All I could think of in my own personal head space is my countdown to the day I have set in my mind to quit from the agency as the unit AD 10.20 Officer. That day is Monday March 31st and amid that thought, I also have a feeling of nostalgia, a little bit of fear and may be anxiety even though I did not want to admit it but that is what it is.

Why do I have those feelings or you may want to ask why do I even want to leave a job that offers me one of the best health benefits in the country, a monthly salary enough to pay my bills but not enough to have anything saved but at least I can take care of my children and aged parents back home in Nigeria as well as afford gas back and forth driving my 13 year old vehicle.

There are many underlining factors with any law enforcement job that folks are not paying attention to, the most crucial one comes down to Mental Health. This is one topic that is never talked about enough. Just yesterday, I was watching the TV as I always do for at least an hour or less a day to be conversant with what is going on in my community in Houston and Fort Bend.

I saw on ABC 13 the report of how the Harris County Sheriffs Office have lost 4 officers both former and current in the last 6 weeks to due to apparent suicide. https://abc13.com/post/4-former-current-harris-county-sheriffs-office-deputies-take-own-lives-last-6-weeks/16060117/

Sad as it is, this situation only got into the news because it happened back-to-back, what the public do not talk enough about is how most of these officers get to the stage of taking their own lives. I will make myself as an example in what I believe happens and the progression of it that mostly leads to the stage of one thinking about ending it all. The first point is that this feeling comes quick and fast, how do I know?

I have been there a few times in the last 7 years I have been working as a Correctional Officer. The life of a law enforcement officer is not like any other profession, it is even worse as you stay longer on the job which informed my personal decision to say ENOUGH and it’s time to move on and do something else.

Law enforcement officers and first responders historically experience a high rate of suicide due to the intense pressures and traumatic situations they encounter daily. It’s a combination of what happens on the job and what the job entails. I realized this challenges early on in my correctional career and thanks to my background in the broadcast and sports industry, I began to think of ways to use my knowledge in navigating the job.

Also, as someone that loves to read good books, I came across a book in the summer of 2021 when my life took a turn that I never expected, the book was by a former US Navy Seal David Goggins titled Can’t Hurt Me, the revelation of that book has been one of the most life changing decisions I took. It introduced me running and the importance of being fit and remaining in a good head state.

I share all this to let my readers understand how tough it is when you are in the law enforcement work. This profession, unfortunately, takes a huge toll on people. And, over time, the longer you’re in it, the more of a toll it takes, and it also changes people. In all of this, I believe that there are only a few options available to you as someone who is considering going into the profession, already in it for some time or just retired. You need to keep your mind engaged. Keep it engaged by taking any of these steps I will be sharing.

Find a passion beyond your job: A lot of people believe the word passion is just some random word that folks throw around but to me it is much more than that, apart from me already knowing what I love to do before relocating to the United States in February 2015 which is soccer, I have always find time to engage one way or the other with that passion of mine. As soon as I could when I came into the country, I began to look for a way to get involved in the sport and as early as the spring of 2016 I found a way, I became a grassroot soccer referee with the United State Soccer Federation under the South Texas Youth Soccer Association STYSA. Beyond refereeing soccer, I also started earning my soccer coaching license and volunteered with a few soccer teams to coach kids on basics of the sport. This is what I suggest you do to keep your mind engaged. Find something you love to do beyond your job. Whatever that is you find that lights you up, get involved for a few hours or days a week in that thing.

It can go a long way in helping you sustain the pressure of your fulltime job as a law enforcement officer and first responders.

Take your health and diet seriously: The pressure of being in the law enforcement cannot be predictable, you have no idea how or what kind of day you are going to have ones you leave your house, the unpredictability has led many of us into a very poor habit of eating and physical activity.

I have seen it too many times how my fellow brothers and sisters shove down their gut every kind of unhealthy food and drinks, nothing against the fast-food industry as I have indulged in it few times but its unfortunate that some of my colleagues made this their permanent diet.

I know of some folks that tells me with so much confidence that the drink between three to six cans of soda a day just to stay awake or just to keep the caffeine up and stay alert. I know of some that don’t prepare their own food from home but depend on the food available in the Officer Dinning Room ODR, I am not in a position to judge anyone but this is one of the areas that need your attention, remember, your body is the only thing that truly belongs to you and if you treat it like trash, guess what? You know the answer.

