“YOUR STARTING DOES NOT MATTER”

                           Author: Rockslyn Alwyn Findlay

It is obvious that science has proven that no two individuals are the same. No matter how twins can be so identical, there is still an apparent difference between them. It's also no hiding fact that no matter what we try to do in comparing ourselves to other people, we will still visualize the truth that we are not all the same. There are those people who are seated high above us and there are those who are way beneath us. The world is made up of great people; diverse in character, attitude, wealth and intelligence.

Your place of birth or origin of birth cannot in any way determine what you will become in life. Some people were born in ultramodern hospitals while others were delivered under the scariest conditions but that should not limit your purpose in life. The truth is, in this life, we are all not in the same level and will never be. One thing that is sure is that not all great start that ends great. What I'm saying here is, it doesn't matter where a person starts in life, what is more important is how they react to their current status so as to change the narrative.

Create the future for yourself and stop the blame game. It will be of no good if all you could do is castigate others for your situation. History do provides us with a protracted list of so many people who had a tough start in life, but today, those people have been victorious against all other impediments. People like STEVE JOBS, TOM COOK, BILL GATES, LIONEL MESSI, THOMAS EDISON, BARACK OBAMA, NELSON MANDELA, CRISTIANO RONALDO, and ALIKO DANGOTE etc...... All had a rough start in life, yet they subjugated all the challenges and today they are victors. These people did not inherit success by way of their DNA, but rather, they created the future they wanted for themselves and today the world is celebrating them. We cannot all be sons and daughters of rich parents at the same time simply because God did not wanted it to be so.

See, it takes a person who is much more determined to creating a brighter future for him/her that can attain greatness. Don't you ever neglect the power to start small in life? GREAT STARTERS are not always WINNERS and WINNERS are not always GREAT STARTERS. Sounds funny right??...... Be yourself and at all times, don't let negative thoughts fill up your imaginations. Never you compare yourself with anybody or try to compete with other people because you have a destiny to fulfill. Comparison LIMITS our intrinsic POWER to do great and mighty WORKS.

Stop depending on other people for you to succeed in this life. I tell you for sure, nothing comes by luck or chance. The same people, who write you off TODAY, will be the ones applauding you TOMORROW. You've got a great task ahead to alter your present state of affairs and start designing a new plan for your life. See, SUCCESS has many relatives but POVERTY has none. When you are wealthy, people will come to wine and dine with you but when you are poor, no one will even dare it to draw closer to you. Don't try to believe what I say........ Just try it.......

Believe that you are exceptional and you can break newer grounds. Your background has nothing to do with your future neither is your destiny also tied to your parents, family, friends, spouses etc...... Society is looking out for those people who will refuse to accept the STATUS QUO they are faced with. CHAMPIONS are people who believe in themselves even when nobody does. According to WAYNE DYER, "The only limits you have are the limits you believe".

THE POWER TO SUCCEED IS IN YOU.

MESSAGE TO YOUTH

Author: Billy Harry T. Sesay

“Never make someone a priority when you are only an option”

True words are hardly spoken. Therefore, the less you associate with people of positive mindset the more your life will improve, and anytime you tolerate mediocrity on others, it increases your mediocrity as well. A common attribute to any successful people, is their disassociation with negative thinking and negative acting people.

In the path of growth, your association and interaction with others will change, some of your friends would not like seen you progressing, and they would want you to stay where they are. Friends who do not wish to see you climb up would want you to crawl; they will stretch your vision or suffocate your dream. Those who do not help in improving your life will eventually decreases you.

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:

NEVER RECEIVE COUNSELING FROM UNPRODUCTIVE PEOPLE.

Never discuss your problem with people incapable of contributing to solution, because those who NEVER succeed are always the first to discourage your zeal to success.

Not everyone has the right to speak into your life, you are certain to get the worst out of bad deal when you exchange ideas with wrong people. Do not follow anyone who moves not. Remember to invest in your mind and spent good time with positive and creative minds.

Be careful where you stop to ask for a direction along the road of life, for wise is the person who fortifies his/her life with right friendships. Therefore, if you run with wolfs you will learn how to "how'd" but if you fly with eagles you will definitely go for higher height. A mirror reflects a man's face but his true identity is shown by the type of friends he chooses, the simple fact of life is, you become like those people to whom you closely associate with either for good and bad.

