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DEVELOPING PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY
For Jim Rohn, the best way to establish a new and powerful personal philosophy is to begin with an objective review of the conclusions we have drawn about life. Any conclusion that is not working forus may actually be working againstus. Suppose, for example, a man has decided that his current employer is not paying him enough. His value system – based on years of accumulated information and experiences – then says, “That’s not fair!” This value judgment causes him to take specific steps in retaliation. As a result, he reduces his efforts and does only those things he feels his current pay justifies. There is nothing wrong with this decision if only his goal is to remain where he is, doing what he is currently doing and getting paid what he is currently getting paid for the rest of his life.
All of our counter-productive beliefs and choices are the result of years of accumulating misinformation. We have simply been around the wrong sources and gathered up the wrong data. The decisions we are making are not wrong based on the information we have; it is the information we have that is causing us to make wrong decisions. Unfortunately, these wrong decisions are leading us further away from rather than closer toward the achievement of our goals.
THE IMPORTANCE OF NEW INFORMATION
Since it is virtually impossible to identify and erase all of the misleading information in our mental computers, the only way to change our thinking habits is to input new information. Unless we change what we know, we will continue to believe, decide and act in a manner that is contrary to our best interests.
Gettingthe information that success and happiness require – and getting it accurately– is essential. Otherwise, we will inevitably drift into ignorance, becoming deluded by our power, our prestige and our possessions.
The question is, where can we get new, accurate, and better ideas and information that will enable us to become more than we are? Fortunately, there is a wealth of positive information all around us, just waiting to be used.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
One of the best ways to expand the dimensions of our knowledge is by conducting a serious review of our own past experiences. We all have a university of experience within us. The books lining the shelves of our minds were written and placed there by all that we have experienced since birth. These experiences have suggested to us that there is a right way and a wrong way to everything we do, and to every decision that confrontsus, as well as to every obstacle that challengesus.
One way to learn to do something rightis to do something wrong. We learn from failure as well as success. Failure must teach us, or surely success will not reward us. Past failures and errors must prompt us to amend current conduct, or the present and the future will be little more than a duplicate of the past.
We all have recorded memories of past deeds and of the subsequent rewards or consequences of those deeds. The key is to make the memories of past events our servants lest the repetition of those events makes us their slave.
We must labor to make certain that our memories of past experiences, whether good or bad, are accurate if they are to serve us and to make the future better than our past. We must reflect on our past, reliving the moments, pondering the lessons, and refining our current conduct based on the lessons of our personal history. If we have manipulated the truth of the past, if we have tended to blame others, rather than ourselves, then we are seeking an escape from reality, and we will be destined to repeat past errors and relive present difficulties.
OUTSIDE VOICE
We could all use a little coaching. In a sense, that is the purpose ofmy columns. They bring to those in search of insights and ideas a new and objective voice. We are all capable of correcting our own errors but there is often great value in an outsidevoice – someone who can provide an objective appraisal of how we are and what we are doing, and the potential impact of our thoughts and actions on our better future.
An objective appraisal from someone whose opinion we respect (someone other than ourselves) will enable us to see things that we do not see. In our personal world we tend to see only the trees, while the objective and capable friend will more likely see the forest. Objectivity, brought to us in the form of wise counsel from one we trust and respect, can lead us to early and accurate information about ourselves and our decision-making process. It can prevent us from reaching faulty conclusions based on familiarity with our environment.
OTHER PEOPLE’S EXPERIENCE
Other people and their personal experiences offer untold opportunities for learning. Through the experiences of others there are two valuable sources of information available; two attitudes of mind; two categories of those with similar experiences but with remarkably different results. We are exposed on a daily basis to representatives of both groups. Each group seeks its own audience, and each has an effect on those who choose to listen. But both sources are important. One serves as an example to be followed, the other as an example to be avoided – as a warningto be studied, but not emulated.
Someone wisely said, “Those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are condemned to repeat them.” If we ignore the lessons of the past, from whatever the source, then we may become victims of the process of trial and error. “By ignoring the lessons of history, our own trials will inevitably try us and our own errors will ultimately destroy us.”
POSITIVE INFLUENCE
Each of us should be in constant search of people we can admire and respect; people after whom we can pattern part of our own behavior. Much of who and what we are at this very moment is a composite of the many people who have influenced us over the years. When we were younger, our idols were often storybook characters, movie stars and famous musicians. (These days the list might include professional athletes). For a while we walked, dressed and even tried to talk like our heroes. As we grew older and our own unique personalities began to develop, our emulation of others became less apparent, but the influence was there nonetheless.
