Screw It, Just Do It---Lessons From Richard Branson

Destiny Partner...

"Action is the foundational key to all success. "

Pablo Picasso

I was going through my collection of books yesterday. And guess which one really caught my attention all over again? Screw it--Let’s do it by Richard Branson. ‘Man…I loved this book’ I remembered as I paged through the book. And suddenly it hit me, this is a small book but it taught me how Richard Branson accomplished exploits in his life and business.

If I was asked, “Give one word to describe this book?” Do you know what I would say? ACTION, ACTION and ACTION. But that is 4 words… (I just had to). But seriously though, Richard Branson has always been a man of action.

In today’s main essay, allow me to share with you, Destiny Partner, The importance of taking action. As Picasso puts it, “Action is the foundational key to all success.”

#1 Synopsis of Screw it—let’s do it.

Richard Branson left school when he was 15 to create a student magazine called, STUDENT. He mentions in the book that he always knew that he had to make by himself because reading and writing was difficult for him. You probably did not know that Richard Branson had dyslexia--A condition which makes it difficult for a person to read or write.

And Richard Branson, like his many rich friends we shared about on Destiny AWAITS, had a very strong support structure. His parents supported him when started the magazine when he was 15.

He worked very hard to sell advertising space on his magazine. He also mentions in the book that their first cheque from selling advertising space was 250 pounds. That about R3000.

When he had success of the magazine, he went on to start a record label. He also mentions in the book how they went around selling what was called LP’s (some of you, young folk wont know what that is…lol)

He went on to start so many businesses after that. And today the Virgin Group has over 300 subsidiaries under it. How did Richard do it? Action.

#2 Lessons from Richard Branson?

It is not all closed doors that are also locked. Some are closed on account of weather. Richard Branson is an example of that. It’s people who act on their goals that become more successful. He wanted to sell advertising space. And what did he do? He got off his bed, stopped dreaming and physically went to knock at doors of potential clients, and guess what he found out? Gold.

#01. Your gold is behind those doors you don’t want to knock at…

He had the tenacity and the perseverance to say, when they say no, I will go to the next door and knock again. Are you like that?

The same principles he used when starting the student magazine, he applied in all the business he started later…

#02. If a business model can work in one business, chances are, it can be replicated in many others.

Destiny Partner, What are you doing about your goals? In which doors have knocked lately? When they said no, did you have the courage to knock the next one? Have you proved your business model in one business?

Yours In Motivation…

Thapelo Jonas [Your Very Own…Life Coach]

© Copyright 2010. All Rights Reserved

How To Transform Your IDEAS into Business Solutions

Destiny Partner...

"It All Started With An IDEA..." Thapelo Jonas

Good morning Destiny Partner. I really relish the prospect of writing to you every morning. I am so excited about what this group is accomplishing in many people’s lives, continue to invite as many of your friends as possible to Destiny AWAITS.

In today’s main essay, I want to speak to you about the impact that your friends or people that you choose to surround yourself with, have in what you eventually become. How they influence your thoughts, eventually your output. But above all, i want to show you how an idea in your mind can be transformed into a solution benefitting the world.

The bible declares in Proverbs 23: 7: “…As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he…” That is one of the most powerful scriptures in the bible. It carries lot of substances in many regards. One, our thoughts really contribute to who we eventually become.

I don’t know about you but I think it is, therefore important to protect channels through which thoughts are created.

Can I go a little bit deeper?

#1. Every Big Thing Started as an IDEA

Some of the greatest businesses of our generation originate in the minds of ordinary people. The expansion of McDonalds franchise was once an idea in the mind of Ray Kroc. The development of a V8 engine was once an idea in the mind of Henry Ford. Access to a personal computer was once an idea in the mind of Bill Gates and today every household in America has a personal computer.

I am trying to tell you; every big business venture we respect today, started as a minute idea in the mind of somebody. The Virgin Group was once an idea in the mind of Richard Branson. And today that group has over 300 subsidiaries.

I don’t know what ideas are in your mind today but 20 years from now, someone must say, it started as an idea…

It all started with an idea…

#2. Every IDEA has to go through a PROCESS

Have you ever wondered what distinguished these great mavericks in business from everybody else?

I got it. They understood the process and allowed it to take its course over the ideas. I am going to show that the processes behind ideas are more automatic than anything else. I probably lost you there, right?

Let me demonstrate what I mean? I am going to use two dynamic processes to explain this phenomenon. I will cut corners in order to save space.

