Eric Thomas live at The Mermaid

What up what up what up!! Its ya boy....Ok I'll stop lol

On Saturday 27th April I had the opportunity to see my favorite motivational speaker (though he doesn't like that term) Eric Thomas live in the flesh! The experience was indescribable.

Last December Eric announced that he would be coming to do a tour in London and that tickets were on sale. I knew I could not afford to miss this opportunity so I made sure I bought my ticket. I can honestly say that was one of the best investments I had ever made.

I first discovered Eric when I saw his youtube video "Secrets to Success" while I was a student at university. I was literally in awe after watching it. Since then I subscribed to his YouTube Channel and followed him on twitter. Every Monday I look forward to his video's Thank God Its Monday (TGIM) . The way he is able to motivate people and change the way they look at life is just amazing. His words are able to touch you so much that you think to yourself "I need to change the way I live my life".

On the day of the event I was really excited, I got to the venue early and the queue was already looong! It made me realise the amount of people that Eric impacts. When I finally got into the auditorium I had my pen and notepad ready. When Eric came onto the stage everyone was excited and the energy was crazy. He spoke for about an hour but it didn't feel that long because his message was so captivating. I didn't want it to end, I wish he had more time to speak (coming from me that is saying alot because concentrating during uni lectures and church sermons that long is a real struggle for me lol). I was writing notes during the event as if I was in a university lecture. By the end I had pages of notes written down. One thing he said at the start was that by the end he wants us (the audience)  to leave as changed people. I can honestly say that he did accomplish that. At the end Eric received a standing ovation from the audience. His message was more deeper than that of his TGIM videos. There is no way you could have been at that event and his words didn't touch you in a certain way. I can't even put into words how I felt. Seriously I AM going to make the REST of my life the BEST of my life.

Here are a few quotes from the event:

"You are not where you want to be because you are not who you are supposed to be" 

"Stop looking at people and look within"

"Unless you try to do something beyond what you have mastered you will never grow"

"Recycle your pain, allow it to take you to the next level and push you to greatness"

If you haven't seen any of Eric's video's I urge you to watch them!

I would like to thank Incipio academy for making this event happen, it was worth every penny and I would like to thank Eric for his inspirational messages. Next time Eric comes to London I will make sure all my family and friends attend!

Written by Dinah

Football Players Greed

Let me start of this article by stating that I am a huge football fan and I support Liverpool football club. I regularly watch football regardless of whether I am busy or not and I always ensure that I watch all of Liverpool’s matches. I have always been a strong football fan.

However, for quite some time now, there is one issue in football that has started to bother me. In fact this issue has irritated me for a while, but it has come to a stage where I am sickened by it. This issue is the greed element mired into footballing culture today. In the past, footballers were only paid a few hundred pounds per week. Players such as Bobby Moore received enough money to take care of themselves and their families. These players played solely because of the passion they had for football and not because of monetary reasons.

However, today, football has changed dramatically. Football players in the premiership earn a minimum of £10000 a week! The wage just quoted is the minimum amount for players who are mediocre at best. The majority of talented players earn in the excess of £40000 a week. Let’s take Theo Walcott as an example; up until recently he was earning £55000 a week. However he stalled on signing a new contract at Arsenal simply because he wanted a substantial increase in his wages. Arsenal then submitted to his demands of £100000 a week. This dear reader is absolutely shocking. How can human greed be so profane? One does not need to earn £10000 a week to make a living in the UK, it is simply absurd. Even Doctors, Fire-fighters, Lawyers and people serving in the army do not earn a fraction of what these players earn (not that I’m saying that they should be earning £10000 a week).

What do these players spend their money on? Well as someone who once worked at Chelsea and West Ham united football grounds, I can say that these players spend a portion of their wages on purchasing extravagant cars. The following are the type of cars they drive to their stadiums: Mercedes, Bentleys, Lamborghinis, Range Rovers, BMWs, Rolls Royce and other brands. Furthermore, they also spend ridiculous sums of money on mansions whilst half of the rooms will forever remain unused. In addition, these players’ huge salaries attract females that attach themselves to players purely because they wish to live the rich and famous lifestyle. As a result of these football players gargantuan wages the wag culture in Britain is intensifying.

