What are you "bragging" about in 2014?

I don't know if it's safe to say happy new year as we are already in the second month of the year. I can just imagine some of you who are interested in knowing what I've been busy with since I last shared a post. I did not forget about you guys - I had just reached the peak of my journey. You know how the peak hour gets. 

In the previous year, we shared so much about where we were at in our lives and the big decisions we were to make - and guess what? I made mine - I quit my job. To some, perhaps it was the dumbest thing to do. For me, it was so fulfilling. 

You are probably thinking; has it not been tough? Oh hell yes. But it is a decision one had to make. 

You see my mind was made up that I was leaving the comfort zone that wasn't meaningful to me - at all. My worry was how will I still pay my bills, but I remembered having a plan is never a bad idea. I sat down and I strategised - of course knowing some things will not happen accordingly - but I made a decision of sticking to my plan.

The first phase to my plan was to go  to Queenstown and inform my family. Surprisingly, I did not receive the reaction I had had in my mind. They told me they will support me where they can - for me- this was going to be financial support. 

Fast forward to 2014. I am sitting at my desk at BlackReign Communications as head of corporate affairs and business development and seeing a much brighter light at the end of the tunnel. Public speaking has become my favourite thing to do - finding myself MCing at events. Why? Because God had a plan. 

Some will take this post as bragging, but it's not. Personally, I think we need not be modest about our little achievements. 

I must say though the hardest thing about being an entrepreneur is not having your own reliable transport. Using public transport is a nightmare but one still needs to go to places to get the job done - no excuses. 

What I love about 2014 is the fact that I had made it clear to myself that this would be my year of success. Many would ask but what is success. The word is described as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. To be honest with you I feel so successful because the second phase of my plan has been achieved. Achieving is key this year.

Let me stop now and leave you to think of your own successes. 

This post was just to say I am still around and there will be more posts coming your way. Come on, I'm sure you have something to brag about in 2014. 


Check out our new office space. Still under construction though. "that's my brag" 

 

Your dream is your wealth

This past weekend I attended the #IAMANENTREPRENEUR seminar which was held at the Bandwirth Barn, Woodstock. The seminar was about everything entrepreneurship – what makes an entrepreneur, staying inspired, perseverance etc. Most of all – to me – it was verification that through determination and drive; anything is possible. 

The key note address was delivered by Dr Tim Tebeila – a South African businessman and the Chief Executive Officer of Sekoko Resources (Pty) Limited. Dr Tebeila trained as a teacher before he founded his own insurance and construction companies. In his address, he shared how he left teaching and how he almost did not graduate because his marks were nowhere to be found. Dr Tebeila grew up in a small village where they had to walk between 5 and 10km to school. 

Dr Tebeila shared how he was not in good relations with his principal – at the school he was employed as a teacher. One morning he walked into the office finding a man signing an employment contract – post 14. Post 14 was Dr Tebeila’s position at the school. Stunned by the man signing the contract, little did he know that; that Monday was his last day at work. He had been kicked out by the principal – he no longer had a job. Dr Tebeila said that had he not gone through those mishaps; and had he not had bigger dreams he wouldn’t have been the entrepreneur he is today. 

There I was listening to a wealthy man talking and could not grip his humbleness. Why is it; that he is wealthy? He has dreams that no-one can ever take away from him. He knows what he believes in and lives for – and money is just a bonus. 

Dr Tebeila is wealthy because he knows that it takes village to raise a child. He is wealthy because he knows when God has blessed you with something; you share it with others too – whether it is resources, money, information etc. He is wealthy because he never stopped dreaming.

It got me thinking that sometimes people tend to be content with trivial things because they do not want to leave their comfort zones. Sometimes when you have dreams and want them to come true you sit down and assess your situation. You think if I leave my job to pursue my career – what I was born to do – how will I make ends meet. Because you forget that you were born for something, you forget that the creator will lead you to it. By leading you to it, I mean certain things in your life will become so unbearable that you have no choice but to leave those things and focus on your calling. Dr Tebeila said a series of events led him to making a decision. 

A series of events have taken place in my life that made me sit down and consult with God. He blessed me with the ability of executing works, the ability to think, ability to help where I can – he made be ABLE. 

Just when I decide I want to reach for my dreams – the mishaps start happening. I have decided to leave my comfort zone and all anticipated bad things will start happening – these are there to make one derail. However, I still stand my ground and forward I go. All bad things will happen, storms will come, but I will still have my dreams.

But what are your dreams without focus? Focus on how you will achieve them. Focus on who will help you achieve them. Focus on where you are headed. Focus on the objective.

I’m glad I went to the seminar, I came back certain that these minor setbacks are just hurdles that I need to jump over. I was born to be great; and to be great one actually needs to believe it before other people see it. 