It is of utmost importance that you begin to take your diet seriously, there is a saying in my broadcast world when it comes to the quality of image that people see on their TV, it is garbage in and garbage out. If your camera is of HD standard, you will send out good image to your viewers and they will receive a clear image on their TV, same goes for your body, if you feed it with junk food, you will feel like junk and will not perform to the level you hope. Same with not doing any type of exercise, personally I practice 100 pushups and squats a day no matter what, sometimes I do it in one 7 minutes workout in the morning before shower and sometimes I do half and the rest of during my day.

I am not suggesting that you start with that much or that little but if you have not been on this adventure before reading this article, I suggest you get to it. Becoming a gym member is also very beneficial but I know of how many folks that sign up for a gym membership and renewed every year who never shows up. Important reminder again is for you to realize that it is you vs you. This is about your life, your longevity, your mental health, your wellbeing.

No one can do this for you, not your wife, lover, husband or partner. You need to take it personal and declare to yourself that you will not go down that part of self-destruction.As a correctional officer, the pressure is unreal, but we need to always remain firm, fair and consistent in our dealings with the inmate population.

The public have no idea how tough it is. Our need to be consistently courageous in a place that is dominated by aggressors and predators. We must be aware that we are the law behind these walls and anything less than direct obedience from the inmates is seen as a threat.

Our interactions with the inmate population consist of multiple elements that define the role of a law enforcement officer, excluding the recognition.

The CO’s put stops to assaults, prevent suicides and homicides, suppress gang activity, identify and seize contrabands, conduct investigations, make an inside arrest, and, most important, prevent escapes. All these elements assist other law enforcement agencies in maintaining a safe and secure society and it is what some of us face daily.

Some have done it decades and the thought of doing anything else is out of it for them. For every young man or woman that I encounter and have a chance to mentor in the system, I always give them these three simple keys to never forget and to hold dear.To have a spiritual practiceTo have a healthy habit or begin to create oneTo have a passion that is beyond the job.In all this, it is important to also have a social life. Do not isolate yourself. Have someone you can confide in; someone you can talk to when you need to talk.

Someone you can party with if that is your thing.Get some help. Do something to be able to not stay stuck. It is important. I am always rooting for you.If you or someone you know is in crisis, help is available. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline offers confidential support 24/7 at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Daily writing prompt

How has technology changed your job?

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After a very long thought and planning and procrastination, I decided to build a website along with my few projects I am working on, I had thought there will be no need for me having a personal website again since I had it before and did not do much with it but after reading a couple of books and following a lot of successful entrepreneurs on the internet and seeing how they operate. I feel there is always a need for me to separate my person as an individual from the company’s and dreams I am building for the world so I there say welcome to my website and I am excited that you have the time and opportunity to visit this blog.

I am hopeful you will get to know the type of person I am, what I do on a day to day basis, what book I am reading, what new experience I gained and the exciting places I have visited and will be visiting on this website from now on. Once again I say welcome to my world.

I am sure you will have read a lot about me on the website from the about tab and if not just click here for a little info about Bayonle Arashi. At the moment I am fully focused on rounding off my book titled Road Map to a successful football career, a book I have been working on since 2015, Yes 2015 but there have been so many delays in completing this book, this year however as I am going to turn 40 in June, I decided it’s about time and I had promised myself to complete the writing of the book, publish and start selling as a 40th birthday gift for myself so this has been the major inspiration for me. Today Monday happened to be one of those days I am opportune to have a few hours to myself so I had spent a couple of hours on it today and I was happy with how far I went with it. I was constrained to write this book after many years as a football academy administrator and before becoming an administrator, I have spent some 10 years covering the game of football across Africa and have the opportunity to travel to two FIFA world cups, Germany in 2006 and South Africa in 2010.

Bayonle Arashi in Germany

I have also gathered a lot of experience since my relocation to the United States in early 2015 as a Football (Soccer) Referee with the United States Soccer Federation and also a licensed youth football coach.  My decision to work on the book comes as a result of many questions, emails and personal discussions with young and professional players on their challenge in securing a professional trial without all the hassle and falling of victims into the hands of dodgy football agents. I have a story about dodgy agents but that is not for today.

I hope the book will be available soon on all book stores online and offline and hope you will get a copy and read to learn the basics of the dos and don ts’ as you grow and aspire to become a professional football player. I am passionate about helping people especially football players who most of the time are ignorant of asking the important questions and taking the necessary steps by themselves rather than depend on anyone to do it for you. I PROMISE YOU THAT THE BOOK IS AN EYE OPENER if you have the patience to read it.