One, how does rain come about? The clouds come together and when they are full they empty themselves, right? The emphasis been…when they are full they empty themselves. Two, how does a child get to be born? Let me cut corners here to save space…a mother becomes pregnant and in 9 months a child is born.

Let’s go deeper. What is pregnancy? Carrying something in a womb long enough until its big enough to survive by itself on the outside…how am I doing? After 9 months…the child is big enough to survive on the outside…what does he/she do? They want to get out and the mother is compelled to push….

Can you guys see where I am going with this?

How does that relate to an idea in your mind...?

When you constantly think about an idea, your mind becomes full of it. And when your mind is full of it then everything has to make way for it to become the physical reality. But the secret is to be consistent in your ideas. One scripture says, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

Fill your mind with an idea…constantly think about it. Surround yourself with people that make it bigger than it is in your mind. Read books that make your idea better. And takes small steps towards making your idea a reality…

Remember I said earlier…a mother has to push. Therefore, you will also have to push your idea out. T hat means ACTION…ACTION…ACTION….

And before you know it….

#3. Every IDEA has potential to become a global solution

In 20 or 30 years from now, your today’s idea must have transformed to become a global solution. You will be the Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Dr. David Molapo, John Tibane of the next generation…

Yours In Motivation…

Thapelo Jonas [Your Very Own…Life Coach]

© Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

4 Steps To A More Successful You...

Destiny Partner...

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there."

Unknown

Good morning destiny partner. I hope you enjoyed the long weekend and had fun on the heritage day. Our group is growing so rapidly, and I am so humbled by your feedback. I hope today's article will also change your life for good.

Many times if you trace the origins of every successful people or businesses, you will find the clear picture of the preferred future--VISION.

They had to have a picture of where they wanted to go.

And therefore, one fact remains; success is not accidental. Many successful people, however, often lead us to believe that they bumped into success. And it’s only when you trace their thought patterns when they were starting out that you realize the followed what I call a 4–Steps DPAB process of success.

I want to share this simple 4-Step process with you today, Destiny Partner. I call this system, DPAB System.

# 01. Decision

You need to make a conscious decision that you want to prosper in a specific area. We often overlook this step in our quest to succeed. You see, many people choose to maintain the status quo and not challenge it. But you have to understand that success is a decision not a given.

I often advice people to do a simple 5-minute exercise for me; look at your current lifestyle and that of your family, and ask yourself this question “Is this all I could become?” If you answer is Yes, don’t read this article any further.

But if you answer is a confident No, your life is 5 minute away from changing for good. I want you to take 5 minutes from your very busy schedule, get yourself to a place where you can be alone. And close your eyes and visualize your ideal life. In your ideal life, I want you to fully answer the following questions as if it was here right now;

A. How much money do I have in the bank?

B. How big is my house?

C. In which suburb is it?

D. Where do my children go to school?

E. What do I do every day?

F. Where are my holiday destinations?

G. How often do I go on holiday?

H. And which charities am I working with to bring change in my society?

Once you have answered all those questions and you open your eyes, either one of two things will happen; you will realize that you need to do something about your current situation to improve it or you will be happy with how things are, and decide not to challenge the status quo.

And if the former option is true, then you have just decided to be successful. What you have now is a vision, the picture of the preferred future. You have the glimpse of how you want your end to be like.

#02. Planning

It is in the planning where you decide the “how” part of the equation. I wrote an article on the subject, “You are born to be exceptional in something.” And in this step, you will create a match between your innate abilities, skills and the territory you want to embark upon. And once you have discovered your life assignment and the niche market that is ready to buy what you have to offer, you count the cost of getting there.

The territory you plan to embark upon might require 3-year university degree. If that’s what you need to reach your preferred future, you will have to do it. And believe me, I know it. When I got to this step in my life, I realized that I had to go back to university when I was 23. Some of you might need to go back and finish grade 12. And that might require guts and tenacity.

You see, there are times when your talents and abilities are not enough. You need to supplement them with a formal education. I am going to sound arrogant again (I seem to make a habit of it), but I know that I am naturally a brilliant communicator; I have been motivating people ever since nineteen forever. And over 6 of lecturing has improved my people skills drastically. Therefore, you would think that venturing into the speaking industry would be easy, right?

Wrong. Without a formal skill, that transition is not enough. And I know some people might argue with me on this, but have you ever wondered why you don’t get certain gigs? I rest my case.

