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5 Business Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Bodybuilders

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Arnold Schwarzenegger, former bodybuilder turned actor and politician, once said that he learned everything he knows from bodybuilding.

If you’re a business man or woman then this is something worth taking note of. After all, Schwarzenegger has proven himself a savvy businessman over the years and through a number of small businesses and shrewd investments actually managed to make his first million before he first graced our screens in Pumping Iron.

But surely this is just hyperbole! After all, what can you possibly learn about business from a pastime that involves grunting in the gym and covering yourself in tanning spray? Well, surprisingly a lot actually. Read on and we’ll look at some powerful business lessons you can learn from the bodybuilding industry.

Vision

One thing that bodybuilders and entrepreneurs definitely have in common is a steadfast commitment to their vision and their passion. Sure, for a bodybuilder that vision might be 21’’ biceps, but the principle remains the same.

Having a vision and staying committed is what makes it possible to wake up while the world is still sleeping; to get a gym session in before work or to meet with international clients on Skype. Either way, this is your fuel and you won’t get anywhere without it.

Goal Setting

What’s key to consider with regards to vision is the way you craft your goals. The easiest way to miss your goals in bodybuilding is to focus on distant and abstract goals. Instead, you keep your goal setting focused on things that are entirely under your control. A great goal, for example, would be to go to the gym four times a week every week. If you can do that, you’ll find the rest just works it out!

The same goes for business. Have a distant ‘end goal’ in mind, sure. But more important is to focus on the steps that it takes to get there.

Laser Focus

Schwarzenegger says that when he was at the height of his bodybuilding career, he used to imagine his biceps swelling up as big as the entire gym while he was training. More recently he referred to texting in the gym as ‘Mickey Mouse stuff’.

Either way, the message is clear: you need to be focused on what you’re doing if you’re going to accomplish anything. This is what leads to the coveted “flow state” that is such a buzz word at the moment.

No Pain, No Gain

This is one of the most popular mantras among lifters and if you head to any gym you can expect to hear it yelled out at least a few times a day.

And of course this is true: to be successful in the future you need to be willing to put in the work here and now. Really, the sport of bodybuilding is a sport of preparedness. The winner of each competition is decided long before anyone steps up onto the stage.

Train Smart

But the best bodybuilders don’t just train hard, they train smart. The top players are athletes and scientists rolled into one – constantly checking Pub Med for the latest research they can use to enhance their training.

This is absolutely key in business and is what makes the ‘80/20’ law so valuable. If 80% of your profits come from 20% of your clients, it makes sense to focus on that 20%!

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Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan. Mr Olowookere can be reached via dipo.olowookere@businesspost.ng

Economy

Nigerian Exchange Tumbles 0.46% on Profit-Taking

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exposure to Nigerian stocks

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited suffered its first loss this week with a 0.46 per cent decline on Friday, influenced by profit-taking.

The market was under selling pressure yesterday, with all the key sectors of the bourse closing in red when the gong was struck by 2:30 pm.

The commodity index was down by 1.94 per cent, the insurance sector depreciated by 0.22 per cent, the industrial goods space lost 0.18 per cent, the consumer goods counter went down by 0.05 per cent, the energy industry tumbled by 0.02 per cent, and the banking sector fell by 0.01 per cent.

As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 498.56 points to 108,733.40 points from 109,231.96 points and the market capitalisation retreated by N314 billion to N68.339 trillion from N68.653 trillion.

The market participants traded 459.2 million equities valued at N11.2 billion in 15,723 deals on Friday versus the 554.1 million equities worth N14.4 billion traded 16,704 deals in the preceding session, implying a decrease in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 17.13 per cent, 22.22 per cent, and 5.87 per cent apiece.

Tantalizers traded 101.4 million shares for N237.3 million, GTCO exchanged 51.3 million equities worth N3.5 billion, Access Holdings transacted 45.2 million stocks valued at N975.3 million, Zenith Bank sold 21.8 million shares worth N1.1 billion, and Sterling Holdings transacted 15.5 million equities valued at N91.8 million.

