Scholars,this a link to possible schorlarship.Take your chance,it could be a turning point in your life.
http://ugandascholarships.blogspot.com/
Friday, February 19, 2010
THREE UGANDAN SISTERS
his is the story of 3 Ugandan sisters, aged 10,8 and 6 years old.
A member of the Gulu Rotary whom I have known for three years, said that he wanted me to meet two university students. The women are junior partners to Rotary.
As they were working on a project helping people in distress, they had come upon the three girls. Their story is heart breaking. The father of the two oldest girls died a while back. The man they suspect to be the father of the third girl does not claim responsibility for fathering her.
The mother, faced with poverty and wanting a better life, abandoned the children. They were left in the care of an elderly grandmother. The grandmother did her best to care for the children. In October she passed away. As is the custom she was buried right in the mud hut compund where there are some other family graves.
The girls have absolutely no way to take care of themselves. There is no adult who is there for them. They live in the grandmother's mud hut, which is slowly falling apart. The thatch on the roof is partly open to the sky and needs to be fixed. The mud construction where there should be a door has deteriorated. An old piece of cloth hangs there. When I went inside the hut, I found a mattress on the floor that the three share. Clothes are disorganized, some hanging on a string. For water, there is a broken ceramic pot. There is no means of making a light. The parafin lamp has long ago run out of parafin. When darkness comes at 7:15 each night the girls are left in darkness. A traditional mud hut means of cooking is a very small clay stove. The rains through the thatch have ruined the stove. The toilet facility is made of bricks over a pit latrine. It has no door for privacy. The girls place some jerry cans in front of the door for some privacy....but not much. The place to shower is a brick walled enclosure about 4 feet high. They simply splash themselves from a basin of water. Again, there is not much privacy.
The single greatest worry is for the girl's safety. Anyone could take easy advantage of them. They cannot lock themselves up for the night in the hut. If they need to use the facilities at night, they are vulnerable. Luckily their health has been good, since they have no access to medical care.
The university women have been asking the local rotary for donations so they can provide food to the girls. But it is not a regularly maintained schedule. The women say that particularly during exam times at the university they have a difficult time getting away.
While we were there the women were able to find a maternal uncle to come. I think that my presence as an American is the only reason he came from his village. He says that he has his own family and other orphans he helps and cannot help these girls. Since the grandmother's death, this was the first time he had come back to see the girls. It was obvious that there was not any affection between the girls and himself. In Ugandan culture it is important in these situations to have an adult family member present as documentation that we are not taking advantage of the children. It has been all documented on video.
A happy note: We asked the children to show us how they amuse themselves, There is a swing on a sapling that looks like it should not hold them. There are some traditional African games using seed pods in a series of indentations in the ground. They are very proficient at these games.
Before our departure, we asked the oldest what would be her greatest hope. She simply stated that tho have someone to take care of her and her sisters and to have food.
We left on motorcycle and went to town to supper. Just after we entered the restaurant, an incredible downpour occurred. All I could think of was the open thatch roof and their bedding. The floor of their mud hut will turn back into mud.
A member of the Gulu Rotary whom I have known for three years, said that he wanted me to meet two university students. The women are junior partners to Rotary.
As they were working on a project helping people in distress, they had come upon the three girls. Their story is heart breaking. The father of the two oldest girls died a while back. The man they suspect to be the father of the third girl does not claim responsibility for fathering her.
The mother, faced with poverty and wanting a better life, abandoned the children. They were left in the care of an elderly grandmother. The grandmother did her best to care for the children. In October she passed away. As is the custom she was buried right in the mud hut compund where there are some other family graves.
The girls have absolutely no way to take care of themselves. There is no adult who is there for them. They live in the grandmother's mud hut, which is slowly falling apart. The thatch on the roof is partly open to the sky and needs to be fixed. The mud construction where there should be a door has deteriorated. An old piece of cloth hangs there. When I went inside the hut, I found a mattress on the floor that the three share. Clothes are disorganized, some hanging on a string. For water, there is a broken ceramic pot. There is no means of making a light. The parafin lamp has long ago run out of parafin. When darkness comes at 7:15 each night the girls are left in darkness. A traditional mud hut means of cooking is a very small clay stove. The rains through the thatch have ruined the stove. The toilet facility is made of bricks over a pit latrine. It has no door for privacy. The girls place some jerry cans in front of the door for some privacy....but not much. The place to shower is a brick walled enclosure about 4 feet high. They simply splash themselves from a basin of water. Again, there is not much privacy.
The single greatest worry is for the girl's safety. Anyone could take easy advantage of them. They cannot lock themselves up for the night in the hut. If they need to use the facilities at night, they are vulnerable. Luckily their health has been good, since they have no access to medical care.
The university women have been asking the local rotary for donations so they can provide food to the girls. But it is not a regularly maintained schedule. The women say that particularly during exam times at the university they have a difficult time getting away.
While we were there the women were able to find a maternal uncle to come. I think that my presence as an American is the only reason he came from his village. He says that he has his own family and other orphans he helps and cannot help these girls. Since the grandmother's death, this was the first time he had come back to see the girls. It was obvious that there was not any affection between the girls and himself. In Ugandan culture it is important in these situations to have an adult family member present as documentation that we are not taking advantage of the children. It has been all documented on video.
A happy note: We asked the children to show us how they amuse themselves, There is a swing on a sapling that looks like it should not hold them. There are some traditional African games using seed pods in a series of indentations in the ground. They are very proficient at these games.
Before our departure, we asked the oldest what would be her greatest hope. She simply stated that tho have someone to take care of her and her sisters and to have food.
We left on motorcycle and went to town to supper. Just after we entered the restaurant, an incredible downpour occurred. All I could think of was the open thatch roof and their bedding. The floor of their mud hut will turn back into mud.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
KEY NOTE ADDRESS AT UGANDA NORTH AMERICA CONVENTION
A SPEECH PRESENTED BY ALIKER DAVID MARTIN TO THE UGANDA NORTH AMERICA ASSOCIATION CONVENTION
This was a key note address on behalf of Invisible Children
Ministers present, the president of the UNAA and your executives, dignitaries present, representative of the different civil organizations present, families and friends of the pearl of Africa, all protocols observed ladies and gentlemen.
Your presence here tonight aggrandizes the 20th anniversary of the UNAA, I am overwhelmed with gratitude to the honor given to Invisible Children to be represented on this day in our history. I am delighted to be here to share with you the plight of our people in desperate need of not only hands of Grace but Hearts of Grace.
Tonight I share with you the plight of a people noted for its love for knowledge, progress and prosperity, a people noted for its strength and courage, a people known for its belief and honesty, yet brought down to its knees at an hour of change and challenges in decades of hope and fear and in an age of civilization of civilization and ignorance. The greater our knowledge of the catastrophes in northern Uganda increases, the greater our ignorance of the worlds most neglected humanitarians crisis unfolds.
Two decades ago, two dignified ladies initiated the idea of bringing sons and daughters of the pearl of Africa together, Ironically at the same time civil strife was also initiated in Northern Uganda, this has left its people destitute in their homeland, many people lost their loved ones, schools were destroyed, the people lost their livelihood and limbs, many continued to die of curable diseases and hunger, rights were gravely abused, Many lost their identity and dignity, liberty and freedom.
As the guns fall silent, the greatest questions of the day are; how do we bring back the lost glory of the greater north? How do we bring back the lost glory of the pearl of Africa? Who will clean the tears of our people?
As for Invisible Children, we believe ignorance is the daughter of darkness; a ignorant people is a blind instrument of destruction, disease and disunity; poverty and pain; hatred and hypocrisy; sacrifice and suffering. Hence forth we have committed ourselves to eliminate ignorance in northern Uganda.
VCSP
In 2005 Invisible children responded to the plight of children in northern Uganda.Realising that one of the greatest needs in northern Uganda and one of the largest gaps in development comes in the regions access to secondary education, to address this problem we created the visible child scholarship program an initiative that develops the leadership and life skill capacities of promising students. Pioneered by Uganda’s country director Jolly Grace Okot, the program focuses on increased access to post primary education, improved learning environments and mentoring from local leaders. The pilot program was launched in 2005, and we started by sponsoring 100 students. In only 3 years the program has grown immensely and to date we have 690 scholarship students located through out the Gulu ,Amuru and Pader districts.
Once accepted in the program each student is assigned a mentor-an employed community leader whose purpose is to build a personal relationship with the student and provide professional follow up for each child, through this relationships, mentors ensure academic accountability, encourage scholastic success, foster leadership skills and provide parental and career oriented guidance for each student in the program. The mentors receive a variety of trainings such as psychosocial support, child protection and trauma counseling. We currently employ 19 mentors and each works with approximately 30 students having frequent monthly visits to every student’s home and school to ensure the student receives full support needed for their personal and academic success.
Following a successful pilot program in 2007, this year 15th August we launched the post secondary school scholarship with special emphasis on the girl child and we are sponsoring 40 girls an 12 boys to university to make their dreams real.
Games and sport
Debating /Seminars
Acceptance to the program is based on a combination of academic performance and need, with special consideration for children who are total orphans, heads of house holds, formerly abducted returnees, child mothers and those living positively with HIV/AIDS.
S4S
The schools for school program emerged out of our passion and dream to help children in northern Uganda receive quality education. Over the past few years, we have done extensive research in the regions education system and seen the need to encourage academic excellence and leadership not only in students but also on a much larger scale within the schools. Even the children who are able to go to school still face unfair limitations because of the poor conditions of their classrooms, dormitories, laboratories, libraries and sanitary facilities
Invisible Children’s Schools for Schools program links schools worldwide with secondary schools in Northern Uganda, creating a financial partnership that serves to raise standards of education in Gulu and surrounding districts.
During the first year of program implementation, Schools for Schools is linked over 250 international schools with ten selected schools in Northern Uganda. Of these schools, six are in Gulu, three are in Amuru, and one is in Pader; three of these schools have been displaced due to the conflict and are in the process of returning to their original locations. Schools for Schools use a holistic approach to promote development in the schools by focusing on five basic areas of intervention: water and sanitation, books and supplies, teacher incentives, construction of facilities, and technology. The program raises the standards and quality of education in each beneficiary school to a competitive national level by equipping schools with necessary components—infrastructure, resources, technology, training and teachers exchange and by involving all stakeholders in programming and implementation in order to enhance community participation and to create sustainable change.
ECONOMIC PROGRAM
The Invisible Children Economic program promotes economic development in the impoverished IDP camps of northern Uganda and raises money and awareness around the world to fund the Visible Child Scholarship Program.
Beneficiaries from IDP camps are given the opportunity to earn a generous wage by making unique cultural bracelets, and are trained in savings and investment so that they can implement sustainable microeconomic projects in their communities. The bracelets are then exported to the United States and sold together with one of eight short films that educate consumers about the difficulties faced by Northern Uganda’s children. The profits from bracelet sales fund scholarships for VCSP beneficiaries. Alongside other stakeholders, Economic program continues to conduct research in
IDP camps in pursuit of sustainable ways to encourage long-term economic development and meet the needs of displaced persons. Invisible Children is committed to sustaining community IGA projects throughout the return and resettlement process.
Currently we are carrying out pilot programs in two projects Handbag project and cotton project, we hope to make significant progress in improving the poverty levels of the people in northern Uganda.
Comrades, recently the government launched the PRDP (Peace Recovery and Development Plan) setting a framework for recovery and development in northern Uganda.Realising the northern dream requires collective effort from all stake holders. We reiterate the call to all Ugandans in Diaspora to join initiatives that support the recovery in northern Uganda especially those hailing from northern Uganda. As invisible children we cordially welcome your support and cooperation to make the dream of our children real.
The task is enormous but our courage lies in our dreams that one day, the people of northern Uganda will shine again.
We have hope; we have faith that our children will attain quality education that quality education will seize to be a privilege but an inalienable right
We have hope, we have faith that our people will regain their dignity and pride of heritage to promote and protect our customs and beliefs
We have hope, we have faith that our people will relieve themselves from the bondage of mass misery and poverty especially those born in poverty, natured in poverty and destined for poverty
We have hope, we have faith that the death of one innocent child will seize to be statistics but a tragedy and that our children will seize to die of curable diseases.
I f education is the pillar of hope for a bright future in northern Uganda, then that is a cause for which we pledge our souls to spend our careers building other peoples’ careers.
I salute you all
This was a key note address on behalf of Invisible Children
Ministers present, the president of the UNAA and your executives, dignitaries present, representative of the different civil organizations present, families and friends of the pearl of Africa, all protocols observed ladies and gentlemen.
Your presence here tonight aggrandizes the 20th anniversary of the UNAA, I am overwhelmed with gratitude to the honor given to Invisible Children to be represented on this day in our history. I am delighted to be here to share with you the plight of our people in desperate need of not only hands of Grace but Hearts of Grace.
Tonight I share with you the plight of a people noted for its love for knowledge, progress and prosperity, a people noted for its strength and courage, a people known for its belief and honesty, yet brought down to its knees at an hour of change and challenges in decades of hope and fear and in an age of civilization of civilization and ignorance. The greater our knowledge of the catastrophes in northern Uganda increases, the greater our ignorance of the worlds most neglected humanitarians crisis unfolds.
Two decades ago, two dignified ladies initiated the idea of bringing sons and daughters of the pearl of Africa together, Ironically at the same time civil strife was also initiated in Northern Uganda, this has left its people destitute in their homeland, many people lost their loved ones, schools were destroyed, the people lost their livelihood and limbs, many continued to die of curable diseases and hunger, rights were gravely abused, Many lost their identity and dignity, liberty and freedom.
As the guns fall silent, the greatest questions of the day are; how do we bring back the lost glory of the greater north? How do we bring back the lost glory of the pearl of Africa? Who will clean the tears of our people?
As for Invisible Children, we believe ignorance is the daughter of darkness; a ignorant people is a blind instrument of destruction, disease and disunity; poverty and pain; hatred and hypocrisy; sacrifice and suffering. Hence forth we have committed ourselves to eliminate ignorance in northern Uganda.
VCSP
In 2005 Invisible children responded to the plight of children in northern Uganda.Realising that one of the greatest needs in northern Uganda and one of the largest gaps in development comes in the regions access to secondary education, to address this problem we created the visible child scholarship program an initiative that develops the leadership and life skill capacities of promising students. Pioneered by Uganda’s country director Jolly Grace Okot, the program focuses on increased access to post primary education, improved learning environments and mentoring from local leaders. The pilot program was launched in 2005, and we started by sponsoring 100 students. In only 3 years the program has grown immensely and to date we have 690 scholarship students located through out the Gulu ,Amuru and Pader districts.
Once accepted in the program each student is assigned a mentor-an employed community leader whose purpose is to build a personal relationship with the student and provide professional follow up for each child, through this relationships, mentors ensure academic accountability, encourage scholastic success, foster leadership skills and provide parental and career oriented guidance for each student in the program. The mentors receive a variety of trainings such as psychosocial support, child protection and trauma counseling. We currently employ 19 mentors and each works with approximately 30 students having frequent monthly visits to every student’s home and school to ensure the student receives full support needed for their personal and academic success.
Following a successful pilot program in 2007, this year 15th August we launched the post secondary school scholarship with special emphasis on the girl child and we are sponsoring 40 girls an 12 boys to university to make their dreams real.
Games and sport
Debating /Seminars
Acceptance to the program is based on a combination of academic performance and need, with special consideration for children who are total orphans, heads of house holds, formerly abducted returnees, child mothers and those living positively with HIV/AIDS.
S4S
The schools for school program emerged out of our passion and dream to help children in northern Uganda receive quality education. Over the past few years, we have done extensive research in the regions education system and seen the need to encourage academic excellence and leadership not only in students but also on a much larger scale within the schools. Even the children who are able to go to school still face unfair limitations because of the poor conditions of their classrooms, dormitories, laboratories, libraries and sanitary facilities
Invisible Children’s Schools for Schools program links schools worldwide with secondary schools in Northern Uganda, creating a financial partnership that serves to raise standards of education in Gulu and surrounding districts.
During the first year of program implementation, Schools for Schools is linked over 250 international schools with ten selected schools in Northern Uganda. Of these schools, six are in Gulu, three are in Amuru, and one is in Pader; three of these schools have been displaced due to the conflict and are in the process of returning to their original locations. Schools for Schools use a holistic approach to promote development in the schools by focusing on five basic areas of intervention: water and sanitation, books and supplies, teacher incentives, construction of facilities, and technology. The program raises the standards and quality of education in each beneficiary school to a competitive national level by equipping schools with necessary components—infrastructure, resources, technology, training and teachers exchange and by involving all stakeholders in programming and implementation in order to enhance community participation and to create sustainable change.
ECONOMIC PROGRAM
The Invisible Children Economic program promotes economic development in the impoverished IDP camps of northern Uganda and raises money and awareness around the world to fund the Visible Child Scholarship Program.
Beneficiaries from IDP camps are given the opportunity to earn a generous wage by making unique cultural bracelets, and are trained in savings and investment so that they can implement sustainable microeconomic projects in their communities. The bracelets are then exported to the United States and sold together with one of eight short films that educate consumers about the difficulties faced by Northern Uganda’s children. The profits from bracelet sales fund scholarships for VCSP beneficiaries. Alongside other stakeholders, Economic program continues to conduct research in
IDP camps in pursuit of sustainable ways to encourage long-term economic development and meet the needs of displaced persons. Invisible Children is committed to sustaining community IGA projects throughout the return and resettlement process.
Currently we are carrying out pilot programs in two projects Handbag project and cotton project, we hope to make significant progress in improving the poverty levels of the people in northern Uganda.
Comrades, recently the government launched the PRDP (Peace Recovery and Development Plan) setting a framework for recovery and development in northern Uganda.Realising the northern dream requires collective effort from all stake holders. We reiterate the call to all Ugandans in Diaspora to join initiatives that support the recovery in northern Uganda especially those hailing from northern Uganda. As invisible children we cordially welcome your support and cooperation to make the dream of our children real.
The task is enormous but our courage lies in our dreams that one day, the people of northern Uganda will shine again.
We have hope; we have faith that our children will attain quality education that quality education will seize to be a privilege but an inalienable right
We have hope, we have faith that our people will regain their dignity and pride of heritage to promote and protect our customs and beliefs
We have hope, we have faith that our people will relieve themselves from the bondage of mass misery and poverty especially those born in poverty, natured in poverty and destined for poverty
We have hope, we have faith that the death of one innocent child will seize to be statistics but a tragedy and that our children will seize to die of curable diseases.
I f education is the pillar of hope for a bright future in northern Uganda, then that is a cause for which we pledge our souls to spend our careers building other peoples’ careers.
I salute you all
Sunday, May 31, 2009
PADER PEACE SUMMIT SPEECH
Bloggers I was invited to present a speech on rural communications in enhancing conflict mitigation.Here is my speech for the submit.
PADER PEACE FORUM PRESENTATION
THEME: REBUILED PADER FOR PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE
2ND PADER PEACE SUMMIT
SCHEDULLED 27TH -29TH
THE ROLE OF RURAL COMMUNICATION IN CONFLICT MITIGATION
BY: ALIKER DAVID MARTIN
BOSCOUganda
0772865866
The pleasure of being here is because we were all victims, we are all survivors, and we have withered the storm. For 20yrs, we have carried the cross of hatred and hegemony, the cross of violence and revenge; we have carried the cross of disease and despair.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I stand here not because I am an icon of peace,
Neither am I here because I am a beacon of love,
We are here because we are ambassadors of hope; we are here as witnesses to a new dawn in Acholi History,
We are here to denounce violent culture and tonight we are here to give our children a chance to be loved
As we live in the shadow of our lost glory, peace will forever be the first article of our faith.
To Many, Peace is not the absence of conflict; it’s the presence of justice
It’s tragic to note that a distinguished tribe was reduced to mere destitute in their homeland
That our people were turned to mere statistics of poverty indicaters.Not only were 30000 children abducted but this very devilish war led to the Isolation of our people from the rest of the world and the destruction of infrastructure hence poor information flow and communication
To day I hear the voices of reason; I hear voices of peace and patience
Pader today calls her children to listen to the drums of peace
Rural communication has played a significant role during the recent peace talks
Using the different Radio stations, our people have vigorously participated in calling on the rebels to lay down their weapons and stand for peace.
Radio programs have helped to mobilize and unite our people in the call for peace
For the first time in this country since Independence Ugandans spoke one language and it’s that of peace. This is what we call positive citizenship
We can not ignore the role of telecommunication services in advancing the peace Agenda
Both warring parties were able to interact freely on phones. This saved time and resources. Those who were in captivity for decades were able to listen to their dear ones again. This helped to fast truck the peace process to realize the fruits of peace today
ICT was very instrumental in documentation, informing gathering and communication with those who participated in the peace process but could not be at the jungles. Media houses were able to play their executive role of providing access to information and sharing of ideas. Whenever there was a fall out the media were responsible for the pressure to bring the parties back in dialogue by representing the views of the local people.
As we look into avenues of conflict mitigation, a number of NGO’s have come up with programs that focus on the return and resettlement of the local people.
BOSCOUganda is a new NGO integrating ICT in the rural community using Solar Panels to charge Batteries that operate Low power PCSs.We are currently looking at providing ICT training in the rural community using Web 2.0 training method so that our people can participate in;
E-Governance(Observance of Human Rights, using email and SMS,Chat boards to deliberate on their governance)
E-Agriculture(creation of Agricultural database, access to marketing information etc)
Health(SMS Chats, health database for common sickness)
Education(socially linking classrooms,documentation,e-libraries,Research etc)
News and linking people on emergencies through VOIP
The mission of BOSCOUganda is to provide Communication and Information Technology to foster Social and Economic Development and Peace Building in Rural Communities of Northern Uganda using a collaborative, web-based Approach.
Friends, If we spend time regretting the past, we will not only loose the present but even risk the future. Allow me conclude with an inspirational story of my late Dad.
In 1996, a team of medical staff approached my Dad to lead a medical strike since as a respected medical practioner, he understood best their struggle.
After listening attentively my Dad turned and asked them, of my many Children who of you will then look after my children when I am no more.
The next week before taking us back to school he took us before Makerere University Gate and without entering Makerere compound He told us “My Children this is where Ugandans Share the national CAKE”
The only way our Children will be the same with the privileged Children in this country is through Education. Whatever opportunities we have missed in life, our Children will have if we take them to school
I Salute you all
PADER PEACE FORUM PRESENTATION
THEME: REBUILED PADER FOR PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE
2ND PADER PEACE SUMMIT
SCHEDULLED 27TH -29TH
THE ROLE OF RURAL COMMUNICATION IN CONFLICT MITIGATION
BY: ALIKER DAVID MARTIN
BOSCOUganda
0772865866
The pleasure of being here is because we were all victims, we are all survivors, and we have withered the storm. For 20yrs, we have carried the cross of hatred and hegemony, the cross of violence and revenge; we have carried the cross of disease and despair.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I stand here not because I am an icon of peace,
Neither am I here because I am a beacon of love,
We are here because we are ambassadors of hope; we are here as witnesses to a new dawn in Acholi History,
We are here to denounce violent culture and tonight we are here to give our children a chance to be loved
As we live in the shadow of our lost glory, peace will forever be the first article of our faith.
To Many, Peace is not the absence of conflict; it’s the presence of justice
It’s tragic to note that a distinguished tribe was reduced to mere destitute in their homeland
That our people were turned to mere statistics of poverty indicaters.Not only were 30000 children abducted but this very devilish war led to the Isolation of our people from the rest of the world and the destruction of infrastructure hence poor information flow and communication
To day I hear the voices of reason; I hear voices of peace and patience
Pader today calls her children to listen to the drums of peace
Rural communication has played a significant role during the recent peace talks
Using the different Radio stations, our people have vigorously participated in calling on the rebels to lay down their weapons and stand for peace.
Radio programs have helped to mobilize and unite our people in the call for peace
For the first time in this country since Independence Ugandans spoke one language and it’s that of peace. This is what we call positive citizenship
We can not ignore the role of telecommunication services in advancing the peace Agenda
Both warring parties were able to interact freely on phones. This saved time and resources. Those who were in captivity for decades were able to listen to their dear ones again. This helped to fast truck the peace process to realize the fruits of peace today
ICT was very instrumental in documentation, informing gathering and communication with those who participated in the peace process but could not be at the jungles. Media houses were able to play their executive role of providing access to information and sharing of ideas. Whenever there was a fall out the media were responsible for the pressure to bring the parties back in dialogue by representing the views of the local people.
As we look into avenues of conflict mitigation, a number of NGO’s have come up with programs that focus on the return and resettlement of the local people.
BOSCOUganda is a new NGO integrating ICT in the rural community using Solar Panels to charge Batteries that operate Low power PCSs.We are currently looking at providing ICT training in the rural community using Web 2.0 training method so that our people can participate in;
E-Governance(Observance of Human Rights, using email and SMS,Chat boards to deliberate on their governance)
E-Agriculture(creation of Agricultural database, access to marketing information etc)
Health(SMS Chats, health database for common sickness)
Education(socially linking classrooms,documentation,e-libraries,Research etc)
News and linking people on emergencies through VOIP
The mission of BOSCOUganda is to provide Communication and Information Technology to foster Social and Economic Development and Peace Building in Rural Communities of Northern Uganda using a collaborative, web-based Approach.
Friends, If we spend time regretting the past, we will not only loose the present but even risk the future. Allow me conclude with an inspirational story of my late Dad.
In 1996, a team of medical staff approached my Dad to lead a medical strike since as a respected medical practioner, he understood best their struggle.
After listening attentively my Dad turned and asked them, of my many Children who of you will then look after my children when I am no more.
The next week before taking us back to school he took us before Makerere University Gate and without entering Makerere compound He told us “My Children this is where Ugandans Share the national CAKE”
The only way our Children will be the same with the privileged Children in this country is through Education. Whatever opportunities we have missed in life, our Children will have if we take them to school
I Salute you all
SUCCESS
Hullo bloggers,this are articles on success that can be very resourceful in personal development.This articles are from my most favourite columist in the daily monitor a Uganda news Paper
How to live on purpose
By Ethan Musolini
I saw a gentleman carrying a ruck sack on Jinja road walking towards me with a lot of vigour. He was wearing a black T-shirt with words on his chest that caught my eye. One of the things that fascinates me is the writings of what people have on their T-shirts because sometimes they tell a lot about personalities.
The writing? “Why am I here on earth?” It grabbed my attention. I said “hi” with a huge smile on my face attempting to catch his attention. “So, indeed why are you on planet earth?” I asked. He responded with a lot of energy. “And that’s the big question” while walking away from me. I was hoping he would stop to share his purpose. Alas not. I noticed on the back, there was Rick Warren’s name, the author of a The Purpose Driven Life.
