Positive Quote For Today

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."— Maya Angelou


Keys to Success in Business

A True Story
by
Copyright ©
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This is me with my father, circa August 2008, after I graduated from a six-month evangelism course at All Saints' Cathedral in Nairobi. The evangelism course inspired me to believe in the Bible which I will quote in the story below.

While on a school holiday in 2003, I asked my eldest brother Joe Kagigite, who was then pursuing a degree at the University of Nairobi, what "entrepreneurship" means. At first, he refused to explain it to me but when I persisted with my questioning, he finally relented and informed me that entrepreneurship is all about starting a business.

Because Mum used to run a grocery shop in my hometown of Kiserian, I inquired from Joe in Kikuyu, "So you mean Mum is an entrepreneur?"

"Yes!" he agreed.

Later on in April 2007 when I was leaving Starehe Institute, I became consumed with the desire to own and run a business. I thought of founding a company, which I christened 'Mtandao Super-cyber', that would operate a chain of cyber-cafes in Kenya but I gave up on the idea after the prominent people I approached for capital failed to buy into the idea.

Owning and running a business is something that I still aspire to achieve. And over the last three years, I have come to discover that the Bible has the answers to succeeding in business. It says in:
  • Proverbs 1:7 that the fear of God is the source of success
  • Matthew 22:37 that we love God
  • Proverbs 3:6 that we involve God in all our plans
  • Matthew 22:36-40 that we love people
  • Philippians 4:8 that we have noble thoughts
  • Proverbs 14:23 that we work hard in life
  • Hebrews 10:35 that we have confidence
  • Proverbs 2 that we acquire knowledge
  • Proverbs 8:14 that we preserve sound judgement
  • Proverbs 31 that we marry the right partner
  • Galatians 5:22-23 that we practise patience
  • Joshua 1:9 that we be courageous
  • Proverbs 6:17 that we avoid cheating
  • Matthew 6 that we forgive others and love our enemies
  • Proverbs 31:6 that we don't engage in excessive drinking
  • Proverbs 31:3 that we don't spend our strength on women (of course apart from the God-given one!)
  • Matthew 6 that we recite the Lord's Prayer regularly which to me is enough after waking up in the morning
  • And Philippians 4:6-8 that we be thankful always
If we diligently apply those biblical teachings in our day-to-day living, we can succeed in whatever entrepreneurial project we embark on. For King David aptly summed it up this way in Psalm 1:1-3:
Blessed is the man,
Who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Or stand in the way of sinners,
Or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruits in season,
And whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers. [1]
I don't know about you but for me, those timeless words of King David inspire me to meditate on the Word of God as I strive to grow the audience of this lovely blog of mine to several million people per month. Hopefully by doing so, I will become as rich and honored as King David was. Ciao!

************
[1] Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV). Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of International Bible Society. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Night Dreams I Have Had

A True Story
by Thuita J. Maina
on Nov 29, 2018
Copyright ©
Picture related to the title of the story

In early 2011 when I was at the University of Nairobi, I became interested in the subject of sleep. So I decided to do a little reading about it in the university library. And to my satisfaction, I found a book that discussed about the sleeping process.

I learnt from the book that sleeping occurs in several stages, that we dream every time we fall asleep, and that our ability to recall a dream depends on the stage of sleep in which we wake up.

Personally, I forget many of my night dreams after waking up. That must be the reason why masters of the English language coined the phrase "as fleeting as yesternight's dream."

Although I have forgotten many of my night dreams, I do know I have had quite a number of good dreams as well as bad ones. So good have been some of my dreams that I have felt disappointed on waking up only to realize they weren't real. As for the bad ones, I remember waking up from some of them and feeling grateful that they weren't real.

Talking of the way I forget most of my night dreams, there have been moments I have recalled my night dreams after coming across an object or a person that was in the dreams. A good example is when I attended the funeral of a primary schoolmate of mine a few years ago and saw Ludovic Kahoro, a catechist of my hometown Catholic church.

Seeing Kahoro during that funeral made me recall that the night before, I had dreamt of myself wearing his church robes without his permission. And when he saw me wearing his robes (in the dream, that is), he rebuked me. Had I not seen Kahoro during the funeral, I doubt whether I would have remembered that dream.

