Keep dreaming and working

If you have a dream protect it from all the negative people in your life. They are so negative because their insecurities and broken dreams are giving them nightmares when they look at you and when they look in the mirror. You failed a couple of times, SO WHAT! You made a couple of mistakes, SO WHAT! The only thing that matters is that you keep trying and pushing to make your dream a reality.

Nobody said or made promises that it is going to be easy, but surely it will be worth it. If they say negative things towards your dreams and aspirations, please tell them they have no right to comment on yours if theirs are in pieces or stagnant.

I came to realise that people who are working on their dreams are generally positive and supportive towards others’ dreams. They help others in achieving theirs. On the contrary, I came to realise that negative people (in most cases it are people very close to you) either gave up theirs or they fear yours might end up like theirs.

This is one of the biggest mistakes of most friends, family and parents. You share an idea or dream with them and the first words they utter are: ‘it will not work.’ This is the last thing you want to hear especially since you already know the risks; and when these words are uttered it shatters the last bit of confidence you had into a million pieces. What parents, family, guardians and spouses do not realise is that they are systematically sabotaging the future of their children, family members and spouses. A little bit of positivity is all the person needs to get him or her going.

I remember back in 2006 when I had to make a decision whether I must register the next year or not, I needed only two people’s positive reactions to get me into action. There were those who were negative but I needed the confirmation of two people. The first was my Grandmother and the second was Ant Lenie.

Of the two I expected my Grandmother to be the most critical but when I mentioned it to her, her first and only words on the subject were: my kind gaan studeer (my child go study). It was exactly the same response I got from Ant Lenie, and so I registered in 2007 and since then graduated thrice.

You really do not help anyone by being negative if they came to you with their dreams. You must be flattered because that person trusts you! You have two choices either say nothing or motivate that person. If you decide to motivate and support that person, please make sure they answer these questions to themselves before they start their dreams.

The first is why the person wants to do it? It is important the person answer this question because it will keep the person going when they are experiencing difficulties. The second is how would it add value to his or her life? Not all value is monetary, some are intrinsic. Thus make sure the person knows what he or she will be getting from the dream because that will keep them going. Finally, ask the person whether he or she is willing to take the sacrifices that come with pursuing the dream. Pursuing any dream is not easy and there will come days when you feel like giving up. Make sure the person understand this.

These questions are merely a guide but a good way of encouraging someone to start his or her dream. Remember some people were laughed at when they said they want to go to the moon, build an aeroplane, a telephone, a car, etc. Your best response to negativity must be success. 

100 Days Without Sugar Challenge

For those of you who are interested in how my 100 days without sugar challenge work this is how the challenge work. First, stop adding processed sugar to all your beverages. Secondly, stop all soft drinks. If want to drink a soft drink rather a sugar free one (do this occasionally as a reward). Thirdly, stop drinking all juices whether it is '100 percent' fruit juice. Companies add sugar to all juices to enhance the taste and most juices have more sugar than soft drinks.

Fourthly, stop using all sauces such a tomato sauce or chutney because all of it have huge amounts of sugar in it. Fifthly, stop all cakes, cookies, biscuits, muffins, etc because they also have huge amounts of sugar in it. Homemade is worst because you cannot monitor how much sugar they put in it.

Six, stop all alcohol intake because it also have massive amounts of sugar in it. Seven, stop the intake of dried fruit you buy from shops because it is soaked in sugar to make it more tasty. Finally, all sweets (chocolates and energy bars included) is a no no.

Additionally, please do not replace sugar with honey because it is literally the same thing. Rather, increase your fruit intake. Also, you have to know that even to essentials such as milk and bread companies add sugar to enhance the taste. If you buy bread buy brown bread as it contains lesser sugar and is more nutritional than white bread. Please note that 3 slices of bread equals one teaspoon of sugar.

Apart from this, please check your the nutritional information at the back of all processed food you buy in store. Generally, 5g of sugar equals a teaspoon of sugar. Thus, if you take a Jungle Oats Lite energy bar you will notice that it contains 2.8g of sugar for a single serving suggestion (40g which is one bar) which is almost half spoon of sugar.

