Posted on Saturday, June 1, 2024

The Pursuit of Discipline

Time is ticking away

One major challenge I face everyday is to focus on what is relevant. In a fast-paced environment, everything seems urgent and important.

What drives you to seek medical help are the symptoms of Ill health. However, these are just indicative of underlying issues. These are what a medical expert seeks to establish. They will dig deeper, run tests to establish the foundation the symptoms are built on.

It occured to me that my out-of-focus state might be a symptom of something else.

We were having a conversation with my teenagers (19 and 17) this week about how 2024 has been so far. I let them know how frustrated I feel. I just can’t get consistent traction on what I set out to do! Somewhat like I am on a muddy stretch with my wheels spinning out of control.

Posted on Friday, October 27, 2017

Why I chose faith and you should too!

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. That evidence part is what my logical mind struggles with every single day.

I receive a call from a new client. We have been working on part of his company’s profile. When I see his caller ID, my mind goes like: “Oh shoot! Did I overlook something?” Immediately, I go into crisis mode. My heart races and I am reduced to shallow breaths.

Posted on Friday, May 27, 2016

The Pursuit of Purpose

Here are your first 3 key components

There they were… 220 expectant eyes. Like laser beams, they locked on us. “Who I’m I?” This was the topic my wife and I were to speak on. And we had less than two hours.

It was a meeting with young adults. Their anticipation was palpable. They all seemed keen to unveil their identity. After the talk, some held us back for one-on-one conversation with us. Yet, others sent us detailed email messages about their struggle with identity. All this transported me back to a treasured memory…

Posted on Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Unsettled – My Manifesto

Get busy living or get busy dying

Frustrated and unmotivated, I knew there was something greater my life had to offer.

But I felt stuck, like trying to walk in a sea of thick mud. My life was like a square peg being hammered into round hole. I wanted to thrive but this animal-in-a-cage mentality held in a vice-grip. I ran fast, but to nowhere.

These three thoughts plagued my mind in the dead of the night. Waking up in a cold sweat, they resounded above the chirping crickets and barking dogs:

I need a break!
I desire joy.
I can’t merely exist.

Shackled between my ears

I had heard this many times, “When life gives you a lemon, make lemonade!” Well, I got fed up with the lemonade business. I felt an urgency to see a break in the ominous grey clouds that hang over my head.

Posted on Monday, January 18, 2016

Why I Love Risk (And You Should Too!)

Are you willing to jump?

When Steve Harvey starts to speak, laughter is around the corner. However, this versatile TV host has spent a few weeks as a laughing-stock.

His sin? Steve had announced the wrong winner of the 2015 Miss Universe. But that is not the gist of today’s post. This event reminded me of Steve’s video from 2014: “You gotta jump to be successful”.

As Steve says, your gift is like a parachute. But parachutes don’t work unless you jump. How far you soar depends on your willingness to risk that first jump.

His message provided for deep reflection for me. I thought and agonized about the year ahead. “What do I need to do different?” I asked myself. It isn’t just about setting goals. I need to make sure I get them done too. Otherwise, I’m toast!

Posted on Saturday, January 2, 2016

Lessons Of The Year

Why 2015 was my watershed year

To know goodness needs just a taste. Greatness, on the other hand, requires a mastery and a willing soul.

Consider the katana, a Samurai’s sword. It is a confluence of strength, finesse, and deadly artistry. In the right hands, the katana will cut through bone as easily as a razor blade on paper. But what keeps this millennium-old weapon so treasured?

The answer lies in the purest of steel in the hands of highly skilled smelters, smiths, sword blade polishers, and carpenters. To create one katana takes 15 men nearly six months. It is a tedious, patient and meticulous process.

Posted on Thursday, November 19, 2015

5 Pointers Why A Name Is A Lighthouse

Leadership is beyond a position

I sit and ponder on this we call life. What does it mean to live? Why are we alive?

Over the years, I have never tired of watching and reading of great men and women in sports. I scour the internet for clips of their art. Those moments inspire and stir me up to think of what is possible.

One characteristic endures in my heroes. It isn’t just their talent but something they exude from deep inside them. That is humility. Despite their fame and fortune, they remain humble and firmly grounded. They live from the inside and influence their environment.

It was early in the morning. I silently read and re-read the passing on of Jonah Lomu. His life’s clock stopped at 40. I am 40. He was once described as rugby’s version of Muhammad Ali, a heavyweight with global reach.

Posted on Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Being Vulnerable Wins At Leadership

Why you must always lead from your authentic self

I am excited to share this heartfelt post from my friend Dr Faith Ngunjiri. She is the Director, Lorentzsen Center for Faith & Work, and Associate Professor of Leadership and Ethics at Offutt School of Business at Concordia College, in Moorhead, Minnesota. She blogs at Ruminating on Faith.

I have experienced both personal losses and professional failures in my life. As a leader, some of these losses and failures have been publicly visible.

Last year, I grieved through a failed adoption. Two weeks after we had taken a newborn home as her new parents, her birth family asked to have her returned. They wanted to raise her. Not only were we left empty-handed but it also crushed our hearts!

And that wasn’t the end of it. I was to facilitate our monthly leadership luncheon. My dean had announced I wasn’t available for the event as I was away taking care of the newborn. The girl’s picture was even shown to all present!

Over the next several months, I fielded many questions about our newborn. Each time, I had to explain that the adoption had failed all over again. To say this was a painful experience is to grossly understate the case.

Posted on Wednesday, September 23, 2015

How One Frontier Is Inspiring A Revolution

Bringing digital learning into any classroom

It all started with a seemingly innocuous statement, “It can’t be done, not in Africa.” That has inspired an innovation that will change access to online content and education across Africa and the world.

How One Frontier Is Inspiring A Revolution

I was at the launch of the visionary BRCK Education. It provides a holistic education technology solution that turns every classroom into a digital classroom.

And wait for the kicker… BRCK Education is designed and engineered in Nairobi Kenya for African infrastructure and internet needs.

BRCK Education evolved off a solution to provide rugged internet. BRCK is a mobile WiFi device that can go anywhere, do anything and is self-powered. All you have to do is insert a 3G data enabled SIM card in over 140 countries and broadcast a WiFi signal that you can share. Just like that!

Posted on Saturday, September 5, 2015

Goals – My Dreams On A Deadline

5 reasons why goals are in my survival kit

You wake up and think, “Oh my, here’s another day! What am I going to do?” As your brain begins to fire up, the magnanimity of the tasks ahead slam your head back on the pillow.

This was my exact daily morning ritual a couple of years back. I hated my work environment. I would drag myself out of bed, take a long shower and fix a strong coffee.

Routine filled my life. Rather influence my environment, it felt like the routine was sucking the life out of me. For years, what I did drove a major part of my identity, rather than who I am. I was frustrated, angry, tired and confused.

After I quit my job, I did a deep-dive into why I felt and acted the way I did. My discovery was amazing as it was simple. Never at any time had I written down my personal goals. As much as I knew what my vision was, I sabotaged my life by not articulating my goals.