10 years ago, I was fortunate enough to read a book by Myles Munroe, The Power of Purpose. In it I discovered for the first time that I have a reason as to why I was created and living on planet earth. Purpose is your reason for living on planet earth. You may be wondering in your mind “How do I find out what it is?” I love your question.
First, what are you good at that comes so naturally to you? Hint. Have you ever been involved in an activity that seemed almost child’s play while your friends were struggling with the same challenge? Or they even ask you – “How do you do that” and you respond “I don’t know. I just do it”. That’s a hint as to what you could be wired to do.
Second, what do you really enjoy doing? For me, it’s speaking to people. Inspiring them to realise their dreams. That’s why I am chatting with you right now. That’s why I do motivational speaking. What is that when you are doing it, time doesn’t seem to matter? You know those things which you do only to find that four hours have gone by and yet in your mind you feel like it was just 15 minutes?
Third, if you ever struggle to find out what your purpose is, then talk to your creator. In workshops, I usually stress, “A manufacturer knows the ultimate purpose of his creation. In the same vein, God who created you knows the ultimate purpose. When in doubt, pray and you will surely get an answer.”
Fourth, your purpose is meant to be in line with adding value to the world. In the end, you are meant to live this world a better place than how you found it. Live your own life though. You are unique and therefore you are meant to do something unique for this world, not to be a copy cat of somebody’s life that you admire. As one author put it, be an original, don’t die a copy.
Living on purpose makes the world a better place because you lived. When you don’t, the world is robbed of your gift forever. Life is meant to be fun. Not drudgery. It’s a real struggle when you spend most of your time doing things you are not strong at and don’t enjoy.
When you align your life in terms of what you are really good at (read talent and strength) and enjoy at the same time, then it’s fun. To add value to the world in a way that you enjoy and comes naturally to you is to have lived a fulfilled life.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa,motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Three ways to grow faster
By Ethan Musolini
Life is never stagnant. You either progress or regress. It can be scary sometimes to know that you are either growing or dying (of course I do not mean physically). If the world is moving fast, it means we had better grow faster or equally as fast. So what would it take then to grow faster in different areas of our lives?
Do more things
The number one killer is to keep doing the same thing over and over again. There is nothing wrong with having useful routines or important rituals or even expected fulfilment of systems at work. However if your brain is not tasked with more challenges then it doesn’t grow faster.
Akot (not real name) is always trying out new things. She keeps expanding her product lines in her business. Almost every year, she opens a new business which means more challenges for her brain and capacity to run multiple businesses. The beauty also is that the new challenges bring along new opportunities and her bank account is not complaining either.
Doing more things is related to doing different things. The latest brain research states that when you do something new consistently for 27 to 30 days, a new neural pathway is created in the brain. A neural pathway is like a new road being created in a dense forest. It means you can now reach areas you wouldn’t have been able to reach before. This increases your possibilities. Same with the mind. It means you can accomplish different things which give you a better sense of power and control over your life. The more choices you have in life, the more power you possess. That comes through practicing different things.
Learn more things
Related to the above is learning beyond just doing. One of the top executives in the country is just 33 years old.
He is always learning more things - strategy, fishing, rats (don’t laugh at this one because he told me how at one time he reared some exotic rats for export and made a fortune out of it), energy, marketing, pets, machinery…name it and he has some knowledge about it or he has run a successful business around it.
He is employed full time and yet runs several businesses in different sectors. One of the reasons he is successful as an employee and entrepreneur at the same time in different businesses is because he is always learning more which enables him to be versatile.
It’s okay to be ‘abnormal’
In high school, I used to hear the word abnormal. I hated hearing the word being used on someone and I always prayed that it was never used on me. But I later came to a realisation that one of the best compliments to get is to be a bit ‘abnormal’.
What I mean by that is to get out of the mundane, the usual, and the familiar. Because that’s where stagnation lies and it’s not fun.
Forget the crowd mentality, some people will doubt you if you seem ‘unusual’ or do not follow what society calls normal. And if you look around, those who are very successful were either called abnormal or crazy at first until society came to believe in their genius.
Be outrageous, that’s okay. Of course that doesn’t mean you go overboard to the point of removing all your clothes and running around the streets. Let’s just say that if you do that, I may not come to cheer you on.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa,motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Invest in yourself
By Ethan Musolini
Warren Buffet is the richest investor alive today. When such a genius speaks, I listen. Recently, he was asked as to what the best investment is during such tough times.
His answer was not filled with numbers and earth shaking models to invest in the stock markets. It was direct and simple. “The most important investment you can make is in yourself.”
In those few words, he exposed a road map not only to survive in challenging times but to also thrive in the opportune moments. Life is a cycle. Challenging times are followed by good times and vice versa.
Back to investing in yourself.It may sound cliché but you are the most important person in the world. If that’s the case, doesn’t it make sense to invest the best resources possible in yourself?
I was talking to a friend who is one of the richest people in the country shortly after his return from USA.
“You know, half of my suitcase is filled with books. And I can’t wait to read them.” This man reads a lot. He is involved in several businesses and investments and he knows them inside out. Let’s think about this.
Is he reading a lot because he is rich or he did he become rich because of reading valuable information? Your guess is as good as mine.In life, there is the famous law of sowing and reaping. You reap what you sow.
You cannot sow stones and expect maize. To get angry at the soil for only displaying stones which are hurting your toes after several months of waiting in fervent prayer would be declared as sheer madness.
You will curse the soil and in return it will smile back at you saying, “But surely this is what you sowed in me. Did you expect anything else? If you really wanted maize then you should have planted maize.”
The formular is simple. If you want great results, sow great seeds. Some of the great seeds worth sowing is listening to excellent CDs, reading wonderful books and watching educational DVDs.
I know I have talked about this before. But I won’t tire of saying it again because this principle is so important during such times. Luckily enough, self education is now more affordable than ever before.
For example, if you find you cannot afford buying educational DVDs but can afford Internet access whether privately or in an Internet café, then you can access any topic you want at www.YouTube.com. (Alright, I admit that most Internet connections are slow but luckily enough we will have at least two more service providers who can give us 3G Internet services besides Uganda Telecom which will make it more affordable.) There are so many videos there from how to knit to starting a business. From gurus like Tom Peters to business geniuses like Bill Gates.
Of course there is a grand daddy of research on the Internet – www.google.com where you can research anything and you will get valuable content. But here are my current favourites if they are within your budget. Visit these two sites www.Summary.com where you receive at least three great business books summarised for you on audio each month.
It’s a great time saver and in an hour you are able to get the gist of the books. And then www.132120.SuccessUniversity.com whose focus is self improvement. You receive a DVD and three CDs from some of the best teachers in the world plus a magazine on a monthly basis. Education is never a cost. It’s a lifetime investment.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa,motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
The power of hope
By Ethan Musolini
In her July 2008 edition of Enjoying Everyday Life magazine, Joyce Meyer made a startling statement. “It doesn’t cost you anything to hope, but it can cost you an awful lot to be hopeless.”
A man was caught in a refrigerator. It was big enough to hold an adult. He was fiddling with it inside and then, it closed. It could not open while he was inside. He started to think, “Now, I am dead. It’s cold in here. Surely I will die of cold”. Indeed the following day, he was found a dead man who appeared frozen.
But what is even more fascinating is that the so-called refrigerator was not cold because it was not connected to power. It was a concoction in his mind. He lost hope, the mind followed and the body accepted.
Let’s check out another example. At the end of 2008, I went for a one-week holiday. There was a seven- year-old who was jumpy and full of life. He talks a lot. He is bright. He seems to be the centre of attention in his family. On New Year’s Day (2009), he decided to go on an adventure to some place, you guessed it, the refrigerator.
This time, it was connected to power according to my recollection. Just like the earlier gentleman, he entered (they are not related at all, just in case you think it’s in the genes. In fact the previous story happened outside Uganda). Then, he realised that he could not get out.
He thumped and kicked to no avail. Luckily for him, the parents started searching around the hotel. In a frantic search, they heard a voice calling, “Mummy… mummy.” She heard the voice and opened the door to the relief of the searching squad.
I found the story to be fascinating. I developed an affinity of the boy since I love children who are energetic, talkative and warm. I later asked him what inspired him to pull the refrigerator prank.
“You see, after going to the toilet, I felt very hot. That was the problem,” he said this with a straight face with his palms open as if to signal his innocence. I laughed.
When you look at the two stories though, you will notice that the gentleman lost hope and started visualising his death, a circumstance he attracted.
As for the young child, even though he was fearful, at least he had hope in his mind that must have gone along the lines of “If I call mummy’s name like I always do when I am in trouble, she will come to my rescue because she has never disappointed me”. And that’s what happened.
Hope can create life or death and I am sure you’ve heard of many stories of people who were assured by doctors that they would die in few months but because the patient had the hope or faith to survive, they overcame all odds and kept living or they are still alive.
Businesses which were declared a foregone conclusion or bankrupt are still running. In fact I have a personal testimony where one of our staff advised that we should close the business around three years ago because we were going through very tough challenges.
She really meant well. I am sure she didn’t have any ill intentions but we refused and decided to hang onto hope and the business is still alive and kicking. It survived refrigerated hopelessness.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa,motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Tomorrow will get better
By Ethan Musolini
It was ten years ago when I was living in Kyebando in a one-roomed house with a friend. I didn’t have a job. I felt alone. I had just had a couple of challenges with my biological family.
I was broke. I had no clear direction in my life apart from the fact that I had a broad idea as to where I wanted to go. Malaria frequented my slender body without invitation. How absurd? How dare those Kyebando mosquitoes visit me without any notice or permission.
Oops, I digress again. Where were we? Yes, One morning I woke up and noticed that I had no motivation, no drive and no clear goals. But at least I was alive. I was angry with myself, with life and God. In fact I decided to write a letter to God. More about that later.
Then I remembered a good friend of mine. He has been one of my closest friends. He has never left me and has made a huge difference in my life. You want to know who he is? I knew you would be curious.
He is called Mr Books. One of the books I had bought then was Tough Times Never Last but Tough People Do by Robert Schuller. I read it again.
More than the content, I loved the title because it spoke so deeply to me. I knew that I had to be tough and outlast the challenging times. The strategy seemed to work. I finally got a job and as they say, the rest is history.
Recently, someone came to me for advice. He’s been going through challenges. Call them tough times. “Have you ever gone through some really dark times and the world seemed to be falling apart? And then everything you touch seems to be failing?” he asked with a painful look on his face.
He shared with me some of his pain. We zeroed down on two papers he has to re-take at Makerere University. A re-take means you failed to achieve the minimum pass mark which by the time I left campus was 50 per cent.
He was reading three times a week. I advised him along the lines of “Re-takes are not a reflection of you. Remember, in life there’s no failure or success per say but only feedback.”
He tightened his face and asked, “What do you mean?”“What I mean is when you get what you want, that’s feedback to keep moving on the same path. Missing what you want is feedback for you to do something different,” I said. He nodded in agreement and then I went on. “What has happened is feedback for you to probably change your reading habits.
“To read more than three times a week, to believe in yourself, to change your language from, ‘I am failing’ to ‘I am working to turn my academic life around’. To visualise success.”
“I know that you can turn things around, can’t you?” “Yes I can,” he responded. It seemed much more than just parroting Obama’s affirmations.
A letter to God? You pour out your heart. Make your requests the same way you would communicate to a friend. I have used it twice and the results have been miraculous.
That same evening after talking to the gentleman, I listened to Power FM and heard a song along the lines of Tomorrow is going to get better. And that’s what I leave with you my friend.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa,motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
The things truth can do
By Ethan Musolini
I received an email from Jack Canfield recommending a book titled Truth Heals. It’s a new release from Hay House publishing. That reminded me of two truth-testing events I had one evening in December of 2008.
Mike (not real name) is a supervisor for a car washing bay. He is chubby and big enough. I call him kaboode (muscular man). He is jolly and has good social skills. I left some money with him to pass onto the gentleman who washed the car as a tip.
In a teasing manner, I asked, “But Mike, do you really pass on the tips I sometimes ask you to forward to the guys who clean the car?” He flashed his trademark smile with dimples on his chubby cheeks. And then he shared with me one experience he had.
“One day a gentleman came here and gave me Shs5,000 as a tip to one of the guys who washed his car. Little did I know that he was testing me. Anyhow, the following day, he passed by and asked the gentleman who was meant to have received the money as to whether he actually received it. The answer was in the affirmative,” he said.
And then he went on :“In a few moments, he called me to the side and told me ‘I have never met a gentleman of your kind. Because an average supervisor would have either pocketed all the money or at least taken a good chunk of it. But as for you, you handed all the money to him. I am so impressed.”
“Can you imagine, he pulled out Shs50,000 and gave it to me?” Mike said with pride and gratitude in his voice. Indeed, I could only imagine. And all I could say was “wow”. “Munange I learned the value of integrity when I was still young,” he concluded.
After a few seconds of reflection, I turned to him and said, “By the way, do you notice how by being faithful with Shs5,000, God gave you Shs50,000?” “Yeah man,” he responded.
I drove off and then got to the traffic lights. While waiting for our turn, a street child who graduated me to “uncle” status asked for some cash. I don’t believe that handouts are a long term solution to children on the street, but this time I felt inspired to pass on some coins.
He thanked me and took off. Another child came to me and then I signalled to him that I am not in position to help. He chased the one I had given money. They seemed to argue a bit.
All of a sudden, they came back together. The boy I had given the money looked at me and asked, “Wamma wagambye nti sente zino tuzigabane?” (Did you mention that I share this money with him?) “Needa” (No), I responded. The little boy went away with a smile on his face.
Two contrasting events in the same evening. If the boy/liar had persuaded his colleague for a portion, he could have gotten some. Even with a no, he could have maintained a positive relationship with him for future interactions. But by trying to “cut corners”, he lost his trust forever. Too bad I couldn’t take him to Mike for a lesson.
Mike teaches us that truth not only heals but provides dividends too. You sleep better. Truth evokes trust. And that’s currency. It’s credit to your social account.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Upgrade yourself
By Ethan Musolini
As I write this, it’s 4.02 p.m on a Wednesday. It’s relatively quiet outside my study room apart from Nana who is mumbling something from the compound and the foremen who are painting outside the estate. The last couple of days I noticed that my laptop was hanging up on me. I had to reboot many times and start all over again. I was getting frustrated. Then I recalled that at one time I had the same hiccup and a technician came to office, cleaned it of viruses and the laptop was working fine again. Action?I have just finished upgrading my antivirus. Viruses cleared. It’s working fine now. As I look at all this, I ask myself, “Isn’t life like this too in that if we don’t upgrade ourselves to the next level on skill, attitude and health, then we are slowed down by the challenges of today? Isn’t it Albert Einstein who said how the problems of today cannot be solved by the same level of understanding that created them in the first place?” That seemed to make so much sense to me. In computer terms, if you don’t upgrade the antivirus just like I hadn’t effected in a long while, then it cannot “catch” the viruses of the day because the viruses keep upgrading their capacity to “attack”.In essence it might mean going for further training and finding out the latest models of management to deal with people. For example, the generation of today which has grown in the Facebook era will need different management styles. The Internet and modern communication systems have created a sense of more mobility than ever before and that means being flexible too. The times of just making sure that people are clocking into the office will no longer hold as much as before since work can be done from home on a laptop and emailed. That kind of lifestyle also changes how the same people look at work, leaders and managers.Alright, let’s get out of office speak, shall we?Are there things in your environment or personal life that you need to upgrade? What I mean is, they used to serve you in months and years past but as of now, they don’t or cannot serve you in the current circumstances and challenges? If you answered yes, then you need to go for an upgrade. Today’s challenges are harder and are sometimes more damaging in an instant if not dealt with a upgraded software – you. The tone may sound like I am talking down on you. Well, I am just speaking from the heart. That’s what I feel like now. And the message if fitting to me too. That makes two of us. All I know is that the world is moving so fast and therefore if you do not move at the same pace, then you will be left out of the party. And I don’t want you to stay out in the cold. I really mean it. Yes, you might even catch a cold because of the virus you weren’t able to clear out of life’s system (read “un-upgraded” life). My desire for you is to instead be free of all that, come inside where it’s warm, where modern men and women who keep themselves up to date party. I won’t give you a prescription. It could be skill, attitude, networks, tools and knowledge.I am sure you get the idea. Got the upgrade yet? Great. See you at the party of modern times. No jacket needed. It’s already warm in here.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Review your progress
Ethan Musolini
Two shop keepers in the same village had a great goal to make lots of money and to be rich. Their habits and character were different. One was called Amina and the other Bernard. Somehow they received almost the same number of people in their shops.Amina always had the habit of keeping track of her finances, reviewing them to see whether she was getting closer to her financial goals. She also kept track of which products were in high demand. But not just that, she also kept analysing the profit margins on the products sold. Those which seemed to have thin profit, she stopped selling and whenever people would come asking for such products, she would faithfully send them to Bernard and he was grateful for the courteous gesture. Then she would replace them with more profitable products.As for Bernard, all he cared about was getting people into the shop. He never kept records, made no analysis of which products were profitable, spent some of the money from the shop’s proceeds on luxuries and other consumer goods at home without any record. Five years later, Amina has opened her third shop while Bernard’s stock for the original shop has reduced by 20 per cent. The signs are clear; Amina’s painstaking discipline of tracking and analysing her business is paying off. She makes sure that even when she spends, she is not eating into her capital. She only spends a portion of her profit. Result? The disciplined knowledge to which products are hot sellers is also paying off. And that’s the same discipline in the business of life. To keep track of how you are advancing in life.After my last article on planning for the year sometime back, I received an sms from my friend Alfred Agaba. “What I do is set goals and strategise in all areas of life like faith, business, education, career, health, fitness, family, finances and then budget accordingly. I review every three months.”I especially like the review for every three months. On a monthly basis is even better. The important key is to keep double checking whether you are on track or off track. You see, for Bernard, the presence of shoppers made him think that he was making progress in business yet in reality he wasn’t. Just because you are very active and busy may not always mean that you are making progress.I understand pilots have a dash board in front of them where they are able to tell whether they are on course or not. In terms of timing, if you are delayed at the airport for a couple of minutes, you’ll hear ‘progress’ reports from the intercom. “We are now cruising at… and because of that we should be able to recover some time. We will then be able to arrive at …as earlier scheduled.”You also need a personal dashboard to tell whether you will reach your goals on time or not. Just like a dash board of the car, will show you whether you need more fuel or oil. So, what then is your dashboard? It could be the every three months ritual - Alfred style or it could even be monthly. Keep asking yourself, where am I now? Am I getting there? If yes, congratulations. If not, ask yourself what you need to do to get there. Do you need to work harder, smarter, wake up earlier? Do it.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Do it now
Ethan Musolini
The stealer of dreams is the old scapegoat “I will do it tomorrow”. “Do something today. However little it may be. It’s much better than those wonderful dreams you have in your head that are stagnant,” an old lady advised her grandchild.“But grandma, I still have many years ahead of me. I am still young. I deserve to enjoy life. I am not as old as you at the moment. So I deserve to enjoy my youth,” the little lady replied.“Very well my granddaughter. Indeed you are still very young and deserve to enjoy life. That’s what I always told myself when I was your age. I chose to indulge myself. Play, dance, drank some alcohol in my teenage years and all those cool things in life as you call them these days. And then before I knew it, I was in my mid twenties and got married” the old lady shared her experiences in retrospective.“And then I had children. My responsibilities grew. I didn’t have enough time to play. In fact I was playing no more. Instead I was making sure that my children play amidst safe conditions. Life was not fun anymore. It was about taking care of others instead of taking care of myself and my dreams” she went on with a little bit of regret.“But grandma…”. “No, no. Wait a minute and I finish my story. As destiny would have it, taking care of my children and the home became my full time occupation. Without financial rewards. But of course there were psychic, emotional and spiritual rewards. For example, if hadn’t taken care of your mother, you wouldn’t be talking to me now. Leave alone being alive” she added with a little smile on her face.“Now, here I am. You call me grandma and my neighbours call me the little old lady. As I look back, there are many dreams I could have followed but I let the stealer of time called ‘I will do it tomorrow take over’. I can only look back in reflection but I cannot get that time back. It’s called wasted years. And that’s the mistake I wouldn’t want you to get into as my beloved grandchild” she concluded.They looked at each other in the eye amidst silence. The old lady finally broke the silence. “Does that make sense?” she asked. “Yes it does grandma. I am going to chew over this and get back to you,” she responded. “Well, there you go again with your chewing business. Stop chewing and swallow the pill of reality. Decide to be a lady of ‘I do it now’ because chewing over it is no less than ‘I will do it tomorrow mentality”.“Grandma?”,“Yes?” the old lady responded. In an excited tone of revelation the young girl declared “I am a do it now lady. I am an action girl”. “Wow, that’s lovely. Come here my lovely angel and give me a hug”. They hugged for a very long time.All of a sudden a booming voice came from the back of the house “Marisa. Marisa. Where are you?” That interrupted the hug moment. Marisa’s husband had returned from Nairobi and priorities had to change. Luckily enough, lesson time had ended.The little girl grew into a powerful lady of fame and fortune. But she also took care of her loving family. So, will you keep chewing over those goals and dreams of yours or will you do it now”?Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
How to change people
Ethan Musolini
A New Year story for you. A young man went to attend a self improvement programme. It was meant to run for 17 weeks. At the start, the instructor called individuals to step up and share what they wanted to achieve out of the training. The young man’s turn came. He stepped out confidently but with a bitter taste in his mouth.“For me, I want to change my mother. She is always barking at me. She is rough. She never says anything nice to me,” he recounted his ordeal. “I am hoping to get some skills and tools on how to change her attitude towards me,” he added. Everyone was silent. The instructor looked at the young man thoughtfully and then advised, “That’s an excellent outcome. If your mum changed her attitude towards being positive, it would definitely create an enabling environment for you. But here is a thought I am inviting you to consider. Instead of focusing on changing your mother’s attitude, think instead on how you can change yours toward her. Think positive thoughts. Appreciate her for who she is. Be thankful that she is your mother and gave birth to you successfully. Be grateful that she has watched over you, taken care of your life up to this age.” “You are still living at home, aren’t you?” the instructor asked. “Yes I am,” the young man responded. “Very well. Then be grateful for that also. That she is housing you and you’ve never been chased out. It will be a challenge doing the things that I have suggested but give them a try anyhow and then report next week what you have observed,” he added. The young man took notes and nodded half heartedly. A week later, the instructor remembered the young man and asked “So, how is it going with your mother, mate?” With a huge grin on his face, he stepped to the microphone with energy. “Tell you what, this stuff works. You won’t believe it but just yesterday morning, my mum knocked on the door when I was about to wake up and she sat on my bed, something she had not done in three years. She told me how she loves me, how she is proud of me and how I’m destined for greater things in life. I was overwhelmed with emotion. I mean, I even cried and I hugged her for a long time,” he shared.“And that my friend is the key to changing people. To change someone else, change first when you change your attitude towards someone, they change their attitude towards you, ” the instructor concluded.A few years ago I gave the same advice to a lady who felt her husband didn’t appreciate her enough. I challenged her to focus on the positive qualities she likes about the husband and even pray for him with gratitude for all the wonderful things he has done. In a few weeks, she came back to me saying, “I am amazed”. To paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi, be the change you want to see in someone. Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Turn resolutions into actions
By Ethan Musolini
Congratulations! You celebrated Christmas, survived a knock out on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day is coming. I imagine you will make New Year resolutions. But how can you transform those resolutions into tangible things or outcomes? Turn resolutions into plans and actions. First, an email I received early December from one of the regular readers of this column. Let’s call him Mike.
“Your latest on action ...the best yet. I set 25 goals this year. Have achieved about 60 per cent. I find this listing of goals extremely useful. Perhaps you could advise your readers also”. This is good advice from a gentleman who has lived what he is advising us to do. Let’s see whether there is any documented research to back up his comment.
In his classic What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School, Mark McCormack shares the study conducted between 1979 and 1989 of graduates of the MBA programme at Harvard.
The question was, “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and plans to accomplish them?”. Three per cent had written goals and plans, 13 had goals but not written and 84 per cent had no specific goals. 10s years later, researchers followed up the same group and this is what they found.
13 per cent who had goals but not written were earning on average twice as much as the graduates who didn’t have goals at all. Now, it gets even better for the three per cent who had clear goals and plans written down. They were earning on average ten times as much as the other 97 per cent of all graduates together. I can only imagine which category you would want to get into.
Write your 2009 goals down. You will most likely put yourself in the top three per cent. Once you write the goals, have a plan of action. A goal without a plan is a mere wish. That’s one of the reasons why many New Year resolutions don’t come true.
I have a friend who achieves more in a week than what most people achieve in a month. One of his strengths is planning systematically. “Ethan, I am a good driver of projects. I get things done.
I prefer planning my things systematically and I let whoever is working with me know in advance what I want achieved. In a simple step by step manner,” he asserted. Quite frankly, I am more of a ‘big picture’ person than the systematic and detailed type. It’s one of my major goals in 2009. To plan a bit more.
Some action pointers for you. Get a note book or writing pad and answer the following questions before Thursday morning.It’s time to review 2008 and look forward to 2009. What did you do well that you should continue doing in 2009?
What do you need to do differently to produce greater results in 2009? What skills gaps do you have that you need to work on to achieve your outcomes? What new habits do you need to adopt that will put you to the next level in your life?
By the way, when we meet 10 years from now, what wonderful stories will you tell me as a result of writing your goals down with specific plans and following through?
I am really excited about 2009 in terms of what it has in store for us. In the same positive spirit, I wish you an amazing new year of 2009 full of joy, peace, love and abundance!
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Boost your market value
By Ethan Musolini
In a flash, 60 direct employees and 1,000 indirectly linked to Nakasero Soap Works factory lost jobs and business respectively (See “Nakasero Soap Works Closes” Daily Monitor, September 20, 2006). Reason? One of Uganda’s oldest factories had failed “to put up with stiff competition in the market place” With the current credit crunch we may see more of such stories.
With over 20 universities churning out thousands of graduates annually, the East African Community opening up, nationalities around the world competing for the same jobs; it’s no longer the Ugandan job market but the global market. The most knowledgeable, skilled and prepared will survive and thrive.
In 1998, Peter Lowe’s Success Magazine identified 9 principles that can boost your market value. A decade later, his wisdom is still true today.
Conquer the computerMaster the computer. Most jobs are now related to the computer. Mastering packages like Microsoft office and Internet research skills will give you a competitive edge. Keep updating your skills. In Kampala, Aptech and Horizons offer quality computer training.