Regardless of our age or circumstances, we are never beyond the reach of influence. The key is to find unique human beings whose personalities and achievements stimulate, fascinate and inspire us, and then strive to assimilate their best qualities.Great projects are always built from a pattern or blueprint. In this lifetime there is no greater project than the deliberate development of our own lives. Therefore, we each need a “blueprint” — something or someone to look at and pattern ourselves after— if we want to make change and progress.
Jim Rohn ultimately observes “Neither success nor failure occurs in a single cataclysmic event. Both are the result of the accumulation of seemingly small and insignificant decisions whose collective weight over the period of a lifetime presents the individual with his or her proportionate reward.”
We cannot become a stronger nation until our attention to the essentialsof life begins to change. The ability to establish more competent leadership in our government, our schools, our churches, our businesses and our communities lies in the emerging value of the individual. That is why each of us must make a commitment to develop our full human potential.
MY bosom friend Kofi Kokotako once told me that a person’s haircut portrays his character. I disagreed with him and said a person’s character portrays his haircut. All in all, we agreed between us that a presidential aspirant whose haircut is excessively punk cannot win even a unit committee election, much more a castle-bound one.
One thing I hated as a kid was getting my hair barbered because I never had the style I wanted. Usually, it was my father who was the tormentor-in-chief, and he chose the kind of design that would suit the shape and nature of my head and that of my elder brother Christian, whose name is more civilised than mine.
When we were through, we looked quite different from the other kids. I didn’t know where my Pop learnt that kind of style but I realised it was very colonial in form and outlook and I became sad when the girls giggled at my design.
Actually, it was something resembling a half-bow with a line cut through at about 38 degrees to the perpendicular. After the ordeal we looked half like the resident catechist and half like a fierce Regimental Sergeant-Major.
When I told my daddy that I had had enough of the ancient cut and wanted an Afro or at least a Tokyo Joe, he quickly explained that Tokyo Joe was for ruffians and that his style was tailor-made for aspiring doctors, lawyers, engineers and great states-men. He didn’t mention journalists though.
So I went and told the giggling girls that my hairdo was a magical one that was going to transform me into a doctor whether they liked it or not. I added that their brothers who had modern haircuts invariably were going to be labourers and tangas (town council). They laughed at me even the more.
They referred me to the conservancy labourer not far away who always wore my kind of cut and asked me why he wasn’t wearing a white gown with a stethoscope hanging from his neck, if that kind of haircut was indeed miracle-performing!
My Dad was quite scrupulous and dished us the haircut in its hardest form just before Palm Sunday. It helped boost our religious conviction and the Holy Spirit almost descended and settled on our wonderful heads.
At Sunday school one Palm Sunday, the lady teacher asked me to stand so that she could admire my hairdo. I was quite flattered and happy that I was the centre of attraction on a great occasion like Palm Sunday. So I quickly stood up and turned round like a model for all to see and envy my design.
It was when the teacher asked me whether my daddy was a policeman that I lost heart. At the mention of policeman, everybody started laughing and I concluded that the teacher wasn’t admiring my head after all. All she wanted to do was to predict my daddy’s occupation using my head as a determinant. I wasn’t pleased with the attempt.
Today whenever it is getting to Palm Sunday 1 remember the incident. And actually I have always enjoyed Palm Sunday because deep within me, I’m a very religious person and I believe that once God will judge us by the purity of our hearts and not the bottles of beer we quaff, I shall also be in heaven together with Korkorti.
Now if you observe properly, you’d realise it is those who are not believers who celebrate Easter to the fullest. They understand the real meaning of Palm Sunday because they equate it to the birthday of palm wine. They actually mourn the death of Christ and rejoice at his resurrection using palm in the form of wine.
Palm Sunday is best marked in the rural areas where palm wine is always available from dawn to dusk and vice versa. Normally, people start Palm Sunday at exactly 4.15 am when the freshly-tapped wine starts arriving. But you have to begin slowly otherwise you’d be in coma before the sun rises.
Easter is due again and this time as usual, the action is right in the countryside. Kwahu is going to shake, Tapa Abotoase will somersault and Peki would explode. All over the world, these three Sikaman towns are ranked as places where Easter is best celebrated with a hangover assured.
People from Britain, Germany and Holland come down either to Obo Kwahu or Avetile Peki to celebrate Easter. They never miss it. It is a yearly ritual. They save towards the occasion.
So during the celebrations, people from all over the country also converge on these places and the celebrants compare haircuts and note carefully those who have grown lean and those who are neither growing lean or growing fat.
In fact, people assess their fellow human beings to ascertain whether they are becoming prosperous or are chewing grass. News is also brought from all over the globe and those from Germany (Jaaamani) are the loudest. The way they talk, you would never know they are cleaning the whiteman’s toilet to make some dough. You’ll think they are Managing Directors of a multinational corporation in Dusseldof. Such is life.