It’s important to plan how you are going to get to your destination. The bible says, you must write down your vision so that he who reads it can run with it. Do you have a blue print of where you are going? Have you established what’s short?

# 03. Action

Take action. Now is time to act on your plan. This might be the time to get back to university. Go and finish that matric so that you can have an exemption to study what you need to study. This might be time to attend seminars hosted by speakers you respect and learn. This might be the time to position a brand called you on the Internet. Register that domain. Register that business. Read trade journals and magazines in the industry that you want to invade. Learn about the industry. Sell that product on the internet and see what people think about it. Whatever it is, do it.

Act…and lastly…

#04. Become

As you act out your plan…then you a gradually become what you planned initially to become. And at this stage, you must remember that success is perpetual, that means when you get to a certain level of success…this process must start all over for the next dimension of your life…

Yours In Motivation…

Thapelo Jonas [Your Very Own…Life Coach]

© Copyright 2010. All Rights Reserved

10000 Hours Success Rule--Part 3

Destiny Partner

I am soo excited to be writing this article again this morning. And thank you once more for allowing me to invade your cyber space every week day. I really appreciate it. If you have been following the 10000 hours success rule articles, you will understand when i say, i am enjoying the everyday's practise sessions.

I want to talk to you today about a man who has the most enviable job in the whole world. If you have been alive for the past 20 years, the name, Steve Jobs should sound familiar...that is a man in helm of Apple Computers--the company that creates Apple Macintosh computers.

My objective with this articles is to show you that, the people whose success has been intimidating you for years, are really products of what they repeatedly did.

Unlike Bill Joy, he did not go to the University of Michigan. And unlike Bill Gates, he did not go to Lakeside. He grew up in Mountain View, California, south of San Francisco.

This place or neighbourhood was filled with engineers from Hewlett-Packard, which is one the most important electronics firms in the world. As a teenager, he prowled the flea markets of Mountain View, where electronics hobbyists sold spare parts.

Do you remember: You are the product of the places you have been?

Jobs came of age breathing the air of the very business he would later dominate. He attended evening talks by HP scientists. Steve Jobs even called Bill Hewlett, one of the company founders, to request for parts. He got a job there in the assembly line to build computers and was so fascinated that he tried to design his own.

And the rest is history as you know it....

Every success story has an origin.....

Try something today...i doubt if Steve Jobs was always sure that things was going to end the way they did....

I hate it when people only speak business and never do business. It's only in action that intentions are justified...Register your first business and let CIPRO have a record of your first attempt in business. Never take for granted the lessons that your current endevours hold....

You need 10000 hours of practise to be successful in something...start and count your hours....

Yours In Motivation

Thapelo Jonas [Your Very Own...Life Coach]

© Copyright 2010. All Rights Reserved

10000 Hours Success Rule--Part 2

Destiny Partner...

Ecclesiates 9:11 (AKJV):" I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happens to them all."

I started revealing stories behind stories of very successful men and women in history yesterday. I got so much positive feedback about Bill Gates yesterday. And thank you for allowing me to impact your life.

But allow me to tell you today about a man you hardly know...does the name BILL JOY ring a bell?

This is the man who is referred by many as the Edison of the Internet. You are probably reading this through the Internet but you don't know, is the fact that the whole Internet or this network of networks is based on the most powerful network operating system called UNIX.

Bill Joy arrived in the University of Michigan in 1971. He was brilliant in mathematics and everyone thought that he was going to be a mathematician or a biologist. He started programming in his first year at Michigan and it was only after his 10000 hours of practice that he rewrote UNIX which became the foundation of Internet as we know it.

His father says he was very inquisitive when he was young, and they could answer him if they could, and if they couldn't, they gave him the book.

Let me submit to you, Destiny Partner that Michigan University was one of the first universities in America to have a computer centre...and Bill Joy had the opportunity to practise.

What appears to you as an extra ordinary talent is really extra opportunities. He practised and today he is called The Thomas Edison of the Internet.

You are what you repeatedly do. practise, practise and practise.You must never wake up to come to work and feel that it is work. It must be the practise session. I don't want work that doesn't bring me close to what i was born to do. That's why i am still a lecturer...talking is my forte..i have been practising for 6 years. I have made my 10000 hours.

Have you..?

I am always amazed by people who like imitating other people...you see TJ Malamule or Thapelo Jonas today and you think you can be as captivating as them in motivational speaking. You don't know my hours. I practised.

