It was when I became an adult that I came to understand the importance of negotiation. When it comes to negotiation, you must be prepared to work it out with your counterpart. Shying away from developing your negotiation skill may dwarf your ability to win.

If you have ever been to the market, bought a product, and happily run home to show someone how happy you are to buy that product. If you end up discovering that you have been beaten by your seller, how would you feel?

Most times, it is normal for people to go to the market with the hope and belief that they will make a good purchase at the best price suitable for them. But, the difference in the experience of the seller and the buyer usually plays a great role in how well you stand to bargain your price.

There are so many instances in life that you will be required to carry out negotiation. This is why it is important for schools to proactively cultivate the negotiation skills of their students.

How can one learn how to carry out negotiation?

All grown-up adults have passed through the teenage age. There are so many things that have become major influencers of a typical teenager. Some of these influencers are:

• Movies: teenagers are mostly carried away by their favorite movies. Well, I was greatly influenced by Jackie Chan, as well as Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger.
•  Music: Music has been one of the major influencers among the four mentioned in this post. Personally, I was influenced by rock bands like Coldplay.
• Sport: Many teenagers have been influenced by one particular sport. You will always find sporting events such as Soccer, Basketball, Athletics among the greatest influencers.
• Fashion: If you want to find out how well influencers like music, movies, and sport have influenced a teenager. You should look at their fashion choice. It is very easy to spot them with the latest fashion.
• Peer Group: To wrap it up, the four influencers above are pushed further by my peer groups. As it is with life in general, every age has its peer group.

Can you share those things that have influenced you or might be influencing you right now?

Growing up, I can still remember how my mum use to shout out our names. Now that I am an adult, after reflecting on some of the things I did during my teen, it startled me to find out that a lot has changed about me.

Most teenagers seem to see the world in a slightly different view from what they have been told during their early years.

In addition, the fast development of their physiology seems to create a lot of pressure on them.

This does not also exclude the over-exposure of this age group to the media which has been hyped in all dimensions.

This may be the reason why your boy of yesterday has become more of a challenge to you today.

Some ways that you can get around this period in parenting includes

1. Make communication your number priority. Falling short of understanding your teenager might create friction between you and your teenager.
2. Be patient with them.
3. Draw closer to them. In other words, make your teenage child your friend.

What other things do you think could help parents to easily have a good time during the care of their teenage children?

Many of us discovered Facebook much later in life. I could still remember that I was 17 then when I started using the social network.

One interesting observation crossed my mind when I went through my friend's timelines.

I discovered that most of them are gradually becoming inactive or what will call spectators. While those younger than me are the ones actively engaged in posting and sharing posts.

I could still remember then in college when I was very much active.

Does this show that the older users of Facebook usually become less active as they grow old? Maybe you might also help out if you have also observed the same trend.

On the other hand, I also discovered that more professional-minded people gravitated toward LinkedIn.

I think, when one grows older, we tend to pay more attention to those things that are dare and important to us.  

There is a high expectation for all the children across the globe to be able to go to school and receive some level of education.

While this outcry is great and should be held and applauded. The final result of education is the focus of this post.

With more youths graduating from various institutions of learning, there is also a rising problem with unemployment.

Is the unemployment problem caused by the kind of education received in schools? Well, that might be a debate for another day.

Some of the things that may be missing from in my opinion are that most students fail to really understand that fundamentally schools are meant to teach them how to learn.

What do they need to learn in school? It obviously how to solve problems especially real-life problems.

The second thing that I think every school should drive into their students is the skill of knowing how to earn a decent living. I believe this is where many problems related to unemployment will be drastically addressed.

Michael Jackson still remains an all-time artist with some of the greatest song lyrics. A lot of music lovers would always remember his dancing steps, vocals, and also outstanding lyrics contained in his songs.

Although he is no more with us. I believe that some of his songs still create the vibes they use to when he was alive.

What are some of the best songs of Michael that you could still remember and also enjoy listening to?

My top 5 songs of Michael Jackson's are:

• Heal the world
• Bad
• You are not alone
• Hold my hand
• Wanna be Startin Somethin

Are you once a fan of Michael, then what are your best collections of his songs?

