Travel Steadily

Considering Easter weekend has just passed, I thought a spiritual post is in order. I also posted this to the blog that my friends run at rockingitchristianstyle.blogspot.com... So check out that vibrant site for some thought-provoking reading and insightful album reviews if you get the chance.  

Okay, here we go...

Psalm 37:34 says “Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act! Travel steadily along His path. He will honour you, giving you the land”. What a beautiful thought. How comforting it is to acknowledge that we can simply live our lives according to His plan knowing that everything will work out perfectly. How comforting it is to know that we can be blissfully patient, without fear, worry or concern.

God, the Ruler of Universe, the Creator of Heaven and Earth is guiding our path and patiently setting up a great future for us. Literally, He created the entire universe, and He holds our whole life in His hands... How crazy is that?? There is no way we will ever comprehend that, but if we can just begin to understand how awesome it is, we can calm down and relax knowing “He’s got this”.  I mean, I respect someone so much if they can create anything – whether it’s hand-made clothes, art… even creating a tasty meal out of a bunch of ingredients is something I admire! But creating the entire universe??? Wow, God has my eternal respect, admiration and trust!!! 

We do not need to rush His plans. We do not need to fear when we are in a rough patch that is seemingly lacking in direction, because that is only a short term scenario. We do not need to fear when we are in a job that does not satisfy us, or studying a course that feels irrelevant. Because a lifestyle in line with the path of Jesus, mixed with prayer and an openness to God’s voice will reveal His plan for our lives. “Travel steadily”, be open to God’s will, and it will come.

That is why I am currently content. I had lived a relatively directionless life since leaving school, but since the door closed on medicine, I feel a new sense of hope that God is working in a big way for my future. I have hope that His plans for me far exceed what would have been possible if I was confined to life as a medical student and eventually a doctor. That seems to be a bizarre statement… but I truly believe that even if we are in a great profession, and it is not where we are called to be, it will not satisfy us.

I am still unsure of His plans, which is the difficult part because I do not have a fully logical answer when people ask me what career I am pursuing. But it is important that I present the same peace to others as I have within my heart; A comforting peace that says I am patient and trusting in the Lord, seeking wholeheartedly to follow His path, knowing that He will honour me because my life is dedicated to honouring Him.

I am now doing a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management, and I truly feel that this is the right place for me to be in. I’m not sure how God is going to use me in the business world, but I know that He will use me and I’m excited for the possibilities.

I know this is a journey that so many students are on. There are many reasons why we have decided to study the degree we are; sometimes it’s because that’s the only degree our matric marks allowed for us, sometimes it’s because of pure uncertainty post-matric, and sometimes we just think it’s a degree that sounds good (what sounds more prestigious than medicine??). But I’m a firm believer that it’s better to do something than to do nothing… along the journey God will reveal our true passions and talents to us, and we will be able to use past experiences to help us when we find our true calling.

So don’t fear if you feel uncertain of your path now… simply “travel steadily along His path”, and I am certain that He will honour you, so that you can honour Him.

Have a great week amigos!

Being faithful with little

Depending on what Bible translation you’re reading, Luke 16:10 says something along the lines of “He who is faithful with little will be faithful with much”. 

What does it mean to be faithful with little? We recently had a church service in which our pastor looked at Genesis 39; including Joseph working for Potiphar and resisting the seduction of Potiphar’s wife. In this chapter, Joseph is a great example of doing his small, seemingly insignificant work well in Potiphar’s home, and being blessed by God with greater work responsibilities. Joseph resisted Potiphar’s wife even though nobody would have known if he had slept with her. Because Joseph was responsible with little, God knew he would be able to comfortably thrive with greater responsibilities.

What does “being faithful with little” mean for the lives of you and I? There are many examples we can look at, but firstly let’s look at it from a leadership point of view. If you have been blessed to be in a position to lead a small team in a work environment, grab that opportunity with both hands by leading with integrity and making the glory of God your focus. If that becomes a habit, you will be more likely to lead that way when entrusted with thousands of people working below you, and when the suffocating risk of greed begins to emerge.

Speaking of greed and wealth, those are huge examples in which I believe being “faithful with little” is immensely important. Even if we are students on part time jobs, or on a meager allowance, no amount is too small to put aside as a monthly tithe to further God’s kingdom or to try do your part in fighting poverty. If we can’t put aside 10% of 500, how can we expect ourselves to put aside 10% of 50 000 one day??