Polish your public speaking skillsManagement consultant Nelson Lees observed, “The people who get ahead are those who don’t shrink from the opportunity to convey their thoughts and ideas”. Public speaking is critical when making sales presentations, holding meetings and most aspects of your job. Such a skill enhances possibilities of promotion and visibility outside the workplace, which boosts your employment opportunities and security. Buy yourself a copy of Public Speaking Secrets Exposed and attend related workshops.
Write like a winnerWhat you write and how you write tells the world who you are. Make a habit of editing, re-editing your reports and any other written work with a keen eye to making it clearer, better organised and more precise. You will be identified as a winner.
Read extensively Devour non-fiction works to keep abreast with current developments and trends. Read classic literature to tap into timeless truths to understand human nature. A book or more per month keeps competition away.
Expand your vocabularyResearch shows that people with the best vocabularies get the best jobs and the best salaries. The words you say will make or break the sale, get you hired or fired. Keep your dictionary handy to check out new words.
Nurture your network One of the top executives in Uganda intimated to me how he turned a dying institution to one of the most recognised at the moment through the power of expanding and nurturing his contacts. He gets to know his networks and nurtures them through regular contact. Join quality groups like the management forum run by British Council. At Shs40,000 annually, it’s a bargain.
Mind your mannersObserve proper etiquette. Be courteous and professional. If you do, you will smile all the way to the bank as you win deal after deal or get juicier promotions.
Learn a new languageIn a global economy, learning a new language will create an instant boost in your professional success. In the Great lakes region fluent speakers of French and English have a competitive advantage. Alliance Francaise has good programmes.Explore other languages like Germany and Spanish, which you can study at the Institute of Languages Makerere University during campus holidays.
Continue your educationEvery shilling invested in furthering your education not only multiplies your professional value, it enriches your life. Education is never a destination; it’s a life long journey for those who want to live a fuller and richer life. Organisation won’t guarantee you 100 per cent job security but the above strategies will.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Never feel inferior
Ethan Musolini
A stubborn young man known for going where the devil wouldn’t dare was itching again. This time to test a wise old man known for remaining calm under all circumstances. It sounded like a fun challenge. He argued with his colleagues that no one could withstand his fierce attacks. “Go and try for yourself. You will come back with a confirmation of what we have just told you,” colleagues insisted. “Alright. I will disprove all of you. I will show you what I am really made of” he boasted. “Go ahead” his friends cheered him on.Two days later, he designed his scheme. “I will go late afternoon when he is all tired. I am sure I will find him at his favourite spot - under the mango tree,” he told himself. True to his anticipation, the old man was seated under the mango tree on a Tuesday afternoon surrounded by an obedient shade. He looked calm and peaceful. When he saw the young man, he smiled with his eyes. “Hello young man…” before he could breath again, the young man hit back like a machine gun “Who told you I am a young man you good for nothing old man…” and then he went on a tirade of abuses that my fingers are too shy to type. That’s good news on your part too because if Nsaba Buturo found you reading such, you would be in big trouble.Anyhow, it was insult after insult, abuse after abuse. If my neighbour had heard such, she would have said “mwana gwe wetaaga kunaza akamwako ne omo” (Young man, you need to wash your mouth with omo detergent). The old man kept smiling while holding a steady look into the young man’s eyes as if to say, “I still love you the way you are young man,” After a couple of minutes of smile vs abuse match, the young man got frustrated and walked away in anger with hunched shoulders. “Who does he think he is? I will be back tomorrow with more venom,” he told himself.The following afternoon, he came back and attacked with more vicious abuses and insults. To his painful surprise, the old man kept smiling again. “But you, I have abused and insulted you for two consecutive days but you are not saying a word, you are not angry and you just keep smiling. It’s killing me. How do you do that?” he asked in exasperation.“Young man, If a friend brings you a gift and you don’t take it, to whom does the gift belong? ” the old man asked. “It belongs to the giver – yes the friend” the young man responded. “Good. Now, when you bring me a gift of abuse and I don’t take it, to whom does the abuse belong?” the old man asked sagely. The young man got the point and left in shame.The old man has a lot to teach us. It’s not what is said to you, it’s how you chose to interpret it. If someone calls you names and brands you stupid, empty… you have a choice, to accept it as a true description of you or a gift you have chosen to leave in their hands. Or call it their opinion which does not have to be a fact in your life. Sometimes when I hear something just directed at breaking my spirit I simply say “Thank you for the compliment”. If in doubt, seek Eleanor Roosevelt’s advice who said that no one can make you feel inferior without your permission.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Of beliefs vs faith
Ethan Musolini
“Ethan Musolini is not a name you are likely to forget quickly. For the surname is almost the same as that of the Italian fascist, Benito Mussolini. But, Ethan, it could have been much worse. Imagine what your life would be like if you had been called Ethan Hitler?!” Kevin O’Connor wrote in the Sunday Monitor on November 23 in his Roving Eye column titled (Religion; the opium of the masses).Kevin, you are right. I don’t fancy being called Hitler. It won’t be one of my New Year’s resolutions either. Even luckier is the fact that I use a single “S” in my surname which means I only have half the dictatorship in my veins compared to the infamous fascist Mussolini. He went on to quote my article in this column a fortnight ago titled, Analysing your Beliefs.“You make your beliefs and beliefs make you. But what are beliefs? It’s what you choose to accept as truth about your life and the world around you.” In response, Kevin wrote: “But what shapes our beliefs? Why do we believe what we believe? Most important is the country/culture into which we are born,” and he went on to write as to how religion and family influences us.The Rev Amos Kasibante chipped in with a letter titled “O’Connor missed a point on religion” in The Daily Monitor of November 25 in response to O’Connor’s provocative piece. “I share his opposition to one Ethan Musolini who wrote that “you make your beliefs and beliefs make you.” And then he went on “We do not make our beliefs, and this applies not only to religion, but also to politics, culture, or economics” Do I disagree? Let’s see.The statement I made, looked at in isolation without looking at the context and the full piece, may appear way off the mark. However, in the same article, I added, “But where do these beliefs come from? Family, religion, media, personal experiences and the environment”. In essence, we are together with Amos on that one. Is it therefore a contradiction to say we make our beliefs only to mention that they come from somewhere else? Not at all. Why? Because the other forces like religion, society and parents will influence you but the final choice on whether to accept a belief or not lies with the individual. The exception is the stage of childhood. But as an adult, each one of us has got a choice to hold onto a belief or not.Interestingly, Rev Kasibante makes a related point, “A person may grow up and make choices about values or change their previously acquired values”. And then O’Connor ended with a fascinating statement. “My advice to readers is to have no faith in faith” Well, in an interview in the Sunday Life on November 23, (Rock newspaper to be launched), the CEO of Rock Media Group Edwin Musiime commented on his long journey.“I still believe that faith is the greatest currency. I have overcome all the financial challenges in this ministry by having faith in God,” There are documented cases to prove that statement. Science is catching up with evidence. Of course I believe more in unconditional love than fanaticism, spirituality more than just going through religious motions. My advice to readers is to have the right beliefs and keep the faith. With those two weapons, you can move mountains.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Action is key
Ethan Musolini
It’s that time of the year when you turn in your bed and realise “it’s December”. Last Thursday I was in the bank and heard Christmas carols playing. Christmas is calling. 2008 is saying “goodbye”. 2009 is saying “Hello”. I bet you made resolutions at the beginning of the year. How have things turned out for you? If great, congratulations! If not, relax and just get into action to maximise the remaining moments. I am told you are still breathing. That means you have another chance. In soccer terms, it’s called extra-time where you can still win the game, this time – the game of life.Last month, I was on the phone with a friend of mine. Let’s call him Kabanda. “You just can’t believe it but if I were to tell you the projects I missed, the business opportunities I blew away because of lack of action, you would be amazed,” he told me with a sense of regret. Amazed I was but not surprised because I have heard that line many times.And then he went on. “You see, while travelling outside the country, I had thought about starting a metered taxis business. I kept thinking about it without much action and then not long, I saw a gentleman minting money out of it.”Mixed with emotion and a pinch of regret he added: “And I could go on and on as to how many business opportunities have passed me by. But this year, I declared it as a year of action only to notice that it was coming to an end without much action. That’s when I decided to take some massive action.”I won’t go into detail of the actions and projects Kabanda has been involved in, but for now, just call him Mr Action. He is happy. I am impressed. This is Kabanda part 2. But let’s look at Kabanda part 1. Do you see any kabandaism1 in you?I was somewhere and heard a lady say, “Kale, that’s an idea I had and the fellow is making a lot of money. Can you imagine?” To maximise December and the coming year, there is one word you have to become good friends with–action. Good wishes and great intentions count for nothing. But action does count for something however small. One thinker put it this way, the smallest of actions is better than the noblest of intentions. You can be a Kabanda part 2.In 2002 I learned a strategy that works. I stole this one from Tony Robbins. Once you set a goal, do not leave the place where you have set it from without taking action however tiny. Why? Action breeds more action. Then momentum follows. This is what I mean. Let’s say you set a goal to go back to school. Call your mentor or great friend immediately and ask for a meeting requiring support and advice towards “an exciting goal of mine”. Once the meeting happens, it will lead to other actions getting closer to your goal. That’s momentum.Take action each day towards your goals. More is even better. In life, we regret more, the things we didn’t do than those we actually did. I recommend that once you are done reading this you get onto the Internet and visit http://www.tinyurl.com/5hug6t for extra information on how to make 2009 a great year through purposeful action. One day, I was listening to a CD programme. It was not ground breaking but there was a line that made it worth the purchase, “When in doubt, be biased towards action”.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Turn your passion into profit
By Ethan Musolini
Last Friday was my birthday. You never sent me a gift or message to say “Happy birthday Muso”. Well, you may still go to heaven, but that doesn’t mean I was amused. But since it’s a Tuesday, you are forgiven. Enough about myself before my editor deletes the next sentence. Let’s talk about you.
Yes, your passion and how to turn that into cash or profit. Buried somewhere in this article is a magical question which once asked will snap your mind open and cash might follow too. Let me see whether you will get it. But first, a story. Mary (not real name) has a gift in counselling youth and families. I was probing her as our conversation drifted towards passion and her long term vision.
“I have a gifting in that area. People at church are always calling me. People I help are asking me to leave my day job and do counselling full time to help the masses out there”. Then she leaned forward and added… “And I feel good. I love it when I see a life transformed”.
I have a habit of sniffing around for opportunities on how one can make cash from a passion. And that’s how I have been making a living for the last couple of years.
In fact when you are passionate about what you do, then it is no longer called making a living but rather having a life. I noticed two issues. First, there was too much demand than what she could handle. Second, people were urging her to do it full time. That’s a signal because those same people urging her on will come back with issues to solve and recommend others ready to pay. Do you see Mary smiling to the bank?
A good life is where you are paid to do what you love doing. That prompted me to advise…“This is what I suggest you do. When someone else comes to you for help, just tell them this” She shifted in her chair and looked at me with intense emotion. “I opened up an evening and weekend counselling service at home. From 6pm to 8pm during weekdays (which would fit in well with her work schedule) and Saturdays (2pm to 6pm) and I charge Shs20,000 per hour.”“And then”, I continued “if you notice there is so much demand and it is paying you half of what you take home as your salary while working part time, then you can leave your formal job and concentrate on doing something that you love and be paid handsomely for it”.
If you have passion, the question to ask yourself is, “How can I get people to pay me while doing what I love?” That’s it. Then, think of how you can do the best job possible. Good news is, if you are passionate about something, you will read about it, think about it and as a result you will be great at it.
By the way, this is something you can do part-time while employed full time. Look at what I advised Mary above. You may start with small pay, even free if it’s a service. How do I know? That’s how I started with my speaking and training.
And I love it. Especially motivational speaking. I’m paid to have fun. Now, go find what you love and are excellent at. Ask the magical question. In there is a possible goldmine. Did you spot the question? Good. Then get to work. Haven’t? Read the article again. See you at the gold mine.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Religion; the opium of the masses
Ethan Musolini is not a name you are likely to forget quickly. For the surname is almost the same as that of the Italian fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini, but, Ethan, it could have been much, much worse. Imagine what your life would be like if you had been called Ethan Hitler?!
Anyway, last Tuesday, Mr Musolini (that’s Ethan, not Benito) had a most interesting article in the Daily Monitor. Entitled “Analysing your beliefs”, it opened with the following ringing sentences:
“You make your beliefs and beliefs make you. But what are beliefs? It’s what you choose to accept as truth about your life and the world around you.”
But what shapes our beliefs? Why do we believe what we believe?Most important is the country/culture into which we are born. Your religious beliefs, for example, are likely to be very different if you are born not in a Christian country, but in Saudi Arabia. Then, you would go not to a church on a Sunday, but to a mosque on a Friday.
Second in importance in shaping beliefs are parents. If our parents are devout born-again Christians, then we too are likely to be – yes, you’ve guessed it – born-again Christians. If they are Catholic, they will probably send us to a Catholic school, where, just as at home, we will be fed that particular belief system.
Looked at in this light, we can see “faith” as what it is – nonsense. Islamic suicide bombers have faith. Born-again Christians, throwing their arms around at a Benny Hinn rally, have faith. But if it was possible to strip away the country and family influences that formed and shaped these religious beliefs during formative years, then faith would move from utter certainty through to doubt, through to, quite possibly, disbelief.
A crucial factor in the generation of religious beliefs is to get at the kids early. Of course, parents have access to them from birth. But not long after the children are able to walk and talk, they will be shipped off to Sunday school and kindergarten, where the process of religious indoctrination continues.
It is interesting that when it comes to sex, we are supposed to wait until we are 18 years. When it comes to voting we must also be 18 years. But when it comes to religion, no age is too young. And, initially at least, the choice of religion is not made by ourselves, but by others, most especially by our parents.
In an ideal world, we can see that we should not make religious decisions until we are adults. Then, having a wide variety of life experiences behind us, we could make the choice between religious faiths (including no religious faith) in a balanced, mature way.
But such an ideal world would not be the world of priests, pastors, imams, mullahs and rabbis. The key to them having large congregations is to brainwash the kids, and to access children’s brains as early in their lives as possible.My advice to readers is to have no faith in faith.
kevin@imul.com
Analysing your beliefs
Ethan Musolini
You make your beliefs and beliefs make you. But what are beliefs? It’s what you choose to accept as truth about your life and the world around you. If what we think about and believe to be true influences the lives we live, then it makes sense to pay attention to your beliefs. The are two types of beliefs – personal and global beliefs. A personal belief is what you believe about yourself. Examples of personal beliefs could be “I am thin” “I am slow”. A global belief, is what you believe about the environment around you. “Women are… (fill in the blank line with what you believe”, “Life is…”How influential are beliefs in your life? Let’s say you have a belief that states “I am poor at managing money”. Then poor money management will become your friend. Such a belief won’t empower you. However, you may find that you have an empowering belief in another area of your life: “I am fit and healthy” This will influence you to exercise, and eat healthy foods to remain fit and healthy.But where do these beliefs come from? Family, religion, media, personal experiences and the environment in general. Let’s look at global beliefs. What if you have a belief that “The world is unfair”? Because that’s the belief, then you will attract people and circumstances to prove you right – unfairness. The trick is to analyse your personal and global beliefs and figure out whether they support you or not. The ultimate test is whether your belief will enable you to move forward or not.You have the power to keep or drop a belief. Here is the process. Look at different areas of your life like health, money, spirituality, relationships, career and mental development. Then ask yourself, “what beliefs do I hold in this particular area?” Write them down. Then, ask yourself, “of these beliefs, which ones have a positive influence on my life that I should keep and which ones are limiting that I should drop and replace with new ones?”Let’s look at money as an example. You may have beliefs that state: “Money doesn’t grow on trees, there is never enough money, I deserve abundance, you cannot get rich and spiritual at the same time, I have the capacity to earn more money” Now, analyse.“I deserve abundance and I have the capacity to earn more money” are beliefs that support you. The rest are limiting. Replace them with more empowering beliefs by just looking at the opposites. For example, rather than “You can’t be rich and spiritual at the same time”, the direct opposite is, “I can be rich and spiritual at the same time”. “There is never enough money” can be replaced by “There is always enough money if I look for it”. Go through the same process for every belief. It may take you several minutes or even hours to finish the exercise but it’s better than living a lifetime of limitation. Now, that you have a full list of your new empowering beliefs, read them often, remind yourself of your new identity at every opportunity. Be patient. And that’s where most people drop the ball. You are declaring a new belief and there is no evidence of it after 17 days and then you give up. Hmmmm. Think about it. It took you decades to hold onto a wrong belief, it will take some time before it’s replaced by a new one. Keep going and believing. With persistence, you will finally start seeing evidence of your new beliefs. Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Time to improve your speech abilities
Rachel Kabejja
Have you ever attended a conference, workshop or any session involving different speakers and felt bored, or did not grasp any point for all the time you spent there? Did you know that opportunities pass by many people just because they can’t express themselves whether in private or public? Alright have you ever taken time to reflect why the person who tried to make your acquaintance never bothered to try again? It probably has a lot to do with the way you express yourself or fail to.Mr Ethan Mussolini, a motivational speaker, Author & Consultant with Success Africa, explains that, “Confidence is the capacity to communicate and sell, it can open or close doors for you.” Below are some techniques he believes can boast your confidence. Your identity This involves what you say about yourself. You need to choose to believe that you can do something. Develop your own identity and say that I’m great, brilliant, and strong and can achieve something. You have to also forget about what people or your parents may have said to you initially like you being stupid, a looser and some body who can’t achieve anything in life. Live life presently for the future.Do what you fearTake an initial step into what you fear as that is the only way you will initially overcome it. Identify the field you fear most and or lack confidence in while speaking and begin working on it from small family gatherings before the big audiences.Expand your skills and abilities to do thingsGo for extra training, study a course or find a mentor who will teach you how to do things. Expanding your skills gives you certainty in terms of doing things. Watch confident people and learn from them, the way they talk, behave, work and walk. The more time you spend doing this will equip you with new ability and insight.Dress well This is another way of boosting your confidence, it’s always good to stay on the conservative side, be one level above the averagely dressed person in the audience. In his book Public speaking secrets exposed Musolin advises that bright colors should be avoided as they will attract more attention than and the message. He says “modest and authoritative colours like blue and grey should be preferred as they demonstrate sophistication, leadership and confidence since that is what you want to convey to the audience and people want to follow leaders who are confident.”A lady known as Sharon Smith Swan said “Ignite your passion and inspire others! The power to speak in a confident manner results when you speak from your authentic self,” to which Mr. Musolini adds that authenticity is a very good virtue as you speak your real mind out. “Speaking from the heart relates to and touches other people more easily and he gives example of Mother Thereza who would have people stand up to and applaud even before she could say anything. Deal with fearYou can do this through affirmation. Affirmations according to successconsciousness.com are statements that describe a desired condition or situation, and which are repeated often. They motivate, keep the mind focused on the goal, influence the subconscious mind, and activate its great power. Read self help books and instruction books and constantly look for opportunities to do that what you fear most.
You are not your position or the things you own
Ethan Musolini
I love nice things. Yes, the finer things in life. One of the challenging lessons I have been learning and consciously working on for the last one year or so is that I’m much more than the things I own. To know that I’m not my car, my clothes, my shoes and my watch but a custodian. That I’m much more than that.It’s called identity. What have you been identifying yourself with lately? It’s not just the things by the way; it’s also the intangibles like position, qualifications and achievements. Once they lose a position, some people, get confused and are lost for what to say or do. Why? Because they had equated their core being to the manager, minister or director and now it is gone. Now what? It can be painful.How about someone who starts to define themselves as “my car” and then looses the car? It’s as if a part of who they are is lost and now they cannot imagine how to be or live in the world. While at the university, there was a gentleman (let’s call him Peter) who wanted to impress the ladies. Fortunately for him, he had a brother who was and is a popular DJ in the country. Let’s call the DJ – Marco. He gently approached the ladies and then blurted out “Hi, I am Mike a brother to DJ Marco” How cute! To Mike, his brother exemplified a powerful identity which he wanted to take on. He didn’t know how to be his own man. He didn’t know who he was. His brother was not only a reference point but a definition of who he was. I hope he has gotten out of it.I also see it in relationships where a person is defining themselves by the person they are dating or married to. When the relationship turns sour, they become bitter. They don’t know what to do. It’s like the whole world crumbles before their very eyes.The challenge with identifying with the things you own or positions you hold is that they are not eternal. Things can change any time. Even worse, you can lose them. And if you are tagging who you are to such, then logically, it means that you have lost a piece of who you are or your total self once the ‘thing’ is gone.What’s the way out then? Know that you are much more than the things or positions you hold. You are a spiritual being. A child of God. A powerful being. A co-creator. If you are co-creator, it means you can create almost anything. If you lose some things or position, you can always create something new. In any case, you created where you were. If that’s the case, then, you can always create or re-create if you so wish, where you want to be. Remember too that you are a steward on earth. Things and positions are for a purpose. To enable you achieve or accomplish a mission of some kind in this world. Whatever the case, always remember that you are not your car. You own a car. You are not your position; you are serving in a position. You are not the relationship, you are in a relationship. Stay grounded in the world but do not necessarily be of the world. It’s a daily challenge. Good news is, that’s where freedom lies. You are much more my friend. Much more than the eyes and brains reading this.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Living extraordinarily
By Ethan Musolini
Have you ever had an epiphany? Well, I recently had one. I was delivering a talk on being excellent which I had written about recently.
Then, all of a sudden, I found myself talking about the value of being extraordinary. And I thought, “Isn’t it true that most people choose to live a life that is ordinary? And if that’s the case, doesn’t it mean that to stand out from the crowd, you just have to pull yourself out of the ‘me-too-class’?”
As I thought about it, it made so much sense to me. Now, just look at the word “extra-ordinary again. The difference between the word ordinary and extra-ordinary as you may have noticed by now is that simple word “extra”. What does this mean to you? Do something extra in whatever you do.
Truth be told, most people do the bare minimum. Let me give an example. I have worked with a couple of associate consultants. Most of them do what the contract stipulates and that’s it.
And I’m ok with that. But then, recently, we engaged Mathias as an associate. In addition to conducting the training, he committed his evenings to compiling a report which is always required at the end of the training.
That opened my eyes. That’s something I was meant to do myself. Do you think I was delighted? You bet. And who do you think I will be looking forward to engaging in future given Mathias and someone else? The choice is clear, isn’t it?
As for you, the magic is in doing something extra. If you are a waitress, rather than asking what the person wants, find out how the day was like and call them by name. I remember one day listening to a preacher and he talked about how one gentleman upon realising that his wife loved cabbage, would bring cabbage every evening.
That’s being ordinary. Too predictable. Hopefully, you are not like that. If such a gentleman knew the art of being extraordinary, then he would come home with flowers once in a while, ice cream and a movie from Blitz video library. Getting my drift? Nice surprises are a mark of being extraordinary.
Let’s say you run a restaurant, rather than the usual thank you after a customer has paid, come with a chocolate bar. If you run a book shop, instead of just selling a book, add a book mark as a bonus.
When someone asks for directions (still for the service industry), instead of pointing with your short finger, use your long steps and walk the same person close to the place of desired destination.
Even in the way you walk. Do you walk with energy and erect or do you just drag your feet with shoulders hunched? Walk like you are the king or queen of your area. Don’t brag lest you receive ridicule for no good reason. Just know it so. Give yourself that permission.
And you will feel and appear extraordinary. At least feel like you are extraordinary. How about the way you dress? Are you the kind who doesn’t iron, polish shoes and visit the saloon regularly?
If not, that’s being ordinary. Extraordinary people take care of their appearances. Christine Essien from Nigeria who is always very smart one time told me, “You have to dress the way you want to be addressed”. Hmmmm!
sounds like a good strategy to me. Don’t you think so?It’s those little extra things you do that will put you in an enviable class of people called extraordinary.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Be the ultimate go getter
Ethan Musolini
The growth of a man or woman is determined by how much personal responsibility the same person is willing to take. We live in a world where a good number of people feel that someone out there is responsible for the results they are creating in life. They walk about angry and furious that had it not been for their mother, father, boyfriend, spouse or employer, their life would be better off. Wrong. I know that’s not a popular opinion. But think about it. If you look around and pay attention to the most successful people that you admire, you will notice one common quality they share. They take personal responsibility. Jose Mourinho, former coach of Chelsea and now with Inter Milan, after losing a game, rather than blaming his players, mentioned how he attributes success to the whole team and failure to himself. That’s taking responsibility. Unfortunately, most leaders take in all the praise when things are going right and apportion blame when things go bad. How sad.But let’s bring it down to you. What’s the folly of abdicating personal responsibility? You feel powerless. It means someone else has power over you and you do not have control. But the moment you declare that “I am going to take 100 per cent responsibility for my life”, then your life changes. Mine did, the moment I made that declaration. From being complainer to creator, from being follower to leader. At the end of the day, it’s really you who determines whether you create heaven or hell on earth. One thinker put it this way. If you are below 18 years of age, you may have room to blame somebody as to how life has turned out for you. But once you cross the 18 year old mark, then you must take 100 per cent responsibility. This is what I mean. Let’s say your parents didn’t pay for your education and you are feeling inadequate because of your education level, it wouldn’t make sense keeping yourself in the mode of regret and blaming your parents past the age of 18. Why? As harsh as it may seem, you are no longer a child. You can start all over again. You can go to Difra and learn English, you can attend workshops and conferences. There are many libraries, and even Makerere University has a department of adult education. This you can do by yourself. That’s being proactive. Do something about it. You can complain until the cows come home and apportion blame until Christ comes back but that won’t move you forward. When you take personal responsibility then it means you are in charge. You are searching for solutions to move ahead. You are looking up to you. When it’s success, you celebrate. When you do not get what you want, you get back to the drawing board to search for solutions. Yes, in creative mode not blaming mode. In consulting and training organisations, I have watched the same story over and over again in one of the best selling movies ever, produced daily - The Blame Game. If only every individual wrote the script and produced the movie titled The Personal Responsibility Game day in day out, then we would have more powerful organisations than what we have now. Incidentally, that applies to your personal life too. To use Marianne Williamson’s words, you are powerful beyond measure. Wake up my friend. It’s your life. Take full responsibility. After all, it’s you who creates all the results that you get in your life.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
What will you give up to achieve your goal?
