O-Level Maths Simplified Part 1: Goal Setting And Motivation


 Welcome ! welcome ! Hope I find you well !

Hey everybody this is Ibrahim Chilanga founder of E-Blue Institute. I am the author of a free 3-part course titled O-Level Maths Simplified

I  help ordinary level students pass mathematics and other o-level subjects like Accounting, Science, Commerce, English, History etc by going out of my way and by being creative in my teaching the aim being to see doors of opportunity and career advancement being opened for my students.

Welcome to Part 1!

How do you pass O-level mathematics so that you open the doors of career advancement ? Are you looking for five O-levels ? Do you want to go beyond O level and attain A-levels ? Do you want a degree or diploma ? Do you want a dream job or career? Is O-level mathematics a stumbling block between you and all these dreams ? Fortunately, this free course is an opportunity to achieve these dreams because I am going to teach you how to easily pass O-level maths.

This training is designed to simplify maths. Maths shouldn’t be an ugly beast that scares away students. Mathematics is a subject you can enjoy if you are taught well. So as a maths teacher I have to simplify it for you. In fact Iam going to make it very difficult for you not to pass mathematics. How do I do this ?

To get started let me tell you about how I have helped other students pass Maths and made their dreams a reality. Now consider Allex. Allex had failed maths three times at first with a U then a D and finally an E. These were terrible results for an ambitious young man. But when he came to me after being referred by his friend I worked with him for only eight months and he passed maths with a B. This was a great result for someone whose last symbol had been an E.  As we speak right now he is doing diesel plant fitting at Harare Polytechnic.

You may now ask, “How did I help Allex pass Maths ?” Well if you want to pass mathematics the first thing you must work on before anything else is your motivation. Did you know this?

It turns out that one of the reasons behind why many fail maths is that they lack motivation first and foremost. If you look at the word “motivation” it means motive to action.

This means if we do not have a motive we can’t take action. Why do young people sit around and not do anything ? Why do young people find the time for taking drugs that destroy their health ? They are lacking motivation. They do not have a great thing out there so that they say to themselves, “ I have to go out and get that.” “To get to this point in my life I have to do these three things now”.

When we talk about motivation we are talking about goal setting. A goal is something you want to achieve and it motivates action. Take for example travelling. In travelling the destination that is where you want to get is your goal.

Have you ever realized a simple fact that the primary reason why you get to your destination is that you know that the place is there. In other words the destination is clear. When you want to travel to Harare, Bulawayo, Johannesburg, London etc it is clear that these places are there even if you have never been there. This therefore, motivates action today like the purchasing of bus or air tickets. Why and how would anyone buy tickets for an unknown place ?

Likewise when you want to achieve life goals you have to make your goals clear. Once your goals are clear this will motivate action which are critical steps you take today in order to achieve these goals. So goal setting is important because it’s a process that help you make your goals clear by writing them down.

Many people are failures not because of bad luck but due to the fact that they don’t have clear goals. What is it exactly that you want to achieve in your life ? As an O-level student setting goals is one of the greatest things you can ever do. Your life depends on it ! It will get direction and a bright future !

So why not get started with goal setting ?


Goal Setting For O-Level Maths Students

I now need you to sit down and begin to write the things that you want to achieve in your life. Identify these things. What are these things ?

So to do this take a piece of paper and create three rows as follows;

Row 1: Things I would like to do

Row 2: Things I would like to have

Row 3 : Places I would like to go.

Now start brainstorming …


Row 1: Things I would like to do

“What are some of the things I would like to do ?”

“I would like to learn swimming.” “ I have always wanted to learn the isiNdebele language.”


Row 2: Things I would like to have

“I would like to have a university degree.” “I would like to have a car.” “I would like to have a job as a medical doctor.”


Row 3 : Places I would like to go.

“I have always wanted to go to the Victoria Falls.” “I have always wanted to go to Durban and see the ocean.”

