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A brain workout? Yep, it's a thing (Corbis) Fact: We are outliving our brains. Life expectancy in the United States today is about 80 years old while that of Nigeria and some sub Saharan countries is less than 55 years. The problem? Our cognitive brain performance peaks in our early 40s. That means mental functions like memory, speed of thinking, problem-solving, reasoning, and decision-making decline in the last 30 or 40 year of life. The truth is most people don't consider their brain health until they're faced with injury, disease, or simply getting old. But just as we've come to realize that we can improve our physical health through diet and exercise, we can improve our cognitive health too.  It's simply a matter of engaging in the right mental workouts. Science now strongly supports the fact that our brains are one of the most modifiable parts of our whole body. Our brains actually adapt from moment to moment, depending on how we use them; they either dec...

The FIFA world cup, Brazil 2014 has come and gone. But the intrigues and excitement that came with it will linger on as new amazing records and extraordinary achievements were made. Not forgetting the not too pleasant records set......a la BRAZIL AND SPAIN (laughs). Here are some of them for your reading pleasure. Less I forget, GERMANY is the new world champion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOALS The 2014 World Cup saw a joint-high number of goals scored (171). James Rodriguez became the first player to score in his first five career World Cup appearances since Peru’s Teofilo Cubillas (across the 1970 and 1978 tournaments). There were more goals scored by substitutes in this World Cup than in any previous edition (32). The only World Cup to see more own goals than this tournament (5) was the 1998 finals (6). Tim Cahill has scored in three World Cups for Australia; no other Australian has done so in more than one tournament. Ghana’s Asamoah G...

  This man is really growing frustrated.  Just few weeks after loosing the champions league final to city rival, Real Madrid, his club faces another great challenge ahead of the new season as big clubs in Europe have started poaching on his best talents.   Diego Simeone is becoming exasperated over the selling off of his Atletico Madrid squad. The Daily Mail says the Spanish champions are wary that coach Simeone is growing frustrated at the sales taking place with Diego Costa and Filipe Luis heading to Chelsea with free agent Tiago. Midfielder Koke is also the subject of fevered interest but all interested parties are being referred to his buy-out clause of £48m. Koke is also being linked with Chelsea, along with Barcelona . Really bad for this great coach.

The FIFA world cup 2014 kick-started yesterday in Brazil in a grand style as Brazil the host country started on a winning note. Neymar struck twice as Brazil won the World cup opener against Croatia 3-1. Neymar, Brazil's Barcelona talisman, proved the key for the win in a sparkling and controversial  match that may well set the tone for a World cup of thrills and skills.  Each Brazil goal, two scored by Neymar  the second after a dubious penalty won by Fred  and a third by Oscar was greeted by a flurry of fireworks bursting across the Sao Paulo skyline. Croatia had had the impertinence to take the game to the hosts - and score first courtesy of an own goal by Marcelo but the drive of Brazil not to fail on such an occasion proved decisive.  Croatia coach Niko Kovac said afterwards: "I don't think anybody, anywhere in the stadium, saw this as a penalty. If you continue like this you will have 100 penalties. I think 2.5billion people wa...

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger 's relationship with Cesc Fabregas remains close, despite his move to Chelsea. Arsenal secured a first-option buy-back clause as part of the £35million deal which saw Fabregas return to Barcelona Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had considered taking up the option once it became clear Barca were looking to sell the midfielder.  But with the likes of Aaron Ramsey , Mesut Ozil, Jack Wilshere , Mikel Arteta and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain already at the club, Wenger decided his squad did not need another creative midfielder, says the Daily Mail.  Wenger and Fabregas continue to have a close relationship, while it is understood returning to north London was Fabregas' preferred destination.  Despite the fact Fabregas' move to Chelsea has been mooted for several days, there remained an element of surprise that Wenger snubbed the opportunity to re-sign Fabregas from within the club yesterday. Chelsea yesterday completed the signing of ...

Anytime you want to stretch and grow, you are going to have to make changes and take risks. Change is part of life, and risk is part of the change process. To deal with risk and change, you have to adopt a "WHATEVER IT TAKES" attitude. Great achievers are great risk takers. Dream big and dare to leap! Culled from: Attitude is Everything.