While work is part of living a healthy life, there are some things that people usually do when they are working.

Personally, I love listening to music while I am working especially on my computer.

Some of the things that I have seen people doing when working are:

• Hissing: Some people usually hiss when they are stuck on the work they are doing and don’t know how to move on.
• Walk around: There are some that love to walk around. They practically don’t enjoy sitting for long. Have you seen this type of person at your workplace?
• Listening to loud music and singing along: if you meet this type of person, no one will tell you before you beg them to reduce their voice.
• Chew gum.
• Bite pen or pencil.

During your work time, what kind of weird things do people do?

I would never forget the day that I found myself almost shedding tears over a movie. The actual movie that took me out of my normal manly attitude toward movies that commonly make some people feel like shedding tears is “the Lion”.

Why do some movies get someone crying even when they knew that it was just a movie? This is commonly seen among females than males.

What actually caught my emotions in the Lion was the experience of the 5 years old boy. While watching the movie, I started wondering why on earth will this boy be facing the unfortunate situation he was in.

Have you ever cried when watching any movie? Tell us the movie and what prompted your tears?

While growing up, some of the closest older people to me said so many stuff about marriage. One that stuck with me was that marriage is for mature people.

One question that has never left me was “what is the appropriate age commonly referred to as ‘ matured age’?”  

I am sure you understand that within the law, the age for marriage starts from 18 years. What then should one considers before thinking about settling down?

I can still recall how much I was told that

• You must be mentally matured
• You must have a steady source of income
• You must be emotionally stable
• The list goes on….

Do you think there are more things that one should consider before getting married?

With the high rate of unemployment among many graduates, a lot of people will be wondering if the school system has failed to meet up to its expectation.

On the other hand, many people who didn’t complete their formal education are found to enjoy massive success in their vocation.

I think from my own opinion that this main problem did start with the school. The major challenge could be coming from:

#1. Homes Training

Every child should be taught how to become a problem solver from home than anywhere else. this will greatly help the child to quickly understand their responsibility to their own success later in life.

#2. School Structure

While schools are trying their best, they should help their students to understand that schools are meant to teach them how to learn. If they can grasp this concept, it will greatly help them to prepare for the future.

#2. Government policies

The government should make policies that give the younger generation room to exercise their creative power.

What do you think could reduce the rising unemployment in the country?

The result of a successful business is always attractive to many people. While a lot of people have been wishing and dreaming of starting their business someday, some few people who are courageous enough have jumped in and are growing their business.

What could be the reason why so many people are scared of starting their business. The 3 things that I have seen from experience and observation that usually scare people are:

• Stories of failed businesses. When so many people read and listen to the stories of those who have tried and failed with a huge amount of losses, they may become scared. The question is will you allow other people’s stories to scare you?
• Fear of the possible outcome of the business they intend to start.
• Loss of money.

The 3 points above are tied to money and the outcome of the intended business. Have you come across people who dream of starting their business? What do you think has kept them from starting?

Politicians are a group of people who face diverse views from the people they live with. When you take a close observation, you will find out that before the election, there seems to be a divided view regarding those seeking various offices.

But, after they have been elected I have also observed that it only takes some time before the dislike of these same politicians start coming out.

What then are some of the things people dislike about politics? Some of these things might be

• Most politicians don’t end up keeping to their words. This alone has caused the dislike of political officeholders.
• Nepotism: this sometimes could lead to the dislike of the person in the office as seen in any part of the world.
• Poor leadership: there is no way voters can be happy with political office holders who are poor leaders.
• Corruption: While corruption may not directly come from the political office holders, many people understand that with easy access to the state funds, some political office holders may abuse the fund.

In your opinion, what do you think makes people dislike political office holders?

To achieve anything worthwhile, one must really work hard and be smart. But, a lot of people have developed habits that are not only stopping them from going forward, it is also an ‘enjoyed burden’ that many will not want to let go of.

Being lazy can become a real habit that one enjoys because the things that may be keeping one from working hard could be things that the person enjoys doing.

How then can one easily walk out of the habit of laziness?