You see if you start writing down the things you would like to do, have and places you would like to go soon those things will start to formulate in your mind. What the mind conceives it can do. Therefore, it will only become a matter of time before these goals materialize as reality in your life.

These goals will motivate you everyday when you wake up. Every morning they will make you say,“ I have to go out and get that.” “But to get it I have to do A, B, C,D now”. You will soon discover that O-level maths will become one of the things you need to do now in order for you to get to your life goals.

So after writing down the things you would like to do, have and places you would like to go which are your major goals here are some of the things you should do next.


1. Choose just one goal for now.

To make it easy getting started with goal setting and avoid being overwhelmed choose just one goal for now. For example becoming a medical doctor under Things I would like to have.


 2. Make a list of the obstacles, make a list of the solutions.

As you work on achieving becoming a medical doctor what are the obstacles or problems you are likely to face ? What are the solutions ?


 3.Set deadlines

I would like to do this by 31 May. I would like to do that by 19 September.


 4.Put action items in logical order

Have you ever heard a statement? “Putting the cart before the horses.” This statement means first things first.

So say you have chosen becoming a medical doctor as your goal. What are the things you should start doing now ?

Well if you want to become a medical doctor the first thing to do is passing O-level maths. Medical practice require an excellent background in sciences particularly maths.

This therefore, means you should begin today working really hard on your O -level mathematics.


5.Visualize your dreams everyday

Get a dream book cut out the pictures of all the things you would like to accomplish. Look at them all the time. In this era of You Tube you can also download movies, documentaries and music that support your goals. Get excited about your goals!


 6. Be persistent

Do not quite because you had a bad day.


 7.Create a support system

Let everyone know about your goals – your parents, your friends, brothers and sisters etc. Create a support system that is have around you people who always support you to achieve your goals.

Also your music, videos and movies play an important role in the support system.

Eliminate associations that do not add value to your life. For example put to an end friendships that do not respect your efforts to achieve your goals.

With O-level students the problem is, it’s 9:30 am, you are doing maths, a friend comes, he or she says, “ Hey Iam going to the shops, would you like to accompany me ?” then you say, “ That’s okay Iam gone.”


 “ But Maths is hard !”

Well I hear this every time. However, what you should know first and foremost is that there is nothing meaningful that you can achieve in life by going through the easy way. Someone once said, “If it was easy everyone would do it.”

When you see athletes receiving medals at the Olympics it appears like it was easy. The truth is it wasn’t easy but the harder the fight the sweeter the victory.

No one will tell you about the sleepless nights the athletes went through as they worked hard preparing over a period of years. I remember reading about one world class athlete from Korea who said she trained for eight hours in a day !  

However, the possibility of winning a medal at the Olympics motivates everyday athletes like  this Korean. An Olympic medal distinguishes an athlete and places him or her in an elite class.

This also applies to you. The fact that O-level mathematics is a key that enables you to achieve your goals and live a better life should be motivation enough for you to find the strength needed for going through whatever it takes to pass maths.

You can also find strength out of yourself. I myself find my strength for whatever I do in Jesus Christ you can find yours in same.

But after passing maths you will be distinguished because you will have fulfillment. You will be a different person because the doors of career advancement and progress would have been opened.

All this means you must work hard starting today. As long as you maintain good work ethics you will no doubt pass mathematics with an A come examination. Those who pass maths do so not because the exam was easy but because they worked hard everyday before the exam.

Denzel Washington a popular American actor making a keynote speech to university graduates in his country put it in a simple yet powerful way when he said, “ Hard work works !”

We have done a lot of talking so far and you may now be asking, “ When are we going to do Maths ?” This question comes at the right time because since you are now mentally prepared I therefore, will not hesitate to announce that the maths topic we are going to do is called Vectors. I have put together an exciting lesson on Vectors and you will enjoy doing it.

So lets get started! However, we will not get started in Part 1 but please watch out for O-level Maths Simplified Part 2.

In the meantime I look forward to seeing your comments and feedback in the comments section below.

Thank you very much !  




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