Everyone wants to be successful in life whether in career or family. Do you all agree? I was once a lazy student in school and I often skipped my classes but one day I decided that I should stop my nonsense and achieve something great in life. This thought came so sudden that I do not know where to start from.

I was really lost and I knew I need to improve on myself at that point of time, so I emailed some of my lecturers for their advice. In one of the replies, one of my lecturers mentioned that:

“I strongly feel that the formula ‘passion + aptitude = Success’ is a winning one, and when in doubt, one is probably best off going with that.”

Until today this email is still in my inbox, I keep it to remind myself that in order to succeed in life I need to work for it. I always tell myself that it is only me and myself that matters most to be able to succeed anything in life. Everything begins with you!

I follow the formula my lecturer gave me and made a new one for myself.

“Passion + Aptitude + Effort + Determination = SUCCESS!”

As I move on I realized that how much effort you are willing to put into the things you are doing really makes a big difference. The bigger your effort the better the results however many people can’t see their results because they gave up too early.

When your determination kicks in, nothing is going to stop you from achieving your goals. In my view, your effort and determination are important attributes that you need to inculcate to achieve the things that you desire.

Sometimes you hear people saying that only the rich are able to achieve great results because they have the financial support. Yes! But you are only half right. You can have all the money in the world but if you attitude towards your success is wrong, you are going to fail eventually.

There is a saying that goes,

“In a just and generous society you don’t have to be rich to achieve your potential.”
Barack OBama

What I am trying to say is that don’t let anyone take your dreams away. You and only you yourself knows what is best for yourself.

One last point, your route to success is not going to be a smooth one. There bound to be set backs and mistakes. Learn from your mistakes and move on with your plan. Every successful person goes through set backs and mistakes, which actually determines you from winning and losing.

I hope that my article benefits you in some way. All the best to you!

Part of the agenda of President Bush is to reform fuel economy standards for cars. In this regard, he earlier announced his proposal to require automakers to meet new fuel efficiency standards. Bush, in his State of the Union address, proposed that the automakers improve the efficiency of the vehicles by 4 per cent annually starting in 2009 for passenger cars and 2011 for light trucks. The administration also intends to cut gas consumption by 20 per cent by 2017.

The proposal is mainly to promote the production of green cars and it is undoubtedly helpful. However, not all are convinced by the proposal. Aside from Detroitâ??s Big 3, other analysts in the industry also expressed their dissent. In addition, environmentalists articulated their uncertainty about Congress enacting a law to alleviate corporate average fuel economy standards.

Some automakers were disappointed because the proposed $500 million budget over 5 years to speed research into advanced batteries was not contained in President Bush’s State of the Union address. Fuel efficiency can only be had if there is an adequate study behind it. The study does not simply include auto partsâ?? compatibility like EBC rotors; it entails every detail down to the minutest ones. Automakers also complained about the proposed 4 per cent increase in fuel efficiency. Said requirement is twice the increase that the president has implemented last March, when the administration reformed and increased corporate average fuel economy rules for light trucks, which includes sport utility vehicles.

The first proposal regarding fuel efficiency was issued in December. Bush acknowledged that his proposal is similar to the earlier proposal. “Their plan and my plan are very — have got commonalities, and we’re going to work together to get Congress to enact a comprehensive plan. I believe there’s an appetite in the halls of Congress to become less dependent on oil,” Bush said. The 4 per cent increase was also proposed by U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. Obama is still firm with his stand to mandate annual increase.

It can be recalled that General Motors Corp. has earlier asked Congress to significantly increase federal support for the development of advanced powertrain technologies and the promotion of alternative fuels. The call is also anchored on the need to improve vehicles efficiency. The automaker added that the industry needs billions of dollars to make the vision a reality. Moreover, it needs considerable aid from the government and such is expected to come in the form of cash.

The so-called CAFE standards for passenger cars that require cars to run at 27.5 miles per gallon have remained unchanged for about 2 decades now. It should also be noted that Bushâ??s administration recently revamped the rules for light trucks that resulted to sliding mileage scale based on a vehicleâ??s size. Bush wanted to assign a similar measure to passenger cars.

Bush added, â??The secretary of transportation would ultimately decide on fuel economy standards, but to meet the new goal fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks would have to be raised by an estimated 4 percent annually, beginning for passenger cars with the 2010 model year and for light trucks with the 2012 model year.â?

â??Bushâ??s ambitious targets for improving mileage is welcome,â? said John DeCicco, a senior fellow for automotive strategies at Environmental Defense, a not-for-profit group that focuses on environmental problems. â??We certainly praise him elevating the discussion about this issue. Our view is that, on the face of it, this target is a very good first step, but further action will be necessary from the White House and Congress, and theyâ??ll have to work together to make this work. Itâ??s not clear how vigorously both sides will pursue that goal.â?

DeCicco added that without legislation to limit the use of fuels like gasoline with high carbon content. He is skeptical the Bush plan will be implemented. â??Twenty years ago, similar legislation under President George H.W. Bush called for a 10 percent reduction in U.S. oil dependency by 2000 and a 30 percent reduction by 2010. Those levels were not met,â? DeCicco said. â??There have been lots of alternative fuel promises and promotions over the years, and in its totality all this activity has not made a measurable dent in U.S. oil consumption. So while the proposal put forward in the presidentâ??s speech was good, having piecemeal targets without an overall policy is failing the country and has been for 20 years. If these policies donâ??t result in a binding law, then theyâ??ll remain rhetoric.â?

“Obama biro, yawne yo!” (Obama is coming, clear the way)—Tens of thousands of cheering Luo “Tribesmen” and ululating women screamed as they welcomed Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) back to his father’s ancestral land—Nyangoma Kogelo village in Luo Land, Western Kenya, several weeks ago.