One of the outshoot of laziness is procrastination. Although one must procrastinate at some point, when it becomes chronic it becomes a big problem for the person.

My short advice if you want to overcome laziness includes the following

• Accept the fact that you have formed the habit of being lazy.
• Start by setting goals that are short and achievable.
• Start immediately, don’t faint when you can’t meet up to the task on your goal.
• Keep a record of your daily performance.

If you have overcome the habit of laziness, kindly share how you overcame the habit of laziness.

A lot of people are seriously working hard to become very rich. Some are already enjoying their accumulated wealth while many others are still working their way up.

Money is good, it makes life very easy and like it is commonly said, “money moves things”.

The main crux of the matter is when the millionaires and billionaires not excluding those with thousand ends up having a family with children.

How will they help their children to continue making more money?

I have seen the children of some millionaires losing it especially when the parent that worked for the money is no more.

On the other hand, some pareant have been able to groom their children to keep making more money.

Have you seen any of these scenarios? What do you think might be the cause of the downward trend in terms of making money for the children of some wealthy people?

History has left us with so many famous people who did great stuff and some of them were wealthy during their time. When you look through careers like music, sport, business, you will see what I am talking about.

But, I am baffled by the fact that we don’t get to hear much about their children. Even when the children of these famous men and women go into the same career as their parents.

What might be the striking force that affects the children of the famous from being famous?

Could it be that they have grown under a big tree that did not allow them to feel the hit from the sun as well as grow the strength and muscle to make themselves famous as their parent?

Although, you will agree with me that there are few famous children of famous parents. But there are many infamous children of famous children.

Again, don’t get me wrong on this, fame is not a yardstick for success. But, if I happen to have a famous dad or mum, that should also propel me to be more famous. Don’t you think so?

Can you share the names of famous people whose children you can’t even recall their names?

Socializing with others will never be complete without talking about friendship. Friendship also comes with its own demands and challenges.

Sometimes, we meet people who will stir us to greater heights. Other times, we may meet those that will suck the energy in us by what they say and do around us.

Worse of all, when one gets to meet someone who is a ‘chronic’ gossiper, their name gets spread out permission.

What criteria do you take before choosing friends?

I have had my own share of pain when I met some folks that negatively talked me down from going after my dreams. I deeply wished I never met them.

With the high number of people both online and offline that we meet every day, we honestly need to have certain criteria that we should be using to make our friend's selection.

What advice will you give to others from your experience with friends?

Gambling or Betting has become a household name today. The internet has even made it easier for anyone to bet on the go.

Some people have held to the view that gambling is bad. I am neither on the side of the bad nor good side of betting. The big question here is ‘how far will you go with betting?’

Can you get rich from betting? This is another question that comes up in a common discussion about betting. I have seen those who won millions and lost the millions. I have also seen those who won but used it well.

For me, I think life itself sometimes could demand choices that are synonymous with gambling. There are times when you have to make the choice and then hope the odds go in our favour.

Have you taken any choice that looks that you have gambled? What was it?

Money has become the number one topic that tickles the ear of people. I can boldly say that if you want to get the attention of people, try to talk about money.

“Life is not balanced” is the common phrase found among some hustlers. A book titled unfair advantage was written in line with this phrase. How is life not balance?

This list gives a good idea,

• Somewhere born with a silver spoon, so they don’t need to work to make money.
• Some got lucky with what they are doing hence were able to make money on time.
• Some lucky ones do get jobs on time, so they are living a comfortable life.
• Some unlucky ones have to scrape through low-paying jobs to survive.
• Yet, many others have to keep searching for jobs.
• And many others.

Is life really unfair to some and favorable to others?

If you take a close observation, you will get to find out that money is the common denominator that describes whether life is favorable or unfair.

How much money do you think will be enough for you?

Nigeria seems to have drastically changed. In what way, I really can’t give all the details. In the last seven years, one can vividly see the big difference between what use to be and what is currently obtainable.

Apart from the negative impact of the pandemic, I believe a lot has actually changed in Nigeria. While I will not spend much time listing those changes here because I want to give you the opportunity to add your own view to this discussion; I will only mention one for us to get started.