One of the speakers at the seminar was Bonkke Shipalana, who said “don’t let your success be bigger than your dreams.” So dream and dream big – you are only as big as your dream.

Word of advice from me: don’t be content with being ordinary when you were born to be extra-ordinary. 

NB: Don't let the festive season derail you from the bigger picture  – making your dreams come. :)

Ikasi Experience for Sinako Secondary School Learners - it was indeed a memorable experience.

They just had lunch.

I would like to thank everyone that made a contribution to helping us take these learners to the Ikasi Experience. This outing was the first of many that are to come.

Thank you to:
Vincent Manzini (Ikapa Live)
Loyiso Mdebuka (Ikapa Live)
Yolanda Makosi (BlackReign Communications)
Odwa Sonti 
Sharon Dankers (UWC)
Essa Sadien (UWC)
Gafsa Davieds (UWC)
Sgqibo Lande (UWC)
Nkululeko Makhubu (UWC)
Nicolas Dorfling (UWC)
Funiwe Gxavu (UWC)
Prof Desmond Roberts (UWC)

Little Siyanda tries to see what's happening behind her.

Financial Aid Office (UWC)
Fatima Saib (Blogger)
Nastash Crow (UWC)
Melissa Maans (UWC)
Patricia Lawrence (UWC)
Felicity (UWC) 
Matthews Mfubu (BlackReign Communications)
Vukile Qumba (BlackReign Communications)

Founders of Ikapa Live share a moment with the learners with Loyiso trying to be visible right at the back.

They were so enjoying the performances.

I could not have gone home without taking a picture with my babies. Love them so much. Especially Mziwamadoda (in front).

They were so overwhelmed by the experience.

 Donations are still welcome as we will be taking all the food collected to the school on Wednesday 20 November. If you have something to donate, please email me at mzilikazinotukela@gmail.com or call me on 078 697 2643.

Giving back has never felt so good - be a part of it.

I'm extremely excited about this coming weekend – Saturday to be precise. I will be attending the 6^th edition of the Ikasi Experience – the initiative of developing young people by Ikapa Live.

The Ikasi Experience is aimed at celebrating the local diverse culture of entrepreneurial spirit while seeking to expose local entrepreneurs, businesses, undiscovered talents and vendors from Khayelitsha to an array of visitors – both local and international – with the hope of generating sustainable income and long-lasting networks.

What does this mean for our townships? It means there will be economic growth, the ability of young people to do things by themselves for themselves. 

But why am I writing about the Ikasi Experience on our platform of sharing life experiences to empower one another? This is because the organisers of the event have permitted us to take learners from Sinako Secondary School to the event.

What I haven’t shared with you is that recently I was invited to Sinako Secondary to give an inspirational talk to thirty learners that are under the Orphans and Vulnerable Children’s (OVC) program.  The principal specifically wanted me to share my background about going through many challenges and obstacles and rising above them.

The most amazing thing that happened was when the school principal, Mr Qinisile, told me to start off by sharing a word or two to the teachers before they commenced with their daily duties. The attention I got while talking, the questions I was asked after the talk really meant I had played an important role that day in telling teachers without them there would be no us. 

When I moved on to the learners I had already thanked God for blessing me with that day. I stepped into their computer lab which had approximately twenty computers that aren’t working. The learners came in, took chairs to sit right in front of me as people that were eager to hear what I had to say. 

I started telling them about how I grew up. As soon as I told them about how other people hide behind pain and suffer silently – I could see change in their faces – from beautiful smiles to sad almost teary faces. I’ll never forget the look in a 14 year old boy that stood up and said “sisi, I want to be a doctor but I don’t see it happening.” I could not help but shed a tear as all thirty of these learners had a sad story to share and how they all don’t see any hope of their circumstances changing.

Before I left their school, they asked for my contact details. Later that night I was already receiving messages of gratitude from them – like I had already done something for them. 

So I thought the least I can do is to organise donations and mentors for them. There are so many people from our townships that have a success story to tell. I thought why not take these learners to see the work of the Ikapa Live team – Loyiso Mdebuka and Vincent Manzini – that are also from Khayelitsha; and have had their fair share of challenges but rose from them.  

Giving back to your community is cool because one gets to be part of the people that develop the minds of young people and infrastructure in our communities. There is no fulfilment in ones heart than that of making another person’s heart happy – it is just too blissful.

Join us on Saturday at Khayelitsha Look Out Hill as we will be giving these learners a memorable experience which will motivate them to always look beyond their circumstances. We are through with blaming our circumstances and other people for our laziness. If you want a better life for yourself, you start acting better today – tell a friend.

Be at the Ikasi Experience on Saturday and sleep having made someone’s day.

