Happy holidays!

Happy Holidays everybody,

E ku odun eku iyedun emi wa yio se pupo re laye ati laaye wa o ,

With Christmas a few days away, it's beginning to look a lot festive.

So, it's shopping time, party time, vacation time, family time, gift giving time, bonus time, travel time, football time, basketball time, TV time etc. With all of that, and the economy, and politics, and even the unrest world - it's time to celebrate!

How will you be celebrating?

These are my personal recommendations for maximum holiday enjoyment.

a. Send cards that are lovely to as many as you can.

b. Spend as much time as you can to play with kids yours and relatives`. They relax you and bring you back to a less stressful time. 

c. Get together with the people closest to you and tell them how grateful you are that they're in your life.  

d. Stay positive. Stay sober. And stay focused on family,

e. Make peace with at least one person. There's someone you'll see during the season that's not your favorite. Talk it out if possible and make it a better relationship. You'll feel great!

f Be your own Santa Claus. Buy yourself something nice. Something you really want if you can afford it!

I feel grateful to all members that YAJ is alive and functioning today.

You have missed a lot if you did not attend this year, but we love you and we missed you. Let’s do it together next year, igi kan kole da igbo se o.

Odun tuntun ti ombo yio se oju emi gbogbo wa o!

President.

Rounding up!

E ku dee de iwoyi o! meaning, good day!

Wow it`s December! It’s just like yesterday when we all said Happy New year, wasn`t it? We go through series of holidays or celebrations from Ileya (Eid al-Adha) Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas to close the year.

It has been a wonderful year and I`m sure we all have something to thank God for this year. We want to thank you all for attending our last meeting. We also thank you all for your contribution especially Mr. Gabriel for sharing his experience on how to successfully raise children in Japan despite a very short notice. Even though there was no much questions for that Q & A slot we created which was a forum to air our opinions, ideas, complaints, concerns etc. We do not want to assume that everything is fine. We always want us to, like someone put it,” dare to ask” and “let`s agree to disagree” to give room for creativity in solving problems in our community. The fact is that most of the biggest catastrophes that we've witnessed rarely come from information that is secret or hidden. It comes from information that is freely available and out there, but that we are willfully blind to, because we can't handle, don't want to handle, the conflict that it provokes. But when we dare to break that silence, or when we dare to see or ask, and we create conflict, we enable ourselves and the people around us to do our very best thinking. It was an example of what we experienced at the last meeting and it is a healthy way of helping the association to grow starting from each one of us developing habit of being patient, listening more, understanding one another more and to love one another more.

Open information is fantastic, open networks are essential. But the truth won't set us free until we develop the skills and the habit and the talent and the moral courage to use it. Openness isn't the end. It's the beginning to taking our association to a higher level.

Thank you everyone once again, wishing you a happy and healthy month as we round up the year especially if you were born in December.

Segun.

Happy holidays

E ku deede iwoyio!

Develop good habits.

E ku dee de iwoyi o meaning good day!

It has been a great pleasure to be able to share this topic with you all.

It is hard to believe that we are in November and the year is almost running out. We have talked at length about habit and or attitudes and we can never exhaust the topic. Attitudes are nothing more than habits of thoughts.The bottom line is that a good habit is a major road to succeed in life.A habit is a tendency or practice that is difficult to give up. While some habits can be positive, others are bad and we could certainly do without, especially those that are relics of a previous era. Developing new habits or expectations can lead to a cultural shift and to new organizational norms.The process for developing habits, good or bad is the same. Habits are not instincts; they are acquired actions or reactions. Once the original caused is determined, it is within your power to accept or reject it.

SOME HABITS ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN!

The following may help you in changing bad habits into good ones.