Let me stop here in the meantime and I hope to blog about different issues as I feel it is important and share a lot if information with my followers and friends. You will read everything Football or Soccer as we call it in this part, you will also read about latest technology trends as long as it is informative and provide opportunities for my followers. Some of my blogs will come in video format so get ready and lets enjoy every bit of this journey.

I care about you guys and I will be back shortly. Questions? follow me.

Have an amazing week.LikeShareTweetLinkedIn

Driving home from work on Monday night after a 4 days 12 hours shift, I finally had the chance to follow up the public memorial for Kobe and Gigi Bryant, the 41-year-old BasketBall superstar had died in an unfortunate helicopter accident alongside his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, six family friends, and the pilot on Sunday, January 26th. He was buried on February 7, with his daughter in a private funeral in Pacific View Memorial Park in the Corona del Mar neighborhood of Newport Beach, California  

A public memorial service was held on February 24 at the Staples Center which has in attendance the best of the best in the sports industry, especially in the B-ball game.  You may be wondering why I am blogging about basketball since what I am known for is the game of Football (soccer) but what you don’t know is that the personality of Kobe cut across not just basketball but the entire humanity. Kobe was a symbol of hope to many, though lived for only 41 years, the impact he made in the lives of millions of young and old cannot be measured.

I was in the restroom on that fateful Sunday scrolling through my Twitter feedline when I saw a random tweet that Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash, I was like WTF is this dude tweeting about and was going to reply the tweet with some very harsh words on how not to play with anyone’s life with such a joke, as I was still trying to overlook the tweet, I saw another tweet from TMZ who I followed on twitter as well because I love me some hip hop also and tried from time to know what is going on in that scene too. This made it start becoming believable and in less than 30 minutes the news was trending across all social media platforms from Twitter to Google and Facebook.

The last time I felt that bad was when I lost my little brother in 2016. It was like Kobe was my brother and indeed he was even though I never had the chance to meet him but his work ministered to me all the time. I knew him as a successful basketballer but I got to know him better and began following him when I started noticing his entrepreneurship prowess and the businesses he was building as well as how much help and advice he was willing to give freely at major events.

Kobe’s death was painful without a doubt.

Going back to the memorial that was held on Monday afternoon and broadcasted on all the biggest broadcast platforms in the United States, I was not bold enough to watch any second of Vanessa Bryant the wife of the late player but without a doubt, she was the strongest woman in the world on Monday in Los Angeles.  The speech given by the greatest player to play the game Michael Jordan was what caught my attention the most. The 57-year-old was crying through the 12 minutes 17  seconds speech he gave as it was so obvious he loved the man Kobe. The video is available on YouTube

In his word, he said no one knows how much time we have, that is why we must live the moment, we must enjoy the moment and spend as much time as we can with the people we love, He also said a piece of him died when Kobe died and believed a piece of everyone at the hall also died which is why they were present.

There was also a moment of a laugh in the middle of his speech when he said Kobe just made him become another meme with his tears for the next 3 to 4 years but that he will take it. another interesting moment was when former Kobe teammate at Lakers Shaquille O’Neal popularly called Shaq shared an epic Kobe story during his eulogy.

The summary of this week’s blog is that our life should be all about ME meaning “Motivating and Educating” we must make sure we motivate and educate people with our lives, work, and legacy. Kobe Bryant was obviously a ME person as you may be able to attest, his work resonates with me, his work ministered to me, his work made me believe if he can do it, I can also do it and that is why I said life should be all about ME.

Nobody knows when the extinction call is coming but whatever we do for the world and in the world is what will leave and speak for us when we are gone. There’s nothing more to ask Kobe Bryant for as he left it all in the world. Kobe died young but he made a huge impact. What impact do you want to leave?

Have you ever been in a situation or state of mind that you are just tired of everything? Tired of talking to people, Tired of chasing your dreams, Tired of keeping on trying? Well, this has been my state of mind in the last few days as I lost all forms of inspiration to blog or further chase anything.

Wait, Could I be suffering from burnout in work and entrepreneurship or could it be some other pressure that I am not paying attention table to lay ahold on?

My last blog on this website about Kobe Bryant was in late February which I believe was a good month for me because I was able to knock out many of my daily, weekly and monthly goals but the weird feeling started in the last days of February, I had so many targets, places to go, events to attend and of course remembering that my daughters were thousands of miles away from me and the only way I can have any sort of conversation with them was only through a WhatsApp call or regular phone call.