See you there! *mwah*

When they are not looking

Lately I’ve been thinking about the impact society has in our lives. We act, make decisions based on how society will perceive us. Sometimes this is a good thing; sometimes it just is not good – at all. 

I remember growing up I had two lives – at home I was someone else and outside my house I was a totally different person.

When I was not home I would get so rebellious because I wanted to be cool and fit in, but how was I being cool if I wasn’t myself? Acting to be someone I was not became a full time job – and a pretty exhausting one.

When I was in the public eye I’d pretend like I ran the show – talk about parties and clubs when I actually wasn’t even going to any – at all. This is because I did not want to be left out in conversations. In the mist of it all, I became who I was not. 

But who was I really when society was not looking – a shy young girl who had big dreams. I was my family’s treasure, my grandmother’s beautiful flower, a song writer, an actress, a person whom talkative was what defined me best.  

I have learned that every one of us is like a rough diamond waiting to be polished in order to shine bright.

Sometimes our circumstances seem like they don’t allow us to be what we want to be. Boys from the Cape flats cannot explore their full potential because if they are not in gangs then gangs want to take them out. Girls date older man to easily get necessities. 

We now have a role to play. A role of sharing stories of people who come from our neighbourhoods and have made it passed the circumstances – to say that achieving your goals is possible.

Let’s start a culture of young people that won’t be embarrassed or scared to portray who they are. Success comes in different forms, levels and ways. 

I know young girls and boys that do not want to talk about their dreams to their peers because they do not want to be mocked.  That ambitious person you are when alone in your room let that person be known and embraced. Those great fantasies you have in your room that can change the world need to be made known.

Do not be brought down by society’s negativity. You might be one of the scientists to find cure for HIV/AIDS, you might be South Africa’s first female president, and you might be the person who finds solutions to the violence in our communities. 

We have people from our communities that have gone through their fair share of challenges but they rose above them and took ownership of their lives. 

Our community, our country is waiting and relying on your great idea to develop South Africa. Always be that great person that you are even when they (society) are looking, don’t shy away – you might just change lives.

To all grade 12 learners commencing with the final examination today, opportunities are immeasurable – be able to identify them and exploit them. BEST OF LUCK!

 *Picture courtesy of amazingasset.com

Decide your destiny today

Have you ever thought you know what’s best to decide for yourself but can’t really make the decision because of some contributing factors? Well I know how that feels. 

Lately I have abandoned my responsibility of frequently sharing some of my experiences on this platform because of indecisiveness. There is a lot of things I would like to do and there is one thing I would love to quit (but that’s a story for another day).

Most situations we find ourselves in are because we did not make a decision and matters led us straight to accepting being in the situation.

While I was in high school, my only dream was to become a lawyer but I did not make the decision of applying.  After matric I was forced to go to Cape Town – this was however the best decision made for me. Cape Town has been nothing but great to me – thanks to my family for forcing me to go to Cape Town.  

But what about those decisions which are taken for you and never work for you? A man ranked 3rd in the world at the English Speaking Union International Competition, Vusi Thembekwayo once said in one of his talks “never take advice from loved ones.” He elaborated and said when growing up you see a hot stove and you have the urge to touch it, but your mama will tell you not to or you will burn yourself. “Want to touch it? Hell yes. Will it hurt? Damn sure it will,” said Thembekwayo. He said, however, the satisfaction of being on the other side will be worth it, because then you will know how it feels.

Often when we make the decision of doing things we really love we seek for advice from loved ones and whether we like it or not, they will sometimes advise us not to because they don’t want to see us hurt. How do you then forgive yourself ten years down the line when you regret not making your own decision and letting other people tell you what to do? There is no guarantee that our decisions will always be the best decisions ever but knowing that you attempted will be satisfactory enough.

What I’m trying to say is get yourself out of that box of feeling trapped when you need to decide on something.

I have made the decision of starting an NGO to empower young girls from the disadvantaged areas. I have made the decision of co-founding a communications company and do what I love most – events and public relations. I have made the decision of working hard today so my children can be born to a better life. I have made the decision of accepting that I am driven, talented, passionate and obsessed with making my and other people lives better. I have made the decision of being a recognised responsible woman within society. I have made the decision of finally being myself and that came with sacrifices. 

Most importantly, I’ve made the decision of identifying which dreams, from my many dreams, to pursue right now – oh boy, Am I glad to say it feels so good.

As many young girls will be writing the final exams soon, make the decision of passing – that will be your stepping stone. Believe you me it feels GOOd when you do GOOD and people recognise your efforts. Be good at what you do and people will take you seriously.

What is the ONE decision that you will make after reading this post? But remember, GIVING UP is not in the decisions package! So make the decision of being smart today, because being smart is beautiful.