Ethan Musolini
Two different people have the same goal – losing weight. Let’s call them Joan and Eunice. Joan looks at her schedule and behaviours critically. She decides to give up some of her not so empowering habits like joining her drinking buddies in the evening, plus pork and red meats. The replacement? Walking first, then upgrading to jogging every day for 30 minutes.Meanwhile, Eunice is having chats with her drinking buddies after work, guzzling beers and munching pork ribs like there is no tomorrow. Of course she’s thanking God for a wonderful creation – P.I.G. Before leaving, she complains again about her low metabolism, unending weight problems etc. “If only I had time to exercise,” she laments. Now, who do you think will achieve her goal of losing weight by the end of the year? I am sure like me you would bet on Joan. You see, Joan understands one of the most powerful laws in life “There is always a price to pay to achieve anything. To go up, you must give up something(s).”Write your goals down and think about the price you are willing to pay to achieve them. Now, pay the give-up-something-price. Like Joan, if you want to lose weight, it means you will have to reduce on the red meats and at least focus on white meats.If you are a student, it means missing campus nights at that club and turning them into reading nights. If you want to start a side business and yet you are employed full time, just give up gossiping in the evenings and sell air time at your neighbourhood from 6p.m. to 9p.m. Monday to Friday and on weekends. If you want to upgrade your career, give up following soaps on TV; did I say Secreto de Amor? And then go for further studies at the Uganda Management Institute during the evenings. “But I don’t have enough money yet to pay for the course.” I am glad you mentioned that. What else do you have to give up to get the money? Those spending habits of yours need a makeover. Give up spending on liabilities and things for the sake of showing off. Open an education account and deposit 10 per cent of your monthly income with the same goal in mind and within no time, you would have saved enough to upgrade your education.“But I don’t even have a job, Muso.” Give up spending the whole day on TV, waking up past midday, spending two hours lost in the newspaper reading stories about who’s been fired, making you lose hope. Instead wake up early in the morning and get dressed as if you are going for a full time job. I’m going to give you a job without attending any interview. Ready? Make looking for a job your full time job with no pay and within a short time, you will have one where you are paid. Smiling yet?As I write this, I made the decision this morning to give up one hour of my sleep to tune myself up for the day with some extra reading and writing. Here is your action tip. Write down three things or habits you need to give up to make great progress to achieve your biggest goal. Get to work. You will get off the road sometimes and the old habits will keep rearing their heads in front of you. Just smack them real good and keep focused on your new habits. Best of luck. Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Why you should be grateful
Ethan Musolini
A former information minister in the Ethiopian government shared with me an interesting story about her mother. Her friend from the USA bought some designer perfumes because they had heard that the mum liked the finer things in life. When her mother got the perfumes, she held one at a time, smelled them with her eyes closed. For every sweet scent, she danced liked a possessed teenager. Never mind that she is in her seventies. She ran around the house thanking God for the blessings. That’s gratitude in action.Gratitude is being thankful for the things or experiences you have rather than those you lack. One of the most definite differences between happy and sad people is that the happy ones express gratitude for the things they have while the unhappy ones constantly lament over the things or experiences they lack.From centuries gone, religions have promoted the concept of gratitude. Science has come on board too. In 2003, Robert A. Ammons from the University of California and Davis E. Michael McCullough carried out a research project on gratitude and thankfulness. The results?Those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives, more optimistic about the upcoming week and were more likely to have made progress toward important personal goals compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events.Self-guided exercises on gratitude with young adults resulted in higher reported levels of the positive states of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy compared to a focus on hassles or negative comparisons.In a sample of adults with neuromuscular disease, a 21-day gratitude intervention resulted in greater amounts of high energy positive moods, a greater sense of feeling connected to others, more optimistic ratings of one’s life, and better sleep duration and sleep quality, relative to a control group. Forget USA academics for now. I will show you how to be grateful shortly. By the way, you are more likely to achieve more when you are feeling good than bad. Gratitude is one of the quickest tickets to feeling good. You may say, “But Muso (that’s what friends call me), my life is a mess, I have more troubles in my life than trouble itself and my health is poor. I have nothing to be grateful for.”. I have heard it several times. Let’s think about it this way. If you are reading this, you have sight and an education to be able to read English, you are breathing. Buy a small notebook and write on top of it “My Gratitude Journal”. Then every morning you wake up, write down what you are grateful for. Two positive things or more. Write new things. If every morning you keep saying “I am grateful I am alive, I am grateful for my job” from Monday to Sunday then it loses its power. It could be your clothes, someone who smiled at you, a wonderful sms, an inspirational book you came across, a movie you watched for Shs11,000 which did cost billions of shillings to produce. What a bargain. I am reminded of what one spiritual teacher said, “Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.” Have a ‘grateful’ day! Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Become a person of excellence
Ethan Musolini
Mediocrity is the killer of dreams. No one wants to be near mediocrity or average performance. On the other side of the coin, everyone wants to be near excellence. Here is a clue.Have you ever noticed that when international races start, athletes always have people around them like a swarm of bees? They want to touch them, have a photo opportunity or get an autograph. Why? They have demonstrated excellence. We admire them because deep down, we feel they have either lived our dream or fantasy. Here is how to exercise and benefit from the magic of excellence. Set high standardsNever settle for just “good”. Good is never good enough. Demand more from yourself more than anyone else. Rather than come in a couple of minutes later the way most Ugandans do, you could choose to be known as a kind who arrives 15 minutes earlier. Rather than send an email without doing a spell check like most people do it, give it another look.Constant self improvementThe trick is not necessarily to be perfect but excellent. The road to perfection is full of frustration. You may never be perfect but you can be excellent. Keep on being better everyday. In life, there is no status quo. You are either getting better or worse off. The good news is that you can make getting better an easy job. Let me give you an example. Can you improve your performance at work by 1 per cent on a weekly basis? Do I hear a strong “yes”? Good. Now, in a year’s time, that’s 52 percent improvement. Think about it, how would your life change if you improved your performance by 52 per cent? Commit to a life of excellenceThe way you do one thing is the same way you will do other things. If you are sloppy at report writing for example, there is a good chance that you are sloppy at relationships and health. The upside is that if you are excellent in one area, then you will pour the same attitude and discipline in another endeavour. You are the same person. Declare that “from now onwards, I will be excellent in managing my money, relationships, career and all areas of my life and engagement.” Maximise your timeIt’s not how much time you spend but how much you accomplish that matters. Purpose to do the best job possible in the allotted time. Do the things that matter which will turn your job or assignment into an excellent art piece. But why excellence, you may ask. Excellent people get all the rewards.Just in case you are wondering, who got all the advertising endorsements and positive press coverage plus a gold medal during the Olympics, it certainly was not the person who came fourth in the race. It’s unfortunate to see people who put in the bare minimum at work instead of going the extra mile to be excellent. In the end, it’s the same sloppy people who will be fired. Now, you may be excellent and thinking, “But Ethan, I am excellent but I have never been promoted and I have not gotten a salary increase.” Yes, I hear you loud and clear. But here is something for you. If they are not offering an exciting package, keep doing an excellent job anyway. Someone inside the organisation will finally come to their senses or a competing organisation will hear about your impressive performance and lure you with double the salary. Psychologically, when you are excellent you feel good about yourself, you like yourself more, people love you and the fortunes follow. Am I hearing an Amen?Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Your name is your brand
By Ethan Musolini
In today’s small world, your reputation is more critical than ever before. I call it small because of today’s technology and communication systems. You can access someone’s information anytime anywhere. You can type someone’s name in google.com and get a lot of data about them.
When I am outside the country sometime, I feel like I can do anything freely without thinking Red Pepper might capture a snap shot of what I’m doing at that particular moment… then I bump into an old acquaintance from Kampala, an old schoolmate or village mate. It’s a small world indeed.
You’ve got to protect your reputation. You are a brand. You notice that when a negative story about a company is published, a public relations officer (PRO) will quickly come out to “clear the air”. Why? Because the same company knows that they are as good as their reputation.
Before you throw in the towel thinking that you don’t have the money to hire a PRO, you should know that there is a cheaper and enduring route shortly.
Start thinking about yourself like a company. Build your brand equity. Simply put, call it good will. Good will propels you forward in your career and life.
Good will gets someone to lend you millions of shillings without any documentation or expenses on lawyers. I am reminded of a young man I lent money. He kept dodging me and whenever I got a chance to meet him, he would give me endless stories and excuses. My feedback was straight to the point.
“Please redeem yourself. You are still young. Do it to protect your name. Your name is the most important thing. If you lose it, you won’t go far. If you keep it intact, you will go further because people will defend you, they will recommend you and life will be much easier.” I hope he understood what I was attempting to communicate.
Your name and reputation is your brand. The easiest way to do that is to pay attention to your character. Are you a person of integrity? Are you excellent in your performance? Are you quick in your execution? Do you always do the best of the best at any one moment in spite of the circumstances?
If you answered no to most of the questions above, then you need a character makeover. Get to work at it. You see, once you take care of your character, your reputation will take care of itself. It feels good when you receive a phone call and someone on the other end of the line says “I am calling you because Mr So and so recommended you highly to do…”
The other side of the coin is that if it is negative feedback, it can be devastating. Bad news travels faster. That’s why it is said that it takes a long time to build your reputation and yet it can be lost in an instant. You don’t need examples because there are many who have experienced that.
One of the ways to do that is to develop values. Values are about what you consider important in your life. They are inner codes of conduct. It could be intangibles like honesty, growth, respect, excellence, peace or freedom. Just look for what would work for you. Then read through your values everyday and work towards living them.
Determine how you want to be known and remembered. Let it be a daily project. In fact a lifetime project. And you will reap benefits of a life time.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant.
ethan@Success-Africa.com
Stop with the excuses and live your dream
By Ethan Musolini
I was listening to a CD by Dani Johnson (DaniJohnson.com) recently. She said that the number one reason for failure is having excuses. I listened again and then again. Even though I may not put it ahead of poor attitude, excuses are some of the biggest dream killers. I felt that she was much closer to the truth than any speaker I have ever heard.
Then I reflected on my life. I discovered that, had it not been for my past excuses, my life could have been at a higher level. How about you?
In case you think this is some psychological hype, think again. Let’s walk together through some of the common excuses. I am going to be tough on you today as I do the same to myself. No more games.
“I am too young.” Really? When will you grow up? If you can read and process this in your mind, then you are old enough to live the life you choose.
One gentleman listened to a very successful businessman and he requested that the same success icon become his mentor. Generous in spirit, he agreed on condition that the young man shared what his plans for the future were.
“I hope to get a Masters in Business Administration (MBA), work for one of the biggest firms for around 10 years, earn a lot of money and then live my dream of reaching out to the youth,” the young man answered.
“So, why do you have to go through that long route and process? Why not start right away, living the life you have always envisioned?” the mentor asked. Light bulbs went on in the young man’s mind.
Fortunately for him, he took action immediately. He wrote a life skills book for high school students and launched a career in speaking. Not long after, he caught the attention of big corporate companies that poured a lot of money in his vision. He is living his dream. He didn’t wait.
“I am too old.” Age is just a number. I was recently sitting in a class with a 63-year-old man. Retired. He used to work with Uganda Commercial Bank. He is starting afresh. He wants to start a business. So can you if you have been sitting on the fence lamenting about the good old days and assuming that you can’t do anything worthwhile.
“I still need to think about it.” Well, for how long will you think? Once you have adequate information to make an intelligent decision, go for it. Otherwise you will suffer from the famous disease of paralysis of analysis.
“I still need to pray about it”. Hmmm. Before you ask, your father in heaven has already heard. Prayer without action is dead. I love the concept of prayer walking. You pray while on the move. Get going.
“I don’t have the connections.” No doubt connections or networks help. Then create them. Join associations, clubs, attend workshops and keep in touch with people you establish links with. Instead of lamenting, be proactive and do something.
My core goal until the end of the year is to increase my excuses detector. I am much tougher on myself and my colleagues at work. I am sure by the end of the year, the benefits will be worth the effort.
I have started seeing the positive impact. I hope you do the same. You see, in the final analysis, you can either defend your excuses or live your dream. Life rewards results, not excuses.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Clear the clutter around you
By Ethan Musolini
When clutter knocks, you know trouble is flaring. Clutter crowds the mind and creates an emotional energy leak that distracts your dear self from focusing on what matters in life. Here is what I mean.
Let’s say your desk is filled with lots of paper and now you have to work on a critical project. But then, there is a mountain of paper that your eyes are drawn to. Your focus is distracted. It takes you ages to get something. If you are always throwing papers everywhere and anywhere, locating documents becomes a challenge. What would have taken two minutes may take you 20 minutes. That’s time you would have used for other important pursuits.
DebtsIf you have a debt that is uncleared, there is always that nagging voice at the back of your mind which at every turn reminds you, “Oh my God, I haven’t paid him”. Then you meet him and as he smiles broadly. You then wonder whether the smile is because he is happy to see you or he thinks you are going to pay him. When his number appears on your cell phone screen as an incoming call, your heartbeat races to Jamaica and you debate between switching it off and ignoring it.
Unfinished projectsIf you have any kind or form of an unfinished project, it’s like a reminder calling again and again. When you go home, you recall how you haven’t finished that ‘heavy project’. When you get back to work, while seated in a strategy meeting in which you are meant to make valuable contributions, your mind strays again to that unfinished project. The challenge is that your absence in mind has not helped your project by any bit and yet you are not effective at the strategy meeting either. How painful.
Unfulfilled promisesEver made a wedding meeting pledge which you have never fulfilled and every time you see those endless reminders for the next wedding meeting, your heart skips? You probably have promised your sister school fees, and when she beeps, you switch off your phone and claim that the battery ran out. You feel like a cheat.
Dirty work placeWhen your place of work looks like an Omo advert and you start sneezing instead of smiling, then that’s when you begin to notice that dirt is not always good after all. Your papers become dirty and now you have to use your white handkerchief to save face.After sneezing, you develop a grumpy face of frustration which won’t win you many friends at work and at parties.
With all the above frustrations, it comes to three words – clear the clutter. Develop a plan to pay off those debts. Open up a debt clearance account where you put 10 percent of your monthly earnings and if you stay disciplined, you will be able to clear those heavy debts hanging on your back and finally you will be able to breathe properly.
Clean your workplace. Did I say at home too? Finish those reports. Finalise the projects. Develop a plan to follow through with clear time lines. Fulfil the promises you made otherwise no one will believe any word you say in the future. Save yourself the inner turmoil of guilt such that you concentrate on your goals.
At the end of each month, review your life to determine whether there is any clutter you need to clear out of your life and purpose it to start right away. When you clear the clutter out of your life, you open up the clarity to do other things that matter.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. eth
Opportunity meets the prepared
By Ethan Musolini
Often times, we cry for opportunities. The challenge is, when they come, are we ready? Recently, I was involved in a workshop in Busia and one of the ladies, an advocacy officer for World Vision was wondering how she could show parents the value of sending their children to school rather than focusing on other activities like fishing.
“Some parents think that if children don’t fish, then they won’t eat. They console themselves that at least they are getting fish for now yet education takes a long time and you can’t be sure of getting a job anyway. So they hang onto what they have for now.”
And in life, isn’t true that we sometimes hang onto the “eating” of today at the expense of eating forever through preparation? Edwin grew up in a trading centre. That meant there were opportunities to make some quick money.
For example carry water, sort someone’s beans, clean windows and so on. Some of his peers focused on that most of the time, at the expense of missing school. Not that there’s anything disrespectful about that or for people who did it to earn school fees. But when solely taken as a source of future success, the results may not be as inspiring.
The majority of those who dropped school completely missed out on the opportunity to earn a stable income in the later years and the reverse is true. Some people want greater things but they are not willing to invest what is necessary whether it’s in terms of time, money or effort.
Here are a couple of scenarios. Rather than give you answers, I will offer some questions to ponder and answer after reading this article. You want to become a writer, have you thought about enrolling for a diploma in journalism?
You have been on the same job for seven years and you have never tasted what they call promotion and you have been complaining and whining how management favours “certain people”. Have you thought about spending time with your supervisor to learn how to execute your job better?
How about enrolling for further studies or attending a personal development workshop to work on that whining and complaining attitude of yours which may be an obstacle to your progress?
You want to become a radio DJ, have you looked around for a mentor you can meet at least once a month to give you guidance? The East African spirit is getting bigger and closer which means there are lots of opportunities. What are you doing to prepare yourself mentally and financially to maximise them?
Les Brown, one of the best motivational speakers today was told by his mentor that “It’s better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than have an opportunity find you unprepared”. Edwin missed many opportunities before because he was not prepared. Now he spends a lot of time preparing himself (in knowledge, attitude and skills) because then, he appears attractive and the opportunities just come to him.
No wonder the definition of luck is “where opportunity meets the prepared.” Your neighbours who bought the Stanbic Bank shares and saw them grow by over 300 per cent weren’t just lucky, they were prepared with their savings and reading newspapers to follow events and opportunities around them.
Oh, and they were willing to take action too. Well, I’m waiting for your story of luck as you get to work on yourself and be prepared when opportunity knocks, you are ready to say “Yes sir”, “Yes madam, I am ready.”
Ethan Musolini is a motivational speaker, HR consultant and the CEO of Success Africa.
ethan@Success-Africa.com
an@Success-Africa.com
Leaders are readers
By Ethan Musolini
I am told that one of our politicians who is a professor used to tell the electorate in Bushenyi, “I have read all the books and if new ones are ever published, then I will go back to school.”Hmmmm, what a warped concept of the world. In today’s day and age, it’s suicidal to say that.
With information doubling every two to three years, you have to play catch up. There are over 450 million websites on the Internet. That means people have access to information more than ever before. What does this mean for today’s leader and achiever?
You have to read to lead. If not, be ready to be a “follower” of someone else who does. Leadership is not about position. It’s influence. To influence, you have to go beyond skill and be knowledgeable.
Search for quality information not junk. To influence you need quality and up-to-date information at your finger tips. Be selective. Read something that is within your domain of expertise or what would support it. If your profession is in procurement for example, read books in that domain. Subscribe to procurement related magazines.
Time is one of the most common excuses people give for not being able to read. Here is a solution for you. Wake up 30 minutes earlier. If you read for 30 minutes, you’ll finish a book in two weeks. The other option is to read for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening. That makes it 30 minutes in total.
If you create 15 minutes a day, you’ll read a book every month. That’s what I recommend as a minimum for every leader. Just in case you think I am referring to people who are in the high and mighty places, you are wrong. I mean you who is reading this right now. Everyone is a leader.
Read because when you open your mouth, you tell the world who you are. If you have been feeding your mind with junk or no quality information at all, then you will reveal yourself in a few minutes of engagement.
During one of the workshops I was leading recently, a participant asked me about novels. It’s okay to read novels, though that’s not what I’m talking about here.
Cut your novel reading time into half and replace the other half with how to books on soft skill subjects like leadership, communications skills, personal development, negotiation and influence skills.
If you have been reading two novels a month for example, read one instead and then add a how to book. If you are the kind of man who watches four premiership matches during the weekend, cut it down to your favourite team’s matches and use the other portion for some valuable reading. If you are a lady who follows five soaps, focus on two or three and use the rest of the time for reading.
Having a diploma or a bunch of degrees is no longer enough. I use less than 5 percent of what I learned at the university.My friend Peter Kimbowa aka P.K normally takes a swipe at the tradition of lawyers calling themselves “learned” when there is so much to learn.
As Alvin Toffler in his classic book Power Shift put it, the illiterates of the future are not those who are not able to read and write but those who are unwilling to learn, unlearn and re-learn. Incidentally, that future is now.
Unless you are re-inventing yourself, then the world is running away from you. Be a leader. Start by being a reader.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Starting your day with power
Ethan Musolini
I felt jaded. Energy was low. Waking up was a struggle. My walking was slow. Compared to my former dynamic self, it was a terrible blow. Something had to change quickly or else I was in trouble. You see, I knew that the way you feel in the morning sets the pace for the day ahead. Now that my mornings weren’t as vibrant, I got concerned. And, then I remembered one of my hidden secrets. A couple of months before the challenging mornings, I had borrowed some CDs from a friend. The title of the programme is Get the Edge by Tony Robbins and one of the CDs focuses on starting your morning with power.During the times I was using it, I felt powerful, energetic and more positive. My days were productive. Are you interested in knowing how to make it happen? If your answer is yes, then get ready to transform your mornings.Set aside 30 minutes. Get out of bed quickly with positive anticipation as if you are going out for a billion dollar deal. Say thank you and off you go. Put on jogging shoes, sporty pants and a comfortable t-shirt. Break that time into three sessions of 10 minutes each. Take a fast walk, chin up and shoulders erect, arms raised a bit and with quick movement. You would be doing what’s called a power walk. For the first 10 minutes focus on what you are grateful for; friends, the money in your life (whether huge amounts or Shs500 shillings), your health or at least the fact that you are breathing, your job and clothes. Name it all and really mean it. Feel what you are saying. That alone will make you feel tremendous and good in your spirit. That should cover the first 10 minutes.As for the second part, it’s time to review your goals and dreams. I am assuming that you already have some goals and dreams. Remember you are still doing your power walk as you do all this. Reflect and review your goals mentally in the areas of health, wealth, relationships, spirituality, mental development, career and fun. See yourself as if you have already achieved the goals or dreams and express gratitude for the “achieved” goals. This will quicken the manifestation of your dreams. You will feel a rush of energy as you live your future dreams now in gratitude. You will also be able to focus on what’s important. This too will take you around 10 minutes.For the last 10 minutes, jog. If it’s been ages since you last ran, forget stretching yourself very much otherwise you will reach the office holding your thighs with a strained face and that may not earn you a pay rise. Jog for three minutes and take a walk for two. Take another three minutes’ run and then a two minutes’ walk to cool down as you head home. A few stretches will help at the end.One of the ways to distract your mind from the strains of jogging is to feed your mind with positive incantations and affirmations. For example while running, you could say to yourself by heart or loudly, words like “Everyday in every way, I am getting better and better, yes! Every day in every way I am getting stronger and stronger yes! Every day in every way, I am getting richer and richer yes!”. As awkward as it may seem, it works. Try it and you will ask yourself how you lived all these years without doing it. You’ll look forward to the day with positive anticipation and energy. And productivity will follow.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
It is okay to make a mistake
By Ethan Musolini
While growing up, I knew that a mistake meant a whipping or a scolding. Some people call it child battering. I was a victim though I’m not in the mood to sue anyone today.
In the process, I started fearing making mistakes. It felt like I had committed a crime if I made a mistake. After a couple of years doing inner work and personal development, my fear for committing mistakes has grown to minuscule levels. Recently, I was having a conversation with a gentleman whom I will call Michael and he said, “I don’t want to fail.” Beneath that statement, given the context of our conversation, was a fear to make a mistake. I have found this to be true for many Ugandans.
Looked at with different lenses, mistakes can be your friend. Before we dive into the details, let’s talk about a real life story concerning an American executive. A young man who had received a handful of responsibilities lost a million dollars after making some wrong decisions. Shaking, he appeared in front of his boss fearing the worst. He immediately blurted out, “I know you are going to fire me.”
His boss looked at him with a slight grin on his face and responded “You think I can fire you after spending a million dollars on your education?”It reminded me that there are two schools in the world. One is called the University of Success and the other is College of Mistakes. When you make a mistake, seek the lesson embedded in the mistake. That way, you won’t repeat the same folly.
Here is another tip for you. There is neither success nor failure in life, only feedback. When you get what you set out to achieve (read succeed), that’s feedback for you keep doing what you just did. When you do not get what you set out to achieve (read failure or mistake), that’s feedback for you to change strategy.
What kind of feedback would that be? The feedback could be to prepare more, be patient, move faster, work harder, be more diligent, go for further studies, seek advice, be honest, be smarter next time… the possibilities are endless.
In other words, ask yourself, what is this teaching me? What do I need to do differently from now onwards? When you ask yourself such questions, the answers will appear.
The challenge is to be courageous enough to make the mistake. Sometimes the fear is based on tarnishing your image in case you fail. But that’s looking at the world upside down. Live life on your terms. If you keep thinking what other people will think of you, then you are living their lives and wishes, not yours. What matters the most is for you to go out there and do something.
If you look at any successful person, then you are looking at someone who has made more mistakes than an average person. In the process of making so many mistakes, they are learning so many lessons and insights that propel them to succeed at the next attempt. They increase their possibilities of success. Any fear of making a mistake is a doorway to missing out on future or possible success.
In life, you will regret most things you didn’t do than those you actually did. Go out there and do something. A worse case scenario is that you will learn something. That’s not a bad return on investment, is it?
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Why you must have a mentor
By Ethan Musolini
10 years ago I was seated in a church and the guest preacher of the day gave an inspirational message on “Never Give up”. I remember thinking that that was the message we need in Africa. A message of hope.
I also knew that to get a head start, I had to convince the same gentleman to become my mentor. He agreed and my life has never been the same again. I believe everyone needs a mentor.
Let’s say you want to start a business and you don’t have any experience in that area. There are a couple of options you have available. Register for a business course which will take you two years or more to complete, millions of shillings to invest in and a possibility of information overload and a lot of theory unless you join an excellent school.
The other option is to talk to your broke uncle or poor friends for advice and of course by now you know where their advice will lead – to more poverty and a high probability of failure because the advice they are giving you has not worked for them. The other option is to find someone who is successful at what you want to achieve and convince them to become your mentor. This is the fastest option. Why?
You will be showed the mistakes to avoid which took the same person years or even decades to learn. Shortcuts to get you to your dream business will be revealed. What would have taken you years to achieve through the long and arduous road of trial and error, could be done in months or even days of copy and duplicate. Following me so far? Good. That’s why I like chatting with you.
I can hear you say, “How do I find and convince my potential mentor?” Good question. Be clear about what you want to achieve. Then find someone who has achieved the same milestones you are embarking on. Pay attention to news, associations and clubs you belong to and you will find great leads.
“But I’m too ‘small’ and scared to approach such big shots”. One word for you. Relax. If they are big, it means they are too visible to be missed. Secondly I find successful people to be very approachable. You see, some of the qualities that got them where they are is humility, interpersonal communication skills and respect for people. This will work to your advantage. They will also be flattered by your consideration for their advice and wisdom.
Here is your strategy. If they are offering you their time and wisdom, think about what value you could offer in return. Think in terms of what they would consider valuable. Now don’t tell me you have nothing to offer.
It could be three hours of research per week, cleaning their car, tutoring their spouse in piano lessons (not a smart proposal for singles), working on their financials, and so many more. Now that you know what to offer them, make your pitch. This could be on phone or in person
“Hi, my name is… I really admire your achievement in… Could you kindly meet me for an hour once a month and in return, I will (fill in you value addition proposal)…?” If meeting is impossible, propose use of the telephone. No beeping. The other option is email. In case you are not taken on, move onto the next possible target until you succeed.