The logic of success and happy life is applicable to family as well as friends, YES!! Do love and be appreciable to your family for they will always be your family no matter what, just know that they are also humans although they are family to you, but they are friends to someone else which makes them fit somewhere in the criteria above. In prosperity, our friends know us, in adversity we rather know our friends. Never make someone a priority when you are only an option.

If you are wishing to achieve success in big things develop the habit in doing little matters. In the words of Mather Teresa, “we do not need to do great things, but little things with great love”. Excellence therefore, is not an option but a prevailing attitude.   

            Author Brief Profile:

Billy Harry T. Sesay is a young Sierra-Leonean academic with deep passion for entrepreneurship, writing and activism. Over the years, Billy improved the lives of many young people across Sierra-Leone and beyond. Graduated with a  Bachelor Degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Makeni and he is Presently working as Finance and Admin Officer in the Northern part of Sierra-Leone, Makeni.

THE POWER TO SUCCEED IS IN YOU. By Rockslyn Alwyn Findlay

THE POWER TO SUCCEED IS IN YOU

Author: Rockslyn Alwyn Findlay.

The power to succeed is always present in us. Even though we do fall so many times on our faces, we should never think of completely submitting to these odd moments. Most people all over the world are seriously undergoing difficult moments, be it in their relationships, marriages, career pathways, as well as in their social interactions with others. I've come to let you know that your story is not yet over; I see success ahead of you. A man or a woman who is to succeed is someone who goes beyond just been an ordinary person. It takes extraordinary individuals who are very much determined to overwrite the stories of their sad past that can break through into the ranks of successful people. At this point, I know a lot of people might want to ask what it means to be extraordinary. Oh! That's quite simple. In my honest opinion, I believe it means embarking on a phenomenal journey thereby trying to do the things you've never done before and going beyond the unthinkable. As JIM ROHN indicates it, "If you are not willing to risk the usual you will have to settle for the ordinary". That is virtually true because being extraordinary requires expanding your reality as well as everything around you.

Extraordinary individuals do take stupendous steps when faced with challenges in order to bounce back and stay on track. Do not run away from your challenges because the only place without a challenge is in the grave. Your challenges define the person you are. Refuse to be HUMILATED and DEBASED by your challenges. You have absolutely everything you need to outweigh your problems; don't just give up on yourself. Remember, this is your life and nobody else's so you have to be strong no matter what you are faced with now. I don't care the magnitude of your problem; all I want you to know is that you are special and that you have the God given ability to turn your story around. So don't ever forget that. Confront your challenges with a great deal of TENACITY and don't let anyone or anything steal that steam from you. Choose what is best and appropriate for yourself and not what others have subscribed to you earlier on.

Your life is a gift given to you by God for a reason and so you must cherish it. If there is anything you must be grateful for, then that must be the gift of life which God has given unto you. Be ready to be tested over and over again because we can't live without undergoing tests. In times like these you are face with, your husband, wife, families, friends, colleagues, society, and even your own shadow may give up on you but refuse to give up on yourself. Be happy when certain people totally abandon you in moments like these because in the journey to SUCCESS everyone is a SUSPECT. Not all the friends you have on Facebook, WhatsApp, Intstagram, We chat, Twitter, or Snap chat that will still be there for you to celebrate with you on your success. A great number of them would have left. Ignore those who left and work on developing yourself because at the end of the day, you will be more concerned with the HONOR and not the HURTS. Say to yourself always, "I am a winner and I am destined to succeed. No one or anything can't make me look small".

As ELEANOR ROOSEVELT puts it, "Do what you feel in your heart to be right for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't." I know this might be hard for many people but the utmost truth is we must always learn to bounce back from our challenges if we are to succeed in this journey of life.

THE POWER TO SUCCEED IS IN YOU.

                            Author: Rockslyn Alwyn Findlay

Pen Foundation School of Leadership organized first Departmental Presidential Debate for Accounting/ Banking and Finance Society, University of Makeni.