Maybe, just maybe that was the reason for my latest burnout but just early today while at my desk at work I had to think myself out of that mood and self-pity and fight to get my mojo back and that was exactly what I did.

So on this week’s blog which took me two days to write, I want us to share our thoughts, experience and exchange ideas on how we can constantly be in a positive mood. Though not going to be easy to be a happy person 365 days a year but I have the understanding that we can make it possible for the most part. For me, reading the holy bible was one of the major decisions I made early this year and in fact, it was late 2019 that I discovered that I open my bible more and I have managed to complete the reading of some powerful books out of the  66 books in the Bible and YES it helped me to quickly get back to myself in my latest meltdown.

As it is with every human being we all have something we are chasing or that is chasing us and in my case, it is both. I have been chasing a couple of things for a while now, some I believe will redefine my life and my entrepreneurial journey, some I believe will make me a very father and some I am working on to make me a healthier person.  In the book of Romans, Paul mentions rejoicing in our sufferings because suffering builds character, hope, and relationship with the Lord. For those in the midst of suffering, these verses prove to be hard teaching. … God is always with us. Read Romans 5:3-8

I just want to use this opportunity to wish everyone that comes across this message out that you should not relent or give up on yourself and dreams, there will be times that you just feel like stopping and not chasing anything any longer but as it is written in Philippians 4:13 that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” It is also written John 4:4 that “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

Let the above scriptures be your anchor in your most difficult times, keep repeating those scriptures, memorize them with effort and see your situation fall apart and get yourself back up to keep firing because the almighty has given us the power to trample upon scorpion and cobras and possess our possessions. Do not give up in the midst of your struggle, have hope, keep your faith, pray without ceasing. May all you are praying and looking unto God to be fulfilled in your lives.LikeShareTweetLinkedIn

Many of you that have been associated with me for two decades or more knows my life has always been about Broadcasting and Football or Soccer whatever you choose to call it but only my closer circle knows I have a security license and I work fulltime as a correctional officer with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The agency I have been very proud to serve since 2018.

A few days ago I shared a picture of me in my correctional uniform on my Instagram and Facebook page and the reaction was massive, some were shocked while some sent congratulatory messages as they were genuinely surprised.  I know some will be like so this dude finally quit football and join the law enforcement but that is definitely not the case. My work schedule is very good and I have managed to run the academy from here through my very hard-working staff for five years and counting while writing and completing my book on football roadmap, refereeing youth soccer and as well developing a soccer technology company #ScoutBallers.

As I was rounding off my work cycle yesterday Monday, the thought came to my mind how tough it’s been going to work at this time when the whole world has come to a stop to fight a common enemy COVID-19 which has killed close to 175,000 people with over 2 million cases recorded worldwide. The diseases have indeed thought the human race a lot of lessons. It has shown that color, religion, sex or the wealth of a nation does not mean anything. It has also thought us all the importance of service. As a correctional officer working to secure the lives and property of the people in the great state of Texas, my job is considered as essential to the continuous running of the state and I have seen during these hard times what empathy truly means.

I want to use this post to thank all the brave people out there across every country of the world especially the doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians, police officers, firefighters, rescuers, military personnel, public works, and other trained members of organizations on the ir sacrifice and I say this too shall pass.

There are some glimmer of hope that more testing solution is being developed and will soon be available so more people can be tested and have a chance to tackle the virus on time before it eats deep so let us continue to stay strong and believe that all of this will be over soon and we can get back to our normal lives. we can walk with our loved ones again, we can hug them again, kids can go back to school and of course, that football will return to our screens while people that love to watch live will have a chance to do that also.

My book Road Map to a successful soccer career will be available soon and I can’t wait to share that news with you and seek your support as well.  In the meantime I hope you will all stay safe, stay home if you don’t have a genuine reason to be outside. Let it a bonding time for you and your loved ones.

I end this blog with this quote; You have to fight through some bad days to earn the best days of your life. Love you all.

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Have you ever woke up from bed one morning and felt so good about yourself just because you completed an enormous task that even you could not imagine can be done? Well, that was precisely how I felt on the morning of April 29 which was a Wednesday. I felt this because I achieved one of my biggest goals that I have been working on since 2012. I successfully published my book titled Road Map to a Successful Football Career on Amazon and ordered the first 20 copies for myself.

You may want to ask, why is the book necessary and why did it take so long to work on?

