Conventional is a good fallback position isn’t it?

This blog is not easy and it took me two hours to write it and it’s probably because of the fact that I cannot decide whether conventional is a good fallback position or not.  Conventionalism would have to depend on the person and where do you see yourself and what kind of person you are. This blog is so interesting and important, especially to young graduates, like me. Conventional is a good fallback position but it is neither credit-worthy, nor professional. As young graduate professionals, I will be expected to fallback into the conventional boat. For example, do things in a text-book style and so on.  

When one agrees spiritually to just do the bare minimum or not think outside the box, that person may achieve his/her goal but would he/she exceed their expectations. Conventional is a safe approach to life; however you cannot get anything if you are not willing to take risk. Change can be difficult but the rewards can be well worth it. So swim against the stream, you should take this thing as normal and fun.

I think conventional depends on the person you are, the experiences you have, the position in which you are currently.  Conventional could be a good fallback or it could be a terrible at some stage, that means… it’s up to you. Conventional might be comfortable but it certainly won’t get us anywhere. The only thing that you have to do is to be yourself and show your creativity to the world out there. It will get you noticed if nothing else. And that is often all it takes!

You can’t chase two rabbits at the same time!

The old saying goes: If you chase two rabbits, both will escape. Well times have change because you can definitely chase two rabbits at the same time but that will put you under a lot of pressure to support. You can satisfy everyone at once but the only thing that you need to do is to stay single, hard worker, time management etc. hard worker always get a reward at the end of the day. Rabbit 1 = excel at work and earn a living. Rabbit 2 = feed, educate and look after your children after work. By doing all the things that I have mentioned above can help you to develop yourself and you only need to focus on your life.

If you visualize this image in your mind it is quite funny. Something more related to me is studying while working to earn extra money to pay off and while giving attention to friends, family and girlfriend. These are all little rabbits running all over the place and if you don’t use skill then YES, they will all get away. Now I am not talking about running, diving or aiming skills. I’m talking about staying focused, multitasking and time-management. I suggest that you use these skills incorrectly and you will be the Looney Tunes hunter chasing his Bugs Bunny for over 20 years now.

The Festive Season celebrations in South Africa

It is always a fantastic feeling when the year comes to an end. South African Christmases are so sunny and smart. Many people from within South Africa and international visitors get to the beaches and spend their Christmas lie around in the sun, jumping from one beach party to another. There is nothing better than enjoying Christmas under the sun with family and friends. Most beaches are alive with activity and mini markets which breathe true South African spirit to the beaches. Vendors line the beaches and sell delicious hotdogs and hamburgers, candy and souvenirs to jolly passersby. Beer, although not traditional is also a merriment that can be enjoyed for the beach goers.

Have you ever wanted to experience a truly traditional South African Christmas in the rural villages where goats and sometimes cows are slaughtered and cooked for a huge village dinner? During Christmas villagers get together around and prepare an Africa beer known as Umqombothi and drink until they are having a truly merry Christmas. Christmas celebrations include traditional dance and song resound and villagers eat nice food and dance the whole night. This is an experience that you can enjoy in the Eastern Cape. During December holiday each and everyone at the end of the year return home to their villages to spend some time with their families.

If you are more laid back and prefer to have a great Christmas, then a braai under the African sun at home or in some of South Africa’s beautiful leisure spots is an exciting, not to mention delicious alternative. The people’s favourite, boerewors is a staple for any braai and a Christmas braai would not be as merry without it.

Reasons to be Yourself

Know who you are.
Know what you believe.
Know that your choices can make a difference.
Know that your intentions can make a difference.
Know that your thoughts and attitude determine your experience of life.
Know that your actions determine what you make of your life.
Know that your life is connected with people lives.
Know that your actions, positive or negative, affect other lives.