There are some other dreams I have managed to recall owing to the way they have recurred many times in my sleep. For instance, I have dreamt several times visiting London. I guess I will experience a strong sense of déjà vu when I get to visit London for the first time.

Also, I have dreamt a dozen times over the last ten years of my high school class, Starehe Boys' class of '05, repeating our fourth form year. And I don't know why my mind has kept on repeating that dream in my sleep. Maybe it's because Starehe is a school that is dear to my heart due to the valuable skills I gained and the lasting friendships I formed while there.

Additionally, there are some other night dreams I have remembered for their strangeness. They have been as strange as the apocalyptic writings in the Bible. My mind has picked several events, sceneries as well as people and combined them in one dream.

Several months ago for example, I dreamt going for evening assembly at Starehe Boys' Centre as if I was in high school again. On my way to the hall, I followed a river with very muddy water. Then I happened to go past the assembly hall without realizing it and found myself in coffee plantations further afield. And then I thought to myself if I had involved God in my plans, He would probably have kept me from walking past the assembly hall.

As to how my mind combined Starehe Boys' assembly hall, a river, coffee plantations and God in one dream is something I don't understand. A strange dream it was.

Another strange dream I recollect was one I had in 2003 when I travelled to Kisumu, a city in western Kenya, with the Starehe Boys' volleyball team. I saw extra-large things during that dream: big heads, big fires and so on. A nightmare would be a better word to describe that dream.

Enough about my night dreams. How about you, my beloved reader? Which dreams in your sleep can you manage to recall?

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Bible Quote

"Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice! Let everyone see that you are unselfish and considerate in all you do... Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything; tell God your needs and don't forget to thank Him for His answers. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand."

~Phillipians 4:4-7 (TLB)

About the Author

Name: Thuita J. Maina
Nationality: Kenyan
Lives in: Kiserian, Rift Valley, Kenya
Mission: To inspire the world to godly living, one person at a time.

Just For Laughs

There was this drunkard named Azoge who loved drinking at Josiah's Bar. On being told a certain Hon. Nanga was flying to America to be conferred a law degree so that he could be admitted to the bar, Azoge replied, "Why fly all the way to America to be admitted to the bar while you can get into Josiah's Bar any time?"



The 7 Deadly Sins

  1. Pride
  2. Envy
  3. Gluttony
  4. Lust
  5. Anger
  6. Greed
  7. Sloth

Author's Note

I am learning to treat life as a journey, not a destination. So I am trying to enjoy each day as I anticipate to fulfill my dreams especially meeting my soulmate and traveling abroad. Tomorrow may never be mine.

Fun Facts

  1. The fear of having no cell-phone service, running out of battery, or losing sight of your phone is called Nomophobia, reportedly affecting 66% of people.
  2. A single Google search needs more computing power than it took to send Apollo 11 to the moon. The Apollo computer was less equipped than a modern toaster.
  3. Besides being some of the biggest names in the tech industry, HP, Apple, Google and Microsoft share another commonality. They all started in garages.
~Extracted from Codingforums.com

Health Tip

So many of us take for granted the wonderful construction of the human body and the workings of its various parts. Some of us even expect it to function efficiently with less than the minimum care and attention. Learn the much you can about your body and how the care of it can help to give you that greatest blessing of all - good health.


Wonders of the Modern World

  1. The Simplon Tunnel
  2. The Sky-scrapers of New York
  3. The Boulder Dam of Colorado
  4. The Panama Canal
  5. The Golden Gate Bridge
  6. The Taj Mahal at Agra in India
  7. The North Sea Oil Drilling Rigs

Great Example for Politicians

"My life in politics was a joy. I loved campaigns and I loved governing. I always tried to keep things moving in the right direction, to give more people a chance to live their dreams, to lift people's spirits, and to bring them together. That's the way I kept score."

~Bill Clinton

Scientific Marvels

  1. Space travel
  2. Heart surgery
  3. Fibre-optics communication
  4. Concorde
  5. Computers & Radios
  6. Anesthetics
  7. The atom bomb

My Supreme Desire

Although I'd like to be rich and famous, my supreme desire is to be radiant: to radiate health, cheerfulness, calm courage and goodwill. I wish to live without hate, guilt, worry, jealousy, cynicism and envy. I wish to be honest, natural, confident, clean in mind and body - ready to say "I do not know" if it be so and to treat all men with kindness - to meet any loss, failure, criticism and rejection unabashed and unafraid.



