<h3>A BRIGHT START FOR A SECURED FUTURE </h3>

AN EXTRACT FROM THE FIRST ACADEMIC CHALLENGE FOR 2^ND SEMESTER, 2012/2013 SESSION

FOCUS: A BRIGHT START FOR A SECURED FUTURE

PROVERBS 23:19, 23, 18

(Verse 19) Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. (Verse 23) Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. (Verse 18) For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.

The Longman dictionary of Contemporary English defines start, to mean- to begin doing something or to make something to begin to happen. Therefore, for you to have a successful and secured end this semester, you must START something.

ACTION, they say, is the fundamental key to all success.

It is not what is happening to you now or what has happened to you in the past that will determines how successful you will become this semester. Rather, it’s your decisions about what to focus on, what things needs to be done and what you are going to do about them; these will eventually determined your ultimate destination this semester.

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten. It is your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped”

Then the question arises-

o   What are things to focus on?

o   What things need to be done?

o   How am I going to go about it?

Here is an all encompassing nugget (A-Z) which are very needful to realize your goals/targets this semester.

A-    Abide in Christ and Avoid frivolities

B-    Believe in God for success and Believe you can make it

C-    Cage your fears and doubts & Climb until your dreams come true

D-    Develop a positive attitude to work/lectures & Depend on the HolySpirit

E-    Eliminate childishness and also eliminate distractions

F-     (be) Fastidious, that is, be attentive to details, most especially when doing assignments, classworks, tests& examinations

G-   Gassed (chatter) all forms of gambling & Give up your small ambitions.

H-    Hallowed God in all things & Halt your selfishness

I-       Identify your strength and weaknesses

J-      Join a study group

K-   Knockdown laziness and procrastination

L-    Lay your hands on past questions and Learn from others

M-  Motivate yourself to succeed and maximise your opportunities

N-    Nurture your body, that is, Eat well, sleep well and take good care of your health

O-    Organise yourself to succeed.

P-     Prioritize tasks at hand, Plan your work, be persistent in the pursuit of your goals & Pray always.

Q-    Quit blaming others for your failures.

R-    Renew your heart daily with God’s word & Read assiduously

S-     Set SMART goals, stay focused and cultivate self-discipline

T-    Take inventory & totally depend on God

U-    Utilize the library, bookshops & Understand your stress

V-    Value God’s presence in your life & Value other people advise

W-  Watch what you say (proverbs 4:23)& Work-out an effective reading time-table

X-    X-ray your progress on each course.

Y-    Yearn for success & Yield not to temptation

Z-     Zest for knowledge & be Zealous in the things of God

It is not everybody that reads this kind of article that eventually succeed; it is what you do with what you have read that makes you to succeed.

“Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding”- Proverbs 9: 9-10

Things around you may not change, the circumstances, environment, the lecturers, (say it) may not change; but if you will have a change, success is in front of you.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”- Jeremiah 29:11