Spending 5 years in varsity doesn't make you a Fine Doctor...practise does...you need atleast 7 to 10 years of practise to be one.

Count yours....

Yours In Motivation...

Thapelo Jonas [Your Very Own...Life Coach]

© Copyright 2010. All Rights Reserved

10000-Hours Success Rule

Destiny Partner

"Success is not an event its a process" Zig Ziglar

About a week ago, my cousin lent me a book titled, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell to read. And let me just say, it blew my mind. One of those quotes you often hear me say is, "what you read is how you feed." So needless to say, i loved feeding from that book.

I guess the question you are asking yourself is, Thapelo, What is so special about this book?

You see, many people know that Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard to start one of the biggest computer companies in the world--Microsoft. Some of us even glamourise not getting education because some mavericks in the world like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg dropped out.

But that is not the whole story...I will spend the whole week telling you the REAL STORY behind STORIES of some great mavericks in business. Let me start today with Bill Gates.....

You see, no one tells us that, Bill Gates's father was a wealthy attorney in Seattle. And his mother came from a wealthy family of a banker. In 1968, they decided to take Bill to Lakeside, which was one the best private schools in America. It was there, in high school where he met Paul Allen, his partner in crime. We are never told that, at the time, Lakeside had the resources in money to buy the first computer at the time...

Bill Gates was exposed to opportunities that enabled him to practise programming 7 years before he dropped out of Harvard. So, When he dropped out of Harvard, He had well over 10 000 Hours of practice in programming, 7 years before he dropped out of Harvard.

I bet you did not know that....right?

And it has been proved that you need over 10000 hours of practise to be a champion in something...be it sport, business or anything...

I am busy calculating my hours...right now...you see, I spent the past 6 years of my life as an IT Lecturer, two of those years were in High School environment. That explains why today, I am called Lionel MESSI-OF-Words...I practised. Am I bragging? maybe.

Your Job must be the facilitator of your dream.

Do you want to be an expert in something? Count your hours..how many hours do you have?

Yours In Motivation

Thapelo Jonas [Your Very Own...Life Coach]

© Copyright 2010. All Rights Reserved

I CHOOSE To Be A Value Engineer...And You?

Destiny Partner

“You are the Rainmaker of your generation” Thapelo Jonas

Have you ever wondered what distinguishes one race from another?

Think about this for a second…Everything that Asians touch turns into gold. Every town Chinese invade, they are able to start businesses in it overly quicker than anybody else.

How about the Jews? They generally grow to become the most successful businessmen, sportsmen and professionals in the world. Some of the world’s best restaurants are owned by them.

Let me bring it closer to home…

Indians are more inclined to business than anyone in South Africa. And they generally become successful in it. They are patient enough to make it big with small-profit-margin businesses. That’s amazing.

And I know you are going to blame my next point on the inbalances of the past regime, but white people, generally tend to want or own assets. What compels them to think in terms of assets instead of liabilities?

And Africans want to show off every second they get. They think they have made it when they drive expensive bank-financed cars while they live in a four-roomed houses. What makes them define themselves by what they have instead of who they really are?

The answer?…The dynamics of our upringing.

One of the reasons we started this group was to address the stereotypes of our past. You see, there are so many things, in my opinion, that were not instilled in us. And as a result, our present environment is paying the price for the shortfall of our past.

It makes me mad and sad at the same time when I look at the labour market. The predicament that many companies are in is touching—employers don’t know what to do anymore.

Many employees cannot work independently. They constantly need to be micro-managed. They misuse their employer’s resources--making personal calls with their employer’s telephone, taking two hour lunches, taking smoke brakes every 5 second and spending 4 or their 8 hours of work on Facebook...

Are you in that group of people? maybe not....

But What can we attribute this intolerable behaviour to?

Lack of principle called VALUE ENGINEERING....

In Project Management they say, VALUE ENGINEERING is concerned with optimising the conceptual, technical and operational aspects of a project's deliverables.

Out of that definition, we realise that Value Engineering has to do with OPTIMISING RESOURCES....

It doesn't matter in what environment you were raised, but if you can learn to optimise yourself and add value for your employer or your business, you will quickly see what exponential growth mean, be it in your salary or turnover...

Stop wasting time at work and leverage time to meet your deliverables...

