Health: 1. Drink plenty of water 2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar 3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, and eat less food that is manufactured in plants 4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy 5. Make time for prayer 6. Play more games 7. Read more books than you did in 2008 8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day 9. Sleep for 7 hours 10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day ---- and while you walk, smile Personality: 11. ...

Another way to say this is that weak minds don’t retain big thoughts. A mind is weak when that mind is left undeveloped. My focus in this chapter is on the potency of reading as it pertains to developing the mind and ultimately, the worth of an individual.
Heavy Weights Imagine for a moment that you are watching a game of ‘throw and catch’ between a grown man and a four year old and the object they are throwing happens to be a bag of cement. For the grown man, catching the bag of cement will be possible because he can handle the weight of the bag. However, for the four year old, it will be a different story because he cannot handle the weight of the bag of cement. If the four year old in his naivety tries to catch the bag of cement, he is most likely to get injured in the process.
Relating this to thoughts, ideas and the mind, the adult player is the person with a strong developed mind while the four year old is the person with a weak undeveloped mind and the bag of cement represents ideas. Grand ideas are everywhere. The only reason why they appear to be in short supply is because weak minds cannot retain grand ideas/thoughts. When great ideas breeze into the thoughts of people with weak undeveloped minds, it flows right through because they don’t have the capacity to retain such thoughts for their lives. This is a reason why people settle for less than they should.

What would you say of a man and his wife, considering divorce because of an argument? Let me add a little perspective to the question – the bone of contention is ‘how the toothpaste should be used”, the man argues that “it must be used pressing the base of the tube instead of anywhere on the tube” while the woman says, “what difference does it make it’s just toothpaste, the end is getting it out of the tube, how we do that is entirely up to you and me as individuals.” On this grounds both parties consider themselves incompatible, hence the marriage is best nullified. Can that guy or lady be ever compatible with anyone?
Consider that one of these folks has to serve in a public office or a position to influence people and they still have this kind of mentality, what kind of influence will they have on the people they are leading, other than setting precedents for rivalry, division and contention, because they have no understanding of personal differences and how to manage inter-personal relationships.
Think of the man who says, “I love my wife and I beat her up any time she goes wrong because I love her, if I don’t do that she’ll no get how important so things are” what kind of love is this? I believe love without respect is ‘no-love’; this kind of man tends to see the woman beneath him and considers what “of what good is she than take care of the home and the children” hence when he meets other women folk in more organized environments he either has problem with them based on basis of ‘why they should be working in such environment’, and others tend ‘to compare their wives to the women they meet at work, hence they are never satisfied with what the woman does at home’.

The Kennedy Family is considered to be one of the most politically influential family in the United States, the family is not only influential, every member of that family who had the privilege to serve in the US government served with dignity and contributed immensely to the development of the American People. In memory of Ted Kennedy – a prominent member of this great family, who recently passed on, after the 1980 failed attempt for the White House, in his conceding speech, he said, “…For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.” And after being an avid supporter of the then Senator Barak Obama’s bid for the White House, in their party’s 2008 Convention, his speech closed with this remark, “The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on.” Till the time of his death he was committed to what’s best for the American people, something passed down to him by his father and his older brother.

These are some of the thoughts of my mind on the purpose and power of the family; it’s been a while now since it’s come to my mind to write something like this, though in the scheme of things I might not be the right man to speak on issues like this, or the qualification in terms of experience is not on my side but by privilege I have rubbed minds with the all wise one on issues like this one to understand his original purpose for establishing the world acclaimed smallest institution – the family.
LONGMAN Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDCE) defines the family as “a closely related group – a group of people who are related to each other, especially a mother, a father and their children.” In elementary school, we were taught that “the family is the smallest unit in the society, consisting of father, mother and children related by blood” – what an innocent definition, not introducing little ones to the idea of divorce and remarriage, concepts that disproves the latter part of the definition.
Institution as defined in the LDCE is “an important system of organization that has existed for a long time.” This is true of the family; it is one of the world’s longest standing institutions in the world. Institutions provide an organized system of doing things in the society. My assumptions are if the family got the purpose of its establishment, other institutions in the society like the Presidency, Judiciary, State Executives, Local Councils, Legislatures at all levels, Social and Corporate services with get their bearings on doing what they do to benefit the people they serve and not the few members of these institutions and many more.

