Conventional is a good fallback position isn’t it?

At least people know that once they go conventional no one will criticise them because they are conforming to accepted customs. However, once a person deviates form what is “formal”, confusion starts.

Although, not all customs are good for everybody and for this reason, somehow those who “stray” from them are unfairly treated.

Besides, I would say being conventional is being afraid of taking up risks. Though, this norm (conventional) is dangerous in today’s society, where people need to be creative and innovative to survive. This is because the modern generation is comprised of individualised persons who have capitalistic minds. Not afraid to take on new challenges to improve the standards of living. While this kind of thinking has developed globally, it is still regarded as a threat to tradition. People here see things totally different from the olden good days. Now it’s all about me, the other people don’t really matter, anyways; I will only need them when time comes.

In the past, “in the time of my grandmother who died this year, at least at the age of 100” people depended on each other for survival, the success of a member of a family was the whole family’s triumph. One would say that the reason for so many problems at present is due to man’s divergence from what is considered right.

The good logic is to have both and thus be conventional as well as an activist.

A skill set called leadership

What kind of a leader are you? Which one of these leadership styles (transactional, transformational and charismatic) do you fall under?

I took time to observe myself and other people’s way of leading, and the following was my conclusion.

Servant leadership is what makes most leaders to triumph in there careers. I am sure you will agree with me after reading and understanding this vital piece of information.

Mind you, leadership is a choice and not a position. Therefore, a leader should be committed towards his/her work and be liable for his/her deeds. A good leader should make other people want to follow him/her, by being motivational at all times. This means that the leader positively influences others through the upright decisions he/she makes about various issues. A good leader considers his/her environment before making decisions. Being people oriented, therefore, putting before oneself is vital for sound leadership.

An excellent leader dominates, although, this dominance is acquired through humbleness and respect for others. A confident leader is dependable as followers trust him /her to protect, assist, motivate or direct them. In short, followers want a person they can trust with their lives. For this reason, it is of great importance that leaders have a candid belief in their own values. However, these values must be acceptable to supporters; otherwise they might just lose their respect for you.

“The great leader is first experienced as a servant to others”, Larry C. Spears.

Have you figured out the second head fake?

An alternative plan?! Yes I have, I think it should happen quickly so as not to lose your mind when the origin plan doesn’t work. It’s amazing how I most often do head fakes; I guess it’s natural for any sound person. A person can’t always think of going into the one direction and carry on just like that. One needs to stop and take into consideration other things that might prevent or allow him/her to succeed.

However, at times head fakes might seem stupid if the opposite direction you choose to go looks complicated than the initial direction. I think people who choose the other direction without doing a plan of some sort to foresee the dangers in that route are silly. Rather, be in the same direction/one side of the football field and use your head to get the ball rolling and into the net, goal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Head fake, a good tactic to use your brain and win, though, if used wrongly every one laughs at you. So head fake or not, let your aim be to breakthrough.

Draconian Suppression

O’ Lord have mercy, what’s becoming of this world? I think Draconian censorship relates to the world of evil. Where is SA heading to?

Trying to find out what laws and rules are referred to as Draconian, I came across disturbing information about a Syrian woman. The 75 year old Khamisa Sawadi was sentenced to 40 lashes, four months jail term and deportation from the kingdom for letting two young men who were not her relatives into her home. Apparently, these men took bread to the old lady in the name of kindness but their generosity landed them in hot water. They were also sentenced to lashes and imprisoned (Raton, 2009). Now, people come on this is total insanity, practicing this type of Draconian rule in the name of religion is not unacceptable and damaging to society. If this is what it is to be hard co Muslim then Islam should be questioned.

Draconian censorship seems to flourish in the Middle East; in Saudi Arabia women are non-existent. Extreme Islam dictates that women are to cover their bodies and not to talk to any man they are not related to. If a woman is caught talking to a man who is believed to be unrelated to her, severe punishment is imposed on both. I view this as religion against women. I can imagine how horrible it is to live in such anarchy. Can we see how South Africa might head to such cruelty if the Media appeals Tribunal and the protection of personal information bills are left to manifest?

However, in South Africa the Draconian censorship would be based on political interests. As we have recently seen in the media, ANC has proposed that the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) be managed by the particular ruling government. This is totally out because ICASA is meant to be autonomous to be efficient and effective. The ruling party has also wished-for the amendment of certain acts and the passing of specific bills to fulfil its political interest. This is Draconian at its best as the government is supposed to protect the public and not put it into emotional turmoil. Government is supposed to support the media in trying to inform people about dangerous information (political or economical or environmental or technological or socials) and any substances. Enhancing caution among people results in prevention of dangerous events, such as warfare, genocide, diseases etc. Instead of the ruling party initiating and promoting Draconian censorship, it should focus on ways of developing a peaceful society, a society free of fear.

Post 2010 soccer world cup

Prior to the world cup, people spoke on how the extraordinary event would be and what would happen during and after. It was clear that people had mixed feelings, some positive and others negative. Certain media around the world instilled fear in people who wanted to come and be part of the experience. The media mostly reported about the bad stuff and not the good and beautiful things that South Africa could offer. Crime, failure to manage the event and political instability, were some of the highlighted ugly themes before the world cup.

The world cup raised up a lot of questions among the South African publics on what would happen to the people and most of the world class infrastructure. Questions about the stadiums, Gautrain, airports, builders/constructors and so on were among many other questions asked. Amazingly the world cup is over and it seems people are not talking about it anymore or rather like they used to. Though, I must confess on how humbled I felt when I saw flocks of soccer fans in all sorts of local teams’ jerseys a month ago who were going to watch the game between Orlando Pirates and Vasco da Gama in Green Point Stadium. Seeing the huge number of people going to watch soccer reminded me of the best time ever (2010 Soccer World Cup) held on the African soil.

Definitely, the recent world cup has changed the way many South Africans perceive football. The love of the game has enormously manifested.

No one Knows the time or day when he/she will become world famous

The secrete is to believe and keep on hoping that you will one day become world famous.
People who are world famous don’t even know how they became world famous. Most of them say “I don’t how it happened, it just happened”, when asked how they got to be famous. Although, people should keep on dreaming and hoping that they could one day become world famous.

Besides, the power of high-context culture, e.g. believing that you are world famous princess Maria increases your hopes of being famous in the future. Like Mr. Ping told his son Po in the movie Kung Fu Panda that there was in fact no secrete ingredient and that all things were special if someone believes that they were.

It is also clear that one does not only believe but stays focused and committed towards what he/she wants to be. For example, the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Natalie du Toit, Miriam Makeba etc. So being world famous does not happen out of the blues, though, few people have become world famous without much effort.

You can not chase two rabbits at the same time

It is actually possible to chase two rabbits in one direction; I think it depends on the direction you are chasing them in. Of course if you analyse the situation and critically think on how and what measures to put in place, have solutions to the loopholes prior to the chase, you can catch the rabbits or kill two birds with one stone.

On the other hand this relates to ideas or plans for the future, where one needs two options in case one fails. You can’t generate, plan and implement an idea, without thinking of the results therefore, if succeeds or fails. Only focused people, thus people who have alternatives for original ideas can manage to kill two birds with one stone. However, to be safe, initial ideas and alternatives must be implemented simultaneously. This also means possessing multitasking abilities one of the most important skills in achieving personal or business goals. Forget catching tow rabbits at once if your mind can’t multitask.