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Call to Christians worldwide to pray for Nigeria | Christian News on Christian Today

Call to Christians worldwide to pray for Nigeria | Christian News on Christian Today

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ADDRESS BY DR JOYCE ARYEE

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EIGTH CONGREGATION OF CENTRAL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE WELCOME ADDRESS BY DR JOYCE ARYEE, CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF CENTRAL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE - SATURDAY 31ST OCTOBER 2009

The Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, Mr. John Mahama, the Chancellor of the Central University College, Dr. Mensa Otabil, President of Central University College Prof. Victor Gadzekpo, Hon. Minister for Education, Mr. Alex Tettey Enyo, the Guest Speaker, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, Members of the Board of Regents, Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Professor Nana Jane Opoku Agyemang, Vice Chancellors, Presidents, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Members of Convocation, Members of the Clergy, Neneme, Distinguished Invited Guests, Graduands, Students, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with a special joy that I welcome you all to another treasured moment in the lives of our students and the University. Congregations are the most sacred events in the life of universities, it is the day set aside to award degrees, diplomas and certificates to deserving graduands. It is a festival of excellence at which talent, hard work and distinction are acknowledged and rewarded.

As I look around, I am amazed at the faithfulness of the God who made all this possible. Those of you who know this campus would testify that two years ago, most of this land was just a forest. Yet today, it is a bustling beehive of activity, nature has been tamed, order had been brought into chaos, and we all sit to celebrate. It was also just three years ago on 21st April 2007, that I welcomed the very first batch of our MBA students. Now, all too soon, I am here to wish you well on you graduation day. We congratulate you for having stayed to the end.

As I survey the seated, expectant graduands, I cannot help but ask myself what your individual story is. What challenges and adversities did you overcome to sit here today? What seemingly insurmountable difficulties, pressures, and despairing moments did you overcome to see this day? Doubtless, each one of you has a story to tell. I salute the undergraduate student who deferred his programme two times for lack of money, and almost dropped out, but managed to get here today to be recognized. I salute the mother in the MBA programme who decided to go back to school and develop a career even though time had passed, and hope was almost lost. To all of you who made it through the fire and the pressure, congratulations.

I want to share with you some lessons from the story of a diamond, a pearl and a rain drop. Sometimes, the most beautiful and precious things have interesting stories to tell. By observing nature, we can learn many lessons applicable to our lives. And I hope that you would take something from nature with you as you leave the corridors of school to re-enter the world of work, or to start out afresh, with hope and anticipation of a bright future.

The word "Diamond" comes from the greek word "Adamas", which means indestructible. Diamonds are made from carbon. They are formed by high pressure and high temperature. They are formed deep in the earth, between 120 and 200 kilometres from the earth’s surface. When tremendous pressure is put on carbon, it melts at high temperature. If the conditions are right, it will eventually form diamonds. How it eventually gets to the surface is another story all together. Usually, it is during volcanic explosions. Then we discover them, cut and polish them, and place them on our fingers and necks. That is why they say pressure makes diamonds.

The same is true of people. Many of the enduring and successful people we have in the world were forged in the furnace of adversity and pressure. The same process which puts you under pressure, may be the one which makes you shine. That is why you need to develop a new work ethic, to see work with different eyes, not as something we do to live, but a ministry, a God-given responsibility, something we live to do. You must not shirk responsibility and seek the easy way out of life. Remember, diamonds are formed by pressure.

The second illustration is the pearl. Pearls are formed within oysters. The formation of a pearl begins when a foreign substance enters into the oyster’s shell which irritate­s it. It could be a grain of sand, a broken shell or a piece of dirt. Because an oyster has no hands and feet, it cannot remove the irritant. The oyster's natural reaction is to cover up that irritant to protect itself. The oyster therefore covers the irritant with layers of the same substance that is used to create the shell. Over time, this eventually forms a pearl.

In life, you will do well to remember that you should not seek only the comfortable places of work, but also seek to serve in whatever capacity God places you. You must decide to transform your environment into the paradise you want to live in. Whenever you find yourself in a situation you do not like, do not always turn and run. Remember the pearl. It may be a call to service. What irritates you may make you a pearl of great price.

The last lesson to remember is learned from observing rain drops. At the heart of every rain drop is a speck of dust. Scientists tell us that before a drop of rain can be formed, particles of water vapour must meet with particles of dust. Scientists call them aerosols. Without these particles of dust, rain clouds cannot form. Every one of us is imperfect in one way or the other. It is a fact of life. No individual is self sufficient. Remember the rain drop. If you would achieve much in life, you cannot do it alone. Work together. And don’t allow your weaknesses to pull you back. We wash all things with water. But at the heart of the rain is a piece of dust. God has so ordained our lives that we should glory in our imperfections. We are complete only when we work together.

This is our eighth graduation, and we are grateful to God that we are also graduating our largest number of candidates yet. It is my hope that your years of hard work and dedication will be rewarded with fruitful and meaningful careers when you pass out of our doors today. We also pray that the fruits of your studies shall be rewarding to yourselves and your families; that you shall put your knowledge at the service of society and community; and that with the help of your contributions this country shall become a winning nation.

