The Odyssey

Have you ever been asked, what is your philosophy in life? More than three times in my life, different people asked me that question and quite frankly, I never liked it and so my answers were always defensive and wrong. Three years back (2017), in an interview for a lecturing post at the University of Limpopo, they asked me. What is your teaching philosophy? As you can imagine, that question threw me off and I did not pass the interview. I remember driving home after that interview and reflecting on which questions I answered well and which ones I did NOT particularly like. When the one about teaching philosophy came to mind, I snapped - WHAT THE HECK IS PHILOSOPHY ANYWAY? My understanding of the word Philosophy was flawed. Recently, I learned that Philosophy is not merely a specialized discipline where you can get a degree but a way of thinking. Often times we complicate things and in my case, rush into answering a question without understanding it or seeking clarity f...

The most successful entrepreneurs are the ones who always ask themselves the right questions in order to grow their businesses in a sustainable manner. Why did I build this company in the first place? How can I get people to do business with me forever? What do I, and my company stands for? What makes me or my company better than others who are selling the same products or services like me? All these questions can be answered by using a three step process that is regarded as the best business strategy that will not only win you customers but make them loyal to you. The first step is Attract, followed by Engage, and then Delight. 1.     Attract Customer attraction is one of the most important yet untapped business components that most companies takes for granted. More than anything, this has to do with branding than advertising or marketing itself. Everyone knows they have to advertise in order to get customers and drive sales, but not everybody seem...

“ All business investments and business start-ups require high level of optimism. You must believe in the future possibilities of your business along with your products and services. You must have so much confidence in their marketability that you are willing to take financial risk and invest many hours, weeks, and even years to achieve to achieve your business goals, and you must do all this with no real guarantee of success. At the same time, you need discipline to curb your confidence, to remain objective and realistic. Overconfidence in business can lead to business mistakes, financial losses and even bankruptcy .” – Brian Tracey It’s quite evident from the word above that starting a successful and sustainable business is not an easy task. It requires hard work, self-discipline, commitment, passion (and purpose), confidence (and ambition), to name a few. “ There is no area of activity that demands more self-discipline than starting and operating a business in our curre...

“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy.” – Norman Vincent Peale According to Robert Greene, power is a social game. To learn to master it, you must develop the ability to study and understand people. “ Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power .” Lao Tzu. Finally, you must learn to always take the indirect route to power. Disguise your cunning like a billiard game that caroms several times before it hits its target.  These are 10 powerful commandments you should impose on yourself when you take a role in a leadership position. 1.     Re-create yourself Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others . – Jack Welch. As a leader, changing yourself for the better is the first commandment you should impose on yourself and which you must ...