Many of will remember when Wayne Rooney stated in 2010 that he wanted to leave Manchester United. After Manchester united offered him a new contract worth a staggering £250000 a week he signed the contract instantaneously. This is one in a number of episodes which shows that todays football players are interested solely on money. Manchester City is an epitome of the greed engulfing football today. Manchester City who have wealthy owners have the ability to purchase any player of their choosing because they can afford to pay these players higher wages. Hence, in the world of football today, it is no coincidence that the average player lacks loyalty and is very unlikely to remain at one club. Gone are the days when money did not dictate who wins and who losses matches.

Considering how much money these football players earn, we are yet to hear of many players joining together to form charities to help the starving children in the world, or the masses of UK citizens who are struggling in the current economic crisis. Many players have allowed their natural greed instinct to take over their thinking, and as a result, they have become out of touch with the reality of the average citizen. A good example of this is Rio Ferdinand’s twitter exchange with a football fan. https://twitter.com/BBCSporf/status/286200987113373696 This shows that some football players are similar to some politicians and do not care about the masses, but they simply serve to maintain the current capitalist status quo of materialism, consumerism, individualism and as this article stresses: greed. Football players have successfully kept we the fans in constant awe in matches when it is we the working class who are funding these hoggish men. Even the fact that the average fan may be struggling financially and still manages to purchase expensive season tickets does not seem to affect the players. In fact, the players remain indifferent towards the average citizens struggles.

What can be done to stop this? I think that the F.A, or a greater body can meet and introduce a law which will lower players wages significantly. If this approach doesn’t work, and footballers wages can’t be lowered, then footballers should spend their money appropriately by setting up charities and giving at least 70% of their incomes towards charitable causes. Also, with lower wages, clubs can lower the ticket prices to fans which will enable more people to have a chance to attend football games.

Overall I still love football, but because of the direction football is heading in I have started to become disillusioned with it, and it may only be a matter of time before I stop watching it altogether unless there is a reform of the current policies.

Written by Aaron

Revolution: can it happen?

Up until very recently, I was a devout supporter of a worldwide Marxist revolution to overthrow the corrupt establishment. I procured these views from reading many Marxist books and literature. I was desperate for a removal of the current capitalist system that is enslaving 99% of people and benefiting only 1% of the population. Prior to my revolutionary thoughts, I was extremely materialistic whilst I was growing up. Every single time my mother took me out I would always request for her to purchase me something, whether it be designer clothes or trainers. The majority of the products I desired were unnecessary and not helpful to my well being  As a working class citizen growing up in a materialistic consumer based society such as the United Kingdom, I desired products which I did not need. I felt that not having these products would make me “uncool” amongst my peers. My mother did not possess the monetary funds to purchase these products I so desperately craved and as a result, I would throw tantrums and strop. This process continued until I started to grow and mature. I then started to listen to a music artist called Lowkey. 

Through listening to Lowkey’s music my entire disposition changed. He was a complete aberration from normal rappers. He rapped the complete truth. He spoke out against: capitalism, consumerism, war, poverty, racism, women rights abuses, religious immorality, and many more. I became so deeply into his music that I told every single one of my friends about him, which showed how strongly his music touched me. After listening to his music, I genuinely believed that I could bring change to the world and through a concerted effort, I along with many others will march to the streets and take back what is rightly ours. However, after doing some serious thinking, I have realised that this is not the case.

Throughout history, there have been many revolutionaries who have tried to overthrow the status quo and all of them failed in their quest. All of them were either assassinated, sabotaged or put into exile. All of this occurred without any protest or revolution happening in their name. This started to put doubts into my mind as to whether a revolution is possible. Furthermore, it is well known that the rich 1% control the majority of the wealth in all capitalist countries but all revolutions against the establishment have been scarce. The only notable movement in the western world was the occupy Wall Street movement which is yet to lead to a removal for the current system and it looks evermore unlikely that it will. So the fact that the majority of the masses remain passive while the rich billionaires hoard our planets resources is shocking. Karl Marx prediction was wrong. The proletariats are not uniting in unison to take out the bourgeois. One needs to ask themselves why? Why are the workers of the world not uniting? Then I came across the reason as to why this is the case. Human beings are born with a natural tendency to be greedy. It is no coincidence that the majority of people we see on a daily basis love designer clothing. Furthermore, most people still have aspirations of making it into the top 1% even though the chances of social mobility for the poor are decreasing rapidly and a good portion of rich people inherited their fortunes. 