Once you get a yes, remember to follow through on the goals set. Mentors love people who are progressing. Go straight to the point and don’t beat around the bush. Keep time. Be diligent. And remember to succeed.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Maximise small opportunities
Ethan Musolini
“Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.” Demosthenes. That quote grabbed me by the throat. Jonas (not real name) was a student refugee in Kenya. Then he came back to Kampala. Jumping from street to street, he got a job as a cleaner at one of the current radio stations.Here was a man who owned a second hand Mercedes Benz and held a diploma from Kenya. His long beard did not earn him admiration from his then boss. Looking for a way to get rid of him, he was told to clean the office by 6a.m. Tossed around like cabbage, he persisted.And then he applied himself. When the DJs were on air, he kept peeping to notice how they were operating the machines late in the night. He befriended some without bribing them. He found himself being allowed to sit in the studio for closer apprenticeship. Before long, he had mastered the equipment to a level where he could play the music. As destiny would have it, one of the DJs meant for a night shift did not appear. Jonas stepped in and just played the music and commercials. Word went around up to the Managing Director who got puzzled. The dear cleaner kept executing his job to perfection. Having studied accounts, he knew how to balance the books. While his MD was away, he would arrange his desk, file all the necessary paper work, enter data in the computer and go back to his friendly broom. Then his boss appeared and asked him with curiosity: “Who did this?” “I did” Jonas responded. The fellow just shook his head. Soon, Jonas was being trusted with balancing of books in addition to his cleaning chores. Promoted to administration, he threw his broom through the window. He slowly grew through the ranks to a position of station manager. What I forgot to ask him is whether he kept his very long beard when he got promoted. As of this writing, he is a consultant to several businesses and gives inspirational talks.Let us back up a bit and see what Jonas is teaching us. First, he never despised the opportunity that was availed to him. He took it with both hands. Yes, I mean sweeping the dirt in front of him while his diploma was tucked away in his back pocket. When any opportunity comes to you, it’s like the world is testing you. The universe is asking whether you can handle the present before accessing a bigger opportunity. Are you faithful? Do you have the discipline and muscle to stay the course? When an opportunity knocks, hold it with two hands. Never despise it. That could be the beginning of magical things ahead. From cleaner to station manager, it can’t get better than that.Sometimes I see people despising their jobs. So what are you doing there? Have you thought about doing the best with what you have? It’s okay to desire a better job, but remember to do the best with what you have for now while strategising for the future. It could be a test before you are entrusted with bigger things. It’s Martin Luther King who said that even if you are a sweeper, purpose it to be the best sweeper in the world. For every “small” opportunity, ask yourself, “What is great about this? How do I maximise it?” Then, get to work as if you were being paid a million dollars per month for it.In the end, there are no small opportunities, only a small attitude. All opportunities are big opportunities depending on how you treat and leverage them.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Jackline A. Olanya
What Does Brenda Maraka read?As a Christian, I believe in the prosperity of all areas in my life – health, business and my spiritual side. I therefore read a lot of books by Christian authors, business related books and self development books so that I can have the mindset of a millionaire. I also love books on fitness and how to eat right.
What does that say about you?It says that I try to balance my life and try to achieve in every area of my life. I believe it doesn’t make sense to be successful in business but have ill health.
What’s the most memorable book you’ve read?Enjoying Where You Are on The Way to Where You Are Going by Joyce Meyer. That book changed my life. I learnt to mind my own business and not to worry about the future. It teaches that it’s not worth blaming the past and living in regret. One has to enjoy where they are at too.
Which author can’t you get enough of?I generally like Joyce Meyer’s books but I also like Ethan Musolini’s too. He’s a motivational speaker and I like listening to him. I bought a book he wrote called Public Speaking Secrets Exposed.
Has any book ever made you cry?Yes, White Oleander by Janet Fitch. It really gripped me. I was in the train and I actually had to tell myself to stop crying. I stopped reading it until I got home and then finished it. White Oleander is about a girl, Astrid, who went through so much. Tragedy struck early in her life and she kept being moved from one foster home to another. Astrid suffered so much to a point that she stopped having feelings. When the movie was produced, I didn’t want to watch it because I doubt any one could act the way the Janet Fitch portrayed it in the book.
Any books you refer to for life’s lessons?Yes, I read books on nutrition and health like on first aid for example Where There Is No Doctor by David Werner et al, and How to Avoid Burnout by Timothy Ponder. I also read many books about prayer, especially those written by E. M. Bounds, who wrote in the 19th Century but it’s amazing that his writings are still so relevant.
Where do you get the books you read?When I was in London, I would go to bookshops. Now, I buy some online from Amazon.com or at bookshops like Aristoc as well as street vendors. I buy other books sales by expatriates who are leaving the country. I also find some e-books online.
What do you think writers and fashion designers have in common?I think it is the creativity. It’s about expressing things that are locked up in one’s mind, only that those ideas are expressed differently.
How has reading shaped you?It has broadened my knowledge so I can confidently have an intelligent conversation about many things. I didn’t go to school to transform my art into a business but it has helped me to cross over from being an artist to a business person. I want to start reading bio and autobiographies to find out how different people made it in life.
What are you currently reading?I’m reading Eat And Stay Thin by Joyce Meyer which is about eating well and feeling great. Then there is an e-book I got from my bank, Barclays, called Running Your Business Successfully. I’m also reading the book of Isaiah in the Bible.
Doing it the Uganda Cranes way
By Ethan Musolini
“Aye, aye – Aye, aye/Uganda Cranes oyee – Uganda Cranes oyee…” so the song played on booming speakers when Uganda hosted Angola at Namboole Stadium two weeks ago. After losing 4:1 in (Cotonou) Benin, Cranes was walking on a tight rope. I love sports because it has a lot to teach us about human behaviour.
Unlike the Ivorian professor whom I was chatting with on the plane to Botswana who said that he could not imagine watching 22 men chasing a rubber ball, I beg to differ.
Often times, beyond the tempo, flair and passion of the game, there is a lot to learn about life’s lessons like determination, focus, passion, body language, strategy, resilience and decisiveness which are all critical in achieving success.
So what did I learn from Cranes, on how they turned the Cotonou thrashing into an incredible comeback by snatching four points out of a probable six from emerging soccer giants in Africa in the frame of Angola?
Turn setbacks into come backsBeing thrashed and criticised thereafter was hard to swallow. In a way I felt sorry for my country mates who had made me proud when they almost got us to last nations campaign. They chose to focus, work harder and let results speak for themselves. When you are down, let the dust become your teacher. Get up again and purpose to hit back harder.
PassionThe way the team played at Namboole was unbelievable. True, the stadium only had half the number of what we had during the Niger match last year, but the players put up a show as if they were being cheered by 80,000 people. The combination of Mike Serumaga and Johnson Bagoole was magic. They were possessed. Whatever you do, remember passion.
Do or dieCranes played like their lives depended on it. Who knows, maybe it did because I overheard one guy say “Singa situgoobye olwaleelo, Csaba tubade tugya mukuba kibooko kikumi kulubuto.” (“If we had not won today, Csaba would have received 100 lashes on his stomach.”).
There comes a time in life when you must accomplish something. Determine that you will do whatever it takes. No trying. No testing. But just doing. Always remember the famous line in the movie Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back: “Do or do not, there is no try.”
Fight and flairSekagya and Nestroy provide calm and flair while Timothy and Mwesigwa deliver with their fighting spirit and I-will-win-the-ball-or-your-leg attitude. While building teams at the work place, you need both characters. The calm and reflective. The aggressive doers. Of course you do not need the leg breakers. That is balance.
Keep your strategy flexibleIn Kampala, the command was one, win at all costs. In Luanda, defend like mad to snatch at least one point. Did the strategy work? You bet. In life you have to figure out what strategy will work depending on circumstances and context. Sometimes you may have to keep quiet to win an argument. But if it is your spouse under attack, you have to stand up and be counted. Two wins and we are in the Nations Cup.
It is time to keep momentum. Life is a game. Play your cards right. Know what you want. Work at it. Sometimes results may not pan out as you had originally imagined. That should not deter you. Go back to the drawing board. Fix the leakages. Create new strategies. And remember to be decisive. When you have the big match of your life, let me know and I will cheer you on. And guess what, I know you will win it. Just do it!
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@AllSuccessSecrets.com
Release junk and receive gold
Ethan Musolini
“The universe abhors a vacuum,” a master told his student. “You must always give away things to attract better things in your life,” he added. “But then I will be losing what I have worked so hard to gain,” the student said with a worried look on his face.“Look here my son,” the teacher said and then he paused a bit and looked up the sky as if he was searching for wisdom which had flown far away. “The issue is not to give away but to “give a way” for greater things to appear in your life. If you don’t create the way, how will the better things arrive?” he asked sagely.“But master, the things I would have already brought in my life demonstrate that I have already created the way,” the student responded.“You don’t get it, do you?” the master responded with frustration. “Let me show you something.” He drew himself closer to the beloved student and looked him straight in the eye. “Hold these two small stones in you two palms.” The student obliged with a curious look on his face. “And please close your fists in order to hold them tightly,” he commanded. The student followed suit.“Alright, the last time you came here, you begged for my crystal and I refused to give it to you. Are you still interested?” the master asked “Yeeesssss of course!” the student responded with excitement.“Well, here it is,” he said as he extended the blue crystal with his right hand. “But, but…” the student started murmuring.“But what?” the master wondered. “The stones will fall,” the student answered.“It’s all up to you. You can drop the stones and receive the crystal or you can hang onto your stones and miss the prize. The choice is yours.” The student immediately dropped the stones and received the blue crystal. With lit eyes, he looked at the prized asset with glee. “Thank you, thank you” he said as he tightly hugged his calm master. “That’s enough. Sit down and let me ask you something.” The student sat with a puzzled look on his face. “How come you chose to drop the rocks?” “Well, because I felt the crystal was more valuable. Besides, I have always longed for it,” the now smiling student responded.“And why didn’t you hang onto the rocks at the same time?” the master asked again. “There is no way I could have done it because my hands were already full.” “And that’s what I have been trying to pump into your head all these years. To receive greater things, you must give away what you are holding onto. When you do, your hands are free and open to receive. You cannot receive when your hands are closed and full. Release and you shall receive. Give what you have and you shall get more.” When you give out something, you are saying to your creator and the universe, “Better things please.”Blessing and thanks from other people are like prayers of good wishes. Pick all the clothes you haven’t put on in the last two to six months and give them away. Check your drawers and throw away magazines and papers you haven’t looked at in a year and may not need in the next four weeks to create space for better information. Clean up your office. Organise your desk. Repeat the process at least every month. And you will find that good things will come your way.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@AllSuccessSecrets.com
How to forgive
Ethan Musolini
A man in his forties developed a heart problem. He was taken to a clinic for treatment without much success. Transferred to Mulago he was still bed ridden and the complication persisted.Luckily, he had amassed boat-loads of money to afford the best treatment possible. He was taken to London for more advanced treatment. Still no relief. Not your average complication because his heart was bleeding profusely. A devout Christian, he had created a vast network of friends at his home church. His friends and colleagues turned to prayer day and night awaiting divine intervention. Weeks went by without much progress. During one of the prayer meetings, someone got a revelation that the same gentleman who was now ill and feeble needed to forgive someone with whom he had long held grudges.A message was quickly sent to London. The gentleman shed a few tears and somehow forgave his then nemesis. Out of the blue, the heart stopped bleeding. Finally, he walked out of the hospital healed, free and a liberated man. The rest of the family received him at the airport amidst jubilation and ululations. In essence, forgiveness can be a matter of life and death.Vaults of research show that when you are angry with someone, toxins are deposited in your blood stream which causes different forms of dis-ease. There are recorded case studies where people have been healed of cancer after exercising forgiveness.You might be thinking; “But surely for me, I will never ever forgive… (fill in the blanks) because what was done to me was soooooo unforgivable.” Sorry to hear that. But I invite you to think about this…While appearing on the Oprah Winfrey Show in December of 2007, James Arthur Ray, one of the teachers in The Secret the movie dramatically put it that “Not to forgive is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die.” In other words, you are doing yourself a favour when you forgive. How do you forgive?Let’s dive into a formula on how to forgive which I personally used when I had a seemingly unforgivable encounter with some of my family members that liberated me. It’s called The Forgiveness Letter created by Tom Pauley the developer of Quantum Marketing course. Here is the process;Let’s say you have a big issue with Nabada.Make sure you are alone in the room. Note: This is no exercise to delve into while at work. Get pen and paper. Start with “Dear Nabada…” and then pour out your heart. Mention all the damage done to your heart. Call her names if you wish. Swear words are okay since your nursery teacher won’t read it. Don’t hold back anything. Express your feelings in uncensored. You are safe. Record everything imaginable. This is a special time for you to express your emotions fully. Let the toxins come out. Nema will not arrest you. At the end, simply write… “This injury between me and you is now over forever. I am complete.” Close your eyes and feel the freedom. Tear the paper into the tiniest pieces possible and throw them away. Or you can burn the paper. Not on top of your bed of course. This symbolises your completion. Never file the letter otherwise you may land on it in the future and boil again with rage and be taken aback which won’t help you. I used the same process when I had to exorcise my family hurt and it’s like a tonne of gravel was lifted off my head. How surprised would you be if you woke up tomorrow morning after the exercise with the same elated feeling?Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@AllSuccessSecrets.com
How to live on purpose
By Ethan Musolini
I saw a gentleman carrying a ruck sack on Jinja road walking towards me with a lot of vigour. He was wearing a black T-shirt with words on his chest that caught my eye. One of the things that fascinates me is the writings of what people have on their T-shirts because sometimes they tell a lot about personalities.
The writing? “Why am I here on earth?” It grabbed my attention. I said “hi” with a huge smile on my face attempting to catch his attention. “So, indeed why are you on planet earth?” I asked. He responded with a lot of energy. “And that’s the big question” while walking away from me. I was hoping he would stop to share his purpose. Alas not. I noticed on the back, there was Rick Warren’s name, the author of a The Purpose Driven Life.
10 years ago, I was fortunate enough to read a book by Myles Munroe, The Power of Purpose. In it I discovered for the first time that I have a reason as to why I was created and living on planet earth. Purpose is your reason for living on planet earth. You may be wondering in your mind “How do I find out what it is?” I love your question.
First, what are you good at that comes so naturally to you? Hint. Have you ever been involved in an activity that seemed almost child’s play while your friends were struggling with the same challenge? Or they even ask you – “How do you do that” and you respond “I don’t know. I just do it”. That’s a hint as to what you could be wired to do.
Second, what do you really enjoy doing? For me, it’s speaking to people. Inspiring them to realise their dreams. That’s why I am chatting with you right now. That’s why I do motivational speaking. What is that when you are doing it, time doesn’t seem to matter? You know those things which you do only to find that four hours have gone by and yet in your mind you feel like it was just 15 minutes?
Third, if you ever struggle to find out what your purpose is, then talk to your creator. In workshops, I usually stress, “A manufacturer knows the ultimate purpose of his creation. In the same vein, God who created you knows the ultimate purpose. When in doubt, pray and you will surely get an answer.”
Fourth, your purpose is meant to be in line with adding value to the world. In the end, you are meant to live this world a better place than how you found it. Live your own life though. You are unique and therefore you are meant to do something unique for this world, not to be a copy cat of somebody’s life that you admire. As one author put it, be an original, don’t die a copy.
Living on purpose makes the world a better place because you lived. When you don’t, the world is robbed of your gift forever. Life is meant to be fun. Not drudgery. It’s a real struggle when you spend most of your time doing things you are not strong at and don’t enjoy.
When you align your life in terms of what you are really good at (read talent and strength) and enjoy at the same time, then it’s fun. To add value to the world in a way that you enjoy and comes naturally to you is to have lived a fulfilled life.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa,motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Three ways to grow faster
By Ethan Musolini
Life is never stagnant. You either progress or regress. It can be scary sometimes to know that you are either growing or dying (of course I do not mean physically). If the world is moving fast, it means we had better grow faster or equally as fast. So what would it take then to grow faster in different areas of our lives?
Do more things
The number one killer is to keep doing the same thing over and over again. There is nothing wrong with having useful routines or important rituals or even expected fulfilment of systems at work. However if your brain is not tasked with more challenges then it doesn’t grow faster.
Akot (not real name) is always trying out new things. She keeps expanding her product lines in her business. Almost every year, she opens a new business which means more challenges for her brain and capacity to run multiple businesses. The beauty also is that the new challenges bring along new opportunities and her bank account is not complaining either.
Doing more things is related to doing different things. The latest brain research states that when you do something new consistently for 27 to 30 days, a new neural pathway is created in the brain. A neural pathway is like a new road being created in a dense forest. It means you can now reach areas you wouldn’t have been able to reach before. This increases your possibilities. Same with the mind. It means you can accomplish different things which give you a better sense of power and control over your life. The more choices you have in life, the more power you possess. That comes through practicing different things.
Learn more things
Related to the above is learning beyond just doing. One of the top executives in the country is just 33 years old.
He is always learning more things - strategy, fishing, rats (don’t laugh at this one because he told me how at one time he reared some exotic rats for export and made a fortune out of it), energy, marketing, pets, machinery…name it and he has some knowledge about it or he has run a successful business around it.
He is employed full time and yet runs several businesses in different sectors. One of the reasons he is successful as an employee and entrepreneur at the same time in different businesses is because he is always learning more which enables him to be versatile.
It’s okay to be ‘abnormal’
In high school, I used to hear the word abnormal. I hated hearing the word being used on someone and I always prayed that it was never used on me. But I later came to a realisation that one of the best compliments to get is to be a bit ‘abnormal’.
What I mean by that is to get out of the mundane, the usual, and the familiar. Because that’s where stagnation lies and it’s not fun.
Forget the crowd mentality, some people will doubt you if you seem ‘unusual’ or do not follow what society calls normal. And if you look around, those who are very successful were either called abnormal or crazy at first until society came to believe in their genius.
Be outrageous, that’s okay. Of course that doesn’t mean you go overboard to the point of removing all your clothes and running around the streets. Let’s just say that if you do that, I may not come to cheer you on.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa,motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Invest in yourself
By Ethan Musolini
Warren Buffet is the richest investor alive today. When such a genius speaks, I listen. Recently, he was asked as to what the best investment is during such tough times.
His answer was not filled with numbers and earth shaking models to invest in the stock markets. It was direct and simple. “The most important investment you can make is in yourself.”
In those few words, he exposed a road map not only to survive in challenging times but to also thrive in the opportune moments. Life is a cycle. Challenging times are followed by good times and vice versa.
Back to investing in yourself.It may sound cliché but you are the most important person in the world. If that’s the case, doesn’t it make sense to invest the best resources possible in yourself?
I was talking to a friend who is one of the richest people in the country shortly after his return from USA.
“You know, half of my suitcase is filled with books. And I can’t wait to read them.” This man reads a lot. He is involved in several businesses and investments and he knows them inside out. Let’s think about this.
Is he reading a lot because he is rich or he did he become rich because of reading valuable information? Your guess is as good as mine.In life, there is the famous law of sowing and reaping. You reap what you sow.
You cannot sow stones and expect maize. To get angry at the soil for only displaying stones which are hurting your toes after several months of waiting in fervent prayer would be declared as sheer madness.
You will curse the soil and in return it will smile back at you saying, “But surely this is what you sowed in me. Did you expect anything else? If you really wanted maize then you should have planted maize.”
The formular is simple. If you want great results, sow great seeds. Some of the great seeds worth sowing is listening to excellent CDs, reading wonderful books and watching educational DVDs.
I know I have talked about this before. But I won’t tire of saying it again because this principle is so important during such times. Luckily enough, self education is now more affordable than ever before.
For example, if you find you cannot afford buying educational DVDs but can afford Internet access whether privately or in an Internet café, then you can access any topic you want at www.YouTube.com. (Alright, I admit that most Internet connections are slow but luckily enough we will have at least two more service providers who can give us 3G Internet services besides Uganda Telecom which will make it more affordable.) There are so many videos there from how to knit to starting a business. From gurus like Tom Peters to business geniuses like Bill Gates.
Of course there is a grand daddy of research on the Internet – www.google.com where you can research anything and you will get valuable content. But here are my current favourites if they are within your budget. Visit these two sites www.Summary.com where you receive at least three great business books summarised for you on audio each month.
It’s a great time saver and in an hour you are able to get the gist of the books. And then www.132120.SuccessUniversity.com whose focus is self improvement. You receive a DVD and three CDs from some of the best teachers in the world plus a magazine on a monthly basis. Education is never a cost. It’s a lifetime investment.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa,motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
The power of hope
By Ethan Musolini
In her July 2008 edition of Enjoying Everyday Life magazine, Joyce Meyer made a startling statement. “It doesn’t cost you anything to hope, but it can cost you an awful lot to be hopeless.”
A man was caught in a refrigerator. It was big enough to hold an adult. He was fiddling with it inside and then, it closed. It could not open while he was inside. He started to think, “Now, I am dead. It’s cold in here. Surely I will die of cold”. Indeed the following day, he was found a dead man who appeared frozen.
But what is even more fascinating is that the so-called refrigerator was not cold because it was not connected to power. It was a concoction in his mind. He lost hope, the mind followed and the body accepted.
Let’s check out another example. At the end of 2008, I went for a one-week holiday. There was a seven- year-old who was jumpy and full of life. He talks a lot. He is bright. He seems to be the centre of attention in his family. On New Year’s Day (2009), he decided to go on an adventure to some place, you guessed it, the refrigerator.
This time, it was connected to power according to my recollection. Just like the earlier gentleman, he entered (they are not related at all, just in case you think it’s in the genes. In fact the previous story happened outside Uganda). Then, he realised that he could not get out.
He thumped and kicked to no avail. Luckily for him, the parents started searching around the hotel. In a frantic search, they heard a voice calling, “Mummy… mummy.” She heard the voice and opened the door to the relief of the searching squad.
I found the story to be fascinating. I developed an affinity of the boy since I love children who are energetic, talkative and warm. I later asked him what inspired him to pull the refrigerator prank.
“You see, after going to the toilet, I felt very hot. That was the problem,” he said this with a straight face with his palms open as if to signal his innocence. I laughed.
When you look at the two stories though, you will notice that the gentleman lost hope and started visualising his death, a circumstance he attracted.
As for the young child, even though he was fearful, at least he had hope in his mind that must have gone along the lines of “If I call mummy’s name like I always do when I am in trouble, she will come to my rescue because she has never disappointed me”. And that’s what happened.
Hope can create life or death and I am sure you’ve heard of many stories of people who were assured by doctors that they would die in few months but because the patient had the hope or faith to survive, they overcame all odds and kept living or they are still alive.
Businesses which were declared a foregone conclusion or bankrupt are still running. In fact I have a personal testimony where one of our staff advised that we should close the business around three years ago because we were going through very tough challenges.
She really meant well. I am sure she didn’t have any ill intentions but we refused and decided to hang onto hope and the business is still alive and kicking. It survived refrigerated hopelessness.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa,motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Tomorrow will get better
By Ethan Musolini
It was ten years ago when I was living in Kyebando in a one-roomed house with a friend. I didn’t have a job. I felt alone. I had just had a couple of challenges with my biological family.
I was broke. I had no clear direction in my life apart from the fact that I had a broad idea as to where I wanted to go. Malaria frequented my slender body without invitation. How absurd? How dare those Kyebando mosquitoes visit me without any notice or permission.
Oops, I digress again. Where were we? Yes, One morning I woke up and noticed that I had no motivation, no drive and no clear goals. But at least I was alive. I was angry with myself, with life and God. In fact I decided to write a letter to God. More about that later.
Then I remembered a good friend of mine. He has been one of my closest friends. He has never left me and has made a huge difference in my life. You want to know who he is? I knew you would be curious.
He is called Mr Books. One of the books I had bought then was Tough Times Never Last but Tough People Do by Robert Schuller. I read it again.
More than the content, I loved the title because it spoke so deeply to me. I knew that I had to be tough and outlast the challenging times. The strategy seemed to work. I finally got a job and as they say, the rest is history.
Recently, someone came to me for advice. He’s been going through challenges. Call them tough times. “Have you ever gone through some really dark times and the world seemed to be falling apart? And then everything you touch seems to be failing?” he asked with a painful look on his face.
He shared with me some of his pain. We zeroed down on two papers he has to re-take at Makerere University. A re-take means you failed to achieve the minimum pass mark which by the time I left campus was 50 per cent.
He was reading three times a week. I advised him along the lines of “Re-takes are not a reflection of you. Remember, in life there’s no failure or success per say but only feedback.”
He tightened his face and asked, “What do you mean?”“What I mean is when you get what you want, that’s feedback to keep moving on the same path. Missing what you want is feedback for you to do something different,” I said. He nodded in agreement and then I went on. “What has happened is feedback for you to probably change your reading habits.
“To read more than three times a week, to believe in yourself, to change your language from, ‘I am failing’ to ‘I am working to turn my academic life around’. To visualise success.”
“I know that you can turn things around, can’t you?” “Yes I can,” he responded. It seemed much more than just parroting Obama’s affirmations.
A letter to God? You pour out your heart. Make your requests the same way you would communicate to a friend. I have used it twice and the results have been miraculous.
That same evening after talking to the gentleman, I listened to Power FM and heard a song along the lines of Tomorrow is going to get better. And that’s what I leave with you my friend.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa,motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
The things truth can do
By Ethan Musolini
I received an email from Jack Canfield recommending a book titled Truth Heals. It’s a new release from Hay House publishing. That reminded me of two truth-testing events I had one evening in December of 2008.
Mike (not real name) is a supervisor for a car washing bay. He is chubby and big enough. I call him kaboode (muscular man). He is jolly and has good social skills. I left some money with him to pass onto the gentleman who washed the car as a tip.
In a teasing manner, I asked, “But Mike, do you really pass on the tips I sometimes ask you to forward to the guys who clean the car?” He flashed his trademark smile with dimples on his chubby cheeks. And then he shared with me one experience he had.
“One day a gentleman came here and gave me Shs5,000 as a tip to one of the guys who washed his car. Little did I know that he was testing me. Anyhow, the following day, he passed by and asked the gentleman who was meant to have received the money as to whether he actually received it. The answer was in the affirmative,” he said.
And then he went on :“In a few moments, he called me to the side and told me ‘I have never met a gentleman of your kind. Because an average supervisor would have either pocketed all the money or at least taken a good chunk of it. But as for you, you handed all the money to him. I am so impressed.”
“Can you imagine, he pulled out Shs50,000 and gave it to me?” Mike said with pride and gratitude in his voice. Indeed, I could only imagine. And all I could say was “wow”. “Munange I learned the value of integrity when I was still young,” he concluded.
After a few seconds of reflection, I turned to him and said, “By the way, do you notice how by being faithful with Shs5,000, God gave you Shs50,000?” “Yeah man,” he responded.