If we want God to take us to the next level of our lives, we ought to change our thinking about certain things. The thinking that got you into trouble wont take you out of it.

And we ought to start where we are...in our house of employ. Start optimising your resources to add value in the company you work for.

PLEASE WRITE BACK TO ME IN THIS FORMAT....

I AM THAPELO JONAS, I was raised in BOTSHABELO, I AM AN AFRICAN CHILD...MY FAMILY DIDN'T HAVE MUCH. THEY NEVER TAUGHT ME TO ADD VALUE. THE HEROES OF MY CHILDHOOD MODELLED THIS MYTH; I MADE IT WHEN I DRIVE THE LATEST CAR...I THINK IN TERMS OF LIABILITIES INSTEAD OF ASSETS SOMETIMES...

BUT TODAY, I CHOOSE TO BE A VALUE ENGINEER.....AND U?

Yours In Motivation..

Thapelo Jonas [Your Very Own...Life Coach]

© copyright 2010. All rights reserved

The Power Of Exposure

Destiny Partner...

"Don't have friends whom you don't want to end up like....Don't Read Books You Don't Want To Have Their Author's Outcome...And Don't Go to places Which Do Not Shape Your Dreams Differently..." Thapelo Jonas

One fact you often hear me cite in my articles and sessions is this; every person is a product of 3 important components

A. THE BOOKS YOU HAVE READ

B. THE PEOPLE YOU HAVE MET, and

C. THE PLACES YOU HAVE BEEN

And over the years I have learned that, if you want to change the present circumstances of every person, the financial predicament they are in and the current state of their health, your impact should come through one or all of those components.

Think about it for a second...if we trace the origin of every successful man or woman in the world, what do we find? I will tell you....

You find a person, whose.....ENVIRONMENT was conducive for innovation and creativity. One were entrepreneurship was celebrated and not abhored, and children aspiring to start their own enterprises were encouraged instead of been propelled to follow their parents' unfulfilled career dreams.

The ENVIRONMENT that declared that, "We got your back." Go for it and if you fail, so what?

A person who has a certain degree of FORMAL Or INFORMAL EDUCATION--- It can be specialised skills acquired from any tertiary institution that makes you exceptional in business career, or the kind of books you read that contribute to you thinking a certain way about business and careers.

THE PRINCIPLE: What you read is how you feed.....

And lastly, a person with a unique support structure. It could be the PARENTS who believed that their child could become anything in life and not only did they believe but they took an initiative of speaking their faith in the child to that child.

And because the child grows up hearing it over and over again, he/she ends believing it. Thus becoming the product of greatness spoken by his/her parents.

I am not a great fan of taking children to former model C schools BUT you got to understand THE POWER OF EXPOSURE THAT THIS SCHOOLS PROVIDES. THE LEVERAGE IT PROVIDES...

Think about this for a second....

Some of us struggle today to communicate strategically in our lives because we were not exposed to speaking in English from young age.

Some of us fail dismally in sports like swimming today because our schools did not have necessary equipment to make us great swimmers. We even associate our inability to swim with the colour of our skin. You don't know, maybe i would have been better than Michael Phelps IF I WAS EXPOSED TO SWIMMING WHEN I WAS YOUNG....

You don't know, maybe I would have been an exceptional Forex Trader by age 15 IF I WAS EXPOSED To an APPLE MAC AND THE INTERNET WHEN I WAS YOUNG...

I would have been far If i had teachers that spoke greatness to me. The kind of teachers that discouraged me if i made wrong subject choices, the kind that said to me, that university scholarship has your name written all over it. If I had teachers that mentored and ushered me into business skills and top-notch careers, WHERE WOULD I BE?

THE POWER OF EXPOSURE....

Some of us have a late start disadvantage because of lack of exposure. Destiny partner, what you expose yourself to forms your thoughts and dreams and eventually that is what you become..

Whether its friends, books and places you go to, make sure that you expose yourself to the material that you would want to be made out of.

Don't have friends whom you don't want to end up like....Don't Read Books You Don't Want To Have Their Author's Outcome...And Don't Go to places Which Do Not Shape Your Dreams Differently...

Yours In Motivation

Thapelo Jonas [Your Very Own...Life Coach]

© Copyright 2010. All Rights Reserved

 

Is It Because I Am Black?