Nevertheless, the capitalist system is so entrenched within society that the average person does not even think about revolting against the system that exploits them and robs them. So, overall the rich 1% has used their financial muscle to manipulate the minds of the masses through media and politics to make us believe that we have the possibility of joining the top 1%. They have also hijacked humans natural greed instincts and have made the masses of people purchase products that they do not need through forceful advertising. Greed has proven to be humans greatest weakness, since the system that works to benefit only a small minority of people is seen as okay by the masses because they one day dream of being in the top 1%, or in a lot of cases, being richer than they currently are. This is not to say that there are many people out there like myself who are deeply saddened by the worldwide system and see straight through the capitalist media and finance. However, we are only a minority who have been able to supress our greed instinct through knowledge. I still have a slight hope that one day things will get better, but at the present moment this is looking ever the more mythical.          


Written by Aaron

Success

Success. A term we hear quite frequently, it is something that most of us say we want. "I want to be successful" "I will succeed" "I will be a success"

But what is success? What does it mean to be successful? Why do most people want this? what is the purpose of being successful? what does success look like?

To different people success means different things. To some:
It means acquiring as much money as you can. It means getting straight A's in school.
It means excelling in your field. It means being able to buy designer items and drive expensive cars. It means being famous. It means making it up the corporate ladder. It means achieving your dream body. It means to get married and raise a family. It means to be an entrepreneur. It means being popular and respected by others. It means how many music singles or products you sell. It means how many awards you win.

In theory all these examples do contribute to the concept of success. Success is a highly subjective term and everyone has their own personal perspective as to what it means to be successful. Success is related to our personal goals that we want to achieve in life. As our goals differ so does our meaning of success. After you accomplish your goal you have a sense of achievement which feels good. Thats what it feels like to succeed. An example of me experiencing this was my graduation day, wearing my cap and gown and receiving my certificate. After three years of doing loads of reading, all nighters in the library, assignment after assignment I finally completed my degree.


However I do believe there is a deeper meaning to success. I believe that everyone on earth has their own unique purpose which they should discover and fulfil. If you are able to find what your purpose is and fulfil it then in my eyes you are successful. You shouldn't measure your success with others. Doing that will only make you feel negative about yourself. In reality there will always be someone out there who is smarter than you, faster than you, richer than you etc. You can not always be the best, its just not possible. Focus on doing you, but at the same time remember not to become so selfish with your own ambitions that you have the "Me, myself and I" mentality (what my Pastor describes as the egocentric trinity). When you are too consumed with your own ambitions you end up neglecting others, and maybe even pull others down so that you can make it to the top (something which I hear happens a lot in the corporate world).

We should support and encourage one another to achieve our goals. We shouldn't be putting people down or tell them that they can't accomplish their dreams. We shouldn't be jealous and hate on other people's success that we talk negatively about them. If you are not willing to do what someone did to become successful then shut up. Never downplay somebody's dream. For example, someone may strive to become a doctor while someone else may strive to become a parent and stay at home to raise a family. You shouldn't look down on the person wanting to raise a family. Everyone has a different purpose in their life and that should be respected.

One thing to remember is when making your goals sit down and really think about why you want to achieve them. What is the real reason and purpose behind you wanting to achieve it? If your main goal is to become the richest person on earth just so that you can be number 1 on the forbes list and buy a lot of expensive things then to me that is selfish ambition. Your ambition should benefit others. If you look at Bill Gates his Microsoft creation changed the world of computing. He contributed greatly to the world of technology. With some of the wealth he has acquired he has started up his own charities and continues to help  poor people. To me that is success, not because he is the world's richest man. Your main goals shouldn't just be to benefit only yourself. What is the point of being rich if you do not help others with your money? Or making it in life and not inspiring others to also accomplish?. After all money can disappear but it is your legacy that will remain. The greatest people on earth i.e Jesus, Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa were not known for money but the difference they made in people's lives.

What legacy do you want to leave behind? What difference can you make in somebody's life?
If you can make just one person's life better, in my eyes you have succeeded :) I wish you all success in your lives.

Written by Dinah