Things will always work out in the end

Sometimes in life all of us get sidetracked and loose our vision.  Things happen that we do not expect or are prepared for. We do not know which direction to go in and feels like nothing wants to work out the way we planned or wanted it to work out. 

I felt like this a few times in my life.  One time I will never forget was in metric where I had to decide what I want to study and do for the rest of my life. I was very uncertain and did not have an idea.  I started with a year course in business, because at least I knew I was interested in the business side of life.  During those years after two years of confusion the answer just came to me – Public Relations.

When we feel down and that nothing wants to work out we then just need someone to show us in the right direction again.  To comfort us and guide us on our way forward.  It is strange but things will always work out in the end and even better than we could have ever imagined.  We must just always have hope and stay strong.

Yes, life is full of surprises, but how boring would life have been if we knew each step of the way?

We are what we do

In the Bible there is a verse which states that - the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. I totally agree with this.  We definitely speak and do what our heart is full of. 

In life we are faced with choices on a daily basis.  Some choices are harder than others.  We will hardly think about the simple choices for example what we will have for lunch or what we will wear.  In some cases we will not even realize that we have made a choice.   With harder and more complex choices for example deciding what car to buy or if we will take a new job offer we will usually consider the pros and cons before making a decision.

But do we think before we act?  My mom always told me that when I get angry I need to count to ten before I do anything.  Most of us regret some of the things we have done in our past. Is this because we did something without really thinking about it? 

People who do not know us that well will judge us on our actions.  We therefore need to think carefully before doing or reacting to anything.  We are what we do.

What makes you smile?

Flowers, the sunset, the moon, butterflies, good music, watching someone else smile..  There are a whole lot of things making me smile. 

Smile is a very important thing in life.  Smiling makes you feel better.  You can also make a difference in someone else’s life by smiling.  You will be amazed at what effect smiling can have on someone.

Life is so hard and busy that we sometime forget to smile.  Try everyday to smile to at least one person and you will be surprised about the effect it will have on you.

Smiling also makes us look younger, more attractive, positive, help with stress levels and is even good for your blood pressure and immune system.

There is no reason not to smile.  Find out what makes you smile, and work on it to smile more every day.  People will enjoy being around you and you will enjoy life much more! 

We are afraid of the wrong things.

What are you afraid of?  I am afraid of spiders, needles, the dark, getting dumped and of disappointing the people close to me.  I will categorise our fears in three different groups:  External fears like my fear for spiders, internal fears like my fear of being dumped and subconscious fears like my fear for disappointment.    

But where did these fears come from?  When we were born we didn’t have any fears except perhaps  to get hurt, loud noises or being hungry.  Fear is usually created in past experiences which scared us and caused pain or discomfort.  Fear is also more likely to develop while we are young and our minds are still developing.

Our natural reaction to fear is to run away as fast as we can in a different direction.  But what if all our directions are filled with fear?  I think it is possible to overcome our fears.  I also think it is important and necessary to overcome our fears.  Someone ones told me that we are largely controlled by our dominant emotion.  Are your dominant emotion fear?  Is it really necessary to be afraid of all the stuff we are afraid of?  Are we even afraid of the right things?

We all are unique and afraid of different things which were created by our past experiences, but I think the one dominant fear in all of us is of dying and at the same time being unsatisfied with your life.  Now you can ask yourself again is all this other fears really necessary?  Doesn’t it just prevent you from living your life you want to live?

What if today was your last day?

If today was the last day of your life, would you have done anything differently?

Our lives today are so busy and planned from the moment we open our eyes until we close it again.  Most of us do not find enough hours in a day to do everything we need to and want to do.  Sometimes I find myself living from weekend to weekend not even noticing the days in between.  We constantly need to remind ourselves that each day is a gift and to treat it that way.

At the moment it feels like

 I am living my life more

in the past and the future

than in the present.

I dream and work myself to death to someday be able to live ‘the good life’.  Now I come to ask myself that is this really necessary?  What if I do not even get to the future, wouldn’t my life be such a waste?

When I am not thinking about the future I long back to the ‘good old days’.  But tomorrow I will long back to yesterday so why not just live for today!

Would you have done everything exactly the same way if you knew that today was your last day? 

Fish falling from the ski

When I see this headline, Nedbank Capitals advertisement on television pops into my mind – ‘Expect the unexpected’.

This is so true in everybody’s life.  Life is not ordinary and anything is possible.  This does not only relate to your personal life but to any given situation.  In business it is crucial to expect the unexpected especially when you do strategic planning.

Did you know that fish falling from the ski is not even such a strange phenomenon?  When whirlwinds and tornados pass big loads of water it will pick the fish up together with the water and rain it down somewhere else.  This is certainly not ordinary but it does happen.  The same goes for many other situations in life.

 For us as Public Relations Practitioners it is crucial to think of all the unexpected things when we draw up our strategic plans.  We always need to expect the most unexpected and anticipate any situation that comes our way.  We need to think outside the box and even about all the things other people do not even think is possible.  This gives us a step ahead in any situation.

 

SUCCESS..my first big function

The people close to me will know how hectic these last few weeks have been. I am so relieved that it is over and glad it was a success.  It was very hard work, but I have managed and am so proud of myself.

The function I organized was for a project my company (Cence) do for MTN Foundation called the Young Entrepreneurs Project.  The Phase 1 of the project was already launched in June 2009. The project has thus far reached more than 36 000 learners and 180 educators. MTN Foundation together with Cence identified and registered 15 schools per province and trained 2 educators per school.

This project was designed to provide entrepreneurial training in schools, for children in Grades 4 to 11, aligned to current Economic and Management Sciences/Business Skills curriculum requirements. The development philosophy of Cence has led to include in this project concepts, skills and material to prepare learners for a life of entrepreneurship. Together with these programme entrepreneurial competitions was included.

The Phase 2 of the project was launched in October 2010.  Thereafter Interschool Market days was held.  From 1 to 4 February 2011 the Provincial Competitions took place which I also managed.  The National Competition took place in the Westgate Regional Shopping Centre – Krugersdorp on Saturday 5 March 2011. 

We are making a difference and some of those kids really touched my hearts.

Here are a few photos..

What is the color of the wind?

Have you ever thought about what the color of the wind is?  For me personally the time of day, weather, and my mood plays a role in what color I perceive the wind to be. 

For instance at night I think of the wind as black, in mid-day as yellow, at dawn as pink, when it is hot as red and when it is cold as blue.  When I am happy I will even think of the wind as little white flowers and when I am sad as tears.

It is interesting how the symbolism of colors can vary dramatically between different cultures.  For example for some tropical countries green is associated with danger and in the Western countries it indicates go or safe. There are thousands of other examples.

 A person’s age can also have an effect on how certain colors are perceived.  Children for example usually like bright and happy colors where older people usually prefer more natural colors. 

Every color also has positive or negative connotations although specific circumstances usually trigger the connotation.