"You cannot stand in authority until you have stood under authority"

Thapelo Jonas

Destiny Partner

I had a very interesting conversation with my cousin over the weekend. And i have to tell you, we talk about lot of things, but I mostly enjoy the conversations about his work when we are together. But something about this weekend's conversation got me to think real hard about something, and i decided to share it with you, Destiny Partner...

As a civil engineer trainee, his job sometimes requires him to supervise people to accomplish certain construction tasks. He often shares with me some ordeals that come with this cumbersome task.

The focus of the conversation was;PEOPLE WHO ARE RESISTANT WHEN OTHER BLACK PEOPLE ARE IN AUTHORITY...

Everyone wants to progress to the position of power. You might want to be the CEO of Fortune500 companies someday, maybe run your own multinational company or just to occupy that manager or director position in your career. Unfortunately, such POSITIONS OF POWER require thorough understanding of principles that govern authority.

PRINCIPLE: You cannot stand in authority until you have stood under authority

Let me share with you 3 factors that cause people to be resistant when other black people are in authority...

1. BACKGROUND

I am about to sound very controversial and maybe racial; AUTHORITY is a complex topic to blacks because when we are young, we are programmed to believe that people who are in authority have to be of certain colour.

And today, when we see people we were not programmed to believe that they could be in power, we are resistant to their leadership.

That's why a black man can work tirelessly for a white man but be an absolute lazy somebody when they work for their own kind.

No wonder many black-owned and black-run companies are run like soup kitchens....and never break out of the clutter and become giant conglomerates....

2. LACK OF STRONG WORK ETHIC

You cannot lead people if its not by example. you can't be in authority and come to work 10 minutes late, be on facebook for 8 hours of work and take one hour smoke brake...that demonstrates lack of work ethic and automatically, it will invoke RESISTANCE.

3. LACK OF EDUCATION

Its important to study. And lets face it, no one wants to submit to someone who does not have clue what management entails..skill acquisition is critical to command the respect of your peers...education equips you with the skill to make a lateral thinker and a strategist.

Whether I am black or Not....I am Your Boss...Live with It.

Yours In Motivations

Thapelo Jonas [Your Very Own...Life Coach]

© Copyright 2010. All rights reserved

Your Successes Do Not Intimidate Me---No offence!

“The only person you can and should compete with is yourself of yesterday”

Thapelo Jonas

Mention the word “success” in the room that is filled with people and everyone gets excited. It’s a fact; everyone relishes the prospect of being successful. Some reduce the definition of success to having the cars, houses, businesses or top notch careers that invoke envy from everyone else.

The truth is; success is many things to many people. And however shallow your success definitions, I don’t have a problem with it. But I have a problem with people who become clones in the process.

A clone is a person who attempts to be a replica of someone else and in the process lose their individuality. They are people who are so intimidated by other people success that, they embark on the fruitless journey to become other people.

Is your hunger for success so severe that it has pushed from your own calling to someone else' calling?

Allow me to give you 2 principles that govern success.

1. Know That You Are Unique

There are approximately 6 billion people on planet earth, and no one is like you. There is no one who is born with your talents, skills, aptitude and your DNA. I tell people all the time; HEAVEN does not authorize birth until purpose is established. You might have been born in the toughest of backgrounds; your mother might have wanted to give you up for adoption, but I have news for you; God had a plan for your life.

 He knew before you were born that there is a need in this world that ONLY YOU can meet. That need was made for a man/woman of your caliber, skills, talents, abilities and DNA, it was made for you.

2. Find Your Niche Market

We cannot all be doctors, attorneys, accountants and engineers. We can, but we were not all born with aptitudes that make us great in those careers. You see, you are born with attributes that makes you great in something. The difficult part is discovering that which you are great at and the people that will appreciate enough that which you have to offer to pay you for it.

And not being a doctor or an attorney does not make you less smart. I would love to believe that I am one of the smartest people on planet earth. And if academic results are anything to go by, then representing the top 15 percent of academic achievers at University of Free State must at least attest that I am ok.

Am I bragging? Maybe I am…but I refuse to waste my talents, skills and abilities on anything that I was not born for. I was born to be a business maverick…

And what you do today has to contribute in nurturing your craft and offering to your niche market. If you want to be a Chartered Accountant tomorrow, you have to be at university today or doing your articles at some reputable accounting firm.

Is where you are facilitating where you should go?

Yours In Motivation.

Thapelo Jonas [Your very Own...Life Coach]

2010 © Copyright. All rights reserved

Why Climb The Corporate Ladder If You can Make Your Own?

