Educational Blog
Alphabets (A–F) of Preparing for a Conference (In-Person)
A — Ask Questions
Don’t hesitate to ask questions—the worst you’ll hear is “no.” Inquire about funding opportunities from conference organizers or your institution. As a grad student, any opportunity to cut costs is valuable!
B — Be Ready to Network
Networking is one of the key benefits of attending a conference. Be prepared to introduce yourself to as many people (from students to renowned professors), engage in conversations, and make connections that can help your research and career. You may find co-authors, job opportunities, referrals, or speaking invitations.
C — Come with a Plan
From the agenda, find events or sessions most relevant to your interests and goals. Create a schedule to ensure you attend those key events—and try to visit the exhibition halls.
D — Don’t Feed the Impostor Syndrome
Don’t let self-doubt hold you back. Your work was accepted for a reason—you’re qualified and capable. Whether you’re presenting or attending, embrace the opportunity with confidence!
E — Engage with Resources Available
Maximize memberships, discounts, and other resources before and after the conference. Many memberships last a year (some two years) and provide extra networking and materials.
F — Follow Up
After the conference, reach out to the people you met. A short follow-up helps solidify connections and maintain professional relationships.
Conferences can be intense, from paper writing to slides hours before your talk. Make the most of the chance to
expand your knowledge and network, and don’t forget to enjoy the experience.
“Principles are ways of successfully dealing with reality to get what you want out of life.” — Ray Dalio
Driven by a lifelong commitment to learning, I have applied guiding principles that continue to shape my journey. Staying diligent with these maxims has brought meaningful results, reinforcing my commitment to deepening my contribution to knowledge, society, and meaningful work—believing excellence
is a continuous, evolving pursuit.
You are welcome to engage with my Maxims on Excellence, principles that guide both my work and my growth. Most of these came from deep meditations of the heart about life and the place of all beings within it. Find a section that piques your interest or your current state of affairs; I can assure you that you will not complete the section the same person as you started. If it motivates you that much, you may find interest in other sections. Have a happy read!
On Cultivating a Champion’s Mindset
- The best of men are still men.
- Embrace curiosity as the foundation of growth.
- “The world is your oyster.” — Stranger & Navy Veteran (2016)
- Strive for progress over perfection—excellence is a journey.
- When you show up, be competitive.
- “Life is filled with glorious opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.” — Jerry Falwell Sr.
- When in doubt, go to the library.
- The more answers you have, the more questions you discover.
- “The only thing that’s new is the history we don’t know.” There’s always more to work on.
- Perfectionist when the price is right; otherwise, results are God’s.
- Never let wins get to your head or losses to your heart—deflect every glory to God...and know, the God who takes the glory takes the shame too, if your "shame" came out of obedience to Him.
- Information consumes attention; attention requires presence; presence dissolves ego.
- Your confidence is His faithfulness.
- Envy is often a symptom of unacknowledged desire. Let honor be the cure.
- If you dont know a man’s story, dont envy their result. Behind every glory, there is a story.
- Everything in the Kingdom finds its value to the degree that it is connected to its purpose.
On Journey to Purpose and Becoming
- “To have meaning in your life is better than to have what you want.” — Jordan Peterson
- “You ain’t been nobody until you’ve been yourself.” — A stranger, 2024
- Define what matters. Decide how to protect it.
- Fight for what you believe is important, even when it does not come easy or seem likely. A happy home, a house full of love, and a fulfilled family is earned. You fight for those things as much as you fight for a healthy body.
- Home is whatever you call it. Home is what you make of it.
- Home is not home if home is the mouth of a shark - Warsan Shire.
- Strange experiences require strange people.
- Surround yourself with people you can trust to see clearly when your vision is blurred.
- Work is worship; hustling isn’t.
- Spend your life working hard to enjoy that life you have been blessed with.
- Live as though time is passing. It is anyway.
- Being a good person is not enough; The distance between a good man and his destiny is (=) ignorance.
- Faith is the foundation of trust. Trust is the foundation of communication.
- Even if you want to lie to others, don’t lie to yourself | “To thine own self, be true.”
- Two thoughts from John Adams; "The longer I live, the more I read, the more patiently I think, and the more anxiously I inquire, the less I seem to know...Do justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly. This is enough...& I say, that Power must never be trusted without a check.”
- All your suffering can't help or redeem someone who doesn't want to be helped or redeemed. Not even Christ's suffering could do that. Don't suffer unnecessarily where it does no good.
- Comfort kills growth.
- “Work for what you believe in, but pick your battles, and don’t burn your bridges. Don’t be afraid to take charge, think about what you want, then do the work, but then enjoy what makes you happy, bring along your crew, have a sense of humor.” — RBG
- Big fish/small pond vs. small fish/big pond — both are good depending on seasons and perspective.
- “If you’re not in the arena getting your
ass kicked for being brave, I am not interested or open to your feedback about my work” — Theodore Roosevelt
- “Grace is for salvation. Hard work is for graduation.” — A prof.
- Àìmàsìkò lóún dààmú èdá. (Time-uncertainty unsettles us.)
On Financial Intelligence
- Capital attracts capital.
- Delay gratification; bargain with the future.
- All money is not good money.
On Leadership
- Visionaries need not rely on external motivation.
- If you will lead me, you have to be better than me.
- A person’s heart is not with you until their heart is with you.