I wrote the book due to 20 years plus experience as a broadcast journalist covering football and as a football academy administrator who has had the chance to take players to trials and international tournaments in Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Tunisia, and South Africa to mention a few. I  have also had the privilege of working in one of the most organized football associations in the world the US Soccer Federation as a referee and youth coach. I get tons of emails from players in Africa, South America and some European countries asking if I was an agent and if I can help them to get a trial opportunity overseas.

Then I know if I didn’t do something about this, many more players will be misled, swindled and many careers will be cut short so I decided to start work on it gathering data and specific information that will work if well executed.

I had to make sure every information in the book is practicable and can be achieved by anyone who truly desires to achieve success in the game, I was also seeking opinions of football leaders that I had the pleasure of knowing back then. One of the early reviewers of the book is Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi the Lagos State Football Association Chairman and Vice President of Nigeria Football Federation,

Have you been thinking of how to go from playing in the streets to playing at the biggest stadium overseas?

Don’t know what academy you need to join to get scouted?

How to contact scouts and football clubs directly?

Or you want to know how to get a football (soccer) scholarship into Colleges and universities in the United States and Canada?

All this information and more are what has taken me 8 years to put together for you and it is available in this book.

Road Map book details the What-To-Do and How-To-Do that will make your dream of becoming a professional soccer player a reality, It also provides information on how to find a college or university scholarship to study and play the game in countries that offer such opportunities. More importantly, the book makes you know the difference between a football academy and a football club in detail.

For example, I get this question from players every time they enquire about joining my academy. Are my going to get paid?

The answer to this question is always NO, As an academy player, no one will pay to teach you how to become a better player than you are, it is actually the other way round. It is the price you have to pay for your ultimate goal.  So if you have kids between ages 7 up to 16 years old, quickly order a copy of this book for them as a wonderful parent should, I also urge every lover of football to own a copy.

You will also find in the book the Red light to look out for when you are being approached by anyone claiming to be a scout or an agent to a football club or promised to take you to some country, that you have to pay some amount of money to make this happen. It also provides information on how to identify a genuine football agent who has your interest at heart, it Xrays how a football contract works, what you need to do to brand yourself, how to attract a scout, agents, or coach to show interest in you and many more.

The biggest offer for owing the book is the contacts, phone numbers, email, and website of over 2000 college and club coaches in the United States and other countries that I am offering for free after your confirmed purchase of course. 

As one of my mentors always says, YOUR DREAM IS POSSIBLE but you have to work the talk, you can say this affirmation 1 million times a day and it will like magic but your actions must match your word. Keep training hard, give your best always and make sure you get self-knowledge which is what this book is offering you. Nothing more powerful than a man with knowledge. So whether your dream is to become the next Messi or Ronaldo? or you just want to play in the Scandinavian league and make a decent living? or you have a good school grade and you want to go to school overseas and still play the game you love.

Buy and read Road Map to a Successful Football Career.

Bayonle Arashi, to your success. I look forward to your reviews.LikeShareTweetLinkedIn

Since the launch of my book Road Map to a Successful Football Career that was released and published on Amazon in April, It’s been a lot of work and new ways of thinking in other to get the book to the audience that I am sure are in need of it. My target audience are kids from age 7 as well as teenagers. The reason for this as regards children from that is because that is the age most of them are being introduced to the game by either their parents or other family members that might be a huge fan of the game of football. For the teenagers, it is the point when their level of curiosity goes very high as they want to know become the next Messi or Ronaldo.

Summarily, these age categories are the most of any population in every country of the world as of today. Enough of the statistics yeah’

My blog this week is to share some of the struggles as well as mental exhaustion I have encountered since the book launch. I have been privileged to be given a TV interview on ARISE Television in Nigeria, you can watch the short interview here, I have also gotten some supports from my friends in the online media to write and feature the book on their platforms however the sales of the book has not been as impressive as I am envisaging or maybe I am just too ambitious as always. One thing is for sure though, there’s a huge market share for this book.

In between all of these promotional efforts on the book, I still have to give my full attention to my job as a state of Texas correctional officer as many of you know that the world is still battling with the COVID-19 pandemic and now is a more challenging time to be a CO as the general public calls us. Most units across the state are on lockdown. I was temporarily reassigned to the maximum unit in Beaumont from 17th to 22nd of May which is part of what I signed up for, when duty calls you must yield the call. You might not be aware of this before now but my job is listed as one of the hardest and most stressful jobs in America. If you do not have a very strong personality, I will advise you to look for something else but the truth is I love helping people and it has helped to increase my leadership capability so it’s been a bittersweet experience.