What about relationships? Men, if we can’t be faithful to our girlfriends now, how can we expect to be faithful to our wives when the stakes are so much higher? Sadly, for red-blooded males, the challenge of battling lust will always be there. It sucks! But we need to follow Joseph’s lead and bluntly resist-refuse-run in response to the temptation. Easier said than done, of course! But we need to start practicing now so that we can be the best possible faithful husbands one day.

My friends and I were discussing this the other day in terms of keeping fit, keeping out of debt and doing early morning quiet time routines. If we can't exercise, work hard and wake up early as young adults, how will we do it with ample responsibilities, stresses and a family around us?

I think we should look at every situation in our lives as an opportunity to nurture faithfulness *now*. I truly believe that every day, week and month we are confronted with several difficult circumstances in which our faithfulness will be put to the test, but if we can use those circumstances as a means to exercise faithfulness, we will be glorifying and growing closer to God. 

As we head into the new week, let’s ask ourselves - in what areas am I being “faithful with little”? In what areas should my faithfulness improve? What are some examples in my life in which I’ve been faithful and I've received greater opportunities as a result?

How to Change the World

My first week at Wits Business School is "in the books". See what I did there? An Accounting reference? Not funny? Oh okay, fair enough - It's been a long week!

My first set of lectures in Marketing, Economics, Accounting and Human Resources was extremely interesting. I feel blessed to be learning about things at university that are aligned with my interests in real life. I have been reading many books concerning business and leadership recently, and to be able to learn in depth from world class lecturers with vast experience in their respective fields is a privilege.

However, the greatest aspect of my course is my fellow students. These are students from various academic backgrounds, including arts, architecture, health sciences, law, psychology and engineering. Whenever you get a selection of people from different fields discussing the same topic, you get different insights, and thus, fascinating conversation. We have had this in abundance over the last week, and with group work being a significant component of the course, I am looking forward to many intriguing discussions and debates in the months to come.

This notion of people from different fields discussing a common topic is nothing new; any dinner table conversation or family get-together involves people from a variety of occupations with different insights. However, I believe the instance in which there could be real value, is when harnessing the varying perceptions into solving a social problem.

For example; suppose we were to take one student (with leadership potential, or the desire to be a positive change agent) as a representative from each of the respective aforementioned art, architecture, health sciences, law, psychology and engineering fields. Suppose we put them in a room together with bottomless coffee and some free water (people enjoy free stuff). Suppose we then gave them the topic of 'food insecurity' to not only discuss, but come up with practical solutions for. I firmly believe that within an hour of discussion, this group of students would produce further questions surrounding the issue, answers to those questions, idealistic solutions for the problem, logical challenges to implementing the solutions, improved solutions, and finally - plausible practical solutions for the problem. Each student will have a different knowledge sphere to draw from, with creative idealism balanced out by pragmatic logic.

I truly believe that 'Think Tanks' of this nature can result in positive change in our country and Africa - all we need is passionate people with diverse perceptions to discuss social problems with the goal of coming up with innovative solutions. Then, the most important part, to have the conviction to implement the solutions. I am very excited by the prospect of this, and I know there are many platforms already out there taking advantage of this concept; the first to come to mind on a global level are One Young World and Sandbox. On a South African level, Brightest Young Minds are doing something similar. We need to support these initiatives, but also seek any opportunity to create our own. We can emulate those think tanks at a coffee shop outside university, take notes from our discussion, and vehemently seek to execute any exciting ideas that are conjured.

To quote Thomas Edison; "Vision without execution is hallucination". Felix Dennis said "I think having a great idea is vastly overrated. I know it sounds kind of crazy and counterintuitive. I don't think it matters what the idea is, almost. You need great execution". While I disagree that great ideas are overrated, I strongly agree that great execution is always needed.

I am excited by the upcoming think-tank-esque discussions with my peers, friends and colleagues in the coming months and years, and God-willing, I look forward to conjuring some innovative ideas matched only by the high quality of their execution. If we want to make a difference in the world, we need to think of ideas and take the step out of our comfort zone to implement them!

Have a great weekend!

Bring on 2014!

Firstly, happy new year!!