Know that your attitude, positive or negative, affects other lives.Know that, while money isn’t everything, money isn’t evil.
Know that we are one, along with everything else.
Know that what we see as a weakness in others is something to strengthen in ourselves.
Know that we also have the power to destroy.
Know that we have free will to choose.
Know that religion does not equal spirituality.
Know that you know the truth within you.
Know that you have something to give.
Know that you have a talent.
Know that you have a skill.
Know that you have an ability.

Evil spirits or super powers

Amakhubalo, Amakhosi or Amakhehle are a trend amongst youth of Khayelitsha. Young boys aged 13 and on wards are inviting demons in their lives, which they believe it will give them super natural powers and protects them from their enemies.

People have revealed that the practice is a pricy one told me “it costs R50 for to introduce the Amakhubalo, Amakhosi or Amakhehle  by drinking umuthi mixed with brandy and beer. This is not the end of the process though as there is a further R300 that needs to be paid by the person to accept them and the person than has to stop eating food with oil and pork for a period of seven days” said Lee-ann Mjobi.

These powers come in the form of a goat skin bangle or a bottle attached in a beaded necklace. Parents, teachers and community members are deeply disturbed by this growing trend of young boys, purchasing muti to embrace their strength.

Traditionally Amakhosi were used by people to protect their children from witchcraft that is the ward of evil. Today young males are misusing them for their personal interest. “Amakhubalo protect me against evil spirits and gives me power to win fights and all I need to do to get those powers is to go down on my knees, remove my belt, open my shirt buttons and call them by saying vuka “ said a source that said anonymous source.  

Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I was doing grade 12

This morning I was reading a book at home when a matric student sat down next to me and said, “That’s a great read, isn’t it?”  So we started chatting. He told me he was getting ready to graduate from high school in a couple of weeks and then immediately starting his university career in the fall.  “But I have no clue what I want to do with my life,” he said.  “Right now I’m just going with the flow.” And then, he began asking me one question:

Ø  What do you do for a living?

Ø  When and how did you decide what you wanted to do?

Ø  Why did you do this?  Why didn’t you do that?

Ø  Is there anything you wish you had done differently?

I answered his questions as best as I could, and I also tried to give him guidance with the time I had.  And after a ½ hour chat, he thanked me for giving him advice or direction. But on my way to school I realized that the chat I had with him was actually quite ashamed for me.  He reminded me of me ten years ago.  So I started thinking about his questions again and I began imagining all of the things that I wish someone had told me when I was doing grade 12 in Kulani High School.

“Nothing is more dangerous than an idea, when you only have one idea”

This statement means that when the person has only one idea this person is at the high risk of just seeing things in one side, having a problem with that one idea and not seeing a world of opportunities that are available can be more dangerous.  Another thing is that; if you have one idea that does not become a reality, one may end up with nothing at all. That’s why is so vital to think wise about any idea that you have in your mind.

It is very important to set yourself a goal because if you don’t have a goal in life, you are spending your life running around and not achieving anything for yourself but having only one goal can be dangerous. Using only one direction can be dangerous.

“Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it's the only one you have. There is a broad consensus that the financial crisis of 2007 was at least in part a result of record -low interest rates, huge deficits and large-scale credit-financed consumption. Today, governments across the world are trying to solve the crisis — by means of record-low interest rates, huge deficits and large-scale credit-financed consumption. This time, they are also using more novel means of creating easy money: bank bailouts, stimulus packages and quantitative easing.” An idea should be an ever emerging and evolving a feeling.

Have you figured out the second head fake?

Did you figure out the head fake? Randy wrote an article about the ‘head fake and he explained that “It’s not about how to achieve your dreams. It’s about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself. The dreams will come to you.”I think that I live my life in the right way and I also treat other people right as I would like that to happen to me as well. I happen to think that I live my life according to God’s will and society’s rules. I know what it is to have morality and honesty and to live by them.  

In order to get a better understanding we need to know that the “head fake” he is talking about learning something indirectly or an indirect message … as he said in his speech:

“Most of what we learn, we learn indirectly (by head fake)” and “The best way to head fake someone in education, is to have them learn something while they think they are learning something else”.