- “If you aren’t willing to be mocked, you’ll never lead.” — Naval
- “Studying leadership is way easier than leading.” — Brené Brown
- Fear is not a healthy motivator.
- "Everyone knows how to celebrate success, but you should also celebrate failure if it’s as a result of a child striving for an out-of-reach goal." — Clayton Christensen
On Waiting
- Àìmàsìkò lóún dààmú èdá. (Not knowing when "what" will happen (unnecessarily) unsettles us.)
- Most of impatience is not knowing what to cast your expectations upon at the time.
- Don’t hurry seasons. Don’t run faster than your race.
- "In life, you can choose to end up with what comes to you...or you can go for exactly what you want. The choice is yours." — Toni Tones
- “You think your pain is unprecedented… then you read.” — James Baldwin
- Love knows not its depth until the hour of separation.
- “Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight.”
On Growing Patient Endurance
- Sometimes, only God will believe in you.
- Aim your expectations wisely.
- God will provide. Always has. Always will.
- You can’t cheat timing.
- We learn our capacity when survival is the only option.
- Success is a product of systems.
On Friendship / Relationships
- Don’t confuse shared interests with shared values.
- Some seasons you must walk alone; others require companions. Discernment.
- After God, "community" is most important to me—and where you find it.
On Solitude
- The only thing new is history we don’t know.
- When providence delays, delay until providence.
- Beware unaccredited counselors.
- What lies behind us, and what lies before us, is nothing compared to what lies within us.
- Eternal vigilance, the price of liberty.
- Isn’t life a journey where you’re constantly making tradeoffs?
- Home is anywhere you make of it.
- Life at best is very brief, like the falling of a leaf.
- We blossom and flourish like leaves on the tree and wither and perish but life changeth not.
- Everyone is either going through something, or just came out of something, or is about to go through something.
- Diversity is the spice of life.
- Spending quality time alone is important and great... Until it's not. Discern when socialising is must for your mental health. (Focus on strong core group of friends with whom you can share feelings. Smaller the better.)
- “The real sign of a healed soul is not happiness, but integrity...Happiness is fleeting. Integrity is a compass you can use at any moment.” - stranger, 2021
- When in doubt, be kind.
- Everybody will certainly be wise. It’s “when” that’s most important.
- Be present. Time passes fast.
- “Work harder to appreciate your ordinary day. People don’t realize how quickly they are going to be old, either. Time goes very fast.”
- Family isn’t blood alone.
- God has a good sense of humor.
- You have a great life, you just forget it sometimes.
- Sometimes, take the “cell” out of your cellphone.
- “Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” — Einstein
- Honest people don’t hide ther deeds; so do dishonest people—intentionally or not.
On Character
- You can’t age your way out of immaturity.
- Everyone will be wise—when is the question.
- To thine own self, be TRUE.
- The courage to be vulnerable is not about winning or losing. It’s about the courage to show up when you can’t predict or control the outcome. — Brené Brown
- Be careful whom you trust. Be careful who you let trust you.
- “Grads, you will soon be called to act your part in life. Piety and knowledge will prepare you for a peaceful and honorable life and a triumphant death. Separate yourself from the vanity of youth and those which war against the body and mind and devote yourself a life of honor.” —unknown
- Even if you want to lie to others, don’t lie to yourself.
- Don’t ever get caught in a situation you can’t explain.
- It’s not everything you learn on the job; for some things, actually say “No.”
- "Wherever you go, Whatever you see, Do not say yes, When you mean to say no.” - Nigerian early-school marching song
- Sometimes “respectfully disagree” and stop trying to always understand everyone’s perspective.
- So much of our unhappiness is really just the frustrated urge to grow
- Pause and interrogate your thoughts.
- Sometimes pause and interrogate your thoughts and perspectives.
- Guard your tongue: when tempted to gossip, set this seal upon your lips: "I have intend in my heart that my mouth will not trangress, Psalm 17:3"
- If someone repeatedly shows you that they cannot hear you, cannot learn from experience, has no interest in growth, believe them. Don't waste time trying to change them.
- You can actually become everything you once condemned. Pay attention to your life, always.
- You may not be able to change the world, but you can change someone’s life. — Samantha Power
- For the diligent man, know when to quit.
- “Quitting..does not make you a weakling. Neither does it mean that you are conceited, arrogant and full of yourself...Contrary to that, sometimes, quitting is a sign of responsibility and maturity. It could be a sign that you value the seed that God deposited within you and are willing to get rid of the thorns of distraction that would choke the seed. Sometimes, quitting could end up being a pointer to the fact that you are committed to nurturing that seed into a plant that yields its increase [immeasurably].” — Dr. Promise Tewogbola
- Not every gifts (things or service) are good gifts. Some gifts allow unnecessary exemptions that steals your integrity, conscience, conditions for your growth, and your ability to drive influence.
- Humor is a tool of the wise.
As an academic, I engage pedagogy and dive into research, but when the books close, I open new worlds—writing stories that spark wonder in young minds.
I desire for every young mind to understand self-worth and an appreciation for the worth of others and the world around them.
Visit my author profile here.
The A to Z for Politics and Government
An introductory, alphabet-based book helping children discover the ideas that shape how societies function, with
visual depictions and kid-friendly explanations for each letter.
Buy on Amazon
19 Affirmations for Kids from the Bible
A read-along and read-aloud for kids (and the young at heart) to cultivate a wholesome sense of identity and grow
in the knowledge of God and the world.
Buy on Amazon