Ashley D. Mwanza

DURING the down days, if you choose to keep in mind that you probably have more chances than others, more things to be thankful for than others, and more time to live on this Earth than others, you'd be reminded that your life is indeed very precious.

You are a special being and you are here with a path to travel. There are many people who are grateful for you and you might not realize that. Life needs you and that's because life has given you a path that only you can travel, and not anyone else.

Life is really short and instead of being burdened by the heavy "shoulds" and "could have beens", perhaps it's really time to get up and have the courage to face your mistakes, obstacles and troubles, and travel lighter for the rest of your life. Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around. Remember that "our difficulties or problems are not obstacles to the path; they are the path itself."

Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be. In all things be grateful.

Ashley D. Mwanza

THE fight to have your own values and standards should always be very high on your agenda.  Sometimes it is only you that is holding yourself back.

In today's competitive world, people often put too much pressure on themselves based on how others perceive them.  It's very easy to fall into the trap of trying to live up to the standards of other people.  Nonetheless, in order to reduce stress and maintain confidence, it is important for each person to find a benchmark that works for them. 

 

Sometimes, we knowingly allow fear to stand between us and our dreams. Sadly, if we do that long enough, chances are, we will eventually abandon our dreams and rationalize our choice with logical sounding excuses.

You don’t have to allow fear to hinder your actions and destroy your dreams! With a simple shift in perspective, you can learn to transform that fear energy into excitement and use that positive energy to your advantage. 

 

Do not let fear get in your way, however, remember, the only person with the power to hold you back, or move you forward, is YOU. At its core, courage is largely the determination to conquer any fear, hesitation or excuse that attempts to separate you from your dreams.

 

Courage is absolutely a choice, and fear does not have the power to rob you of your dreams, motivation, and strength unless you decide to let it.

First, do not deny the existence of things that seem to hinder and oppose you for, of course, there are circumstances which hinder your success and conditions which oppose your advancement. Second, do not attempt to plough through circumstances and conditions. Instead, overcome them.

“Remember that you will never reach a higher standard than you yourself set. Then set your mark high, and step by step, even though it be by painful effort, by self-denial and sacrifice, ascend the whole length of the ladder of progress. Let nothing hinder you. Fate has not woven its meshes about any human being so firmly that he need remain helpless and in uncertainty. Opposing circumstances should create a firm determination to overcome them. The breaking down of one barrier will give greater ability and courage to go forward. Press with determination in the right direction, and circumstances will be your helpers, not your hindrances” (Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 331, 332).

As the nineteenth century Irish playwright and poet Oscar Wilde said, “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” In work, in school and at home, either define your own values or accept a life defined by others. You will always live values, if not yours, someone else’s.

If you focus all of your energy on competing with everyone else, you will miss out as years swiftly pass by.

Be your best self. Set your own benchmark, without comparing yourself to others. Find a pace that works for you, and be proud of every page you finish. It gets much easier as the years go by, so if you ever feel discouraged, take a break and get back to centre. Love yourself first, and everything will be awesome.

Let no one or nothing hinder you!

Attention is on Africa as the new business destination of the world. But, without guidance on the ground, grand business plans can decay into regrettable adventures.

Opinion By Business Publication

Africa’s economies have been called “lions on the move”. High growth, high return, is the mantra of investors looking for a way into the pride.

Business commentators advise investors to study each economy as a separate, complex entity, to respect it and the rest of the pride, and to find an expert guide to improve chances of success.

“The statistics often associated with the rise of Africa as a business destination don’t reflect the reality on the ground,” said Dianna Games, CEO of Africa@Work — a company dedicated to facilitating business in Africa — at a roundtable discussion held at the UCT Graduate School of Business (GSB) recently.

She said that the main insights into African business that emerged from her extensive research for her latest book, Business in Africa: Corporate Insights, were that the reported strengths of African economies are not what they seem, the fastest growing economies having the least diversification; there is a growing suspicion among governments of multinational corporations; the potential for meaningful acquisitions and partnerships has been greatly ignored; supply chain development is slumbering in the African sun; there is very little commitment to intra-regional trade; a stubborn ignorance persists among South Africans about the different parts of Africa; and unskilled workers, poor brand and reputation building, and property ownership of property remain key obstacles to overcome.

“Only once you’re on the ground, running a business, does the real Africa emerge; unique in every way and bafflingly complex.”

She said that several investors have failed, over-eager to capitalise on Africa’s commercial opportunities but ill-informed about how to go about doing that.

“In an era of Afro-optimism, we fail to see how small and dysfunctional these countries and economies are,” said Games.

“The biggest economies could come to a complete standstill overnight.”

She said the only chance of success in these markets would come through partnerships with local businesses.

Neil Hughes, of the Rezidor Hotel Group, said that local partners are immensely valuable to the hotel chain.

“The first thing we do when we enter a market is find a partner. You need a partner that can plug you into the social network, introduce you to the right people, and help you enter the market,” he said.

Kuseni Dlamini, former CEO of Old Mutual SA & Emerging Markets, finds that doing business on the continent is not as difficult as it used to be because Africa is open to new business, if mutually beneficial partnerships are involved.

“Long gone are the days of colonials coming in and taking money and living off of the continent’s wealth. Africa is looking for partnerships,” he said. “The nature of the partnership and the richness of the relationships will determine sustainability.”

Partnerships also help with acclimatising to the nature of consumers in these markets, with better insights into their wants and needs — it is the rising consumerism in Africa that is driving major business interest. This consumer class, again, is not what the numbers make it out to be.