For example, I have learnt to make mistakes, learn from them, to make amends where it’s needed and do things in your own way and that makes me unique. I have learnt to be the kind of person and I always respect others because I would like that to be done to me.

IMPORTANCE OF XHOSA LANGUAGE

Xhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa and is a member of the Bantu / Nguni family of languages. It is spoken by about 7.9 million people mainly in Eastern Cape Province, Orange Free State, Ciskei and Transkei in South Africa, and also spoken in Botswana and Lesotho. Xhosa is closely related to Zulu, Swati and Ndebele and more or less mutually intelligible with them. Xhosa is characterized by respectful forms of address for elders and in-laws. The language is also rich in idioms. To have isandla esishushu (a warm hand), this means to be generous.  

Xhosa consists of many words with click consonants that have been borrowed from Khoisan words. The "X" in Xhosa represents a type of click made by the tongue on the side of the mouth. Sometimes English speaking struggle to pronounce Xhosa words which is a big challenge that they are facing with. I think Xhosa government has to do something about that so that English speaking people can be able to interact with Xhosa speaking people.     

Names in Xhosa often express the values or opinions of the community. Common personal names include

Ø  Thamsanqa (good fortune)

Ø  Nomsa (mother of kindness)

Ø  Isiduko (clan or lineage) names.

Andy Warhol said, “In the future everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes.” You can’t choose the 15 minutes but why would you be world famous?

 Andy Warhol was right because everyone is looking for fame at least once in their life for at least 15 minutes.  This could be anything from managing to get into New York and prove yourself that you can sing like 50c or simply being famous in your township. E.g. Langa Township etc.  

If I had 15 minutes to be world famous in…. it would probably be for discovering some kind of cure for HIV/AIDS.  HIV/AIDS is such a terrible disease and the worst part is about it is when someone just donate his/her blood somewhere and then after few days, Doctor just call you and tell you that “you are HIV Positive….” Obviously, you’ll feel very sad and you’ll think that it’s too late.  If I had 15 minutes of fame, I guess I would try to find some kind of a cure to help those who are suffering from HIV/AIDS. This way, everyone could be able to be treated correctly as to avoid the chances of getting this disease. By doing so, I would improve the lives of other people living in South Africa, especially Cape Town. If I had 15 minutes of fame, I would like to live my life according to Nelson Mandela because he is well-known all over the world which is the right thing to do. I hope someone else can develop this and perhaps get the 15 minutes of fame – and more – that they deserve.

How hard is it follow instructions?

It's very important to follow instructions, or else the world would be in chaos. When some tells you that you must follow instructions so that everything can go in an orderly style, it's important do because you know what's going to happen if you don't. It's important to follow instructions because if you don't something can go wrong, its important follow directions because if you don't you'll get in trouble, for example if your mom told you to clean the house and then you decide that you are not going to clean, obviously when she comes back home you are going to be in big trouble and it's also important to follow instructions because if you don't you'll ended up blaming others.

I think people might also have trouble in following instructions because they may be in a hurry to get it out of the way to do something else, the problem is that they think that they know better than the instructor, and just shere ignorance!   Another thing that I have noticed is that most people don’t pay attention in class because they are bored. Sometimes they don’t pay attention because somebody else is distracting them or because they just get bored easily.  

I’m on my way

I have found my path, I see my goal

Following the calling of my soul

Feel the rushing in my veins

Passion burning up in frames

Excitement-running from the heart

Ripping, tripping of my heart

Hands trembling, eyes ablaze

Yearning to be centre stage

Rushing to make up the time

Dying to claim what is mine

Spinning round me, shining stars on the sky

Reflect on me all that you are on changing,

Becoming Everyday

Watch me now, I’m on my away. 

R

ock Journalism is People Who Can’t Write Interviewing People Who Can’t Talk for People Who Can’t Read

The musician Frank Zappa said the most shockingly funny quotation:

 “Rock journalism is people who can’t write interviewing people who can’t talk for people who can’t read.”