In my own opinion, the last seven years have seen more people wishing to travel out of Nigeria than living here. Do you agree with me?

In your own opinion what has really changed in Nigeria?

We get motivated by things around us. For example, some people get motivated to study a particular course because they either have friends that went for the course or family members that studied the course.

You can find motivators like this when it comes to sports, music, and even in the marketplace.

Now, traveling to another country requires more than just basic motivation. You must have a very concrete motivation if you really plan to travel out of your country.

For me, my motivation to travel to the US was born when I was much younger. My childhood dream then was to travel and not return to my home country again (making there my second country).

What is currently motivating you to leave your home country?

A lot of us grew up with great ambitions to do so many wonderful things. Part of those things might be to travel out of your country.

I have heard a lot of people say ‘they will leave Nigeria,’ this phrase is very common among the youths. If you haven’t wished to leave Nigeria, then you are among the very few.

As I Nigerian if I am given the chance to leave the country, I wouldn’t hesitate, why? Because I want to see and enjoy those things that use to drive people out of the country. It is not really because I don’t want to stay in Nigeria.

Why are many Nigerian Youths eager to leave the country if given the slightest opportunity? If you are given the opportunity to leave, would you go?

One day, I had a terrible experience that has stuck with me for a while now. I went to the market on this faithful day. On my way to the market, I discovered that my phone which was in the breast pocket of my jacket was no longer there.

Hmm, it was stolen by those who are pocket pickers. What I came to realize was that it could be that the smartphone was taken when I had body contact with some people on my way to the market.

Since then, I hate having body contact with people, especially in public places.

Have you had any experience of this sort in the past? Please advise us on how to avoid these bad guys whose job is to make other people unhappy.

As students the extra cash often come in handy and I feel freelancing on sites such as upwork is one of the great ways to make extra money as a student.

Mention a way you think students can make money legally under this thread and help a student in need.

What is the one 2021 movie you just cannot wait to watch on the big screen?

First of all, going to school opens you to diverse opportunities. In today’s highly competitive environment, it is necessary to gain some level of education.

But, when it comes to reality, there seems to be a divergence from some of the things that we were taught in schools and the real-life play.

For example, schools are meant to pass information to their students. But, some of this information at the time of graduation may start becoming obsolete (except for those based on principles).

What then is left for the graduating students?

Again, when you bring what many people experience in life after school, you may start thinking about the things you wished you were taught while in school.

As everyone differs from each other, what do you think you wished you were taught while in school?

Recently, my very close friend brought up a topic that led to a serious argument. He asked me a question and the question became the foundation for our argument.

He asked me, ‘if I understand the main reason why young couples quarrel often.’ I told him that my best guess may be because they are having something bothering them.

But, what shocked me was my friend’s statement. His answer is still what I can’t understand. The response he gave me was that ‘young couples often have misunderstanding because they want to understand each other.’

I honestly can’t interpret how misunderstanding brings understanding between two people. While I am still seeing this as a myth rather than a law, can you share more from your experience?

I will love to hear your view on this matter.

As children, we were told a lot of things. Those adults around us felt the need to educate us about what they think is true.

But as time passes by, there is usually this discovery that changes our view of some of those things we were taught while still tender.

One of those things I was told especially in my career was to study chemical engineering because it was lucrative and there are many jobs after graduation.

But the reverse seems to be the case, especially in today's world.

A lot of parents have stunted the career of their children because of the ill advice given to these kids when they were growing up.

The worst of all is the way we were told to view failure. If I knew what I know today, I wouldn’t even listen to such advice.

In your own case, what were you told when you were much younger but doesn’t seem to be seen as true today?

Its international friendship day!!!!!!!!!!!!! and some friends are totally worth celebrating.

What is the one significant action your friend(s) did that makes you want to throw them a party?

When you see movies, there seems to be a relationship between those events that scare people and the dark hours of the night.

In fact, it is commonly believed that evil flies in the night.

This has created a lot of ways that people have come to terms with the dark hours of the night.

I want you to imagine if scientists haven’t discovered the rotation of the earth. If there was no information telling us that Night is caused by the rotation of the earth around the sun.

I believe, what you will find out will truly amaze you.