I returned home on the weekend of 22nd May and had to continue work and promotion of my book. Then during the following week during one of my early morning home workouts which is all you can do now since the gyms are still not fully opened. My workout contains 50 burpees, 100 squats, 3 minutes plank, and 100 push-ups. There comes this weird feeling that came over me. I can’t remember the last time I was that weak, extremely tired, and overwhelmed. I was suddenly angry up to my soul, wasn’t hungry and it continued till my off days finished and I showed up to work in the last week of May like that. At the end of that day, I decided to go see the doctor and find out what the hell is going with me. This was not before I have had a disagreement with my supervisor at work for something that maybe I should have been able to control and react to in a different way. My last second visit to the doctor was earlier today June 1 and both doctors confirmed all I need is rest so I am asking how do you rest when you have all of this many challenges lined up in front of you.

Now to you my readers, what do you do to get out of burnout?

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The subject of my blog this week might feel or sound somewhat to you but this is the exact thought that has been on my mind in the last few days as I have continued to work very hard in promoting my book Road Map to a Successful Football Career selling on Amazon and of course good news; The book is now selling at bookstores in Nigeria.

The past week has been filled with lots of activities regarding the book and creating awareness across every platform that is offering me an opportunity to come and talk about it, about what inspires me to write such a book at this time, I have always said to anyone that cares to listen or ask why I have to go through that stress according to them for the generation that doesn’t read, I am hoping the youths will not confirm this unbelievable notion that the older generation has of them. Someone mentioned that his observation for a while now is that most of these teenagers are not interested in going through the process of making their dream a reality, that they want everything fast but I vehemently disagree with this individual.

Start Reading- Bayonle Arashi

I was on a live Facebook session via the page of an old friend and colleague based in Manila Philippines named The Parrot Post with over 14,000 followers a few days ago, you can watch the video via this link. Though it was watched live by only 4 persons at the time of writing this blog the viewing is over 800 and hopefully it will gain more traction with the sharing of the link on this blog. Why did I mention this, the fact that only 4 people had the time to watch the live video on a page with over 14k followers most of them teenagers tend to support the statement made by that my friend above. That our youths are not seeking knowledge on how to make themselves better and walk an easy path to their career when someone that has gone through what they are about to go through is giving them an opportunity to get there faster by owning a book of fewer than 100 pages and read so their journey could be smooth.

So I ask again, how do we make our youths become readers?

For me, I do not intend to stop anytime soon with my intention of preaching the right path to this younger generation, my dream is to make sure the book gets into the hands of 1 million people between now and the next 12 months. How this will happen? I have no perfect plan yet but I have got an idea which I am sharing a few here.

I have been reaching out to some reporters with large followership in the United States and other countries via Twitter to let them know the importance of this book for young people growing up with the love of the game, in the United States, for example, I found out there are 4.2 million players (2.5 million male and 1.7 million female) registered with U.S. Soccer. As of 2012, about thirty percent of American households contain someone playing soccer, a figure second only to baseball. Increasing numbers of Americans, having played the game in their youth, are now avid spectators.

with the stats above I believe my dream of selling a million copies of the book in 12 months is a reality just that there’s a lot of work to be done so in case you come across this blog and you know someone that can help with their platform to make this book known to the general public, do it for me, please.

The other thing I am working on at the moment is to make the book become a digital training course where the same information in the book will be presented via a video and let as many young people across the world that are soccer lovers to have access to it and go through the process of them achieving the ultimate aim of becoming a football success. This is very necessary at this time as not many people are aware that the effect of the current COVID 19 pandemic has had on the game is huge and that football clubs across the world will start adjusting their pocket and looking for better and more affordable ways to keep their clubs or school programs afloat.

One of the major areas of change will be that everyone will start looking inward. European clubs will be more interested in signing a European player that may not be as talented as a Brazillian but because the homegrown player will be affordable and easy to manage than his foreign counterpart. This will go across every other league in the world. I predict it will be like this for the next 24 months so for you as a player in any part of Africa, Europe, Americas, or Asia hoping to jump on the next flight when the whole pandemic is over and a vaccine is found. THINK AGAIN because it is not going to happen.

Now is the time to start looking for opportunities around your continent and the only way you will be aware of what you need to do is to constantly seek knowledge, read my book and follow me on all social media platforms @bayonlearashi because I will be sharing what you need to do to get you where you need to be in your career.