I have confidence in the training that our graduands have received. I have confidence in the institutions that facilitated your education. I also have confidence in the God who has begun a good work in you. Congratulations, and may your future be filled with great things.

Once again, welcome to all of you on this august occasion.

Motivating me: Brian Tracy quotes

Successful people are simply those with successful habits.
Brian Tracy

Teamwork is so important that it is virtually impossible for you to reach the heights of your capabilities or make the money that you want without becoming very good at it.
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The greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance.
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The happiest people in the world are those who feel absolutely terrific about themselves, and this is the natural outgrowth of accepting total responsibility for every part of their life.
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The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire not things we fear.
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The more credit you give away, the more will come back to you. The more you help others, the more they will want to help you.
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The more you seek security, the less of it you have. But the more you seek opportunity, the more likely it is that you will achieve the security that you desire.
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The person we believe ourselves to be will always act in a manner consistent with our self-image.
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Those people who develop the ability to continuously acquire new and better forms of knowledge that they can apply to their work and to their lives will be the movers and shakers in our society for the indefinite future.
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We will always tend to fulfill our own expectation of ourselves.
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Whatever we expect with confidence becomes our own self-fulfilling prophecy.
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Whatever you believe with feeling becomes your reality.
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Whatever you dwell on in the conscious grows in your experience.
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Winners make a habit of manufacturing their own positive expectations in advance of the event.
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You can become an even more excellent person by constantly setting higher and higher standards for yourself and then by doing everything possible to live up to those standards.
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You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.
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You have to put in many, many, many tiny efforts that nobody sees or appreciates before you achieve anything worthwhile.
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You have within you right now, everything you need to deal with whatever the world can throw at you.
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Your company's most valuable asset is how it is known to its customers.
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Your decision to be, have and do something out of ordinary entails facing difficulties that are out of the ordinary as well. Sometimes your greatest asset is simply your ability to stay with it longer than anyone else.
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Brian Tracy Quotes

Brian Tracy Quotes

June 4, 2010 Think Like a Millionaire By: Brian Tracy Attitude is Everything The most important attitude for financial success is long-term thinking. Successful people think a long way into the future and they adjust their daily behaviors to assure they achieve their long-term goals. In a longitudinal study done at Harvard University in the 50s and 60s, they studied the reasons for upward socio-economic mobility. They were looking for factors that would predict whether or not an individual or family was going to move upward and be wealthier in the future than in the present. They studied factors like education, intelligence, being born into the right family, or having the right connections. In every case, they found individuals who had been born with every blessing in life who did poorly. They also found individuals who had been born or come to this country with no advantages at all who had been extremely successful. What was the distinguishing factor? They finally determined that there was only one key attitude that mattered. They called it "Time Perspective." Time perspective refers to the amount of time that you take into consideration when planning your day to day activities and when making important decisions in your life. "The best way to change your life and achieve success...in minutes" Become a no-limit person! YOU can change your life by changing the way you think about yourself and your potential. YOU will open new doors to unlimited possibilities and put yourself on the road to a better, more fulfilling professional and personal life. Click for more >> Time Perspective People with long-time perspective invariably move up economically in the course of their lifetimes. When you spend weeks, months and years developing your skills and ability and expanding your experience in order to be successful, you have long-time perspective. The average professional person has a time perspective of 10, 15 and 20 years. Begin to see that everything that you are doing today is part of a long-time continuum, at the end of which you are going to be financially independent or financially unfortunate. People with short-time perspective think only about fun and pleasure in the short term. They have what economists call "The inability to delay gratification." They have an irresistible tendency to spend every single penny they earn and everything that they can borrow. When you develop long-time perspective, you develop the discipline to delay gratification and to save your money rather than spending it. The combination of long-time perspective and delayed gratification puts you onto the high road to financial independence. Action Exercises Now, here are two things you can do to develop the attitudes of financially successful people: First, think long-term about your financial life. Decide exactly how much you want to be worth five years, ten years and twenty years from today. Write it down. Make a plan. Take action on your plan every single day. Second, develop the ability to delay gratification. Instead of buying something on impulse, put off buying decisions for a day, a week or even a month. Decide in advance to "think it over" before you buy anything. This can change the way you spend money almost immediately. "Your Blueprint for Success and Achievement" If you want to set goals for yourself, but don't know where to start—this workbook is for you! This 31-day process will get you excited and motivated to define your goals and turn them into reality. Create your blueprint for a lifetime of success, prosperity and achievement! Click for more >>	Share With A Friend Know someone who might be interested in receiving this email? Why not share it with them! Get Involved! Follow me on Twitter. Become a fan on Facebook. Connect with me on LinkedIn. Change Your Email Update your email address. Contact Brian Tracy International 462 Stevens Ave Suite 305 Solana Beach, CA 92075 To order by phone or for customer support, call 1-858-436-7300 or email us at: support@briantracy.com. Customer Support Hours are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM PST Monday through Friday
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