Tour de Life 4

Sometimes when you are in a dark place you think that you’ve been buried, but actually you’ve been planted.  As the riders started to come together at the base camp, it was amazing to see all the different industries and people represented.  Some rode in on bikes and cars and some flew in with luxury Jets, some looking ultra-casual, modern and with it (obviously me) and others bedraggled and somewhat out of shape.  A vibe was growing and I realised how important it is to have that in an organisation.  There needs to be a buzz and excitement in what you do, a sense of anticipation and a willingness to listen to the heartbeat of the events of life.  True networking can take place in an environment such as this and relationships rely on this to survive and grow.  We should never be afraid to go where you’ve never gone and do what you’ve never done, because both are necessary to have what you’ve never had and be who you’ve never been.  It is difficult to make that very first move thinking that you may fail, but imagine how your life can change if you take the leap and the person responds and says yes to your suggestion or idea.  What follows is passion and an energy to build something great.  You may not yet be at the place you want to be but there is a connection and trust is formed and relationships are built in moments like these.  The riders are all allocated into groups and some guests were completely unknown to each other.  This made me think of how often we come across opportunities which we look at and yet we are so cautious, because we do not know the industry or the people or the intricacies of the job.  We rather hold back and years go by without achieving our real purpose. Sometimes we prefer to keep our feelings to ourselves, because it is hard to find someone that truly understands us.   But when we do we need to exchange ideas and goals and build on them together so that we can get closer to our true purpose and the reason we have for living a complete and fulfilled life.  Both friends and acquaintances can make a huge difference in our lives for the reasons that they have been brought across our path.  Sometimes they are there to provide the negatives and reasons why we may not succeed, sometimes they bring reality to a situation and other times they are there as encouragers and the mentors that provide us with the belief and drive to reach for our goals.  People are special no matter what and we need to remember to be the same to others as we would want them to treat us.

Tour de Life 3

I have to say that I felt somewhat ashamed to be driving through the towns and seeing the decay and wonder if the powers that be, even notice these things or take the time to reflect on how important leadership can be.  I would rather surround myself with people who make a lot of mistakes but have no problem admitting to them, than to surround myself with people who think they make none.  Mistakes can be worked on and with the right attitude that can be corrected.  My own heart skipped a beat to think that although I have made mistakes they have not been of a nature that I still have an opportunity to get them right.  We need to open our hearts and minds to our lives and fix mistakes we have made and not look back and say ‘I should have fixed it but now it is too late’.  As we crossed the border into Botswana it made me think of crossing from one season of life to another.  It may be a small river or the mighty Limpopo, but once you are in a new season, we need to make sure that we make the most of the experience.  We can with certainty leave behind the past and start looking for opportunities.  You may see the opportunities from afar, but until you cross the border and actually take a step towards a new beginning, you will always have to comment from afar.  For some the border crossing might be a new business venture or a new way of conducting your business, it might be to change financial policies and structures within your office, it may be to step away from the daily grind and truly become entrepreneurs in a land of opportunity.   As the passport control stamped my passport I resolved to start making something from the foundation I have created, to do justice to the effort that has been put in to date and not to stay on the safe side of the border.

Tour de Life 2

My first departure point was relating to the guys that I travelled with and the fact that they are from different industries entirely, but yet have the same fears and concerns about the future of our country.  The same questions about poor leadership, corruption and dishonesty at all levels of government, unacceptable service delivery in every sector and a deep concern about a failing economy.  The comments were not isolated or political by nature, but the message was the same, that our country is not doing well.  A stop off in Polokwane made it abundantly clear that there is decay and total lack of pride as the streets were filthy and vendors are totally oblivious to the law.  This is the capital of the North of South Africa and it is a shambles.  I came to realise that I most certainly lived a sheltered life as I was growing up and there were no doubt countless examples of racial discrimination, but I believe that the “New South Africa” has done very little in the smaller towns and cities and people’s lives look no different than they do now.  It is almost as if 20 years of democracy has done nothing to the men and woman in these parts.  I paused and thought of my last twenty years and what I have accomplished in that time.  Have I put enough effort into my business and its growth and development, have I succeeded in making a difference in my small sphere of influence and can I allege that I have done anything to make a difference to the lives of people I have come into contact with, in 2 decades.  Sadly and like most I am disappointed that I have looked mostly at my own needs and wants and tried to make sure that I was the centre of the universe and done what needed to be done to get to the top.  It was all about collecting things and accolades and titles and material gods and not so much about what teamwork and genuine social responsibility can mean to the area we are operating in.