I drove off and then got to the traffic lights. While waiting for our turn, a street child who graduated me to “uncle” status asked for some cash. I don’t believe that handouts are a long term solution to children on the street, but this time I felt inspired to pass on some coins.
He thanked me and took off. Another child came to me and then I signalled to him that I am not in position to help. He chased the one I had given money. They seemed to argue a bit.
All of a sudden, they came back together. The boy I had given the money looked at me and asked, “Wamma wagambye nti sente zino tuzigabane?” (Did you mention that I share this money with him?) “Needa” (No), I responded. The little boy went away with a smile on his face.
Two contrasting events in the same evening. If the boy/liar had persuaded his colleague for a portion, he could have gotten some. Even with a no, he could have maintained a positive relationship with him for future interactions. But by trying to “cut corners”, he lost his trust forever. Too bad I couldn’t take him to Mike for a lesson.
Mike teaches us that truth not only heals but provides dividends too. You sleep better. Truth evokes trust. And that’s currency. It’s credit to your social account.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Upgrade yourself
By Ethan Musolini
As I write this, it’s 4.02 p.m on a Wednesday. It’s relatively quiet outside my study room apart from Nana who is mumbling something from the compound and the foremen who are painting outside the estate. The last couple of days I noticed that my laptop was hanging up on me. I had to reboot many times and start all over again. I was getting frustrated. Then I recalled that at one time I had the same hiccup and a technician came to office, cleaned it of viruses and the laptop was working fine again. Action?I have just finished upgrading my antivirus. Viruses cleared. It’s working fine now. As I look at all this, I ask myself, “Isn’t life like this too in that if we don’t upgrade ourselves to the next level on skill, attitude and health, then we are slowed down by the challenges of today? Isn’t it Albert Einstein who said how the problems of today cannot be solved by the same level of understanding that created them in the first place?” That seemed to make so much sense to me. In computer terms, if you don’t upgrade the antivirus just like I hadn’t effected in a long while, then it cannot “catch” the viruses of the day because the viruses keep upgrading their capacity to “attack”.In essence it might mean going for further training and finding out the latest models of management to deal with people. For example, the generation of today which has grown in the Facebook era will need different management styles. The Internet and modern communication systems have created a sense of more mobility than ever before and that means being flexible too. The times of just making sure that people are clocking into the office will no longer hold as much as before since work can be done from home on a laptop and emailed. That kind of lifestyle also changes how the same people look at work, leaders and managers.Alright, let’s get out of office speak, shall we?Are there things in your environment or personal life that you need to upgrade? What I mean is, they used to serve you in months and years past but as of now, they don’t or cannot serve you in the current circumstances and challenges? If you answered yes, then you need to go for an upgrade. Today’s challenges are harder and are sometimes more damaging in an instant if not dealt with a upgraded software – you. The tone may sound like I am talking down on you. Well, I am just speaking from the heart. That’s what I feel like now. And the message if fitting to me too. That makes two of us. All I know is that the world is moving so fast and therefore if you do not move at the same pace, then you will be left out of the party. And I don’t want you to stay out in the cold. I really mean it. Yes, you might even catch a cold because of the virus you weren’t able to clear out of life’s system (read “un-upgraded” life). My desire for you is to instead be free of all that, come inside where it’s warm, where modern men and women who keep themselves up to date party. I won’t give you a prescription. It could be skill, attitude, networks, tools and knowledge.I am sure you get the idea. Got the upgrade yet? Great. See you at the party of modern times. No jacket needed. It’s already warm in here.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Review your progress
Ethan Musolini
Two shop keepers in the same village had a great goal to make lots of money and to be rich. Their habits and character were different. One was called Amina and the other Bernard. Somehow they received almost the same number of people in their shops.Amina always had the habit of keeping track of her finances, reviewing them to see whether she was getting closer to her financial goals. She also kept track of which products were in high demand. But not just that, she also kept analysing the profit margins on the products sold. Those which seemed to have thin profit, she stopped selling and whenever people would come asking for such products, she would faithfully send them to Bernard and he was grateful for the courteous gesture. Then she would replace them with more profitable products.As for Bernard, all he cared about was getting people into the shop. He never kept records, made no analysis of which products were profitable, spent some of the money from the shop’s proceeds on luxuries and other consumer goods at home without any record. Five years later, Amina has opened her third shop while Bernard’s stock for the original shop has reduced by 20 per cent. The signs are clear; Amina’s painstaking discipline of tracking and analysing her business is paying off. She makes sure that even when she spends, she is not eating into her capital. She only spends a portion of her profit. Result? The disciplined knowledge to which products are hot sellers is also paying off. And that’s the same discipline in the business of life. To keep track of how you are advancing in life.After my last article on planning for the year sometime back, I received an sms from my friend Alfred Agaba. “What I do is set goals and strategise in all areas of life like faith, business, education, career, health, fitness, family, finances and then budget accordingly. I review every three months.”I especially like the review for every three months. On a monthly basis is even better. The important key is to keep double checking whether you are on track or off track. You see, for Bernard, the presence of shoppers made him think that he was making progress in business yet in reality he wasn’t. Just because you are very active and busy may not always mean that you are making progress.I understand pilots have a dash board in front of them where they are able to tell whether they are on course or not. In terms of timing, if you are delayed at the airport for a couple of minutes, you’ll hear ‘progress’ reports from the intercom. “We are now cruising at… and because of that we should be able to recover some time. We will then be able to arrive at …as earlier scheduled.”You also need a personal dashboard to tell whether you will reach your goals on time or not. Just like a dash board of the car, will show you whether you need more fuel or oil. So, what then is your dashboard? It could be the every three months ritual - Alfred style or it could even be monthly. Keep asking yourself, where am I now? Am I getting there? If yes, congratulations. If not, ask yourself what you need to do to get there. Do you need to work harder, smarter, wake up earlier? Do it.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Do it now
Ethan Musolini
The stealer of dreams is the old scapegoat “I will do it tomorrow”. “Do something today. However little it may be. It’s much better than those wonderful dreams you have in your head that are stagnant,” an old lady advised her grandchild.“But grandma, I still have many years ahead of me. I am still young. I deserve to enjoy life. I am not as old as you at the moment. So I deserve to enjoy my youth,” the little lady replied.“Very well my granddaughter. Indeed you are still very young and deserve to enjoy life. That’s what I always told myself when I was your age. I chose to indulge myself. Play, dance, drank some alcohol in my teenage years and all those cool things in life as you call them these days. And then before I knew it, I was in my mid twenties and got married” the old lady shared her experiences in retrospective.“And then I had children. My responsibilities grew. I didn’t have enough time to play. In fact I was playing no more. Instead I was making sure that my children play amidst safe conditions. Life was not fun anymore. It was about taking care of others instead of taking care of myself and my dreams” she went on with a little bit of regret.“But grandma…”. “No, no. Wait a minute and I finish my story. As destiny would have it, taking care of my children and the home became my full time occupation. Without financial rewards. But of course there were psychic, emotional and spiritual rewards. For example, if hadn’t taken care of your mother, you wouldn’t be talking to me now. Leave alone being alive” she added with a little smile on her face.“Now, here I am. You call me grandma and my neighbours call me the little old lady. As I look back, there are many dreams I could have followed but I let the stealer of time called ‘I will do it tomorrow take over’. I can only look back in reflection but I cannot get that time back. It’s called wasted years. And that’s the mistake I wouldn’t want you to get into as my beloved grandchild” she concluded.They looked at each other in the eye amidst silence. The old lady finally broke the silence. “Does that make sense?” she asked. “Yes it does grandma. I am going to chew over this and get back to you,” she responded. “Well, there you go again with your chewing business. Stop chewing and swallow the pill of reality. Decide to be a lady of ‘I do it now’ because chewing over it is no less than ‘I will do it tomorrow mentality”.“Grandma?”,“Yes?” the old lady responded. In an excited tone of revelation the young girl declared “I am a do it now lady. I am an action girl”. “Wow, that’s lovely. Come here my lovely angel and give me a hug”. They hugged for a very long time.All of a sudden a booming voice came from the back of the house “Marisa. Marisa. Where are you?” That interrupted the hug moment. Marisa’s husband had returned from Nairobi and priorities had to change. Luckily enough, lesson time had ended.The little girl grew into a powerful lady of fame and fortune. But she also took care of her loving family. So, will you keep chewing over those goals and dreams of yours or will you do it now”?Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
How to change people
Ethan Musolini
A New Year story for you. A young man went to attend a self improvement programme. It was meant to run for 17 weeks. At the start, the instructor called individuals to step up and share what they wanted to achieve out of the training. The young man’s turn came. He stepped out confidently but with a bitter taste in his mouth.“For me, I want to change my mother. She is always barking at me. She is rough. She never says anything nice to me,” he recounted his ordeal. “I am hoping to get some skills and tools on how to change her attitude towards me,” he added. Everyone was silent. The instructor looked at the young man thoughtfully and then advised, “That’s an excellent outcome. If your mum changed her attitude towards being positive, it would definitely create an enabling environment for you. But here is a thought I am inviting you to consider. Instead of focusing on changing your mother’s attitude, think instead on how you can change yours toward her. Think positive thoughts. Appreciate her for who she is. Be thankful that she is your mother and gave birth to you successfully. Be grateful that she has watched over you, taken care of your life up to this age.” “You are still living at home, aren’t you?” the instructor asked. “Yes I am,” the young man responded. “Very well. Then be grateful for that also. That she is housing you and you’ve never been chased out. It will be a challenge doing the things that I have suggested but give them a try anyhow and then report next week what you have observed,” he added. The young man took notes and nodded half heartedly. A week later, the instructor remembered the young man and asked “So, how is it going with your mother, mate?” With a huge grin on his face, he stepped to the microphone with energy. “Tell you what, this stuff works. You won’t believe it but just yesterday morning, my mum knocked on the door when I was about to wake up and she sat on my bed, something she had not done in three years. She told me how she loves me, how she is proud of me and how I’m destined for greater things in life. I was overwhelmed with emotion. I mean, I even cried and I hugged her for a long time,” he shared.“And that my friend is the key to changing people. To change someone else, change first when you change your attitude towards someone, they change their attitude towards you, ” the instructor concluded.A few years ago I gave the same advice to a lady who felt her husband didn’t appreciate her enough. I challenged her to focus on the positive qualities she likes about the husband and even pray for him with gratitude for all the wonderful things he has done. In a few weeks, she came back to me saying, “I am amazed”. To paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi, be the change you want to see in someone. Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Turn resolutions into actions
By Ethan Musolini
Congratulations! You celebrated Christmas, survived a knock out on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day is coming. I imagine you will make New Year resolutions. But how can you transform those resolutions into tangible things or outcomes? Turn resolutions into plans and actions. First, an email I received early December from one of the regular readers of this column. Let’s call him Mike.
“Your latest on action ...the best yet. I set 25 goals this year. Have achieved about 60 per cent. I find this listing of goals extremely useful. Perhaps you could advise your readers also”. This is good advice from a gentleman who has lived what he is advising us to do. Let’s see whether there is any documented research to back up his comment.
In his classic What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School, Mark McCormack shares the study conducted between 1979 and 1989 of graduates of the MBA programme at Harvard.
The question was, “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and plans to accomplish them?”. Three per cent had written goals and plans, 13 had goals but not written and 84 per cent had no specific goals. 10s years later, researchers followed up the same group and this is what they found.
13 per cent who had goals but not written were earning on average twice as much as the graduates who didn’t have goals at all. Now, it gets even better for the three per cent who had clear goals and plans written down. They were earning on average ten times as much as the other 97 per cent of all graduates together. I can only imagine which category you would want to get into.
Write your 2009 goals down. You will most likely put yourself in the top three per cent. Once you write the goals, have a plan of action. A goal without a plan is a mere wish. That’s one of the reasons why many New Year resolutions don’t come true.
I have a friend who achieves more in a week than what most people achieve in a month. One of his strengths is planning systematically. “Ethan, I am a good driver of projects. I get things done.
I prefer planning my things systematically and I let whoever is working with me know in advance what I want achieved. In a simple step by step manner,” he asserted. Quite frankly, I am more of a ‘big picture’ person than the systematic and detailed type. It’s one of my major goals in 2009. To plan a bit more.
Some action pointers for you. Get a note book or writing pad and answer the following questions before Thursday morning.It’s time to review 2008 and look forward to 2009. What did you do well that you should continue doing in 2009?
What do you need to do differently to produce greater results in 2009? What skills gaps do you have that you need to work on to achieve your outcomes? What new habits do you need to adopt that will put you to the next level in your life?
By the way, when we meet 10 years from now, what wonderful stories will you tell me as a result of writing your goals down with specific plans and following through?
I am really excited about 2009 in terms of what it has in store for us. In the same positive spirit, I wish you an amazing new year of 2009 full of joy, peace, love and abundance!
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Boost your market value
By Ethan Musolini
In a flash, 60 direct employees and 1,000 indirectly linked to Nakasero Soap Works factory lost jobs and business respectively (See “Nakasero Soap Works Closes” Daily Monitor, September 20, 2006). Reason? One of Uganda’s oldest factories had failed “to put up with stiff competition in the market place” With the current credit crunch we may see more of such stories.
With over 20 universities churning out thousands of graduates annually, the East African Community opening up, nationalities around the world competing for the same jobs; it’s no longer the Ugandan job market but the global market. The most knowledgeable, skilled and prepared will survive and thrive.
In 1998, Peter Lowe’s Success Magazine identified 9 principles that can boost your market value. A decade later, his wisdom is still true today.
Conquer the computerMaster the computer. Most jobs are now related to the computer. Mastering packages like Microsoft office and Internet research skills will give you a competitive edge. Keep updating your skills. In Kampala, Aptech and Horizons offer quality computer training.
Polish your public speaking skillsManagement consultant Nelson Lees observed, “The people who get ahead are those who don’t shrink from the opportunity to convey their thoughts and ideas”. Public speaking is critical when making sales presentations, holding meetings and most aspects of your job. Such a skill enhances possibilities of promotion and visibility outside the workplace, which boosts your employment opportunities and security. Buy yourself a copy of Public Speaking Secrets Exposed and attend related workshops.
Write like a winnerWhat you write and how you write tells the world who you are. Make a habit of editing, re-editing your reports and any other written work with a keen eye to making it clearer, better organised and more precise. You will be identified as a winner.
Read extensively Devour non-fiction works to keep abreast with current developments and trends. Read classic literature to tap into timeless truths to understand human nature. A book or more per month keeps competition away.
Expand your vocabularyResearch shows that people with the best vocabularies get the best jobs and the best salaries. The words you say will make or break the sale, get you hired or fired. Keep your dictionary handy to check out new words.
Nurture your network One of the top executives in Uganda intimated to me how he turned a dying institution to one of the most recognised at the moment through the power of expanding and nurturing his contacts. He gets to know his networks and nurtures them through regular contact. Join quality groups like the management forum run by British Council. At Shs40,000 annually, it’s a bargain.
Mind your mannersObserve proper etiquette. Be courteous and professional. If you do, you will smile all the way to the bank as you win deal after deal or get juicier promotions.
Learn a new languageIn a global economy, learning a new language will create an instant boost in your professional success. In the Great lakes region fluent speakers of French and English have a competitive advantage. Alliance Francaise has good programmes.Explore other languages like Germany and Spanish, which you can study at the Institute of Languages Makerere University during campus holidays.
Continue your educationEvery shilling invested in furthering your education not only multiplies your professional value, it enriches your life. Education is never a destination; it’s a life long journey for those who want to live a fuller and richer life. Organisation won’t guarantee you 100 per cent job security but the above strategies will.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Never feel inferior
Ethan Musolini
A stubborn young man known for going where the devil wouldn’t dare was itching again. This time to test a wise old man known for remaining calm under all circumstances. It sounded like a fun challenge. He argued with his colleagues that no one could withstand his fierce attacks. “Go and try for yourself. You will come back with a confirmation of what we have just told you,” colleagues insisted. “Alright. I will disprove all of you. I will show you what I am really made of” he boasted. “Go ahead” his friends cheered him on.Two days later, he designed his scheme. “I will go late afternoon when he is all tired. I am sure I will find him at his favourite spot - under the mango tree,” he told himself. True to his anticipation, the old man was seated under the mango tree on a Tuesday afternoon surrounded by an obedient shade. He looked calm and peaceful. When he saw the young man, he smiled with his eyes. “Hello young man…” before he could breath again, the young man hit back like a machine gun “Who told you I am a young man you good for nothing old man…” and then he went on a tirade of abuses that my fingers are too shy to type. That’s good news on your part too because if Nsaba Buturo found you reading such, you would be in big trouble.Anyhow, it was insult after insult, abuse after abuse. If my neighbour had heard such, she would have said “mwana gwe wetaaga kunaza akamwako ne omo” (Young man, you need to wash your mouth with omo detergent). The old man kept smiling while holding a steady look into the young man’s eyes as if to say, “I still love you the way you are young man,” After a couple of minutes of smile vs abuse match, the young man got frustrated and walked away in anger with hunched shoulders. “Who does he think he is? I will be back tomorrow with more venom,” he told himself.The following afternoon, he came back and attacked with more vicious abuses and insults. To his painful surprise, the old man kept smiling again. “But you, I have abused and insulted you for two consecutive days but you are not saying a word, you are not angry and you just keep smiling. It’s killing me. How do you do that?” he asked in exasperation.“Young man, If a friend brings you a gift and you don’t take it, to whom does the gift belong? ” the old man asked. “It belongs to the giver – yes the friend” the young man responded. “Good. Now, when you bring me a gift of abuse and I don’t take it, to whom does the abuse belong?” the old man asked sagely. The young man got the point and left in shame.The old man has a lot to teach us. It’s not what is said to you, it’s how you chose to interpret it. If someone calls you names and brands you stupid, empty… you have a choice, to accept it as a true description of you or a gift you have chosen to leave in their hands. Or call it their opinion which does not have to be a fact in your life. Sometimes when I hear something just directed at breaking my spirit I simply say “Thank you for the compliment”. If in doubt, seek Eleanor Roosevelt’s advice who said that no one can make you feel inferior without your permission.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Of beliefs vs faith
Ethan Musolini
“Ethan Musolini is not a name you are likely to forget quickly. For the surname is almost the same as that of the Italian fascist, Benito Mussolini. But, Ethan, it could have been much worse. Imagine what your life would be like if you had been called Ethan Hitler?!” Kevin O’Connor wrote in the Sunday Monitor on November 23 in his Roving Eye column titled (Religion; the opium of the masses).Kevin, you are right. I don’t fancy being called Hitler. It won’t be one of my New Year’s resolutions either. Even luckier is the fact that I use a single “S” in my surname which means I only have half the dictatorship in my veins compared to the infamous fascist Mussolini. He went on to quote my article in this column a fortnight ago titled, Analysing your Beliefs.“You make your beliefs and beliefs make you. But what are beliefs? It’s what you choose to accept as truth about your life and the world around you.” In response, Kevin wrote: “But what shapes our beliefs? Why do we believe what we believe? Most important is the country/culture into which we are born,” and he went on to write as to how religion and family influences us.The Rev Amos Kasibante chipped in with a letter titled “O’Connor missed a point on religion” in The Daily Monitor of November 25 in response to O’Connor’s provocative piece. “I share his opposition to one Ethan Musolini who wrote that “you make your beliefs and beliefs make you.” And then he went on “We do not make our beliefs, and this applies not only to religion, but also to politics, culture, or economics” Do I disagree? Let’s see.The statement I made, looked at in isolation without looking at the context and the full piece, may appear way off the mark. However, in the same article, I added, “But where do these beliefs come from? Family, religion, media, personal experiences and the environment”. In essence, we are together with Amos on that one. Is it therefore a contradiction to say we make our beliefs only to mention that they come from somewhere else? Not at all. Why? Because the other forces like religion, society and parents will influence you but the final choice on whether to accept a belief or not lies with the individual. The exception is the stage of childhood. But as an adult, each one of us has got a choice to hold onto a belief or not.Interestingly, Rev Kasibante makes a related point, “A person may grow up and make choices about values or change their previously acquired values”. And then O’Connor ended with a fascinating statement. “My advice to readers is to have no faith in faith” Well, in an interview in the Sunday Life on November 23, (Rock newspaper to be launched), the CEO of Rock Media Group Edwin Musiime commented on his long journey.“I still believe that faith is the greatest currency. I have overcome all the financial challenges in this ministry by having faith in God,” There are documented cases to prove that statement. Science is catching up with evidence. Of course I believe more in unconditional love than fanaticism, spirituality more than just going through religious motions. My advice to readers is to have the right beliefs and keep the faith. With those two weapons, you can move mountains.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Action is key
Ethan Musolini
It’s that time of the year when you turn in your bed and realise “it’s December”. Last Thursday I was in the bank and heard Christmas carols playing. Christmas is calling. 2008 is saying “goodbye”. 2009 is saying “Hello”. I bet you made resolutions at the beginning of the year. How have things turned out for you? If great, congratulations! If not, relax and just get into action to maximise the remaining moments. I am told you are still breathing. That means you have another chance. In soccer terms, it’s called extra-time where you can still win the game, this time – the game of life.Last month, I was on the phone with a friend of mine. Let’s call him Kabanda. “You just can’t believe it but if I were to tell you the projects I missed, the business opportunities I blew away because of lack of action, you would be amazed,” he told me with a sense of regret. Amazed I was but not surprised because I have heard that line many times.And then he went on. “You see, while travelling outside the country, I had thought about starting a metered taxis business. I kept thinking about it without much action and then not long, I saw a gentleman minting money out of it.”Mixed with emotion and a pinch of regret he added: “And I could go on and on as to how many business opportunities have passed me by. But this year, I declared it as a year of action only to notice that it was coming to an end without much action. That’s when I decided to take some massive action.”I won’t go into detail of the actions and projects Kabanda has been involved in, but for now, just call him Mr Action. He is happy. I am impressed. This is Kabanda part 2. But let’s look at Kabanda part 1. Do you see any kabandaism1 in you?I was somewhere and heard a lady say, “Kale, that’s an idea I had and the fellow is making a lot of money. Can you imagine?” To maximise December and the coming year, there is one word you have to become good friends with–action. Good wishes and great intentions count for nothing. But action does count for something however small. One thinker put it this way, the smallest of actions is better than the noblest of intentions. You can be a Kabanda part 2.In 2002 I learned a strategy that works. I stole this one from Tony Robbins. Once you set a goal, do not leave the place where you have set it from without taking action however tiny. Why? Action breeds more action. Then momentum follows. This is what I mean. Let’s say you set a goal to go back to school. Call your mentor or great friend immediately and ask for a meeting requiring support and advice towards “an exciting goal of mine”. Once the meeting happens, it will lead to other actions getting closer to your goal. That’s momentum.Take action each day towards your goals. More is even better. In life, we regret more, the things we didn’t do than those we actually did. I recommend that once you are done reading this you get onto the Internet and visit http://www.tinyurl.com/5hug6t for extra information on how to make 2009 a great year through purposeful action. One day, I was listening to a CD programme. It was not ground breaking but there was a line that made it worth the purchase, “When in doubt, be biased towards action”.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Turn your passion into profit
By Ethan Musolini
Last Friday was my birthday. You never sent me a gift or message to say “Happy birthday Muso”. Well, you may still go to heaven, but that doesn’t mean I was amused. But since it’s a Tuesday, you are forgiven. Enough about myself before my editor deletes the next sentence. Let’s talk about you.
Yes, your passion and how to turn that into cash or profit. Buried somewhere in this article is a magical question which once asked will snap your mind open and cash might follow too. Let me see whether you will get it. But first, a story. Mary (not real name) has a gift in counselling youth and families. I was probing her as our conversation drifted towards passion and her long term vision.
“I have a gifting in that area. People at church are always calling me. People I help are asking me to leave my day job and do counselling full time to help the masses out there”. Then she leaned forward and added… “And I feel good. I love it when I see a life transformed”.
I have a habit of sniffing around for opportunities on how one can make cash from a passion. And that’s how I have been making a living for the last couple of years.
In fact when you are passionate about what you do, then it is no longer called making a living but rather having a life. I noticed two issues. First, there was too much demand than what she could handle. Second, people were urging her to do it full time. That’s a signal because those same people urging her on will come back with issues to solve and recommend others ready to pay. Do you see Mary smiling to the bank?
A good life is where you are paid to do what you love doing. That prompted me to advise…“This is what I suggest you do. When someone else comes to you for help, just tell them this” She shifted in her chair and looked at me with intense emotion. “I opened up an evening and weekend counselling service at home. From 6pm to 8pm during weekdays (which would fit in well with her work schedule) and Saturdays (2pm to 6pm) and I charge Shs20,000 per hour.”“And then”, I continued “if you notice there is so much demand and it is paying you half of what you take home as your salary while working part time, then you can leave your formal job and concentrate on doing something that you love and be paid handsomely for it”.
If you have passion, the question to ask yourself is, “How can I get people to pay me while doing what I love?” That’s it. Then, think of how you can do the best job possible. Good news is, if you are passionate about something, you will read about it, think about it and as a result you will be great at it.
By the way, this is something you can do part-time while employed full time. Look at what I advised Mary above. You may start with small pay, even free if it’s a service. How do I know? That’s how I started with my speaking and training.
And I love it. Especially motivational speaking. I’m paid to have fun. Now, go find what you love and are excellent at. Ask the magical question. In there is a possible goldmine. Did you spot the question? Good. Then get to work. Haven’t? Read the article again. See you at the gold mine.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Religion; the opium of the masses
Ethan Musolini is not a name you are likely to forget quickly. For the surname is almost the same as that of the Italian fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini, but, Ethan, it could have been much, much worse. Imagine what your life would be like if you had been called Ethan Hitler?!
Anyway, last Tuesday, Mr Musolini (that’s Ethan, not Benito) had a most interesting article in the Daily Monitor. Entitled “Analysing your beliefs”, it opened with the following ringing sentences:
“You make your beliefs and beliefs make you. But what are beliefs? It’s what you choose to accept as truth about your life and the world around you.”
But what shapes our beliefs? Why do we believe what we believe?Most important is the country/culture into which we are born. Your religious beliefs, for example, are likely to be very different if you are born not in a Christian country, but in Saudi Arabia. Then, you would go not to a church on a Sunday, but to a mosque on a Friday.
Second in importance in shaping beliefs are parents. If our parents are devout born-again Christians, then we too are likely to be – yes, you’ve guessed it – born-again Christians. If they are Catholic, they will probably send us to a Catholic school, where, just as at home, we will be fed that particular belief system.
Looked at in this light, we can see “faith” as what it is – nonsense. Islamic suicide bombers have faith. Born-again Christians, throwing their arms around at a Benny Hinn rally, have faith. But if it was possible to strip away the country and family influences that formed and shaped these religious beliefs during formative years, then faith would move from utter certainty through to doubt, through to, quite possibly, disbelief.