THE PEN FOUNDATION INAUGURAL CEREMONY OF FOUNDING MEMBERS

THE PEN FOUNDATION INAUGURAL CEREMONY OF FOUNDING MEMBERS

Guided by the power of God and the spirit of reading, creative writing, research and social analysis, and putting the ethos and goals of the University of Makeni in mind, The Pen Foundation strives to be academia of excellence in training competent scholars and leaders in Sierra-Leone and Africa as a whole and to disseminate productive information for social transformation through research. Therefore, having fulfilled the necessary requirement, the foundation conducted an induction ceremony for founding members on the 17^th July 2017, University of Makeni Sylvanus Koroma Campus. The ceremony was grace with the presence of the Registrar of the University of Makeni, Rev. Fr. Dr. Francis S. Sesay, Deputy Registrar Madam Jane Matthias, The University Chaplain Rev. Sr. Magadalene Umo, former Exams officer and Hon. Member of Parliament Mr. Mohamed Albert Tarawally, University Deans and Heads of departments and AYV TV. The Pen Founding members Pledge to faithfully preserve, protect and defend the vision and the constitution of the Pen Foundation and strive to build new generation of African writers and Leaders.

To constitute active membership

ü  Members must be an outstanding student with the grade point of at least 4.00 GPA and above.

ü  Should not have had any misdemeanor or bad record.

ü  A member must be a person with deep sense of ethics and dignity.

ü  A member must be a person with deep passion for learning, writing with leadership qualities.

ü  A member must be an outstanding communicator able to analyze critically national and international issues.

ü  A member must place the Foundation’s interest above personal interest.

The Pen Foundation Founding Members induction ceremony.

Pen Founding Members

 Pen Foundation Founding Members

Pen School of Leadership

 Pen School Of Research/ Creative writing.

Pen School of Social Analyses

ARE YOU USING YOUR TIME WISELY? Author: Rockslyn Alwyn Findlay

ARE YOU USING YOUR TIME WISELY?

                      Author: Rockslyn Alwyn Findlay

I need everyone to keenly go through this. Many researchers all over the world, have really tried in fully understanding what time is, but are still confused due to it ambiguity. Some are of the belief that time began during the BIG BANG THEORY while couple of others do have contravening views. However, science has come up with several discoveries of what "TIME" is and how it all started, but for the purpose of this piece, I won't delve too deep into the studies of science. As human beings, I sincerely believe that we owe a greater obligation in making effective use of our time each day. The problem of most people today, is that they spend considerable amount of time in doing things that won't mold them into been better people in society. However, I want to draw up a simple logic in the understanding of what time is and why we ought to value it. Firstly, without time, we do not exist because it is a unit of measure. Secondly, time is priceless which literally means we can use it but not own it; we can spend it but can't keep it. Thirdly, time is one of the few things we all have in common.

With the above been stated, we can't keep on procrastinating our time while we engage ourselves in things that are of little or no essence to us at all. TONY ROBBINS once stated "You can't make more time, but you can learn to use it better". This in simple words means spending your time wisely guarantees success. LIFE and TIME are intertwined in nature because life explains how we as human beings should make good use of our time whiles time on the extreme end, teaches us how to value life. Time is valuable and it moves in only one direction which when lost can never return back. I want to urge you this day, to get rid of the less important things that occupy the greater amount of your energy and focus on those things that matters most to you. Be mindful that we only have one life to live and no second chance at all so we must not afford to waste even a second of our time because in counting time, we start with a second. Crying for a bad marriage or a failed relationship or spending the entire days of our lives on social media or rather chatter aimlessly and pointlessly with friends on things that will not benefit you is of no use at all.

Stop spending time with the wrong people because they won't bring out the best in you. People who suck the happiness out of you shot not be welcomed. Time is our most valuable asset; once it's gone, it's gone for good. Time is more precious than money, so don't waste it. Forget about the years you've wasted, start think of reevaluating your priorities from today. Remember, God is the ultimate author of time and at any time from now, he will take back from you that which he has given you. Amidst all your mistakes in the past, and the challenges you are currently faced with, life definitely must move on.

THE POWER TO SUCCEED IS IN YOU.

Pen Poet

HAVING THE RIGHT MINDSET. Author: Rockslyn Alwyn Findlay.

HAVING THE RIGHT MINDSET

                                                Author: Rockslyn Alwyn Findlay.