You can order for Road Map to A Successful Football Career on Amazon or via Epokbooks in Nigeria. Amazon will ship the book to you in any part of the world you are here is the link to order on Amazon

I look forward to sharing more updates with you in the next few days as I am shifting a little attention to my other company’s Midas Football Academy with a great announcement coming soon as well as finally creating the MVP of ScoutBallers.

You can always reach me via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for any questions or advice, and remember that when you get a copy of Road Map, you will receive from me the database of over 2,000 football contacts at U.S Colleges and Clubs in different parts of the world.

To your success.

Bayonle Arashi

Today February the 7th 2020 makes it exactly 5 years since I landed in the beautiful city of Atlanta in the state of Georgia to begin a journey I had no idea or thought of where it is going to take me. It was a straight 14 hours flight from Lagos to Atlanta and a more or less easy entrance into the country after a brief interview by the immigration officer at the Port of entry.

I looked back as I woke up to go to work this morning with so much nostalgia but thankful for the exact point I am at the moment while looking forward to a bigger adventure ahead. There have been many nights of tears, pain and as I put it on my social media post earlier coulda woulda shoulda but in all I give thanks. The toughest of it all is not seeing and holding the four beautiful angels God granted to me to father Ayomide, Ayomiposi, Oluwasemiloore, and Iremide in my arms for the past five years. I am grateful still that social media gave me the opportunity to be in constant communication with my girls and we do make it up with WhatsApp video calls every weekend or as much as time permits.

My Girls

I have too many memories of the last five years to share but will share a few here now while hoping to put the rest in a book along with other experiences I am still going to gather in the future. I will, however, share some personal experiences and appreciate some specific people that have helped me to get to the current place I am.

Prior to my relocation to the States in 2015, I have always wanted to have a home outside of my home country of Nigeria but I never thought a certain circumstance will make it happen when I least expected.

I own and operate a football academy in Nigeria which happens to be one of the best in Nigeria to date and basically what we do is to recruit the youngest and best football players across the country, develop them and help them to make a career out of the game. Our plan also go beyond just turning out great football players but to make them useful as men in society just in case their talent is not enough for them to make playing the game work for them, I am a huge advocate of vocational education because I passed through the stage and I know the huge edge it helped to propel my career so we always offer to every newly registered player of the academy to choose what career path they will like to pursue apart from just training and developing their football talents.

We have a big vision for the future to build proper infrastructure and give between 50 to 150 young African and Nigerian youth an opportunity to make their dream a reality either by becoming a successful football player or becoming an Entrepreneur creating business for others to emulate.

The story, The academy had resumed in January 2014 as we usually do, had a meeting with the two coaches on the academy payroll and strategized on plans for the year. The plan was to make sure we take our team to Europe that summer for a trial camp and let the players have an opportunity to explore a bigger career opportunity. The academy had previously taken teams to youth tournaments in Europe and North Africa but in 2014 we had the option of Turkey. I have no partner in the Turkish football market at that time but I met a guy in Instanbul on my way from Tunisia in late 2012, we have been communicating constantly via Facebook and when I made a post on my personal page as well as the academy social media page that we are looking for a consultant to organize a trial camp for the academy. he responded that he knows some club executive in Turkey that could help us execute our plans in bringing the team there for 10 days to play 4 matches in 8 days and rest for one before returning back to Nigeria hoping the teams we will be playing against will show interest in some of the players and possibly sign them so we can make some profit. Each player was to pay the sum of N350,000 approximately $1100 each which covers visa, feeding and flight ticket to Turkey and back for 10 days.

Since the academy players and parents trust me and could see our past record of success in executing such a project, many players responded but only 18 registered and paid the amount requested. I called the partner who I have for a professional reason decided not to mention his name for now since the matter is still registered with the Nigeria Police Force. I also registered myself and the academy head coach for the event so the amount exceeding  N3 million about $9,000was paid as upfront payment to process visas for the 18 players and two officials. He called about a week and a half later that the visas were ready which he proved by bringing my passport with visa stamped on it. He then requested for the remaining fee so he can secure flight tickets and the team can fly a few days later, since the money was already in my account, I transferred the remaining balance of over N5 million about $15,000 to his own account. I did all of this with so much excitement and a huge expectation of return.