A crucial factor in the generation of religious beliefs is to get at the kids early. Of course, parents have access to them from birth. But not long after the children are able to walk and talk, they will be shipped off to Sunday school and kindergarten, where the process of religious indoctrination continues.
It is interesting that when it comes to sex, we are supposed to wait until we are 18 years. When it comes to voting we must also be 18 years. But when it comes to religion, no age is too young. And, initially at least, the choice of religion is not made by ourselves, but by others, most especially by our parents.
In an ideal world, we can see that we should not make religious decisions until we are adults. Then, having a wide variety of life experiences behind us, we could make the choice between religious faiths (including no religious faith) in a balanced, mature way.
But such an ideal world would not be the world of priests, pastors, imams, mullahs and rabbis. The key to them having large congregations is to brainwash the kids, and to access children’s brains as early in their lives as possible.My advice to readers is to have no faith in faith.
kevin@imul.com
Analysing your beliefs
Ethan Musolini
You make your beliefs and beliefs make you. But what are beliefs? It’s what you choose to accept as truth about your life and the world around you. If what we think about and believe to be true influences the lives we live, then it makes sense to pay attention to your beliefs. The are two types of beliefs – personal and global beliefs. A personal belief is what you believe about yourself. Examples of personal beliefs could be “I am thin” “I am slow”. A global belief, is what you believe about the environment around you. “Women are… (fill in the blank line with what you believe”, “Life is…”How influential are beliefs in your life? Let’s say you have a belief that states “I am poor at managing money”. Then poor money management will become your friend. Such a belief won’t empower you. However, you may find that you have an empowering belief in another area of your life: “I am fit and healthy” This will influence you to exercise, and eat healthy foods to remain fit and healthy.But where do these beliefs come from? Family, religion, media, personal experiences and the environment in general. Let’s look at global beliefs. What if you have a belief that “The world is unfair”? Because that’s the belief, then you will attract people and circumstances to prove you right – unfairness. The trick is to analyse your personal and global beliefs and figure out whether they support you or not. The ultimate test is whether your belief will enable you to move forward or not.You have the power to keep or drop a belief. Here is the process. Look at different areas of your life like health, money, spirituality, relationships, career and mental development. Then ask yourself, “what beliefs do I hold in this particular area?” Write them down. Then, ask yourself, “of these beliefs, which ones have a positive influence on my life that I should keep and which ones are limiting that I should drop and replace with new ones?”Let’s look at money as an example. You may have beliefs that state: “Money doesn’t grow on trees, there is never enough money, I deserve abundance, you cannot get rich and spiritual at the same time, I have the capacity to earn more money” Now, analyse.“I deserve abundance and I have the capacity to earn more money” are beliefs that support you. The rest are limiting. Replace them with more empowering beliefs by just looking at the opposites. For example, rather than “You can’t be rich and spiritual at the same time”, the direct opposite is, “I can be rich and spiritual at the same time”. “There is never enough money” can be replaced by “There is always enough money if I look for it”. Go through the same process for every belief. It may take you several minutes or even hours to finish the exercise but it’s better than living a lifetime of limitation. Now, that you have a full list of your new empowering beliefs, read them often, remind yourself of your new identity at every opportunity. Be patient. And that’s where most people drop the ball. You are declaring a new belief and there is no evidence of it after 17 days and then you give up. Hmmmm. Think about it. It took you decades to hold onto a wrong belief, it will take some time before it’s replaced by a new one. Keep going and believing. With persistence, you will finally start seeing evidence of your new beliefs. Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Time to improve your speech abilities
Rachel Kabejja
Have you ever attended a conference, workshop or any session involving different speakers and felt bored, or did not grasp any point for all the time you spent there? Did you know that opportunities pass by many people just because they can’t express themselves whether in private or public? Alright have you ever taken time to reflect why the person who tried to make your acquaintance never bothered to try again? It probably has a lot to do with the way you express yourself or fail to.Mr Ethan Mussolini, a motivational speaker, Author & Consultant with Success Africa, explains that, “Confidence is the capacity to communicate and sell, it can open or close doors for you.” Below are some techniques he believes can boast your confidence. Your identity This involves what you say about yourself. You need to choose to believe that you can do something. Develop your own identity and say that I’m great, brilliant, and strong and can achieve something. You have to also forget about what people or your parents may have said to you initially like you being stupid, a looser and some body who can’t achieve anything in life. Live life presently for the future.Do what you fearTake an initial step into what you fear as that is the only way you will initially overcome it. Identify the field you fear most and or lack confidence in while speaking and begin working on it from small family gatherings before the big audiences.Expand your skills and abilities to do thingsGo for extra training, study a course or find a mentor who will teach you how to do things. Expanding your skills gives you certainty in terms of doing things. Watch confident people and learn from them, the way they talk, behave, work and walk. The more time you spend doing this will equip you with new ability and insight.Dress well This is another way of boosting your confidence, it’s always good to stay on the conservative side, be one level above the averagely dressed person in the audience. In his book Public speaking secrets exposed Musolin advises that bright colors should be avoided as they will attract more attention than and the message. He says “modest and authoritative colours like blue and grey should be preferred as they demonstrate sophistication, leadership and confidence since that is what you want to convey to the audience and people want to follow leaders who are confident.”A lady known as Sharon Smith Swan said “Ignite your passion and inspire others! The power to speak in a confident manner results when you speak from your authentic self,” to which Mr. Musolini adds that authenticity is a very good virtue as you speak your real mind out. “Speaking from the heart relates to and touches other people more easily and he gives example of Mother Thereza who would have people stand up to and applaud even before she could say anything. Deal with fearYou can do this through affirmation. Affirmations according to successconsciousness.com are statements that describe a desired condition or situation, and which are repeated often. They motivate, keep the mind focused on the goal, influence the subconscious mind, and activate its great power. Read self help books and instruction books and constantly look for opportunities to do that what you fear most.
You are not your position or the things you own
Ethan Musolini
I love nice things. Yes, the finer things in life. One of the challenging lessons I have been learning and consciously working on for the last one year or so is that I’m much more than the things I own. To know that I’m not my car, my clothes, my shoes and my watch but a custodian. That I’m much more than that.It’s called identity. What have you been identifying yourself with lately? It’s not just the things by the way; it’s also the intangibles like position, qualifications and achievements. Once they lose a position, some people, get confused and are lost for what to say or do. Why? Because they had equated their core being to the manager, minister or director and now it is gone. Now what? It can be painful.How about someone who starts to define themselves as “my car” and then looses the car? It’s as if a part of who they are is lost and now they cannot imagine how to be or live in the world. While at the university, there was a gentleman (let’s call him Peter) who wanted to impress the ladies. Fortunately for him, he had a brother who was and is a popular DJ in the country. Let’s call the DJ – Marco. He gently approached the ladies and then blurted out “Hi, I am Mike a brother to DJ Marco” How cute! To Mike, his brother exemplified a powerful identity which he wanted to take on. He didn’t know how to be his own man. He didn’t know who he was. His brother was not only a reference point but a definition of who he was. I hope he has gotten out of it.I also see it in relationships where a person is defining themselves by the person they are dating or married to. When the relationship turns sour, they become bitter. They don’t know what to do. It’s like the whole world crumbles before their very eyes.The challenge with identifying with the things you own or positions you hold is that they are not eternal. Things can change any time. Even worse, you can lose them. And if you are tagging who you are to such, then logically, it means that you have lost a piece of who you are or your total self once the ‘thing’ is gone.What’s the way out then? Know that you are much more than the things or positions you hold. You are a spiritual being. A child of God. A powerful being. A co-creator. If you are co-creator, it means you can create almost anything. If you lose some things or position, you can always create something new. In any case, you created where you were. If that’s the case, then, you can always create or re-create if you so wish, where you want to be. Remember too that you are a steward on earth. Things and positions are for a purpose. To enable you achieve or accomplish a mission of some kind in this world. Whatever the case, always remember that you are not your car. You own a car. You are not your position; you are serving in a position. You are not the relationship, you are in a relationship. Stay grounded in the world but do not necessarily be of the world. It’s a daily challenge. Good news is, that’s where freedom lies. You are much more my friend. Much more than the eyes and brains reading this.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Living extraordinarily
By Ethan Musolini
Have you ever had an epiphany? Well, I recently had one. I was delivering a talk on being excellent which I had written about recently.
Then, all of a sudden, I found myself talking about the value of being extraordinary. And I thought, “Isn’t it true that most people choose to live a life that is ordinary? And if that’s the case, doesn’t it mean that to stand out from the crowd, you just have to pull yourself out of the ‘me-too-class’?”
As I thought about it, it made so much sense to me. Now, just look at the word “extra-ordinary again. The difference between the word ordinary and extra-ordinary as you may have noticed by now is that simple word “extra”. What does this mean to you? Do something extra in whatever you do.
Truth be told, most people do the bare minimum. Let me give an example. I have worked with a couple of associate consultants. Most of them do what the contract stipulates and that’s it.
And I’m ok with that. But then, recently, we engaged Mathias as an associate. In addition to conducting the training, he committed his evenings to compiling a report which is always required at the end of the training.
That opened my eyes. That’s something I was meant to do myself. Do you think I was delighted? You bet. And who do you think I will be looking forward to engaging in future given Mathias and someone else? The choice is clear, isn’t it?
As for you, the magic is in doing something extra. If you are a waitress, rather than asking what the person wants, find out how the day was like and call them by name. I remember one day listening to a preacher and he talked about how one gentleman upon realising that his wife loved cabbage, would bring cabbage every evening.
That’s being ordinary. Too predictable. Hopefully, you are not like that. If such a gentleman knew the art of being extraordinary, then he would come home with flowers once in a while, ice cream and a movie from Blitz video library. Getting my drift? Nice surprises are a mark of being extraordinary.
Let’s say you run a restaurant, rather than the usual thank you after a customer has paid, come with a chocolate bar. If you run a book shop, instead of just selling a book, add a book mark as a bonus.
When someone asks for directions (still for the service industry), instead of pointing with your short finger, use your long steps and walk the same person close to the place of desired destination.
Even in the way you walk. Do you walk with energy and erect or do you just drag your feet with shoulders hunched? Walk like you are the king or queen of your area. Don’t brag lest you receive ridicule for no good reason. Just know it so. Give yourself that permission.
And you will feel and appear extraordinary. At least feel like you are extraordinary. How about the way you dress? Are you the kind who doesn’t iron, polish shoes and visit the saloon regularly?
If not, that’s being ordinary. Extraordinary people take care of their appearances. Christine Essien from Nigeria who is always very smart one time told me, “You have to dress the way you want to be addressed”. Hmmmm!
sounds like a good strategy to me. Don’t you think so?It’s those little extra things you do that will put you in an enviable class of people called extraordinary.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Be the ultimate go getter
Ethan Musolini
The growth of a man or woman is determined by how much personal responsibility the same person is willing to take. We live in a world where a good number of people feel that someone out there is responsible for the results they are creating in life. They walk about angry and furious that had it not been for their mother, father, boyfriend, spouse or employer, their life would be better off. Wrong. I know that’s not a popular opinion. But think about it. If you look around and pay attention to the most successful people that you admire, you will notice one common quality they share. They take personal responsibility. Jose Mourinho, former coach of Chelsea and now with Inter Milan, after losing a game, rather than blaming his players, mentioned how he attributes success to the whole team and failure to himself. That’s taking responsibility. Unfortunately, most leaders take in all the praise when things are going right and apportion blame when things go bad. How sad.But let’s bring it down to you. What’s the folly of abdicating personal responsibility? You feel powerless. It means someone else has power over you and you do not have control. But the moment you declare that “I am going to take 100 per cent responsibility for my life”, then your life changes. Mine did, the moment I made that declaration. From being complainer to creator, from being follower to leader. At the end of the day, it’s really you who determines whether you create heaven or hell on earth. One thinker put it this way. If you are below 18 years of age, you may have room to blame somebody as to how life has turned out for you. But once you cross the 18 year old mark, then you must take 100 per cent responsibility. This is what I mean. Let’s say your parents didn’t pay for your education and you are feeling inadequate because of your education level, it wouldn’t make sense keeping yourself in the mode of regret and blaming your parents past the age of 18. Why? As harsh as it may seem, you are no longer a child. You can start all over again. You can go to Difra and learn English, you can attend workshops and conferences. There are many libraries, and even Makerere University has a department of adult education. This you can do by yourself. That’s being proactive. Do something about it. You can complain until the cows come home and apportion blame until Christ comes back but that won’t move you forward. When you take personal responsibility then it means you are in charge. You are searching for solutions to move ahead. You are looking up to you. When it’s success, you celebrate. When you do not get what you want, you get back to the drawing board to search for solutions. Yes, in creative mode not blaming mode. In consulting and training organisations, I have watched the same story over and over again in one of the best selling movies ever, produced daily - The Blame Game. If only every individual wrote the script and produced the movie titled The Personal Responsibility Game day in day out, then we would have more powerful organisations than what we have now. Incidentally, that applies to your personal life too. To use Marianne Williamson’s words, you are powerful beyond measure. Wake up my friend. It’s your life. Take full responsibility. After all, it’s you who creates all the results that you get in your life.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
What will you give up to achieve your goal?
Ethan Musolini
Two different people have the same goal – losing weight. Let’s call them Joan and Eunice. Joan looks at her schedule and behaviours critically. She decides to give up some of her not so empowering habits like joining her drinking buddies in the evening, plus pork and red meats. The replacement? Walking first, then upgrading to jogging every day for 30 minutes.Meanwhile, Eunice is having chats with her drinking buddies after work, guzzling beers and munching pork ribs like there is no tomorrow. Of course she’s thanking God for a wonderful creation – P.I.G. Before leaving, she complains again about her low metabolism, unending weight problems etc. “If only I had time to exercise,” she laments. Now, who do you think will achieve her goal of losing weight by the end of the year? I am sure like me you would bet on Joan. You see, Joan understands one of the most powerful laws in life “There is always a price to pay to achieve anything. To go up, you must give up something(s).”Write your goals down and think about the price you are willing to pay to achieve them. Now, pay the give-up-something-price. Like Joan, if you want to lose weight, it means you will have to reduce on the red meats and at least focus on white meats.If you are a student, it means missing campus nights at that club and turning them into reading nights. If you want to start a side business and yet you are employed full time, just give up gossiping in the evenings and sell air time at your neighbourhood from 6p.m. to 9p.m. Monday to Friday and on weekends. If you want to upgrade your career, give up following soaps on TV; did I say Secreto de Amor? And then go for further studies at the Uganda Management Institute during the evenings. “But I don’t have enough money yet to pay for the course.” I am glad you mentioned that. What else do you have to give up to get the money? Those spending habits of yours need a makeover. Give up spending on liabilities and things for the sake of showing off. Open an education account and deposit 10 per cent of your monthly income with the same goal in mind and within no time, you would have saved enough to upgrade your education.“But I don’t even have a job, Muso.” Give up spending the whole day on TV, waking up past midday, spending two hours lost in the newspaper reading stories about who’s been fired, making you lose hope. Instead wake up early in the morning and get dressed as if you are going for a full time job. I’m going to give you a job without attending any interview. Ready? Make looking for a job your full time job with no pay and within a short time, you will have one where you are paid. Smiling yet?As I write this, I made the decision this morning to give up one hour of my sleep to tune myself up for the day with some extra reading and writing. Here is your action tip. Write down three things or habits you need to give up to make great progress to achieve your biggest goal. Get to work. You will get off the road sometimes and the old habits will keep rearing their heads in front of you. Just smack them real good and keep focused on your new habits. Best of luck. Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Why you should be grateful
Ethan Musolini
A former information minister in the Ethiopian government shared with me an interesting story about her mother. Her friend from the USA bought some designer perfumes because they had heard that the mum liked the finer things in life. When her mother got the perfumes, she held one at a time, smelled them with her eyes closed. For every sweet scent, she danced liked a possessed teenager. Never mind that she is in her seventies. She ran around the house thanking God for the blessings. That’s gratitude in action.Gratitude is being thankful for the things or experiences you have rather than those you lack. One of the most definite differences between happy and sad people is that the happy ones express gratitude for the things they have while the unhappy ones constantly lament over the things or experiences they lack.From centuries gone, religions have promoted the concept of gratitude. Science has come on board too. In 2003, Robert A. Ammons from the University of California and Davis E. Michael McCullough carried out a research project on gratitude and thankfulness. The results?Those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives, more optimistic about the upcoming week and were more likely to have made progress toward important personal goals compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events.Self-guided exercises on gratitude with young adults resulted in higher reported levels of the positive states of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy compared to a focus on hassles or negative comparisons.In a sample of adults with neuromuscular disease, a 21-day gratitude intervention resulted in greater amounts of high energy positive moods, a greater sense of feeling connected to others, more optimistic ratings of one’s life, and better sleep duration and sleep quality, relative to a control group. Forget USA academics for now. I will show you how to be grateful shortly. By the way, you are more likely to achieve more when you are feeling good than bad. Gratitude is one of the quickest tickets to feeling good. You may say, “But Muso (that’s what friends call me), my life is a mess, I have more troubles in my life than trouble itself and my health is poor. I have nothing to be grateful for.”. I have heard it several times. Let’s think about it this way. If you are reading this, you have sight and an education to be able to read English, you are breathing. Buy a small notebook and write on top of it “My Gratitude Journal”. Then every morning you wake up, write down what you are grateful for. Two positive things or more. Write new things. If every morning you keep saying “I am grateful I am alive, I am grateful for my job” from Monday to Sunday then it loses its power. It could be your clothes, someone who smiled at you, a wonderful sms, an inspirational book you came across, a movie you watched for Shs11,000 which did cost billions of shillings to produce. What a bargain. I am reminded of what one spiritual teacher said, “Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.” Have a ‘grateful’ day! Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Become a person of excellence
Ethan Musolini
Mediocrity is the killer of dreams. No one wants to be near mediocrity or average performance. On the other side of the coin, everyone wants to be near excellence. Here is a clue.Have you ever noticed that when international races start, athletes always have people around them like a swarm of bees? They want to touch them, have a photo opportunity or get an autograph. Why? They have demonstrated excellence. We admire them because deep down, we feel they have either lived our dream or fantasy. Here is how to exercise and benefit from the magic of excellence. Set high standardsNever settle for just “good”. Good is never good enough. Demand more from yourself more than anyone else. Rather than come in a couple of minutes later the way most Ugandans do, you could choose to be known as a kind who arrives 15 minutes earlier. Rather than send an email without doing a spell check like most people do it, give it another look.Constant self improvementThe trick is not necessarily to be perfect but excellent. The road to perfection is full of frustration. You may never be perfect but you can be excellent. Keep on being better everyday. In life, there is no status quo. You are either getting better or worse off. The good news is that you can make getting better an easy job. Let me give you an example. Can you improve your performance at work by 1 per cent on a weekly basis? Do I hear a strong “yes”? Good. Now, in a year’s time, that’s 52 percent improvement. Think about it, how would your life change if you improved your performance by 52 per cent? Commit to a life of excellenceThe way you do one thing is the same way you will do other things. If you are sloppy at report writing for example, there is a good chance that you are sloppy at relationships and health. The upside is that if you are excellent in one area, then you will pour the same attitude and discipline in another endeavour. You are the same person. Declare that “from now onwards, I will be excellent in managing my money, relationships, career and all areas of my life and engagement.” Maximise your timeIt’s not how much time you spend but how much you accomplish that matters. Purpose to do the best job possible in the allotted time. Do the things that matter which will turn your job or assignment into an excellent art piece. But why excellence, you may ask. Excellent people get all the rewards.Just in case you are wondering, who got all the advertising endorsements and positive press coverage plus a gold medal during the Olympics, it certainly was not the person who came fourth in the race. It’s unfortunate to see people who put in the bare minimum at work instead of going the extra mile to be excellent. In the end, it’s the same sloppy people who will be fired. Now, you may be excellent and thinking, “But Ethan, I am excellent but I have never been promoted and I have not gotten a salary increase.” Yes, I hear you loud and clear. But here is something for you. If they are not offering an exciting package, keep doing an excellent job anyway. Someone inside the organisation will finally come to their senses or a competing organisation will hear about your impressive performance and lure you with double the salary. Psychologically, when you are excellent you feel good about yourself, you like yourself more, people love you and the fortunes follow. Am I hearing an Amen?Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Your name is your brand
By Ethan Musolini
In today’s small world, your reputation is more critical than ever before. I call it small because of today’s technology and communication systems. You can access someone’s information anytime anywhere. You can type someone’s name in google.com and get a lot of data about them.
When I am outside the country sometime, I feel like I can do anything freely without thinking Red Pepper might capture a snap shot of what I’m doing at that particular moment… then I bump into an old acquaintance from Kampala, an old schoolmate or village mate. It’s a small world indeed.
You’ve got to protect your reputation. You are a brand. You notice that when a negative story about a company is published, a public relations officer (PRO) will quickly come out to “clear the air”. Why? Because the same company knows that they are as good as their reputation.
Before you throw in the towel thinking that you don’t have the money to hire a PRO, you should know that there is a cheaper and enduring route shortly.
Start thinking about yourself like a company. Build your brand equity. Simply put, call it good will. Good will propels you forward in your career and life.
Good will gets someone to lend you millions of shillings without any documentation or expenses on lawyers. I am reminded of a young man I lent money. He kept dodging me and whenever I got a chance to meet him, he would give me endless stories and excuses. My feedback was straight to the point.
“Please redeem yourself. You are still young. Do it to protect your name. Your name is the most important thing. If you lose it, you won’t go far. If you keep it intact, you will go further because people will defend you, they will recommend you and life will be much easier.” I hope he understood what I was attempting to communicate.
Your name and reputation is your brand. The easiest way to do that is to pay attention to your character. Are you a person of integrity? Are you excellent in your performance? Are you quick in your execution? Do you always do the best of the best at any one moment in spite of the circumstances?
If you answered no to most of the questions above, then you need a character makeover. Get to work at it. You see, once you take care of your character, your reputation will take care of itself. It feels good when you receive a phone call and someone on the other end of the line says “I am calling you because Mr So and so recommended you highly to do…”
The other side of the coin is that if it is negative feedback, it can be devastating. Bad news travels faster. That’s why it is said that it takes a long time to build your reputation and yet it can be lost in an instant. You don’t need examples because there are many who have experienced that.
One of the ways to do that is to develop values. Values are about what you consider important in your life. They are inner codes of conduct. It could be intangibles like honesty, growth, respect, excellence, peace or freedom. Just look for what would work for you. Then read through your values everyday and work towards living them.
Determine how you want to be known and remembered. Let it be a daily project. In fact a lifetime project. And you will reap benefits of a life time.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant.
ethan@Success-Africa.com
Stop with the excuses and live your dream
By Ethan Musolini
I was listening to a CD by Dani Johnson (DaniJohnson.com) recently. She said that the number one reason for failure is having excuses. I listened again and then again. Even though I may not put it ahead of poor attitude, excuses are some of the biggest dream killers. I felt that she was much closer to the truth than any speaker I have ever heard.
Then I reflected on my life. I discovered that, had it not been for my past excuses, my life could have been at a higher level. How about you?
In case you think this is some psychological hype, think again. Let’s walk together through some of the common excuses. I am going to be tough on you today as I do the same to myself. No more games.
“I am too young.” Really? When will you grow up? If you can read and process this in your mind, then you are old enough to live the life you choose.
One gentleman listened to a very successful businessman and he requested that the same success icon become his mentor. Generous in spirit, he agreed on condition that the young man shared what his plans for the future were.
“I hope to get a Masters in Business Administration (MBA), work for one of the biggest firms for around 10 years, earn a lot of money and then live my dream of reaching out to the youth,” the young man answered.
“So, why do you have to go through that long route and process? Why not start right away, living the life you have always envisioned?” the mentor asked. Light bulbs went on in the young man’s mind.
Fortunately for him, he took action immediately. He wrote a life skills book for high school students and launched a career in speaking. Not long after, he caught the attention of big corporate companies that poured a lot of money in his vision. He is living his dream. He didn’t wait.
“I am too old.” Age is just a number. I was recently sitting in a class with a 63-year-old man. Retired. He used to work with Uganda Commercial Bank. He is starting afresh. He wants to start a business. So can you if you have been sitting on the fence lamenting about the good old days and assuming that you can’t do anything worthwhile.
“I still need to think about it.” Well, for how long will you think? Once you have adequate information to make an intelligent decision, go for it. Otherwise you will suffer from the famous disease of paralysis of analysis.
“I still need to pray about it”. Hmmm. Before you ask, your father in heaven has already heard. Prayer without action is dead. I love the concept of prayer walking. You pray while on the move. Get going.
“I don’t have the connections.” No doubt connections or networks help. Then create them. Join associations, clubs, attend workshops and keep in touch with people you establish links with. Instead of lamenting, be proactive and do something.
My core goal until the end of the year is to increase my excuses detector. I am much tougher on myself and my colleagues at work. I am sure by the end of the year, the benefits will be worth the effort.
I have started seeing the positive impact. I hope you do the same. You see, in the final analysis, you can either defend your excuses or live your dream. Life rewards results, not excuses.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Clear the clutter around you
By Ethan Musolini
When clutter knocks, you know trouble is flaring. Clutter crowds the mind and creates an emotional energy leak that distracts your dear self from focusing on what matters in life. Here is what I mean.
Let’s say your desk is filled with lots of paper and now you have to work on a critical project. But then, there is a mountain of paper that your eyes are drawn to. Your focus is distracted. It takes you ages to get something. If you are always throwing papers everywhere and anywhere, locating documents becomes a challenge. What would have taken two minutes may take you 20 minutes. That’s time you would have used for other important pursuits.
DebtsIf you have a debt that is uncleared, there is always that nagging voice at the back of your mind which at every turn reminds you, “Oh my God, I haven’t paid him”. Then you meet him and as he smiles broadly. You then wonder whether the smile is because he is happy to see you or he thinks you are going to pay him. When his number appears on your cell phone screen as an incoming call, your heartbeat races to Jamaica and you debate between switching it off and ignoring it.
Unfinished projectsIf you have any kind or form of an unfinished project, it’s like a reminder calling again and again. When you go home, you recall how you haven’t finished that ‘heavy project’. When you get back to work, while seated in a strategy meeting in which you are meant to make valuable contributions, your mind strays again to that unfinished project. The challenge is that your absence in mind has not helped your project by any bit and yet you are not effective at the strategy meeting either. How painful.
Unfulfilled promisesEver made a wedding meeting pledge which you have never fulfilled and every time you see those endless reminders for the next wedding meeting, your heart skips? You probably have promised your sister school fees, and when she beeps, you switch off your phone and claim that the battery ran out. You feel like a cheat.