The heaviest price loser was Transcorp Power with a decline of 9.98 per cent to settle at N328.50, Haldane McCall fell by 9.57 per cent to N4.25, Meyer lost 9.09 per cent to trade at N8.00, Regency Alliance dropped 6.78 per cent to finish at 55 Kobo, and Sunu Assurances crumbled by 6.73 per cent to N4.99.

On the flip side, ABC Transport chalked up 10.00 per cent to quote at N2.86, Sterling Holdings also expanded by 10.00 per cent to close at N6.05, Chellarams improved by 9.94 per cent to N10.40, Academy Press gained 9.92 per cent to finish at N4.32, and Red Star Express appreciated by 9.90 per cent to N5.55.

Business Post reports that a total of 34 stocks appreciated, while 32 stocks depreciated, indicating a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment despite the loss recorded by Customs Street during the session.

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Economy

CSCS, Three Others Weaken Unlisted Securities Market by 0.46%

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CSCS Stocks

By Adedapo Adesanya

Four stocks weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.46 per cent on Friday, May 9, bringing down the market capitalisation by N9.02 billion to N1.935 trillion from N1.944 trillion quoted at the preceding session, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropped 15.42 points to settle at 3,304.74 points, in contrast to the 3,320.16 points recorded a day earlier.

Central Securities Clearing Systems (CSCS) went down by N1.28 during the trading session to finish at N22.60 per share versus Thursday’s value of N23.88 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N1.00 to close at N40.03 per unit compared with previous closing value of N41.03 per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc depreciated by 11 Kobo to end at N1.81 per share versus the previous session’s N1.92 per share, and UBN Property Plc shrank by 4 Kobo to trade at N1.96 per unit, in contrast to the N2.00 per unit it was sold in the preceding day.

However, the price of Impresit Bakolori Plc went up by 11 Kobo yesterday to close at N1.27 per share versus the previous day’s price of N1.16 per share.

The volume of transactions went down on Friday by 33.1 per cent to 231.6 million units from the 346.3 million units recorded a day earlier, the value of trades decreased by 31.3 per cent to N606.4 million from N882.8  million, while the number of deals increased by 256.3 per cent to 57 deals from 16 deals.

At the close of trading activities, Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 265.8 million units valued at N469.5 million, and Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units sold for N4.9 billion.

Similarly, Okitipupa Plc was the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 153.6 million units worth N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 19.9 million units valued at N765.5 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million.

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Economy

Naira Maintains Stability against Dollar at Official Market

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currency in circulation eNaira

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira was relatively flat against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, May 9, though it marginally shed 0.2 per cent or 7 Kobo to settle at N1,609.64/$1, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1,609.57/$1.

Also, the Nigerian Naira traded flat against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the official market during the session, remaining unchanged at N2,145.48/£1 and N1,818.42/€1, respectively.

In the same vein, the value of the domestic currency to the Dollar remained unchanged in the parallel market yesterday at N1,625/$1, according to data obtained by Business Post.

As for the cryptocurrency market, it remained positive as President Donald Trump announced a comprehensive trade deal with the UK and the cumulative inflows into the spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) hit a record high above $40 billion.

According to market analysts, this has led to substantial liquidations of bearish short positions, or leveraged plays aimed at profiting from price losses. A position is liquidated or forced closed when the trader’s account balance falls below the required margin level, often due to adverse price movements. This leads the exchange to close the position to prevent further losses automatically.

Meanwhile, the US and China are said to be working on a trade deal but many are skeptical of a deal being reached this month.

Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 7.6 per cent to sell at $0.2229, Litecoin (LTC) improved its value by 5.5 per cent to quote at $103.51, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 4.6 per cent to $663.22, and Solana (SOL) recorded a 3.6 per cent growth to sell at $171.52.

Further, the price of Ripple (XRP) went up by 1.4 per cent $2.37, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 0.8 per cent to sell for $2,366.49, and Cardano (ADA) gained 0.7 per cent to trade at $0.7952, while Bitcoin (BTC) went down by 0.3 per cent to $103,670.89, with the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) trading flat at $1.00 each.

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