That last transfer was the beginning of a major turning point in my entrepreneurial life, I found out two days later from a friend that the visas that were issued and stickered to the 20 passports were all altered and not issued by the embassy. On finding out I reported the issue immediately to the nearest police station so we can make an arrest of this deceitful fellow immediately but all effort to get him from there on proved abortive knowing fully well what he has done. I decided to inform my coaching staff and they suggested calling the players together and let them know the heartbreaking news. Some took it and acted like they believed while others asked what will happen from here on which I replied we will have to find out. Some of the player’s parents on hearing it did what any parent will do by reporting to the authority who invited me to come to explain what had transpired. I made a promise to return the funds personally. Sold my personal car, the landed property I planned to use for my house and was able to refund a few of the players.

What to do next was unknown at this period and that was when the idea of going away from the country for a while crossed my mind as I could not look my children in the eyes and tell them they won’t go to school anymore since I have sold all my assets.

On the night of 6th February 2015, I departed Lagos for Atlanta from Atlanta to New York and a three-day brutal train ride from New York to San Bernadino California which became home for the next six months. After connecting with a former senior colleague in the broadcast industry, he suggested I come to Houston Texas and was able to introduce me to a local Houston television channel executive who gave me the opportunity to manage the channel and I did for the next two years. California was good but Houston was more of home than anywhere else and I have loved every bit of it.  Since then, I have worked with Amazon, FedEx, Goodman Manufacturing and currently with the Texas Department of  Criminal Justice. these jobs have nothing to do with my background as a Broadcaster and Football Entrepreneur but this is America and you have to hustle.

Staying away for five years without my daughters, my parents, friends and directly managing the academy project has been brutal, challenging and very emotional but it has made me grow to a better person and the experience I have gathered can never be bought for a million dollars. I have had nights of tears alone in my bed, in the showers, while driving and sometimes when I am cursed out by my supervisors at work but I have managed to take it all in and use it to further develop my leadership skill. I am filled with hope and an exciting future ahead and believed so much that all I have missed and lost is being restored back to me from here on. This is my journey so far.

I will love to come to share my experience and how I have been able to come out of many challenges while here at your gathering or event, let’s talk.

My book Road Map to a Successful Football Career will be released soon and hope you get a copy and read or as a gift to an upcoming football player you know.

Thank you for taking out time to read this. Bayonle Arashi

It’s been about 9 months since my last appearance on the screen producing and presenting any of my shows and Lord I missed it. This thought me a few lessons and made me realize the general saying that some people in your life that see and follow all your activities but never feel the need to offer any sort of encouragement with the word of support that you should keep going. They rather watch, not comment, not like or even use their platform to share your work. The truth is I was not doing what I did for them but for me. I was doing my own part of sharing some positivity in this world where there are so much confusion and discouragement.

I have had people ask why I no longer produce any of my television shows, the last one was the sports segment I anchor on My Community Show with the last episode airing in December 2019. This has been due to a few things which I am unable to detail here but majorly it was due to loss of motivation, no sponsorship was forthcoming despite many efforts with advertising. You may say that should not be enough reason to stop but the truth is even the strongest people must learn to stop and walk away sometimes then come back and look at that project again and this time from a different angle. This was exactly what I have done.

You will agree the last 7 months of the year 2020 have shown us that nothing is guaranteed and tomorrow is not promised. I have however found a way to make something positive out of the year personally. The release of my best-selling book Road Map to a Successful Football Career is something I am proud of myself for, though it was a hard task, I managed to pull through and publish the book on Amazon and Epok bookstore selling the book in my home country of Nigeria. I have also just released the video course version of the book as promised in one of my previous blog for folks that cannot make the sacrifice to read an actual book. You can order and watch the course here now for a limited sales period at only $27. I also turned the big 40 this past June so I guess 2020 hasn’t been a bad year for me as I plan to double down on the hard work and reach for greater heights.

Road Map on Epok Bookstore Nigeria

This is why the title of my blog this week comes in, I am coming back on your screen guys with a new broadcast which I titled Football+. The idea for the show was inspired after looking at what has been happening around the game of football in the last few months. Though most of the European elite leagues have managed to pull through the season without fans at the stadium. The show will have three segments which are key to keep the excitement of the beautiful game alive. They are Trending Topic, Motivation, and Career Advice.

I hope you will agree with me we all need some motivation in our lives at this period, the segment on career advice is very vital as we all know that the world changed in the year 2020 and it is better we all change with it or forgets about having any meaningful impact going forward. I will do my best each week to bring you something that will make you ask for more. The 3 segments will be covered in 10 to 15 minutes and it will air on some of the shows I have segments on previously as well as my YouTube channel which I suggest you subscribe to if you have not already done that.

Stay tuned guys and see you again soon.