In a matter of hours Obama had soared to unprecedented political prominence in Kenya, eclipsing a bunch of corrupt and heartless nincompoops—The (Mt. Kenya Mafia), who are ruthlessly grinding beautiful Kenya to the ground.

The only difference between the Mt. Kenya Mafia and the current U.S. Republican administration, is that the former have brought Kenya down to it’s “Economic Knees,” while it’s virtually impossible for George Bush’s government to bring down the mighty economy of the United States, no matter how much they misappropriate it’s coffers by way of inflated Iraq reconstruction contracts or Katrina FEMA trailers. Otherwise both groups employ similar schemes – exploiting and manipulating ethnic (racial) intolerance and promoting rampant corruption—a bunch of “cold-blooded” louts.

The six year cesspool of a mess presided over by the Bush administration might not be in vain after all. It has made America hungry for a messenger with a message of hope.

In the NBC “Meet The Press” interview of Sunday 22nd October, I watched Senator Obama intimate that—based on the responses he has been receiving across the country, he is considering running for the presidency of The United States in 2008.

What impressed me most about him is how he tackled the question regarding his previous assertion in 2004—that he would complete his six year Senate term and not run for President in 2008: “I have thought about the possibility, but I have not thought about it with the seriousness and depth I think is required,” Obama said. “My main focus is on 2006, and making sure that we re-take the Congress. After November 7th, I will sit down and consider it.”

Unlike the shifty, programmed, and selfishly partisan politicians I am used to watching on Sunday morning political TV, Barack Obama countered Tim Russert’s questions with poise, spontaneity and most important, he seemed very genuine.

In a political system muddied and tainted by arrogance, corruption and incompetence, watching and listening to Obama is inordinately refreshing.

In Obama I see an intelligent and capable man, unlike the current President who constantly reminds me of an unprepared and confused “open book, open notes” exam taker, badly rehearsed and totally incapable of articulating his views without the stewardship of his father’s cronies, Karl Rove his “Political Architect” and a bone breaking conglomeration of “Hyena” special interest groups.

Obama’s apparent good human qualities added to the fact that he is a great American story, makes the Senator a very attractive prospect for the ultimate prize in politics—The Presidency of The United States.

Is Obama Presidential material?

Many cite his lack of political experience, claiming his resume is too thin for a run at the Presidency. I disagree and here is why:

1. Unlike other black leaders, Obama doesn’t grind “white noses” in Racism, and at the same time he is a symbol of hope to millions of dis-affected blacks and other minorities.

Judging by his Senatorial election win of a 70% majority, Obama has proven that he is a very powerful vote magnet across racial lines. He has established an “inclusive” track record that would be vital in a presidential election if he decides to run. His candidacy would draw out millions of dormant black voters thus making the Democratic candidacy more viable.

On the flipside, we all know that there are some whites such as the right wing gutter constituents of con-man Rush Limbaugh, who will forever embrace Racism and will never accept a black president. A President Obama would mark the beginning of the placement this irritant breed to the fringes of political obscurity.

2. He is NOT a bumbling idiot, appears humble and has not been tainted with partisan politics. Perhaps even more important is that he is a confident intellectual, which I think is a necessary pre-requisite for handling the complex issues of the highest political office in the world.

3. The last Republican President who had some smarts was the foul-mouthed bigot—Richard Milhouse Nixon, who engineered his own downfall with a lethal concoction of homophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-black and “Communist Paranoia.” As a matter of fact Nixon’s political career spanned three decades of scare mongering, witch-hunts and dirty tricks, the same tactics that have been successfully deployed by the current administration over the last six years.

All others after him have been bumbling buffoons with slight exceptions in George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.

Reagan the Serial Liar who made Americans feel good about themselves, was not only ill informed but partially senile towards the end of his second term – not particularly smart, but a great “Political Actor,” whose major achievements included presiding over the disintegration of the Soviet Empire (which was inevitable anyway), misuse of the World Bank and funding of CIA death squads to safeguard the corporate thievery by US multinational companies in Latin American countries…. and the worst in my opinion; propping the racist Apartheid regime in South Africa.

The “Great Communicator” was just another Republican crook!

Bill Clinton and John Kennedy did not have that much experience. Abraham Lincoln ran after two years in the House, Woodrow Wilson after two years as governor, and Franklin D. Roosevelt & Jimmy Carter after four years as governor.

Perhaps Dr. Martin Luther King summed it up best in his “The Drum Major Instinct” sermon delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, February 4, 1968 – He said: “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve…. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant,” qualities that are thoroughly lacking in the Republican base – the “self-chosen” people of “Faith.”

If the Democrats nominate Hillary Clinton, a very polarizing Democrat, the Republican smear spigots will spill out of control and flood the whole country to an extent that the Katrina calamity will look like a storm in a teacup. On the other hand, an Obama nomination would fuel vicious racial and below the belt “Nyangau” attacks from the right wing, like the slime being spewed by Republican troglodytes against black Democrat Harold Ford Jr. in the Tennessee, or by incumbent Senator George “Macaca” Allen in Virginia.

I wonder if Senator Obama has the stomach for such personal and racist attacks—a GOP staple!

Colin Powell assessed these circumstances in 2000 and chickened out, and subsequently dimmed his star serving in this ham-fisted administration for four years before being pushed out in favor of “yes-woman” Condoleezza Rice. It is rumored that he feared political assassination.

Will Obama follow through or is his potential candidacy just hype?

It is time for America to put it’s Racist legacy behind it, to re-assess its future, and take a closer look at this rising star, for I think Barack Obama is ready—to cleanse the “maligned” soul of America.