He believes that the perfect place to say this would have been during an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. But I do not know if he really says it anywhere because rock journalism people are now able to write interviewing people, can talk for people and read as well.

Frank Zappa made this remark in 1977 during an interview with a staff writer for the Toronto Star newspaper known as Bruce Kirkland. The dateline of the story was Mount Pleasant, Michigan where Zappa was playing in a concert.

In 1932, the legendary comedian Will Rogers published a funny article that was talking about authors who wrote for the movies. He made a comment that was thematically linked to Zappa’s later observation [WRSR]: The successful author is the one who can write for the ones who can’t read.

In 1958, The Cavalier Daily, a student newspaper reprinted a humorous article from The Arkansas Traveler, other student newspaper. This article incorporated a joke about two prominent periodicals from the famed publisher Henry Luce [CDTL]:

In the Luce stable besides Time, the magazine was designed for a person who can’t think is Life, who can’t read. I think the problem might be that in the past people were not educated that’s why they were unable to write, read and talk.

A

 Skill set called leadership

People are born to become leaders; I think Nelson Mandela was born to be a natural leader. There are very few people in the world who could have done what he did. I mean 27 years in prison, and coming out and repairing a troubled nation and forgiving his enemies. He's off the charts when it comes to leadership. I think you probably have to be born Mandela. On the other hand, I think all of us can find our inner Mandela. That is reach more deeply into ourselves to pull out the best parts of ourselves that help us lead. And whether we're encouraged to do that or not has a great deal to do with the culture that surrounds us and the support we get from our colleagues. So yes. With encouragement, a positive culture, and support from colleagues, more people can become leaders.

You should know one thing that you can teach someone leadership skills but you can’t someone to become a leader. Leaders are not necessary educated people, they are people born with a skill to change others to think the way they think. I think some people who are extraordinary are born leaders and they probably showed it from an early age at one end of the continuum. On the other hand, there may be people who could never be a leader no matter what they did. But I think everybody has in them the potential to lead.

Leaders are not just emotionally powerful just because people want to follow them. They're also often intellectually powerful. That is, they have an important idea that thinks beyond the current situation.

W

omen in the Workplace: Issues and Challenges

As a student studying BTech in Public Relations Management in Faculty of Informatics and Design at Cape Peninsula University of Technology, I decided to write a blog on a number of challenges that women face in the workplace as a result of their gendered status and what can do to improve their chances of getting ahead in the industry.  This blog will help women who need tips and tools in the workplace.  

In the past couple of years, by a number of women trailblazers who have attained high-profile leadership positions in the business world and in politics. There are several new women CEOs in Fortune 500 companies, a woman Speaker of the House, a female major network news anchor, and several women in South Africa who make names for themselves in their industries and they have overtaken well known male roles e.g Prof Nirvana Bechan, Oprah (richest women in the world) same level as Bill gates, Pumzile Mlambo Ngcuka   (Former deputy president)  and Businesswomen Elbeth Gills. if you can look out there, there is still a shortage of women in top leadership positions.  

Although women are attending university and graduate schools in record numbers, and hold about half of the general “management and professional positions” in organizations, but they still include only about 15% of the officer level positions in the largest global companies, are simple 7% of the top wage earners, they hold only about 2.5% of the CEO positions and, on average, that makes only 73% of what men do.

Historically, men have dominated the workplace and established the rules of the organizational culture. As more and more women enter this domain, they encounter ingrained male dominated environments that, to them, are unwelcoming and inflexible.  And no wonder!  woman’s working styles and talents are very different from men’s and the “rules” men have created don’t fit women. 

What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?

My actions/behaviour aren't too influenced by judgement, what people think of me has never been a huge issue really, in saying that though I know I would be different without judgement. One example is what I wear, even though I wear what I wear because I thought it looks good or I like it, I am restricted to wearing clothing that meets society's standards. I mean how much more convenient would it be if I could go out wearing anything I like, it would save me some money too. I'm not sure what else I would do differently, though I am sure my actions/behaviour would be significantly different in some respects.