Dirty work placeWhen your place of work looks like an Omo advert and you start sneezing instead of smiling, then that’s when you begin to notice that dirt is not always good after all. Your papers become dirty and now you have to use your white handkerchief to save face.After sneezing, you develop a grumpy face of frustration which won’t win you many friends at work and at parties.
With all the above frustrations, it comes to three words – clear the clutter. Develop a plan to pay off those debts. Open up a debt clearance account where you put 10 percent of your monthly earnings and if you stay disciplined, you will be able to clear those heavy debts hanging on your back and finally you will be able to breathe properly.
Clean your workplace. Did I say at home too? Finish those reports. Finalise the projects. Develop a plan to follow through with clear time lines. Fulfil the promises you made otherwise no one will believe any word you say in the future. Save yourself the inner turmoil of guilt such that you concentrate on your goals.
At the end of each month, review your life to determine whether there is any clutter you need to clear out of your life and purpose it to start right away. When you clear the clutter out of your life, you open up the clarity to do other things that matter.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. eth
Opportunity meets the prepared
By Ethan Musolini
Often times, we cry for opportunities. The challenge is, when they come, are we ready? Recently, I was involved in a workshop in Busia and one of the ladies, an advocacy officer for World Vision was wondering how she could show parents the value of sending their children to school rather than focusing on other activities like fishing.
“Some parents think that if children don’t fish, then they won’t eat. They console themselves that at least they are getting fish for now yet education takes a long time and you can’t be sure of getting a job anyway. So they hang onto what they have for now.”
And in life, isn’t true that we sometimes hang onto the “eating” of today at the expense of eating forever through preparation? Edwin grew up in a trading centre. That meant there were opportunities to make some quick money.
For example carry water, sort someone’s beans, clean windows and so on. Some of his peers focused on that most of the time, at the expense of missing school. Not that there’s anything disrespectful about that or for people who did it to earn school fees. But when solely taken as a source of future success, the results may not be as inspiring.
The majority of those who dropped school completely missed out on the opportunity to earn a stable income in the later years and the reverse is true. Some people want greater things but they are not willing to invest what is necessary whether it’s in terms of time, money or effort.
Here are a couple of scenarios. Rather than give you answers, I will offer some questions to ponder and answer after reading this article. You want to become a writer, have you thought about enrolling for a diploma in journalism?
You have been on the same job for seven years and you have never tasted what they call promotion and you have been complaining and whining how management favours “certain people”. Have you thought about spending time with your supervisor to learn how to execute your job better?
How about enrolling for further studies or attending a personal development workshop to work on that whining and complaining attitude of yours which may be an obstacle to your progress?
You want to become a radio DJ, have you looked around for a mentor you can meet at least once a month to give you guidance? The East African spirit is getting bigger and closer which means there are lots of opportunities. What are you doing to prepare yourself mentally and financially to maximise them?
Les Brown, one of the best motivational speakers today was told by his mentor that “It’s better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than have an opportunity find you unprepared”. Edwin missed many opportunities before because he was not prepared. Now he spends a lot of time preparing himself (in knowledge, attitude and skills) because then, he appears attractive and the opportunities just come to him.
No wonder the definition of luck is “where opportunity meets the prepared.” Your neighbours who bought the Stanbic Bank shares and saw them grow by over 300 per cent weren’t just lucky, they were prepared with their savings and reading newspapers to follow events and opportunities around them.
Oh, and they were willing to take action too. Well, I’m waiting for your story of luck as you get to work on yourself and be prepared when opportunity knocks, you are ready to say “Yes sir”, “Yes madam, I am ready.”
Ethan Musolini is a motivational speaker, HR consultant and the CEO of Success Africa.
ethan@Success-Africa.com
an@Success-Africa.com
Leaders are readers
By Ethan Musolini
I am told that one of our politicians who is a professor used to tell the electorate in Bushenyi, “I have read all the books and if new ones are ever published, then I will go back to school.”Hmmmm, what a warped concept of the world. In today’s day and age, it’s suicidal to say that.
With information doubling every two to three years, you have to play catch up. There are over 450 million websites on the Internet. That means people have access to information more than ever before. What does this mean for today’s leader and achiever?
You have to read to lead. If not, be ready to be a “follower” of someone else who does. Leadership is not about position. It’s influence. To influence, you have to go beyond skill and be knowledgeable.
Search for quality information not junk. To influence you need quality and up-to-date information at your finger tips. Be selective. Read something that is within your domain of expertise or what would support it. If your profession is in procurement for example, read books in that domain. Subscribe to procurement related magazines.
Time is one of the most common excuses people give for not being able to read. Here is a solution for you. Wake up 30 minutes earlier. If you read for 30 minutes, you’ll finish a book in two weeks. The other option is to read for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening. That makes it 30 minutes in total.
If you create 15 minutes a day, you’ll read a book every month. That’s what I recommend as a minimum for every leader. Just in case you think I am referring to people who are in the high and mighty places, you are wrong. I mean you who is reading this right now. Everyone is a leader.
Read because when you open your mouth, you tell the world who you are. If you have been feeding your mind with junk or no quality information at all, then you will reveal yourself in a few minutes of engagement.
During one of the workshops I was leading recently, a participant asked me about novels. It’s okay to read novels, though that’s not what I’m talking about here.
Cut your novel reading time into half and replace the other half with how to books on soft skill subjects like leadership, communications skills, personal development, negotiation and influence skills.
If you have been reading two novels a month for example, read one instead and then add a how to book. If you are the kind of man who watches four premiership matches during the weekend, cut it down to your favourite team’s matches and use the other portion for some valuable reading. If you are a lady who follows five soaps, focus on two or three and use the rest of the time for reading.
Having a diploma or a bunch of degrees is no longer enough. I use less than 5 percent of what I learned at the university.My friend Peter Kimbowa aka P.K normally takes a swipe at the tradition of lawyers calling themselves “learned” when there is so much to learn.
As Alvin Toffler in his classic book Power Shift put it, the illiterates of the future are not those who are not able to read and write but those who are unwilling to learn, unlearn and re-learn. Incidentally, that future is now.
Unless you are re-inventing yourself, then the world is running away from you. Be a leader. Start by being a reader.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Starting your day with power
Ethan Musolini
I felt jaded. Energy was low. Waking up was a struggle. My walking was slow. Compared to my former dynamic self, it was a terrible blow. Something had to change quickly or else I was in trouble. You see, I knew that the way you feel in the morning sets the pace for the day ahead. Now that my mornings weren’t as vibrant, I got concerned. And, then I remembered one of my hidden secrets. A couple of months before the challenging mornings, I had borrowed some CDs from a friend. The title of the programme is Get the Edge by Tony Robbins and one of the CDs focuses on starting your morning with power.During the times I was using it, I felt powerful, energetic and more positive. My days were productive. Are you interested in knowing how to make it happen? If your answer is yes, then get ready to transform your mornings.Set aside 30 minutes. Get out of bed quickly with positive anticipation as if you are going out for a billion dollar deal. Say thank you and off you go. Put on jogging shoes, sporty pants and a comfortable t-shirt. Break that time into three sessions of 10 minutes each. Take a fast walk, chin up and shoulders erect, arms raised a bit and with quick movement. You would be doing what’s called a power walk. For the first 10 minutes focus on what you are grateful for; friends, the money in your life (whether huge amounts or Shs500 shillings), your health or at least the fact that you are breathing, your job and clothes. Name it all and really mean it. Feel what you are saying. That alone will make you feel tremendous and good in your spirit. That should cover the first 10 minutes.As for the second part, it’s time to review your goals and dreams. I am assuming that you already have some goals and dreams. Remember you are still doing your power walk as you do all this. Reflect and review your goals mentally in the areas of health, wealth, relationships, spirituality, mental development, career and fun. See yourself as if you have already achieved the goals or dreams and express gratitude for the “achieved” goals. This will quicken the manifestation of your dreams. You will feel a rush of energy as you live your future dreams now in gratitude. You will also be able to focus on what’s important. This too will take you around 10 minutes.For the last 10 minutes, jog. If it’s been ages since you last ran, forget stretching yourself very much otherwise you will reach the office holding your thighs with a strained face and that may not earn you a pay rise. Jog for three minutes and take a walk for two. Take another three minutes’ run and then a two minutes’ walk to cool down as you head home. A few stretches will help at the end.One of the ways to distract your mind from the strains of jogging is to feed your mind with positive incantations and affirmations. For example while running, you could say to yourself by heart or loudly, words like “Everyday in every way, I am getting better and better, yes! Every day in every way I am getting stronger and stronger yes! Every day in every way, I am getting richer and richer yes!”. As awkward as it may seem, it works. Try it and you will ask yourself how you lived all these years without doing it. You’ll look forward to the day with positive anticipation and energy. And productivity will follow.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
It is okay to make a mistake
By Ethan Musolini
While growing up, I knew that a mistake meant a whipping or a scolding. Some people call it child battering. I was a victim though I’m not in the mood to sue anyone today.
In the process, I started fearing making mistakes. It felt like I had committed a crime if I made a mistake. After a couple of years doing inner work and personal development, my fear for committing mistakes has grown to minuscule levels. Recently, I was having a conversation with a gentleman whom I will call Michael and he said, “I don’t want to fail.” Beneath that statement, given the context of our conversation, was a fear to make a mistake. I have found this to be true for many Ugandans.
Looked at with different lenses, mistakes can be your friend. Before we dive into the details, let’s talk about a real life story concerning an American executive. A young man who had received a handful of responsibilities lost a million dollars after making some wrong decisions. Shaking, he appeared in front of his boss fearing the worst. He immediately blurted out, “I know you are going to fire me.”
His boss looked at him with a slight grin on his face and responded “You think I can fire you after spending a million dollars on your education?”It reminded me that there are two schools in the world. One is called the University of Success and the other is College of Mistakes. When you make a mistake, seek the lesson embedded in the mistake. That way, you won’t repeat the same folly.
Here is another tip for you. There is neither success nor failure in life, only feedback. When you get what you set out to achieve (read succeed), that’s feedback for you keep doing what you just did. When you do not get what you set out to achieve (read failure or mistake), that’s feedback for you to change strategy.
What kind of feedback would that be? The feedback could be to prepare more, be patient, move faster, work harder, be more diligent, go for further studies, seek advice, be honest, be smarter next time… the possibilities are endless.
In other words, ask yourself, what is this teaching me? What do I need to do differently from now onwards? When you ask yourself such questions, the answers will appear.
The challenge is to be courageous enough to make the mistake. Sometimes the fear is based on tarnishing your image in case you fail. But that’s looking at the world upside down. Live life on your terms. If you keep thinking what other people will think of you, then you are living their lives and wishes, not yours. What matters the most is for you to go out there and do something.
If you look at any successful person, then you are looking at someone who has made more mistakes than an average person. In the process of making so many mistakes, they are learning so many lessons and insights that propel them to succeed at the next attempt. They increase their possibilities of success. Any fear of making a mistake is a doorway to missing out on future or possible success.
In life, you will regret most things you didn’t do than those you actually did. Go out there and do something. A worse case scenario is that you will learn something. That’s not a bad return on investment, is it?
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Why you must have a mentor
By Ethan Musolini
10 years ago I was seated in a church and the guest preacher of the day gave an inspirational message on “Never Give up”. I remember thinking that that was the message we need in Africa. A message of hope.
I also knew that to get a head start, I had to convince the same gentleman to become my mentor. He agreed and my life has never been the same again. I believe everyone needs a mentor.
Let’s say you want to start a business and you don’t have any experience in that area. There are a couple of options you have available. Register for a business course which will take you two years or more to complete, millions of shillings to invest in and a possibility of information overload and a lot of theory unless you join an excellent school.
The other option is to talk to your broke uncle or poor friends for advice and of course by now you know where their advice will lead – to more poverty and a high probability of failure because the advice they are giving you has not worked for them. The other option is to find someone who is successful at what you want to achieve and convince them to become your mentor. This is the fastest option. Why?
You will be showed the mistakes to avoid which took the same person years or even decades to learn. Shortcuts to get you to your dream business will be revealed. What would have taken you years to achieve through the long and arduous road of trial and error, could be done in months or even days of copy and duplicate. Following me so far? Good. That’s why I like chatting with you.
I can hear you say, “How do I find and convince my potential mentor?” Good question. Be clear about what you want to achieve. Then find someone who has achieved the same milestones you are embarking on. Pay attention to news, associations and clubs you belong to and you will find great leads.
“But I’m too ‘small’ and scared to approach such big shots”. One word for you. Relax. If they are big, it means they are too visible to be missed. Secondly I find successful people to be very approachable. You see, some of the qualities that got them where they are is humility, interpersonal communication skills and respect for people. This will work to your advantage. They will also be flattered by your consideration for their advice and wisdom.
Here is your strategy. If they are offering you their time and wisdom, think about what value you could offer in return. Think in terms of what they would consider valuable. Now don’t tell me you have nothing to offer.
It could be three hours of research per week, cleaning their car, tutoring their spouse in piano lessons (not a smart proposal for singles), working on their financials, and so many more. Now that you know what to offer them, make your pitch. This could be on phone or in person
“Hi, my name is… I really admire your achievement in… Could you kindly meet me for an hour once a month and in return, I will (fill in you value addition proposal)…?” If meeting is impossible, propose use of the telephone. No beeping. The other option is email. In case you are not taken on, move onto the next possible target until you succeed.
Once you get a yes, remember to follow through on the goals set. Mentors love people who are progressing. Go straight to the point and don’t beat around the bush. Keep time. Be diligent. And remember to succeed.
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Maximise small opportunities
Ethan Musolini
“Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.” Demosthenes. That quote grabbed me by the throat. Jonas (not real name) was a student refugee in Kenya. Then he came back to Kampala. Jumping from street to street, he got a job as a cleaner at one of the current radio stations.Here was a man who owned a second hand Mercedes Benz and held a diploma from Kenya. His long beard did not earn him admiration from his then boss. Looking for a way to get rid of him, he was told to clean the office by 6a.m. Tossed around like cabbage, he persisted.And then he applied himself. When the DJs were on air, he kept peeping to notice how they were operating the machines late in the night. He befriended some without bribing them. He found himself being allowed to sit in the studio for closer apprenticeship. Before long, he had mastered the equipment to a level where he could play the music. As destiny would have it, one of the DJs meant for a night shift did not appear. Jonas stepped in and just played the music and commercials. Word went around up to the Managing Director who got puzzled. The dear cleaner kept executing his job to perfection. Having studied accounts, he knew how to balance the books. While his MD was away, he would arrange his desk, file all the necessary paper work, enter data in the computer and go back to his friendly broom. Then his boss appeared and asked him with curiosity: “Who did this?” “I did” Jonas responded. The fellow just shook his head. Soon, Jonas was being trusted with balancing of books in addition to his cleaning chores. Promoted to administration, he threw his broom through the window. He slowly grew through the ranks to a position of station manager. What I forgot to ask him is whether he kept his very long beard when he got promoted. As of this writing, he is a consultant to several businesses and gives inspirational talks.Let us back up a bit and see what Jonas is teaching us. First, he never despised the opportunity that was availed to him. He took it with both hands. Yes, I mean sweeping the dirt in front of him while his diploma was tucked away in his back pocket. When any opportunity comes to you, it’s like the world is testing you. The universe is asking whether you can handle the present before accessing a bigger opportunity. Are you faithful? Do you have the discipline and muscle to stay the course? When an opportunity knocks, hold it with two hands. Never despise it. That could be the beginning of magical things ahead. From cleaner to station manager, it can’t get better than that.Sometimes I see people despising their jobs. So what are you doing there? Have you thought about doing the best with what you have? It’s okay to desire a better job, but remember to do the best with what you have for now while strategising for the future. It could be a test before you are entrusted with bigger things. It’s Martin Luther King who said that even if you are a sweeper, purpose it to be the best sweeper in the world. For every “small” opportunity, ask yourself, “What is great about this? How do I maximise it?” Then, get to work as if you were being paid a million dollars per month for it.In the end, there are no small opportunities, only a small attitude. All opportunities are big opportunities depending on how you treat and leverage them.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@Success-Africa.com
Jackline A. Olanya
What Does Brenda Maraka read?As a Christian, I believe in the prosperity of all areas in my life – health, business and my spiritual side. I therefore read a lot of books by Christian authors, business related books and self development books so that I can have the mindset of a millionaire. I also love books on fitness and how to eat right.
What does that say about you?It says that I try to balance my life and try to achieve in every area of my life. I believe it doesn’t make sense to be successful in business but have ill health.
What’s the most memorable book you’ve read?Enjoying Where You Are on The Way to Where You Are Going by Joyce Meyer. That book changed my life. I learnt to mind my own business and not to worry about the future. It teaches that it’s not worth blaming the past and living in regret. One has to enjoy where they are at too.
Which author can’t you get enough of?I generally like Joyce Meyer’s books but I also like Ethan Musolini’s too. He’s a motivational speaker and I like listening to him. I bought a book he wrote called Public Speaking Secrets Exposed.
Has any book ever made you cry?Yes, White Oleander by Janet Fitch. It really gripped me. I was in the train and I actually had to tell myself to stop crying. I stopped reading it until I got home and then finished it. White Oleander is about a girl, Astrid, who went through so much. Tragedy struck early in her life and she kept being moved from one foster home to another. Astrid suffered so much to a point that she stopped having feelings. When the movie was produced, I didn’t want to watch it because I doubt any one could act the way the Janet Fitch portrayed it in the book.
Any books you refer to for life’s lessons?Yes, I read books on nutrition and health like on first aid for example Where There Is No Doctor by David Werner et al, and How to Avoid Burnout by Timothy Ponder. I also read many books about prayer, especially those written by E. M. Bounds, who wrote in the 19th Century but it’s amazing that his writings are still so relevant.
Where do you get the books you read?When I was in London, I would go to bookshops. Now, I buy some online from Amazon.com or at bookshops like Aristoc as well as street vendors. I buy other books sales by expatriates who are leaving the country. I also find some e-books online.
What do you think writers and fashion designers have in common?I think it is the creativity. It’s about expressing things that are locked up in one’s mind, only that those ideas are expressed differently.
How has reading shaped you?It has broadened my knowledge so I can confidently have an intelligent conversation about many things. I didn’t go to school to transform my art into a business but it has helped me to cross over from being an artist to a business person. I want to start reading bio and autobiographies to find out how different people made it in life.
What are you currently reading?I’m reading Eat And Stay Thin by Joyce Meyer which is about eating well and feeling great. Then there is an e-book I got from my bank, Barclays, called Running Your Business Successfully. I’m also reading the book of Isaiah in the Bible.
Doing it the Uganda Cranes way
By Ethan Musolini
“Aye, aye – Aye, aye/Uganda Cranes oyee – Uganda Cranes oyee…” so the song played on booming speakers when Uganda hosted Angola at Namboole Stadium two weeks ago. After losing 4:1 in (Cotonou) Benin, Cranes was walking on a tight rope. I love sports because it has a lot to teach us about human behaviour.
Unlike the Ivorian professor whom I was chatting with on the plane to Botswana who said that he could not imagine watching 22 men chasing a rubber ball, I beg to differ.
Often times, beyond the tempo, flair and passion of the game, there is a lot to learn about life’s lessons like determination, focus, passion, body language, strategy, resilience and decisiveness which are all critical in achieving success.
So what did I learn from Cranes, on how they turned the Cotonou thrashing into an incredible comeback by snatching four points out of a probable six from emerging soccer giants in Africa in the frame of Angola?
Turn setbacks into come backsBeing thrashed and criticised thereafter was hard to swallow. In a way I felt sorry for my country mates who had made me proud when they almost got us to last nations campaign. They chose to focus, work harder and let results speak for themselves. When you are down, let the dust become your teacher. Get up again and purpose to hit back harder.
PassionThe way the team played at Namboole was unbelievable. True, the stadium only had half the number of what we had during the Niger match last year, but the players put up a show as if they were being cheered by 80,000 people. The combination of Mike Serumaga and Johnson Bagoole was magic. They were possessed. Whatever you do, remember passion.
Do or dieCranes played like their lives depended on it. Who knows, maybe it did because I overheard one guy say “Singa situgoobye olwaleelo, Csaba tubade tugya mukuba kibooko kikumi kulubuto.” (“If we had not won today, Csaba would have received 100 lashes on his stomach.”).
There comes a time in life when you must accomplish something. Determine that you will do whatever it takes. No trying. No testing. But just doing. Always remember the famous line in the movie Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back: “Do or do not, there is no try.”
Fight and flairSekagya and Nestroy provide calm and flair while Timothy and Mwesigwa deliver with their fighting spirit and I-will-win-the-ball-or-your-leg attitude. While building teams at the work place, you need both characters. The calm and reflective. The aggressive doers. Of course you do not need the leg breakers. That is balance.
Keep your strategy flexibleIn Kampala, the command was one, win at all costs. In Luanda, defend like mad to snatch at least one point. Did the strategy work? You bet. In life you have to figure out what strategy will work depending on circumstances and context. Sometimes you may have to keep quiet to win an argument. But if it is your spouse under attack, you have to stand up and be counted. Two wins and we are in the Nations Cup.
It is time to keep momentum. Life is a game. Play your cards right. Know what you want. Work at it. Sometimes results may not pan out as you had originally imagined. That should not deter you. Go back to the drawing board. Fix the leakages. Create new strategies. And remember to be decisive. When you have the big match of your life, let me know and I will cheer you on. And guess what, I know you will win it. Just do it!
Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@AllSuccessSecrets.com
Release junk and receive gold
Ethan Musolini
“The universe abhors a vacuum,” a master told his student. “You must always give away things to attract better things in your life,” he added. “But then I will be losing what I have worked so hard to gain,” the student said with a worried look on his face.“Look here my son,” the teacher said and then he paused a bit and looked up the sky as if he was searching for wisdom which had flown far away. “The issue is not to give away but to “give a way” for greater things to appear in your life. If you don’t create the way, how will the better things arrive?” he asked sagely.“But master, the things I would have already brought in my life demonstrate that I have already created the way,” the student responded.“You don’t get it, do you?” the master responded with frustration. “Let me show you something.” He drew himself closer to the beloved student and looked him straight in the eye. “Hold these two small stones in you two palms.” The student obliged with a curious look on his face. “And please close your fists in order to hold them tightly,” he commanded. The student followed suit.“Alright, the last time you came here, you begged for my crystal and I refused to give it to you. Are you still interested?” the master asked “Yeeesssss of course!” the student responded with excitement.“Well, here it is,” he said as he extended the blue crystal with his right hand. “But, but…” the student started murmuring.“But what?” the master wondered. “The stones will fall,” the student answered.“It’s all up to you. You can drop the stones and receive the crystal or you can hang onto your stones and miss the prize. The choice is yours.” The student immediately dropped the stones and received the blue crystal. With lit eyes, he looked at the prized asset with glee. “Thank you, thank you” he said as he tightly hugged his calm master. “That’s enough. Sit down and let me ask you something.” The student sat with a puzzled look on his face. “How come you chose to drop the rocks?” “Well, because I felt the crystal was more valuable. Besides, I have always longed for it,” the now smiling student responded.“And why didn’t you hang onto the rocks at the same time?” the master asked again. “There is no way I could have done it because my hands were already full.” “And that’s what I have been trying to pump into your head all these years. To receive greater things, you must give away what you are holding onto. When you do, your hands are free and open to receive. You cannot receive when your hands are closed and full. Release and you shall receive. Give what you have and you shall get more.” When you give out something, you are saying to your creator and the universe, “Better things please.”Blessing and thanks from other people are like prayers of good wishes. Pick all the clothes you haven’t put on in the last two to six months and give them away. Check your drawers and throw away magazines and papers you haven’t looked at in a year and may not need in the next four weeks to create space for better information. Clean up your office. Organise your desk. Repeat the process at least every month. And you will find that good things will come your way.Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@AllSuccessSecrets.com
How to forgive
Ethan Musolini
A man in his forties developed a heart problem. He was taken to a clinic for treatment without much success. Transferred to Mulago he was still bed ridden and the complication persisted.Luckily, he had amassed boat-loads of money to afford the best treatment possible. He was taken to London for more advanced treatment. Still no relief. Not your average complication because his heart was bleeding profusely. A devout Christian, he had created a vast network of friends at his home church. His friends and colleagues turned to prayer day and night awaiting divine intervention. Weeks went by without much progress. During one of the prayer meetings, someone got a revelation that the same gentleman who was now ill and feeble needed to forgive someone with whom he had long held grudges.A message was quickly sent to London. The gentleman shed a few tears and somehow forgave his then nemesis. Out of the blue, the heart stopped bleeding. Finally, he walked out of the hospital healed, free and a liberated man. The rest of the family received him at the airport amidst jubilation and ululations. In essence, forgiveness can be a matter of life and death.Vaults of research show that when you are angry with someone, toxins are deposited in your blood stream which causes different forms of dis-ease. There are recorded case studies where people have been healed of cancer after exercising forgiveness.You might be thinking; “But surely for me, I will never ever forgive… (fill in the blanks) because what was done to me was soooooo unforgivable.” Sorry to hear that. But I invite you to think about this…While appearing on the Oprah Winfrey Show in December of 2007, James Arthur Ray, one of the teachers in The Secret the movie dramatically put it that “Not to forgive is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die.” In other words, you are doing yourself a favour when you forgive. How do you forgive?Let’s dive into a formula on how to forgive which I personally used when I had a seemingly unforgivable encounter with some of my family members that liberated me. It’s called The Forgiveness Letter created by Tom Pauley the developer of Quantum Marketing course. Here is the process;Let’s say you have a big issue with Nabada.Make sure you are alone in the room. Note: This is no exercise to delve into while at work. Get pen and paper. Start with “Dear Nabada…” and then pour out your heart. Mention all the damage done to your heart. Call her names if you wish. Swear words are okay since your nursery teacher won’t read it. Don’t hold back anything. Express your feelings in uncensored. You are safe. Record everything imaginable. This is a special time for you to express your emotions fully. Let the toxins come out. Nema will not arrest you. At the end, simply write… “This injury between me and you is now over forever. I am complete.” Close your eyes and feel the freedom. Tear the paper into the tiniest pieces possible and throw them away. Or you can burn the paper. Not on top of your bed of course. This symbolises your completion. Never file the letter otherwise you may land on it in the future and boil again with rage and be taken aback which won’t help you. I used the same process when I had to exorcise my family hurt and it’s like a tonne of gravel was lifted off my head. How surprised would you be if you woke up tomorrow morning after the exercise with the same elated feeling?Ethan Musolini is the CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker and HR consultant. ethan@AllSuccessSecrets.com
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