Everything that happens to us whether good or bad is a manifestation of our thoughts. Your life is an expression of the way you think of yourself. If we are to be happy in this life and do exploit, depends upon the stature of our thoughts. As MOHANDAS GANDHI puts it "A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes." Think for a minute, have you ever pondered why other people around you have climbed up many steps ahead of you in the success ladder? Why is it that you are still where you were several years, months, weeks, and days ago without any corresponding shift? I tell you for free, you can't locate success if you are still operating in the negative state. The reason why some people are rich and others are poor truly exhibits the kind of person they are in their thoughts. Rich men and women will continue to be richer every day because they don't just think, but also act, they don't just wish, but as well works relentlessly in pursuing what they want while poorer men and women always sit back doing absolutely nothing towards changing the narratives for their lives. Successful people are those who steadily back their vision by the much needed efforts they put in in order to succeed. Believe that you have the mindset of a warrior, the one which guarantees you of achieving absolutely anything you so desire.

When you go to bed and wake up in the morning, start each day with a positive thought about yourself. Remember, your life is rooted on your mindset. Even in the midst of broadening and accelerating challenges, you have to be positive. Let's change the way we think, let's change the way we give in too easily on things that we have the capacity to overcome. Get rid of the mindset that created your present state of being and switch over to creating a new reality in your life. ALBERT EINSTEIN has a famous saying which reads: "We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created it." Don't just dream of success, rather work hard for it. Unless you are hardworking and truly stubborn about your dreams, it will be impossible for you to make changes to the narrative. Just by really concentrating our thoughts on the things we envision, we can surely accomplish them because our mindset becomes our reality. Why you are still terrified of doing what is right for yourself. The only person that can bring you down is yourself. Here is the secret, over the past years, I have failed so much and made huge mistakes but that didn't stop me from pursuing further. Below are few tips I used which helped me greatly and I do believe will be of relevance to you also:

• Be prepared to take risk.

• Always see failure as an ingredient of success.

• Get rid of the limiting beliefs hunting your mind.

• Believe that you can succeed.

• Exhibit aggressiveness thereby eliminating the likelihood of failing.

• Stay focused.

• Align yourself with the right people you want to be like.

• Refuse to be distracted by anyone or anything.

• Revolutionize your life by reading books and stories of great men and women.

I want to crave on your indulgence this day to do away with the old fashioned way of thinking and act differently. Life is more than just a dream; see the prospect of achieving greatness beyond your challenges. Train your mind to lift you up into where you are destined to be. "The only thing you cannot do is what you have not attempted to do; if you will dare it you will do it." ~ OLUGBENGA STEPHEN ASAOLU. Improve on yourself and possess the winning mentality to succeed.

THE POWER TO SUCCEED IS IN YOU.

Author's Brief Profile:

Rockslyn Alwyn Findlayis a young Sierra-Leonean writer, social activist and Motivational speaker. A graduate from the University of Makeni with a Bachelors degree in Human Resource Management. Rockslyn has inspired and changed the lives of many young people with his motivational talks and writings over the years.

THE CHAMELEONS by Henry M.S. Kargbo

THE CHAMELEONS

                                                    Author: Henry M.S. Kargbo

Like humming bees within my head

When the living feed on the fossils of the dead

I feel the burden and tantrums of a world devoid of virtues

Where the voters are deceived on what they rely

As the chameleons, all they’ve said they’re soon to deny.

Slowly with deceit and cunny they walk

Skilled in their tongues to persuade when they talk

They are but chameleons

Disguised in deceitful robes amid the poor flock

With itchy fingers to the honey comb they rush to get stock.

Like parasites on the pockets of the ruled, they derive

On the voters they prey

In their power thirst ambitious drive

What fate is ours O lord I pray!

When with patience and fallacy, they walk to the power comb;

And thus the electorate on hearing their sweet words, they believe;

With their ugly true colors yet unfold,

Their dream, they eventually achieve.

In green skins on the greenery fields flashing virtues to the masses

That their votes shall flourish to feed the hungry

With sugary oration like biblical vases

In their quest to commit burglary.

O woe the day

Long gone

When we cast to devil our votes away

A deed once & all done

Whence ours votes are thieved

Their true colors they haste to unfold

For vote of thanks they ensure we’re grieved

And of sweet tales never to be told

Where forth goes all the promises

I know not

For the only harvests we eat of are but bruises

Of a sugary coated bitter nut.

Henry M.S. Kargbo is a young Sierra-Leonean academic and poet pursuing a Bachelors Degree in Law (LLB) at the University of Makeni. Founding Member of the Pen Foundation, social Analysts and legal scholars.