life, value your time well.

3. Take religion seriously.

Religion is one of the most important pillars of life. Even atheists who abhor religion are guided by morals, which has it's roots in religion. Religion gives a person the opportunity to know the external and spiritual forces and laws guiding life. Even though religion is manipulated into fanaticism sometimes, religion is still a potent weapon into guiding people into living good lives.

If you are a christian, go to church, join a unit and be active. If you are a muslim, go to mosque and try to fullfil your religious obligations, and if you are in any other, be diligent in it. The God-factor is important in people's lives. In making the most out of life, take religion serious.

4. Take your health serious.

Most times in life, I find out that our productivity is always a function of how healthy we are. It is only when you are healthy that you can pursue wealth. Nobody who is sick can think of pursuing wealth. I observe that people don't start taking their health serious, until when they get old and it is already too late.

If you don't take your health serious when you are young, you would most likely pay for it when you are older. Living a moderate lifestyle in what you eat and drink, how you eat and drink it, and being able to control stress matters so much. It is better to take your health and lifestyle seriously, as the quality of life you will live depends on it.

5. Discover your talent and skill.

" Work may prosper you, but talent will fulfill you." Francis Anuma.

I see a lot of people prosper and succeed in life, and still, they don't feel fulfilled about it. Many times, I hear very rich people sometimes say they wished they were something which I think is absurd. Sometimes you could hear a company executive say he wishes he had pursued a painting, or a writing career. There is no big deal in that. It only shows that that is where his fulfillment lies.

Discover your talent or skill and pursue it or them with all vigour. Believe me, that is where your fulfillment lies. To make the most out of life, discover your talent and gifts.

6. Learn a skill.

Learning is skill in life can never be a waste, and it will always come in handy to bail you out of financial embarassments. This is important, especially in countries where the people are more than the available job. Learning a skill and making money out of it doesn't really have to be full-time. You could be working or schooling, and still be learning a skill.

Whatever you learn will always be a part of you, and nobody can take it away from you. Your skill could give you some extra income, and make it possible for you not to be financially broke. A lot of old folks regret the fact that they didn't learn a skill when they were younger. Don't be discouraged. It is never too late to learn that skill.

7. Family is important.

A lot of people just go through life chasing their work and their dreams, usually at the expense of their families. I didn't say it is wrong to chase personal goals, but not at the expense of family. People who neglect their families always usually regret doing that now or later. Family is usually where it all begins. Charity begins in the home.

A lot of people are good outside and are bad at home. This isn't supposed to be. Treat your siblings well. Treat your parents well. Treat your extended family well. When it comes to looking down memory lane at whether people had made the most out of life, family issues are one of the most important things that keeps coming up.

8. Make and keep good friends.

"He that cannot make a friend will eat his cake alone." Francis Anuma.

Life is about meeting people and forming relationships, some lasting and some temporary. It is virtually impossible to go through life without having a friend or friends. Forming good friends alone is not enough, but keeping those friends. Good friends will stand by you in times when you are down and out. Good friends will get your back.

Most importantly, you wouldn't have to go through your old age a lonely person. A person who can't make and keep friends will have a very lonely and boring old age.

9. Prepare for old age.

"Today is nothing but the preparation for tomorrow." Francis Anuma.

As people get older, they start to get more scared about life. Why? Because they hadn't prepared adequately for it. A see a lot of dynamics in the society today in which old people are still labouring and struggling to get by in life. When people are still labouring when they are supposed to be resting, it means something had gone wrong along the way.

The future is not meant to be afraid of, but to be prepared for. Prepare for the future financially, as there wouldn't be that youthful strength to be able to work and make money. Prepare for companionship, as loneliness and boredom and the two biggest nightmare of old people. To make the most out of your life, prepare well for the future.
Thanks for reading this.

MY FRUSTRATIONS OF THE GET RICH QUICK ON THE INTERNET

For so long in my life I have been part of the rat race of getting rich quickly through the internet. For so long, I have researched and researched the internet, and have spent many sleepless nights, all in the aim of getting rich.

Even though it seems that a whole lot of other people are having a bite out of the internet piece of cake, it seems that mine was different. I joined hundreds of programs and filled a lot of forms, but nothing came out of it.

I have learnt some lessons in my internet journey in the hard way and if I were to start again, maybe I would do things differently. Trying to get rich quickly through the internet is a mirage that will sap a lot of people the will to hope.

I know that I am not alone in this, and there are many millions out there, who are still in the rat race of getting rich quickly through the internet. As for me, I really do not think it is worth it anymore.

Making money online does and will never entail doing a lot of things. A person has to really be able to focus on something and keep doing that thing, instead of jumping all over the cyberworld in search of money that is not there.

Just like the frustrations that comes from the normal hectic rat race of life, I liken the internet to the same thing, especially those dying to make money on the internet. As for me,I would just do what I love to do and nothing else. Next time guys.