Greatest American Presidents

  1. Abraham Lincoln
  2. George Washington
  3. Thomas Jefferson
  4. Franklin Roosevelt
  5. Theodore Roosevelt
  6. Woodrow Wilson
  7. Andrew Jackson

Making Peace With the Past

"Dwell not on your past. Use it to illustrate a point, then leave it behind. Nothing really matters except what you do now in this instant of time. From this moment onwards you can be an entirely different person, filled with love and understanding, ready with an outstretched hand, uplifted and positive in every thought and deed."

~Eileen Caddy

Toughest Colleges to Get Into

  1. MIT
  2. Princeton
  3. Harvard
  4. Yale
  5. Stanford
  6. Brown
  7. Columbia

Why You Should Trust God

"Men and women who turn their lives over to God will find out that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities and pour out peace."

~Ezra Taft Benson

The 7 Greatest Scientists

  1. Albert Einstein
  2. Isaac Newton
  3. Galileo Galilei
  4. Nikola Tesla
  5. Aristotle
  6. Archimedes
  7. Charles Darwin

You Matter

"Always be yourself. Never try to hide who you are. The only shame is to have shame. Always stand up for what you believe in. Always question what other people tell you. Never regret the past; it's a waste of time. There's a reason for everything. Every mistake, every moment of weakness, every terrible thing that has happened to you, grow from it. The only way you can ever get the respect of others is when you show them that you respect yourself and most importantly, do your thing and never apologize for being you."

~Unknown

The Most Industrialized Nations

  1. United States
  2. Japan
  3. Germany
  4. France
  5. United Kingdom
  6. Italy
  7. Canada

Keys to Success

"...in his effort to withstand temptation, to economize, to exercise thrift, to disregard the superficial for the real - the shadow for the substance; to be great yet small, in his effort to be patient in the laying of a firm foundation; to so grow in skill and knowledge that he shall place his services in demand by reason of his intrinsic and superior worth. This is the key that unlocks every door of opportunity, and all others fail."

~Booker T. Washington

The 7 Social Sins

  1. Politics without principle
  2. Wealth without work
  3. Pleasure without conscience
  4. Knowledge without character
  5. Commerce without morality
  6. Worship without sacrifice
  7. Science without humanity

Cherish What You Love

"Cherish your visions, cherish your ideals, cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts - for out of them will grow all heavenly environment, of these if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built."~James Allen

The World's Largest Cities

  1. London in England
  2. New York in the United States
  3. Tokyo in Japan
  4. Berlin in Germany
  5. Chicago in the United States
  6. Shanghai in China
  7. Paris in France

Benefits of Optimism

"In terms of success, optimistic people out perform their pessimistic colleagues. Research shows that they are consistently promoted higher and make more money while working fewer hours than those who think pessimistically. Optimists also contribute more significantly to social progress. It is the optimists who start and run successful companies, who win elections and carry out reforms, and who make breakthroughs in the realms of science and technology."

~Pepe Minambo

The World's Greatest Lakes

  1. Caspian Sea in the Commonwealth of Independent States, C.I.S. (formerly U.S.S.R)
  2. Lake Superior in North America
  3. Victoria Nyanza in Central Africa
  4. Aral Sea in C.I.S.
  5. Lake Huron in North America
  6. Lake Michigan in North America

Demonstrating His Love

"Take your communication for instance - the way you address others. It ought to be with loving, gracious and edifying words. Never talk people down. Never use words that hurt and demean people. Communicate excellently with others without destroying their self-image or making them feel sorry for themselves. Talk to people in a way that they never forget the excellence of your words, the love and grace of Christ that you communicated. It's how God wants us to love."

~Dr. Chris Oyakhilome

World's Longest Rivers

  1. Missouri-Mississipi (U.S.)
  2. Amazon (Brazil)
  3. Nile (Egypt)
  4. Yangtse (China)
  5. Lena (Russia)
  6. Zaire (Central Africa)
  7. Niger (West Africa)