1.   List your bad habits.( it may be toward your spouse or partner etc. causing you stress)

2.   What was the original cause?

3.   Determine a positive habit to replace the bad one.

4.   Think about the good habit and its benefits.

5.   Take action to develop this habit.

6.    Daily act upon this habit for reinforcement.

As you proceed, you will be amazed as this will go viral in our community and as lives will turn from ashes to glory.After all said and done our community will excel which is what we all hope and pray for. Make a pledge about these and actions you will take or changes you will make and be part of a movement to move the association forward.Tell people with negative norms or thinking or mindset or attitude toward the association that their thinking is outdated!Tell them to come and be part of the good things happening and about to happen or they will miss out!

Our newly elected executive inauguration was a wonderful experience.

Thank you all for making it happen.

We look forward to your support in various ways.

Have a wonderful November.

Segun.

PS. Our sincere birthday wishes to you if you were born in November. Good health and prosperity always.

Habit-Importance.

Eku deede iwoyi o meaning good day.

I chose this title from part of this question; why is habit or attitude important? To be on the track of this year`s theme. We are on the last spot and hope you are not tired yet of all these messages, I’m sure you must have gained one or two things. Hardly a day passes without the word habit or attitude entering a conversation. It may be used as a complaint or a compliment. It could mean the difference between a promotion or demotion. Sometimes we sense it other times we see it.Yet it is very difficult to explain. A person who gives a look that kills is not probably singing "something good is going to happen to you today "inwardly. Attitude is the advance man of our true self, its roots are inward, but fruit is outward. It is our best friend and our worst enemy. It is more consistent and more honest than our words. It is a thing that draws people to us or repels them and it is the prophet of our future. A Yoruba adage says “eefin niwa..” meaning, attitude or character is like smoke, it is never content until it is expressed. Having known this, think of your goal and where you are presently. Evaluate your attitude what is your performance indicator as a result of that attitude in other words, how do you think your habit or attitude is affecting or influencing your life progress toward the goal , your association, community or people around you. Do it for yourself and make amendments where necessary. No matter how old you are, you can still change some bad ones. The very fact that the attitude makes some and breaks others is significant enough for us to explore its importance.

Congratulations to the newly elected executives, congratulations to the electoral committee and congratulations to all the members for successful and peaceful election. We have a lot of work to do and we need to do it together.

A o ko ere oko dele o. Oodua yio gbewa o.

Have a wonderful October!

Segun.
PS.Happy birthday to you from us if you were born in October.Wishing you good health and prosperity always.

September.

Enle mbeun o! meaning hello!

Believe it or not we are in September! I would like to thank you all who were able to attend our BBQ this year especially Chief Adewole, one of our patrons who came from a very far distance and those who were able to bring their family. We thank you so much for your love for the progress of the association.For those who could not make it this year for some reasons,we do understand,we love you and we missed you! Let`s do it together next time and move the association higher.Talking about move,someone once said,"all mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move".It is those who move that encourage a movement and a movement encourages revolution.Let`s have a habit of being a mover to create the association`s growth and success revolution because without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.If you`re still doubting,we need each other and each one of us matter.I will like to express my appreciation on behalf of the association to the incumbent executives for the job well done this past two years.Thank you very much !Have a wonderful September everybody and remember to join us for the upcoming election at the end of this month.Thank you!

Segun,

President.

Summertime!

Ekudede iwoyio,

I just wanted to leave a short message for you this hot August.

As we are experiencing changes all over the world especially back home.I want to share some of many questions that keep coming up to mind day in day out with various answers;

Why is it so difficult to change the world? I think it is because we can’t even change ourselves. We struggle our entire lives to find a place of balance and happiness. Then I want to challenge you to the habit of asking yourself these other questions too: why is it all so hard? What steps can we take to find personal happiness so we’re able to improve the world we live in? Because “Ile lati nkeso rode”(in Yoruba) which means” Charity begins at home”. Adopting this habit and seeking answers to the questions will definitely make a great impact. Also, we will be able to live and associate in peace and harmony

Please take care, drink a lot of water if you have to go out in this hot weather.

Happy August

Segun.

Second half.

E ku deede iwoyi o.