I arrived back in Johannesburg from Brazil 4 days ago. It was truly the experience of a lifetime; the lessons from those 6 weeks alone could fuel several blog posts. And they will, in due time. For now, it seems more appropriate to simply share my goals for 2014.

I don't like the term "New Year's Resolution"... perhaps because of the generally accepted notion that they don't last beyond a few weeks, or simply, that resolutions are nothing more than folly adopted by people needing to make a change in their lives but don't have the discipline to do so (I know because I was that person for approximately 19 years!). I like to look at them as goals, rather than simply saying I will "never do this" or "stop doing that" in 2014. I try to make them quantifiable so that I can keep track of them, although that is not always possible. Unfortunately this year, very few of my goals are quantifiable, but I will try my best to monitor them as the year progresses.

My goals for 2014:

(1) Improve bold decisiveness (nurture the habit of making fast decisions, and being slow to change mind) [Challenging to monitor quantitatively]

  > Make instinctive decisions in all situations to build the habit; fight the use of "maybe" and "I don't know"

(2) Commitment to being up to date on current affairs and world news

  > Watch the news at least 3 times a week

  > Read daily news blog as part of morning routine

  > Form opinions on current affairs

(3) Say nothing bad about people behind their back [Challenging to monitor quantitatively]

  > If there is a conflict with someone, discuss it with them personally and not to others

  > Try always look for the positive aspects of people and look to learn from them, even when difficult (Emerson's: "Every man is my superior in some way, in that I learn of him")

(4) Commitment to daily productive morning routines

  > Bible reading

  > Prayer time

  > Read

  > Blogs

  > TED Talks

(5) Continue learning Portuguese

  > Finish Duolingo course

  > Read 2 Portuguese children's / teenagers books by June

  > Practice with Portuguese friends

(6) Read 20-24 books

  > 2 books per month

Last year was the first year in which I adopted a goal-based mentality to new year’s resolutions, and it worked well. Having personal goals on a daily, weekly or monthly basis give greater context to the everyday rat race of life; no matter how busy things get, there are still personal challenges we can seek to become better people and grow in areas we may be weak. Our goals for this year should be seen as an exciting challenge to grow as people, and an opportunity for us to nurture our discipline. We will almost certainly slip up along the way (I know for a fact that I will), but that's part of the fun challenge - we can always restart and try again :) Let’s do this!

The day of departure

Today is my last day on the African continent until new year’s eve. I am a few hours away from embarking on a journey to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I will be working with AIESEC Rio in collaboration with NGOs in the area to help children, teenagers and young adults with issues of citizenship, human rights and leadership. The ultimate goal is to empower everyone we come in contact with, so that they can feel the burning desire to positively impact their communities.

We need passionate young people in all communities to change their nations from the inside out. The ultimate goal of this exciting journey to Brazil is simply to change one person’s perception about their life. If we can change one person’s perception of themselves, so that they have greater confidence or a greater desire to do good in their community, this endeavor will be a  huge success. I believe it is important to never underestimate the impact that one person can have on a community. Thus, if we can positively affect one person, we may be indirectly involved a ripple effect of positive change in Rio de Janeiro, possibly Brazil, possibly South America, possibly the world.

Imagine a young Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King Jnr sitting there on a warm (read: boiling hot) afternoon in Rio, void of confidence, skewed self-image, and apathetic about the world around them. Imagine if they never had anyone to believe in them, or open their eyes to the atrocities of this world. Imagine if they were never encouraged to follow their passions in the face of adversity.

I trust that God has put this opportunity in my path for a reason. I am so thankful to Him and I deeply want to glorify Him during my time in Rio.

Many lessons will be learnt, friendships will be gained, challenges will be faced, and fun will be had… Lots and lots of fun.

Let the adventure commence!

The Year of Growth

I hope to look back in 20 years and say, “2013 was the year in which I began fulfilling my potential”. On January 1 2013, I had hoped to use this year as a means to grow as a son, brother, friend, Christian and leader.

Thus, I have adopted the “yes man” mentality to accept all opportunities that have come my way. This has been the year in which I have grown more than any other year in my life.

I joined a Toastmasters club in February to improve my public speaking skills. In July, I became President of that Toastmasters club. In March, I applied to become a Google Ambassador, and in June I was accepted and sent to Nairobi (Kenya) for leadership and Google Apps training. I now represent Google at my university, in the hope of integrating technology into the education infrastructure. I have attended 2 TEDx events, in which I have met inspiring people and heard perception-shattering talks. This has all been while completing my Honours degree in Physiology.