Let me share with you something that points to your worth. When I discovered this, it made me know the value that God placed on the female gender. I said to myself, God, you mean the woman is worth this much to you! Yes, woman, you are worth that much to God. Do I hear you say how much? Well, you are worth so much to God that He made you part of His ministry. I have proofs to support this and I will be sharing them with you but first let’s look at the last words of Jesus. First, when Jesus prayed for His disciples before He went to the cross, He said: I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. (John 17:4, NKJV, emphasis mine) Then two chapters later while on the cross just before He died, He said: "…It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. (John 19:30, NKJV, emphasis mine) In the first scripture, Jesus said He had finished the work God gave Him to do and in the second scripture, to prove that He had indeed finished the work, He did not give up His spirit until He openly declared to every one that indeed, it was finished. What was finished? His work was finished – His ministry was finished; for him to finish His ministry, it means He had done all that God wanted Him to do and that included a ministry to you. Throughout His earthy ministry, Jesus was in touch with women. Right from the very first public act of His ministry to the last day, on which He died on the cross, He was in touch with women. The first act in His public ministry was to turn water to wine at a wedding. In many cultures, it is not uncommon to hear the wedding referred to as the bride’s day. We can then safely say that Jesus’ very first act in public ministry was to provide the best wine at a woman’s event. Just think about it: Jesus started out by making a woman’s day! Her greatest day in fact! I wonder how that woman would have felt if she knew what Jesus had done for her and her husband on their wedding day– what a gift! If she knew, I wonder how she would have felt seeing Jesus on the cross the day he died. I hear her saying something like this Man made my day on my wedding day. I see the warm tears running slowly down her cheeks as she yearns just to kiss His feet and look into His blood-covered eyes to tell Him thank you for the wine the other day.

About a year ago, I met someone who really blew my mind away. I thought I had seen all the wonders of God but after I met this person, I knew I was far from the truth. The entrance of this person into my life made me realize that there was much more in store for me than all I had seen so far. My meeting this person wasn’t heralded by any thundering in the clouds or flash of bright blinding light accompanied by a baritone voice that pierced through every part of me - far from it. It was like every other day - beautiful clouds above, chirping birds, friends giggling, and trees swaying to the sweetness of the noonday breeze. Then it happened. She just walked out of nowhere and came right up to me. Before she even spoke a word, my ears were filled with melody of the essence of her beauty. Her hair flowed down her heavenly carved neck like a peaceful waterfall cascading down a mountain. Her eyes glowed with the kind of brightness that could light any gloomy day. Her steps were stately like it had been choreographed for years. Her smile spoke of her innocence. Her lips were like a thread of scarlet perfectly woven. Her two breasts were like two young roes that are twins, which fed among the lilies. All of her detail proved beyond a doubt that God had spent a lot more time in making her. Her beauty without was all fair - without a spot. Then she spoke and in that instant I knew she was beautiful without and within for her speech was comely. She was a true daughter of Zion - the pride of her Creator. At this point I knew I was favoured for she reached out her hands to take mine.

As I faced my maker at the last judgment, I knelt before the lord along with all the other souls, before each of us laid our lives like the squares of a quilt in many piles. An Angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a tapestry that is our life. But as my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged and empty each of my squares was. They were filled with giant holes, each square was labeled with a part of my life that had been difficult, the challenges and temptations I was faced with in everyday life. I saw hardship that I endured, which were the largest holes of all. I glanced around me, nobody else had such squares. Other than a tiny hole here and there, the other tapestries were filled with rich color and the bright hues of worldly fortune. I gazed upon my own life and was disheartened. My angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together, threadbare and empty, like binding air. Finally the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the light, the scrutiny of truth. The others rose, each in turn, holding up their tapestries. So filled their lives had been. My angel looked upon me, and nodded for me to rise. My gaze dropped to the ground in shame. I hadn’t had all the earthly fortunes. I had love in my life, and laughter, but there had also been trials of illness, and death, and false accusations that took from me my world, as I knew it.

The final rule I bring up here is one dear to my heart. I do not know what to call it, but maybe when I am done you will give a name for what I refer to. There is a beautiful story in the good book found in Isaiah 5: 1-2. Though with a sad ending, it carried great meaning for the point I raise here. The owner of the garden, who cultivates it and manures it with great care, and then later does the weeding, does all these with a great expectation that the garden will yield a great harvest. There is thus a natural law set forth that when you plant in good grounds; you reap a good reward for your labor. A woman therefore is like a garden. Whatever you plant is exactly what you will reap from her. This is why God sang that song in the story showing how He had invested so much into the vineyard and expected a reward from it. So this rule simply tries to explain that as a man, you must be able be a capable cultivator of a garden. You must be able to see what kind of ground you are standing on, and what kinds of plants will flourish thereon. This way, you will provoke an unprecedented harvest from the woman you cultivate.

The next rule of engagement I would introduce here is something very new. This was inspired in my heart by critical observation of the goings of young men, especially as they battle for relevance in demanding society. It is called the Law of Equation. In mathematics we say an equation is a statement that two expressions are equal. By using an equal sign, it informs that what is on the left side of the sign is of the same numerical value to what is on the right side of the sign. I simply adapt this law to two part of the male life in society: inner expression and outward expression. The inner expressions are those things that flow from the inside of a man. Things such as his speech, his reasoning, his decisions, his choices, and his values are all representative of the internal configuration of a man. The outer expression consists of all a man does to showcase his body. His wears and gears (Baffs like we would say in Nigeria), his machines and his crib. All this make a statement about the taste and preferences of such an individual.