Tour de Life Lesson

I recently had the privilege of spending nearly a week in a remote area known as the Tuli block at the conference of the three countries of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana.  The intended purpose was to ride our mountain bikes in the 11th edition of the Nedbank Tour de Tuli as a guest of Nedbank.  The 4 days (plus 1 extra day for some) traverses the trans-frontier parks of Mapugubwe and runs between the Limpopo, and Shashi rivers.  This is a big 5 reserve teaming with game and wildlife and is a truly unique African experience.  I could regale about the organisation and the logistics and the riding terrain, but since I have been unable to write for some time I wanted to incorporate the experiences on tour with those we come across in life and the meaning that an experience like this can have on our lives and our future.  Certain experiences shape our lives more then we imagine and they can be responsible for either moving us to a new season and direction, or they can at least halt the place where we are and get us to take a good long look at what the future really holds.

Cast off from your Cares.

We really need to  cherish the early years of our lives, because while we are going through it, the tough things in our lives are things like school and who to like on facebook and friends saying hurtful things.  Our parents nag us to death and we are bored when we have tasks to do, or need to visit family.  And yet all too soon this time is gone, and with it the enjoyment of youth can quickly disappear, if we are not willing to try to still be positive and live in a manner that celebrates life and what it means to be truly happy.  Even in the years preparing for marriage and children, there are so many opportunities to live and be filled with the joys of life.  I am certainly not saying that once middle age sets in, these opportunities are gone, but certainly they become more isolated and scarce and yet no more important.  We need to take every step we can to enjoying the moments of laughter and fun, the time we have to do the things we enjoy and to relish in the youthful activities and exuberance which is regularly prevalent in the lives of younger people.  I took my son to a party at a venue on Saturday night and I watched the young people, streaming into the venue, their cares and focus was off whatever sport they had played in the day, whatever homework that needed to do and they were in the moment to dance and have a "jol".  It was good to see their smiles and expectations and excitement, it was encouraging to see that they were positive about the time they were going to have and they were talkative even after the party, about all that went on.  It gave me hope and inspiration that we as adults need to choose to do the same, to fight for enjoyment and positive outcomes, we need to be determined to make use of the opportunities we have and we owe it to ourselves and those closest to us to make sure that we capture the energy of youth wherever we can and that we enjoy the moments as much as they do.  Never miss the chance to enjoy life and have as few regrets as you can.  Young or old, it makes no difference, open your eyes and ears to what you can have and achieve that as far as possible.

Stop being a Twit..er!

I am sometimes quite irritated with the ability of people to want something from you or feel compelled to educate you, or remind of things you are not doing well, when they have flaws and failings, which are no less "sinful".  Social media often does not help the cause because people seem to be happy to air all their dirty washing on posts and likes and comments.  Yes it is true that the platform invites comment and interaction, but is it necessary to open a discussion intended to be specific to a person or group, to the entire planet.  Yet it is more the fact that it provides those that feel like they are the guardians of our souls and the keepers of our morals, that bug me, because they may be exceptional at offering advice via social media, but what is happening in their own homes or business.  It bugs me too that sometimes we have no choice but to get involved in this senseless exercises of show and tell on social media and it is frankly a complete waste of time.  Even giving compliments these days have been reduces to a message via facebook, or a change of profile and I fear that the youth of today will find it completely impossible to look someone in the eyes and have a conversation that has meaning and purpose and intimacy.  It saddens me that even I have got into the habit of changing profiles and using emoji to express how I feel.  But I suppose that if you don't then life will become pretty lonely and boring because the rest of the world is moving on with this process. I just think that a bit more attention and specifically thought needs to go into comments and stabs at people and more caution used before deciding which platform to use, to throw out digs or hurtful acts of conversation.  Certainly social media has a way of coming full circle a lot quicker than other interaction, so remember what you put in will likely come back to you real fast.

Lets check the Weather

Seasons are a changing that is for sure.  Sometimes there are momentous shifts in the tides and there are very warm summers and extremely cold winters.  Changes are so big that our entire thinking and view of our surroundings can change or be affected.  We can be the best planners in the world, but when a huge change takes place in our lives, we find that we are still not as well prepared as we thought, we flounder with thoughts of uncertainty and fear and we just don’t know how the future will pan out, despite the belief that we are doing the right thing, or making the best of the situation.  Every year the weather services tell us that this year will be the coldest winter yet and then in the end, we have another very warm winter.  How often do people say something and yet it does not carry through in their actions.  How do we ensure that what we hear from others, can be tested and believed.  I mean the weather services are notoriously poor at reading the weather correctly, despite having the best equipment in the world, at their disposal.  It would seem that uncertainty exists everywhere and the best we can hope for is to interact and engage with people that seem to be open and willing to follow through on what they promise, or say.  It is better to rather be a person who tries to follow this mantra, than have sleepless nights about problems that can be avoided.  Sometimes it is best to wear our hearts on our sleeves and gamble with the truth and hopefully, as it has been said in the classics the “truth will set you free”.  It may even be that you can confess, that you don’t know everything and that certain circumstances are just not easy or simple to deal with, or explain, but this does not mean that you do not have commitment to trying to resolve them.  We need to persevere, despite the weather changing and what will be needs to be accepted as what is meant to happen.