“African consumers are becoming very discerning brand-wise: Africa will not be a dumping ground for cheap products that do not sell elsewhere,” said Dlamini. “The whole idea of Africa as a dumping site for sub-par products and services has to change.”

For South African companies to get an advantage, Games said, it is time they start sharing their insights.

“Ignorance about different parts of Africa, and how they’ve all separately evolved and what their business cultures are all about, needs to be addressed,” she said.

As a continent, Games said, Africa needs to get its local and regional strategies in order, while at the same time strengthening institutions to improve regulatory environments and avoid neo-colonial relationships.

There are major challenges, Dlamini said, but things have changed dramatically.

“Things have certainly progressed. My experience has been that it is easier to do business in Africa than in Latin America, Asia and India.”

There is reason to be optimistic, but a more informed approach and support from local partners will ensure that optimism translates into sustainable success.

·         Source: National and Africa business publications

Ashley D. Mwanza

THE oyster takes an irritating piece of sand and turns it into a pearl. It is through great pressure that diamonds formed. 

Trials are going to come our way. They'll find us regardless whether we're by ourselves or in a crowd. The trials and problems we face can either turn us to diamonds and pearls or they can destroy us. It's a matter of how we deal with them.

It's not the times of peacefulness and calm that helps shape who we are. It's the times of turmoil and stress. Quitting is seldom the answer, but most of us have done it at one time or another. So know that you have the strength to overcome and persevere through the trial.

No longer talk about what a fighter ought to be, but be such. I believe that people who face their problems understand that the first step in solving a problem is to begin; the willpower to begin!

Let us go forth and create pearls and diamonds!

IT IS good to be back! I hope you are all having a splendiferous time! If not do not worry, you will soon, whatever you're going through is only momentarily. This is my first post for 2012, what a long slumber! I have been itching on what topic to write on, and this is it. Here goes...

In life you ought to never take a stop to mean you are finished. Remember that none of us has fully achieved all that we can. That isn’t to say we don’t have it in us to do so. Keep moving, and you will one day arrive at the crossroads between who you are and who you hope to be. But, don’t feel discouraged if every now and then, you have to stop to reassess your current character and learn to accept that person. When you stop though, don’t get stuck and refuse to move. Stopping should always be followed by starting again.

Katinka Hesselink reminds us that we should not give up trying to find our way. But that we should remember that sometimes it takes bending to avoid breaking. You can never learn or achieve anything by running away. We all face failure in our lives at times; whether they are recurring fears, lost opportunities, possibly even moral failures. 

Giving up can lead to regrets. The moment we give up, we have zero chance of a positive result. It is no longer possible to succeed because we have stopped trying. If it is a dream or a goal that is important to us, there is bound to be regrets. But as long as we hold out, there will always be a chance, no matter how slim, of attaining it. As long as we never stop trying, we could succeed against great odds. The times change constantly and unfavourable conditions could become favourable ones in time. The important thing is to hold out until an opportunity arises. Wilma Radolph, as a child overcame polio to become an Olympic sprint champion, she once said “we should never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit”. Indeed! Once we have our dreams in mind, our human spirit will burn within us to achieve them.

Time and again the answer is not immediately obvious. We may find ourselves discouraged by setbacks and a lack of solutions that work. We may have heard this ‘umpteenth’ times, but I’ll say it anyway; hanging on does not mean doing the same thing and expecting different results. It means trying different approaches until we get the results we want. There is much truth in Nietzsche’s famous saying, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” It is always that extra mile that we run that causes our endurance to grow. The greater the adversity we handle, the greater our capacity to cope with difficulty in the future. If we give up at the first sign of trouble, we will never learn to endure hardship. And if we do not learn to endure hardship, we will never be able to handle more than we possibly could. Only by not giving up can we break through our barriers and grow.

In the face of adversity, our mind usually goes first and convinces us that we cannot succeed. What is sad is that people usually give up when they are just about to reach their goals. If only they had hung on a little longer or put in a little more effort. But this does not have to be your story. As long as you never give up and never stop trying to find innovative solutions, you can overcome your challenges.

The word ‘persistence' like the word ‘determination' is very important in our lives. Why? Because losing heart is not a good enough reason for giving up. ‘Being persistent' means, in this context, not giving up simply because we have lost heart. We are often tempted to give up when we are disappointed, when things do not go according to plan. 

But do not make the mistake of thinking that a disappointment is a dreadful thing. Of course you can't plan your disappointments. You can't plan on the basis that life will be rosy. But that’s not the end, hang on! Don’t give up! There is surely something in that dream or goal that’s worth holding on to. Find it and hang on to it.

Rick Warren in his best selling book ‘The Purpose Driven Life’ explains chapter four of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians found in the bible, Warren affirms that; Paul is saying you need to get the right perspective when you are going through a problem. Don’t look at the temporary problem; look at the long-term reward. Don’t look at the temporary pain; look at the long-term gain. Don’t look at it with the short-term view, “What’s happening to me right now?” Instead, look at the character that you are building because you haven’t given up. You’re hanging in there. In essence, the fact of life is that, “There is no telling how many miles you will have to run while chasing a dream.”

Author of ‘A Wrinkle in Time’, Madeleine L’Engle in one of her writings said: “Nothing is hopeless; we must hope for everything.” Keep hope alive and hang in there!

--Ashley