I am more than halfway through my challenge and I totally agree with those who say fat does not make you fat, but rather sugar makes you fat. I almost have no body fat left. To speed up your fat loss I would advice you supplement the challenge with an exercise plan. However, please note I am no physician nor a nutritional expert and I am just someone who did research on what causes fat and test it out myself.

This is my promise to you if you follow this challenge for at least 50 days you will lose so much body fat that people who saw a a long time ago will not recognize you.

It is how you finish

If there is something that I would like a lot of people to understand about achieving their is the following: In life it is not how you start the race but how you finish it. There is nothing wrong with a good start because a good start set the pace for the race but it does not mean that the pace-setter will win the race.

I can remember when I was in high school (many moons ago) I made it to the regional athletics championship and that day I had to ran two races. The first one was the 5000m and the second was the 1500m. The first race went well and I win the race but the second almost gave me a heart attack.

If you are familiar with the 1500m you know that you start 300m and once you have finish that you still need to finish 3 more laps. So, when we started the race I was nervous and did not know what to expect and decided not put everything in the first 1000m. For those that know athletics a bell usually rang to announce the last round and it is also where you increase your speed and push yourself pass your physical and mental limits.

So, when there was two laps left one of the athletes accelerated insanely and left us all behind. When I saw this I became worried because with his pace he will break the SA schools record and I am not close to that record. I was tempted to follow him but I decided to keep to my original plan.

When we reached the 100m before the last lap this guy already created a gap of 80m. So when we got to the 80m mark before the last lap this guy just crossed the finish line and suddenly decrease his pace. I became clear to us that this guy thought he finished the race and as expected the bell rang as he was first passed the bell. We could see how shocked and demotivated he was.

We catch up with him at the 200m mark and when we finished the race he was not part of us. The important thing is we finished the race and he did not. So what can we learn from this?

Firstly, plan effectively. I had a plan before the race started and a strategy during the race. Secondly, stick to your guns. If someone is speeding away and it was not part of your plan to accelerate at that point do not do it. Resist the temptation of running someone else's race, run your own race. Finally, completing the race is the most important thing. A mentor of mine believe that the person that is second is not the loser but the last person or the person that do not finish the race is the loser. So if you came second great stuff.

But remember the basis for finishing any race is preparation. They say when you are tasked to cut done a three in an hour use the first 30 minutes to sharpen the axe because a sharp axe makes your work easier. Do not just start cutting blindly. So, how is this applicable to you?

If you writing an exam, a test, running a race, starting a business or starting a community garden please remember this: it is not how you start your goal but it is how you finish it that counts. But for you to finish the race, remember to plan/prepare, stick to your guns and do everything in your power to finish it.

Pre-Conceptions

After work today I heard this lady on Radio 2000 and I could hear that she is a very intelligent woman. She explain how she grew with her mother and grandmother and how she never had any father figure in her life.

They way she spoke and expresses herself intrigued me, and I was wondering who this could be. She spoke about the values her mother and grandmother thought her, and how her family transitioned into the new SA. I must be honest I was thinking it must be some doctor from a university or a really educated person.

But to my surprise it was Khanyi Mbau. I was surprised how the 'faceless' (the true) Khanyi Mbau are so different to the one we all know (the one in the media). It also made me wonder how much the media have influenced our perceptions about life. Our perceptions about politics, the weather, what to eat, what is good and what is bad.

The Khanyi Mbau on radio tonight was not the out of control freak and 'queen of bling' (as she is commonly known) but an honest and hardworking women. She could have been my sister or my cousin; women I love. So I am asking myself how many skewed perceptions do I have of other 'famous' people, like for example our politicians.

What would I think of a 'faceless' Julius Malema, Hellen Zille, Gwede Mantashe, or Mosiuoa Lekota. By 'faceless' I mean the real person and not the one that the media portray. How would our perceptions change about these individuals? Will we truly have the same feelings that we currently do? I must be honest mine is definitely changed.