It is during church service on Easter Sunday that the been-tos and the locals alike display whatever they have under their sleeves. The gentlemen are often resplendent in suits and black shining pairs of shoes, and the way they walk can be a clue as to where they are sojourning. With seamen for instance, it can be quite psychedelic. It is a real sight to behold especially if they hail from Kromanti, Moree or Abandze.
With the ladies, the spectacle is breathtaking. It is unbelievable! You can’t comprehend it using the human senses. You have to employ spiritual means. The kaba styles are of different kinds, styles, colour and combination of colours. Some of the styles are complemented with wings and when the lady wearing it is hurrying to “chapel” you’ll think she is actually airborne. She is practically a human vulture.
Then comes the picnic sessions which are normally well-attended by gate crashers, mental patients and political strategists who are also well-versed with what is going on between Kwame Pianim and kukrudu. So they brief their listeners and prophesy the outcome of court cases and election results. In exchange, they are well-fed, well-boozed and all.
But things do not happen only during the day time. At night, the devil usually takes over. Friendships are entered into, old girlfriends are re-baptised and there is love and romance.
By Easter Monday, marriages are broken, new marriages contracted, girlfriends are jilted and pregnancies are on the way awaiting abortion. Every year it happens, and this year it is going to happen again. The death and resurrection of the Lord will really be marked in both righteous and evil ways.
Perhaps, this is not how Judas intended it to be celebrated. Judas was the architect of the Holy Friday coup d’état against the Son of Man.
This article was first published on Saturday March 30, 1996
The Ghanaian community in Finland on Saturday, March 14, 2026, celebrated Ghana’s 69th independence anniversary in an impressive event in Helsinki, the capital city of Finland.
The event was organised by the Ghana Union Finland (GUF), an association of Ghanaian migrants in Finland. It was an occasion well attended by many people from the Ghanaian community in Finland, Finns and other nationalities.
The occasion was graced by the Special Guest, Her Excellency Abigail Naa Adzoko Kwashi, the Ambassador of Ghana to Norway with concurrent accreditation to Finland and Iceland. In her speech, the Ambassador encouraged Ghanaians living in Finland to pursue unity, actively participate in, and support the Ghana Union Finland to build a stronger body better positioned to advocate for its interests and goals.
Also present at the event was the Honorary Consul of Ghana in Finland, Mrs Kati Kivisaari, who has replaced the retired Ms Ulla Alanko. Mrs Kivisaari urged Ghanaians in Finland to remain good ambassadors of Ghana in their lives in Finland.
The event saw the inauguration of new executive members of the Ghana Union Finland. The team was inducted by Elder Samuel Anini, Patron of the Ghana Union Finland.
Earlier, a “royal entry” was performed by leaders of the Asanteman Finland and Mfantseman Kuw and other personalities in their colourful kente attire adorned with ornaments, amidst traditional music and adowa dance to usher in the Ambassador.
Unity and harmony
I see such events, especially the ones marking independence anniversaries, as ample display of unity and harmony in the Ghanaian migrant community as well as in the larger Ghana and Finland relations.
Some personalities present at the event were Nana Ekuoba Gyasi Gyimah and other leaders of Asanteman Finland, Mfantseman Kuw Finland, as well as representatives of other Ghanaian ethnic groups.
It was a very colourful occasion with dance and other performances such as poetry recitals. The audience was also treated to tasty Ghanaian dishes such as jollof rice, fried yam, and soft drinks.
For me personally, whenever I think about Ghana’s Independence Day anniversary every 6th of March, my mind also goes to Finland’s own day on 6th of December. The two dates always give me such a special, positive feeling. As soon as one of the dates ends, I begin a countdown to the other (next) date.
Last year on December 6, 2025, when Finland celebrated its 108th independence anniversary and I participated in two events marking the celebration in Helsinki, I started looking forward to Ghana’s 69th anniversary this year. Now that Ghana’s anniversary is over, I am looking forward to Finland’s 109th anniversary on December 6, 2026. That’s the beauty of it all for me.
Ensuring integration
What I see in all this, especially for Ghanaian migrants in Finland, is the chance for members of the Ghanaian diaspora in Finland to integrate into the Finnish society through such celebrations that are marked by social activities, affiliations and ideas of inclusion.
Inclusion is key to integration, and the two ideas undoubtedly build a sense of belonging. As I previously wrote, Finland sees the role of migrant associations as bridge-builders for the integration and inclusion of migrants through participation in the decision making process and by acting as a representative voice, which is highly appreciated in Finland.
As I keep pointing out, Finland encourages migrants’ participation in the planning of issues concerning the migrants themselves, using such a strategy as one of the efficient ways to improve their inclusion.
Thus, there is an enabling environment created within the Finnish cultural ecology that undoubtedly helps migrants to integrate into the host Finnish society. Thank you!
By Perpetual Crentsil
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