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? 

Inaugural post

Today is the day.

I have gone back and forth in my mind over the last few months wondering when I should start blogging. Today is the day. Exciting times are ahead, and exciting times have past. What better way to document all the excitement than through a collection of words on public display?

I will use this blog to give my thoughts about random aspects of life. I'll give thoughts about interesting experiences and encounters. I will be honest. I will write as I think, and think as I write.

I am not a great writer, nor am I great thinker. I have a dry sense of humour and a contrary perception of the world. I speak from my heart and mean what I say.

This blog is my canvas, and I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you.