The excitement and responsibility of these involvements has been great. It has helped to build my CV, and fleshed out my Linkedin profile slightly. But that is not why I have embarked on this journey. These experiences have helped me step out of my comfort zone, and forced me to learn with each new step.

From 18 November, I am going to close out the year by going to Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) with AIESEC for 6 weeks in order to help young people build their understanding of human rights, and leadership skills. This is another extremely exciting opportunity that God has blessed me with.

I have noticed that opportunities will intermittently (yet constantly) come our way in different forms, and it is our responsibility to be open-minded at all times in order to seize them, grow as people, and help others.    

I never want achievements to define me. 

I want to make a difference in this world, and I want to glorify God every step of the way. 

I have been really blessed in my life, and I thank God hugely for that.

I’m excited about what the future holds!

The Underestimation of Character

What is character? The first definition that popped up on Google was “The mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual”. I don’t like this definition. Mental qualities? Moral qualities? Too qualitative. Too vague. To me, character is so much more than that. Character is not simply a noun, as all dictionaries would have you believe. It is not simply a word. Character is a concept.  Character is what defines us as people, so how can us, as people, define character?

The challenge is, how do you define a concept that encompasses so much of our identity?  In my view, this concept is best illustrated by words of Charles Swindoll; “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it”.

You can be born with the proverbial silver spoon in your mouth, but success like the previous generation is not guaranteed. One must learn to live their own way, experience trials and tribulations and build the character in order to take advantage of the resources around them to achieve success. For these people born into excessively affluent families, it is easier for them to become drug addicts and apathetic alcoholics than it is for them to replicate or exceed the success of their parents.

Conversely, a person that is born into poverty is not destined for a life of destitution. There are many factors at play halting the person’s pathway to greatness, but I firmly believe mentality is one’s greatest enemy in these situations. A defeatist self-apologetic mindset will likely result in this person’s children being born into the exact same poverty. However, if the impoverished person  allows their difficulties to nurture courage in the face of adversity, there are no limits.

A person born into poverty will suffer greatly and will face a massive task to turn it around, but Helen Keller’s (She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree – the epitome of a person with character) words apply; “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” The book of Romans in the Bible states very similar sentiments to Keller in that we should rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. 

I firmly believe that life is a small fraction what circumstances you are in, and a mighty fraction of how you react to it.You can be good person. You can give to the poor. When people ask you what your profession is, you can answer with a broad smile, “philanthropist”. You can be a genuinely “nice guy”, but if you lack character, you can never be great. 

If you lack character, you can never be great. 

To quote a great man by the name of Albert Einstein, “Most people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character.” My good friend, Albert, is right. You can be very good at what you do, excellent even. But character is the catalyst that transforms a good skill into a great skill. Character catalyzes the reaction of goodness into greatness. If we want to make a difference in our respective fields in life… If we are ambitious enough to want to make a difference in our country and eventually the world, we won’t do it by simply being “highly skilled cowards”. No, to have any hope of achieving any lofty ambition, character is needed. And character in abundance.

In life, as we progress up the ladder of success, great challenges will arise. As we start achieving our goals, we will encounter stumbling blocks and frequently closed doors. If we are not willing to persevere in these difficult times, we cannot expect to achieve anything. Think of a bad day as a test of character. Think of a bad week as an exam. If you get fired from your job, that is very sad news. But think of it as God preparing you for something greater. 

We need a paradigm shift in our way of thinking... If we start looking at troubled times as exciting times for personal growth, that is when our lives will change exponentially for the better. 

Remember, you have two choices when confronted with difficulties in life; the first is to accept it with a positive attitude as a challenge and a learning experience. The other option is to simply give up and move back to your comfort zone. Comfort zones are great, but there is no room for personal growth in them, and certainly no room to build character.

I want to challenge you, and I want to challenge myself. I am on this journey and I have a long way to go. I implore you to not let your past define you. I implore you to let present and past sufferings spur you on to achieve the improbable. We must remember that life is indeed 90% how we react to circumstances around us, and as such, we determine our own fate with our character. Intentions mean nothing. Achievements mean nothing. It is our character that defines us. 

One day, when you have left this earth, will your legacy be that you were a person of great character?