In the summer, we all know that is very hot when  i go out  and its  early in the morning  lets say i decided to use  an umbrella to protect myself  from the sun. A lot of people probably will think I am crazy. I don’t  care about those who would judge me and  I would just do what I like to do  not what they like. "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?

My actions/behaviour aren't too influenced by judgement, what people think of me has never been a huge issue really, in saying that though I know I would be different without judgement. One example is what I wear, even though I wear what I wear because I thought it looks good or I like it, I am restricted to wearing clothing that meets society's standards. I mean how much more convenient would it be if I could go out wearing anything I like, it would save me some money too. I'm not sure what else I would do differently, though I am sure my actions/behaviour would be significantly different in some respects.

In the summer, we all know that is very hot when  i go out  and its  early in the morning  lets say i decided to use  an umbrella to protect myself  from the sun. A lot of people probably will think I am crazy. I don’t  care about those who would judge me and  I would just do what I like to do  not what they like. "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

List your top 200 achievements.

In no specific order

1. Learning to say mom  
2. Learning to read and write
3. Matriculating with Kulani High School (2006)
4. Completing my Diploma in Public Relations (2010)   
5. Currently studying Btech (2011)  
6. Being able to forgive
7. Got my drivers license (2008)
8. Learning to do group work
9. Arranging successful campaigns during my internship at CANSA  
10. Being love and being able to love others
11. Making friends in life  
12. Being technologically literate
13. Have had access to an education
14. Learning to speak English
15. Being open minded to all religions
16. Having the ability to encourage myself
17. Learning to tidy up after myself
18. Learning to respect elders
19. Being a good soccer player  
20. Learning table manners
21. Learning to sing choral music
22. Learning to pray
23. Learning Afrikaans  
24. Going to shopping alone  
25. Learning to save money
26.  learning to write blog
27.  Writing tweets
28.  Meet my deadlines

Dreams of death

Dreams of death are scary and unwanted but are important signs from your unconscious. You will generally see dying in dreams when there is some outgrown or negative part of yourself or your life that is no longer working for you. Try to see the death in your dreams as a symbolic “death” of no longer functioning aspects of your life. They are a healthy part of your coping mechanism.

Dreams of death where somebody other than you dies could be an external expression of an inner situation. Is there some part of yourself that you feel has died within you? Like an old pattern or habit? Is there some part of you that has been suppressed? What part of yourself does the person in the dream remind you of?

Dreams of people who have died are not so common, and sometimes people describe these dreams as unbelievably real, unlike any dream they have had before. They believe they are real visitations from deceased relatives. When you have a dream of death don’t be scared, you must know that there is something wrong that is going to happened in your life. As soon as you hear that dream just visit traditional healer to get help.

f not now, then when?

If not now, then when? Perhaps more importantly, why then and not now?

I’ve been thinking about those two questions a lot lately. I feel like most of the time answers to the second question are just an excuse. Someday isn’t better than today, often which someday is never. The problem is always worse for growth -minded people. When you see success and improvement in your life then you must know that there is hope and you will have more money, freedom and wisdom. Why not wait until someday?

The Principle of Now, Given this problem, a good principle I have been suggested that people should only expect the future to resemble the content of the present. If whatever you feel is important doesn’t exist in some form today, it won’t show up in the future. I think you should follow my idea; the entrepreneur should have to do something that has to do with entrepreneurial, even if it’s impossible to start a full business now.

Content before Commitment, This principle doesn’t mean that every project, goal and lifestyle you want to follow should begin today but sometimes that’s impossible and sometimes trying to do so would be foolish. Rather, the principle is a litmus test. If you hope to have something in your life one day, I think you should be able to have some piece of it in your life today. If the content of today doesn’t resemble your hoped-for future, you are maybe just fooling yourself. The idea is to not just act on your goals, but to live them in some small way right now.