The growth of SMEs in Nigeria is paramount as it is required to bolster economic development. SMEs contribute up to over eighty percent (80%) percent of firms in the country. They are equally responsible for a substantial percentage of the labour force in the country. As important as it is to economic growth, it is rather worrisome that it remained in the developing stage because financing has remained one of the key managerial challenges that keeps confronting SMEs in Nigeria today.  Studies have shown that finance (capital) when in short supply most times due to mis-management greatly affects the growth of a business entity. Where there is no proper flow of fund to run and sustain a business entity, it is definitely destined for a premature collapse. Finance for the purpose of this content is the money invested in a business entity to start up and sustain a business. A small and medium scale enterprise within the context of Nigeria is a business entity whose asset base and...

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength while loving someone deeply gives you courage and freedom.  To all my esteemed readers and followers, I love you all and happy valentine!! Mwaaah!!!

Lazio have threatened legal action against those who have questioned the legitimacy of the age of their 17-year-old Cameroonian player Joseph Minala. The Italian side stated that his birth certificate is "absolutely legitimate". Lazio added:   "We reserve the right to take action against those responsible for the protection of the good name of the company and the footballer." The midfielder also issued a statement via the club's website denying he told an African website he was 41. He said: "I have read the alleged statements posted on the website senego.net in which it says I confessed my real age which was different to what was stated in my [official] documents. "They are false statements that have been attributed to me by people who do not know." Minala joined the Rome club last summer and recently played for them in the Viareggio Cup youth tournament. Source: BBC Sport.

Net Present Value (NPV)...... The difference between the present value of the future cash flows from an investment and the amount of investment. Present value of the expected cash flows is computed by discounting them at the required rate of return. For example, an investment of $1,000 today at 10 percent will yield $1,100 at the end of the year; therefore, the present value of $1,100 at the desired rate of return (10 percent) is $1,000. The amount of investment ($1,000 in this example) is deducted from this figure to arrive at net present value which here is zero ($1,000-$1,000). A zero net present value means the project repays original investment plus the required rate of return. A positive net present value means a better return, and a negative net present value indicates unfavourable returns. Net present value takes into account the value of the dollar today compared to the value of the dollar in the future, which is why it is a very important value to look at...

Some hours ago , it was a rumor. Now reports out of England have Chelsea and Manchester United with a “provisional” agreement for Juan Mata . For a United record $65.8 million, the 25-year-old Spaniard would make his way west, provided the two Premier League titans complete the more formal parts of Mata’s transfer. That’s what the “provisional” tag is all about. A reported possibility of a deal  was speculated on Tuesday, two things still need to happen. Though the clubs have agreed on the potential fee, Manchester United needs to offer a format bid for Mata. The former Valencia attacker must also make his desire to leave known to Chelsea manager José Mourinho, who has held on to the talented playmaker despite dropping him from the team’s starting lineup. That’s left Mata with no goals and two assists in 13 league appearances this season. Over the previous two campaigns, however, Mata was Chelsea’s most productive player, recording 18 goals and 30 assists i...

" Why is it that when something wonderful happens to us we immediately fear that the joy won't last, but when something tragic occurs we immediately assume that we will never get over it". Lesson to be learnt is that we should be better at savouring the good times  and letting go off the bad moments. Stay positive.............!

Cristiano Ronaldo has been dealt a blow ahead of next week's Ballon d'Or announcement as details emerge of a deal between Adidas - the main sponsor of Lionel Messi - and FIFA. Under the terms of the agreement, Adidas enjoys exclusive rights for the promotion of FIFA Ballon d'Or merchandise, while Nike, Ronaldo's main sponsor and that of fellow leading candidate Franck Ribery, does not possess the same privilege. It means the Real Madrid forward, who is the favorite to land the prize, will be unable to make money from the award in the same manner as his great rival and current holder. "These official partnerships are the reasons why we can use the official award name within promotional activity and therefore, by the same token, why Nike could not," Ben Goldhagen, Senior PR Manager for Adidas UK and Ireland, told Goal . Adidas produced a special edition f50 boot to commemorate Messi's fourth consecutive Ballon d...