Have you ever made a resolution in July? It's the beginning of the second half of the year. Maybe you want to give the failed resolutions from January another chance. Or maybe you achieved those goals and you'd like to be just as productive in the second half of 2015. But maybe you'd just like to make a short term resolution. Sometimes I think those are easier to keep, because they're more immediate. If you like this idea, what is your resolution for the rest of the year? As for me,my theme (Habit) still remains the same. I would like to add that you should Examine your philosophy, or your way of thinking. How are you seeing things? What lens are you using? Are you always searching for people`s mistakes or trying to understand? The capacity to understand others eliminates many of the common causes of friction among men. It is the basis of all harmony and cooperation among men. It is the foundation of all friendship irrespective of age or gender. But, the man who will understand others must first understand himself. With understanding habit, we will absolutely excel as an individual and association.

A o ko ere oko dele o

Have a wonderful July!

Segun.

Second quarter.

E ku deede iwoyio! Meaning hello!

I want to congratulate you for finishing the first quarter of the year and starting the second.

Do you remember that my theme for this year is Habit?

If you were asked that, what is one thing that will likely determine a person`s success more than any other? Your answers may sound like job, money, education, and time. I believe that our attitude is the primary force that will determine whether we succeed or fail. History's greatest achievements have been made by men and women who excelled only slightly over the masses of others in their fields. Many times, the difference was attitude. Yet success or failure in any undertaking can more often be traced back to mental attitude than mental capacity. A university president once gave advice to the president of another school: "Always be kind to your A and B students. Some of them will return to your campus as a good professor. And also be kind to your C students. Someday one of them will return and build a $2 million science laboratory." 

There is very little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.Attitude makes habit, habit makes character and character makes a man.So, let us always maintain good or positive attitude in any situation.We still have many more chances to accomplish a lot more this year. The sky is the limit. Thank you always for supporting the association.

Have a wonderful May!

Segun.

President.

Meeting

Greetings to you all,

I want to apologize for not posting on the blog for a long time.It has been a busy first quarter of the  year finishing up my second book and business expansion.Thank you all for your support. God will continue to lead us and take us to the highest level both in our private lives and our association. Let`s remember that this a community. We need to continue to cultivate it. Cultivating a community requires commitment, honesty, humility, courtesy and confidentiality. Courtesy is respecting our differences, being considerate of each other`s feelings and patient with other people even when they irritate us. Community is like a family. In a family, acceptance is not based on how smart, beautiful or talented you are. It is based on the fact that we belong to each other. Real community happens when people know it is safe to share their doubts and fears without being judged. Only in this acceptance and trusted confidentiality will people open up and share their deepest hurts,needs and mistakes. Thank you all for creating this type of community in Yoruba Association Japan.This will serve as a base for the next generations to come.

Have a wonderful April and looking forward to seeing you soon.

Segun,

President.

New Year.

Happy New Year to you everyone !!!

 We would like to share this with you as we have just started the new year.

People often make new year resolutions some which they can not fulfill,but we decided to choose a theme for the whole year.The theme is Habit.

These are some habits we need to adopt this year to be able to have success both in our private  and public lives.

1.    Be proactive. Proactive people do more than talk and they are agents of change.

2.    Begin with the end in mind always. Shape your own future by creating mental vision and purpose for any project, large or small personal or interpersonal.

3.    Put first things first.

4.    Think win-win always.

5.    Seek first to understand and then to be understood.

6.    Synergize. Synergetic people see the third alternative or option.i.e not my way,not your way,but a third way.

7.    Sharpen or renew yourself. In these four areas, Physical, emotional,mental and spiritual.

8.    Team up for tomorrow. We can achieve more as a team.

9.    Stay Focused and Disciplined.

    10. Respect the dignity of others. Remember, what goes around comes around.

We believe that by adopting these habits,our world will be better and we can live an effective life.

New Year is the perfect time to celebrate love, friendships and all the good things in life. Let's take the time to appreciate what last year has given us and what the new one is about to bring! Happy New Year!

Aseyi samodun o!

President.