If do you fear the dark hours of the night? Why and what led to that fear.  

Single parents are becoming more rampant in every society; do you believe single parenthood is the best way to raise a child?

Personally I believe it is more beneficial for a child to be raised by both parents biologically or not a child should grow up having a father and mother figure in his or her life.

Drop your opinion and lets relate.

When you hit most news platforms today, you will be amazed at the number of bad things happening in the world.  It makes one feel there is no hope for mankind. Those that mean there are more bad things happening on earth than good?

It sometimes beats my imagination when I discovered that this is what people want to hear and talk about and guess what, the social media platform has even boosted the spread of many bad things happening in the world.

Does that mean there are more bad people living on earth?

History will never leave us without the trail of people who have done heinous acts against humanity. Even today, these same shameful acts are still carried out by some people.

If there are so many acts against peaceful living, then it is best to quickly recognize the bad guys before one falls victim.

From your experience, how can we recognize someone who has a bad intention against other people?

What are some of the things we can easily use to find them?

I grew up reading, hearing, watching TV programs proclaiming that ‘failure comes before success.’

Do we all have to fail before we succeed? This question has been beating my imagination because a lot of successful men and women that I have heard of seems to have gone through some levels of failures before they became successful.

Famous people like Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, Henry Ford, and many others may have experienced failure.  Should we accept that is a natural rule to fail before one succeeds?

How many successful people do you know that became successful without failure?

If failure is that important for one to succeed, what value does failure bring to the individual?

Small businesses were forced to sell and render their services from home.

it took me 6 months to learn sowing and 6 weeks to learn knitting.

Let’s be frank. I’m sure you are aware that we all need skills to succeed in life. All of our schooling is just for us to be able to learn skills that will help us to gain better opportunities in life.

But, how often do we find graduates with underdeveloped skills? After graduating from their respective higher institution, most graduates may start wondering about the skills they have learned while in school.

My surprise question to you is this, ‘should graduates learn new skills after graduation?’ I know you will say ‘yes.’ This leads me to the second question, ‘how fast can you learn a new skill?’

Recently, I stumbled upon a researched article that suggested a period of ten years to learn and master a skill. Do you think many people would take out ten years of their life to learn and master a new skill?

Also, from my experience, I think it may be tough for many adults with responsibility on them to go all out and learn new skills.

Since we all need skills to succeed in life. What do you think anyone that wants to learn a new skill should consider before taking the first step?

So far 2021 movie do you think was excellent? 

For me i will say Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, it was just great.

With the Covid-19 pandemic wreaking havoc on businesses around the world, what are the effects you know it has had on small businesses in your area?

During the summer, your skin works extra hard to stay healthy.

Heat and humidity can make your skin look lifeless when the temperature rises these days. You must ensure that your skin is sun-protected throughout the season!

The skin may be regenerated with a few easy tweaks to your daily skincare routine.

Here are some sun-protection tips for your skin:

Put on a hat

Wear a brimmed hat for the best protection. Your face, ears, and the back of your neck will be protected.

Don't forget to apply sunscreen.

This is an essential thing to keep on your dressing table or in your luggage.

To avoid sunburn, wrinkles, and accelerated aging, apply at least one ounce of sunscreen to your face and any other exposed parts of your body 15 to 30 minutes before going out.

Reapply sunscreen if you stay in the sun for more

Stay out of the sun during the daytime hours.

Avoid the midday sun as much as possible between mid-morning and late afternoon. If you plan on going out at that time, try to find a shady spot to sit or walk.

Sunglasses for your eyes.

Keep your sunglasses in your purse or car at all times. It not only adds to your overall summer appeal, but it also protects your eyes from UV radiation and lowers the chance of cataracts.

Sunglasses protect the delicate skin surrounding your eyes as well.

To give the most protection for your eyes and surrounding skin, choose sunglasses with UV absorption of 99 percent to 100 percent.

Clothing

When possible, wear a long-sleeved shirt and long pants.

Clothing that is dark in color and densely woven blocks more solar rays than clothing that is light in color and loosely woven.

How do you stay one step ahead of summer? Please share your own heat-relieving tips with us in the comment section under this thread.