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be ignited!” Tseleng Monyatsi

It is a waste of a good material when potential greatness never erupts to the pinnacle. Everyday I see people who could run conglomerates and come up with innovative and creative ideas that could change the fabric of society as we know it, stuck at dead-end jobs in the name of security.

You can easily exclude yourself from the above mentioned group. Many people do not believe that they are stuck at dead-end jobs. But is it really not?

Do you have the guts to challenge what you could become without a guaranteed stream of income…At least for a while?

Some of the world’s best success stories have unorthodox origins. Mark Zuckerberg—CEO and co-founder of Facebook, is a Harvard drop out. Bill Gates—Chairman and founder of Microsoft is also a Harvard drop out. Michael Hewlett---The H in HP stands for his surname, he also dropped out of Harvard. And the Google founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin were doing their doctoral studies at Stanford when they met…and you guessed it, they also did not finish it.

Am I advocating for lack of education and proper academic foundation? No. I am trying to show you that the world’s best success stories had guts to challenge their self actualization without guaranteed stream of income for a while. And today, you are the consumer and they are your suppliers. There is something wrong with that picture.

In the words of Raymond Ackerman, “Starting a business is 90 percent guts, and 10 percent capital.”

I don’t know about you, but I refuse to believe that America is the best thing ever since sliced bread. I have decided to write this article to identify 3 factors that are holding you back apart form security..

1. Lack of Entrepreneurial culture.

Unfortunately, we live in the country where entrepreneurship is not celebrated. When we were growing up, our parents instilled the sense of subservience---remember those words,” when you grow up and WORK…I want you to build me a house. You are programmed to work. You were never exposed to possibilities of doing it on your own. We are born to win but conditioned to lose.

2. Ignorance

Many people fail to eat the humble pie when it comes to partnering with and submitting under the people that have the resources that they don't have. I don’t know whether it’s a black thing; but a black man would rather be humble and work tirelessly for a white man but ask him to do the same for his own kind, it won’t be done. Again, I say, we are programmed to associate authority with colour.

You see, In order to have something you never had, you are going to have to do something that you have never done. In the words of TJ Malamule, “Your network determines your net worth.”

3. Lack of Knowledge

Many people don’t read. They don’t subscribe to relevant material under the auspices of entrepreneurship. As a result, we do not develop competencies in strategic areas, and eventually we don’t change.

Please ask yourself this question, Is this all that I can become?

Yours In Motivation

Thapelo Jonas [Your Very Own...Life Coach]

© Copyright 2010. All Rights Reserved

Leverage Your Partnerships

Destiny Partner...


"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he..." Proverbs 23:7 KJV

It is sad but it's true. Many people do not realise this; the quality of your present life is in direct proportion to the quality of your past thoughts. You see, the life that you are experiencing now, is not the result of some big bang theory, YOU MADE IT.

If you look around, and your career/business epitomises failure--you are not happy about your job and the business that you are in, remember this; the seeds of the tree whose shadow you are under, were planted in the soil called your mind. Perhaps the old adage applies, if you can conceive it, then you can do it. If it is impossible in your mind then it will be impossible in reality.

Let me demonstrate the dynamics of this phenomenon...

Everything that goes to your mind, only gets through in two ways, your eyes and your ears. Therefore, your thoughts are formed mainly by what hear and see. And to that end, allow me to say this; you are the product of 3 things...

1. The people you spend time with.

2. The books you have read or read

3. The places that you have been to.

Let me focus on the first one. When God gets ready to prosper you, He seldom provides you with money. But He brings divine relationships into your life. God lets you partner with people that have resources you don't have BUT need to be manouevoured into your position of success.

Destiny Partner, there are people in this group I could not reach by myself. I had to partner with TJ, who had a wider network base that I had. If you position yourself to be in the midst of people who you aspire to be, then, their thinking influences your thinking and their lifes eventually influences your life.

Question is, who is shaping your thoughts?

Learn to partner with people that advance you. In business, when choosing careers, and when making friends. If you want to go in a certain industry, find A RAINMAKER in that industry, partner with them. And leverage those partnerships, and before long, you will be the rainmaker yourself.

Never partner with a zero--a person who has nothing to give. As Bishop T.D Jakes often says, zero is the only number when multiplied with another number, gives you zero.

Leverage your partnerships...today...

Thapelo Jonas [ Your Very Own..LIFE Coach]

2010 © Copyright Reserved.