Mildred Munjanganja's blog

Wise Words By Colin Powell

The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve.
Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity.
An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with
negative thinking and negative acting people.
As you grow, your associates will change.
Some of your friends will not want you to go on.
They will want you to stay where they are.
Friends that don't help you climb will want you to crawl.
Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream.
Those that don't increase you will eventually decrease you.

Consider this:
Never receive counsel from unproductive people.
Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to
the solution, because those who never succeed themselves are always
first to tell you how.
Not everyone has a right to speak into your life.
You are certain to get the worst of the bargain when you exchange
ideas with the wrong person.
Don't follow anyone who's not going anywhere.

With some people you spend an evening: with others you invest it.
Be careful where you stop to inquire for directions along the road of
life.
Wise is the person who fortifies his life with the right friendships.
If you run with wolves, you will learn how to howl. But, if you
associate with eagles, you will learn how to soar to great heights.
"A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown
by the kind of friends he chooses."
The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with
whom you closely associate - for the good and the bad.

Note: Be not mistaken.
This is applicable to family as well as friends.
Yes...do love, appreciate and be thankful for your family, for they
will always be your family no matter what.
Just know that they are human first and though they are family to
you, they may be a friend to someone else and will fit somewhere in
the criteria above.

"In Prosperity Our Friends Know Us.
In Adversity We Know Our Friends."

"Never make someone a priority when you are only an option for them."

"If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the
habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a
prevailing attitude.".......................Colin Powell

The shades of the world.

I had an unpleasant experience – I am not cut out for this – but my genetic deposition demands that I rise above it, so rise above it I did.  I asked myself 2 questions: what have I learnt from this experience? And how can I grow from this? The color of my world is unchanged.  I had a boyfriend who for years was puzzled at my view of the world “life is not as rosy as you make it Mildred”, “one day something will happen to you and you will stop thinking things are so perfect”, “you have to stop assuming good of everything and realize that %$#* happens”.  I never once doubted what he said, but my theory on life is rather different.  The world is whatever shade you paint it in – your perception of things; your views are what make your world.  You choose to be happy, you choose to be at peace – no-one can take choice away from you.

 

Imagine 2 prisoners, both in the same camp subjected to the same torture: one is happy and spends all his time finding ways to keep his sanity and joy.  The other is miserable, focusing always on his plight and how he can die.  Which prisoner are you? If you lost your job today, would you lament at how unfair life was or would you take it as an opportunity for change.  It’s all about perception.

 

So I woke up this morning like most mornings and stepped outside, smelt the air and thought – I love this life, I would not trade it for the world.  I have a middle toe smaller than the rest and I love it! I have freckles on my back and they are me.  Every flaw in my being is where it’s supposed to be. I can forgive anyone of anything because I am not perfect.  For me each day is about constant improvement – how can I leave things better than I found them? I have a pair of eyes that allow me to see the world through lens of change and hope.

 

So take this away with you, you are master of your own thoughts and feelings and the world is what you make it – it’s your world – love it!

How to become a great speaker.

You are a great speaker! No matter what anybody says.  Think about it, you spend all day babbling about things of no consequence, then when you are confronted by a camera or a large group of people, you brain fools you  into believing there is a problem.

What can you do to become a great speaker:

1. Brain plasticity: Your brain grows and adapts in response to change - so if you apply frequency, intensity and duration to any application after a while your brain will change to accommodate what it has learnt.  Our brains are also receptive to mood and the messages we feed them - so a positive attitude will do wonders for your brain growth.

2. Know your content: there is nothing worse than listening to someone who clearly has no clue what they are talking about.  If you make yourself familiar with the subject matter, it makes it easy to respond to any question asked about the subject.

3. Humor: Whern you make people smile, they like you immediately.  Humor is instrumental in making you calm down - your heart rate slows down, you find yourself smiling and your audience start to smile with you.

4. Passion: Be passionate about what you are talking about.  People will find you believable and more exciting to listen to when you apply passion.

5. Look great: I realize this is my remeby to everything:-) but it works.  When you look great, you feel great and something happens to your posture. Whatever image you are trying to portray can be achieved or destroyed by your attire.

6. Arrive on time, take deep breaths, remember you are only speaking to another human being and have fun.

TV can be tricky - at times you may have a live presentation where you actually get to speak to an anchor standing in front of you, then at other times, it;s a little different. My ABC appearance was...different.  I had to speak to a camera and respond to a voice plugged into my ear - there was a small delay in sound transmission and I could not see what was being shown on the screen - so it was tough.  

All great speakers started somewhere, so I plan on doing a better job next time, till then, enjoy....

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How to kill the competition.

I have observed our competition over the years and it has come to my attention that they will do anything to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.  Now you have to pay attention - the process is rather involved:

1. Determine who is your biggest competition.

2. Observe the calendar to determine the most opportune time to launch your campaign.

3. Look for the most blood clogging, cholesterol building, heart disease causing cookies on the market. 

4. Remove the food label that highlights exactly how many calories are in each cookie and buy enough to feed an army.

5. Buy expensive packaging and a nice card.

6. Write a nice message to the competition - something along the lines of a prosperous year.

7. Ship package and card to competition and wait for their demise.

Its a rather interesting process to observe - the cookies arrive and the scramble begins - what appears to be a nice gesture from the competition is consumed amid laughter and joy.

Minutes later a string of complaints begins: 'my head hurts', 'I have a stomach ache', 'I feel so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open' ' can I leave early today' among other not-so positive sentiments.

Before you know it, the competition has lost one productive day of business and you have won what is called 'the competitive edge'.

How to recover from anything!

1. Look good - I mean 'finger licking'; 'traffic halting' 'powerful' good! 

I have been in the waiting room at my doctors office and its truly a site for sorry eyes.  Everyone looks like their waiting for a death sentence.  I agree, you may not feeling your level best but it will not help your mental state to walk around in scrubs.  I challenge you to use your first strength of the day to look like you would if all was well in your world.

2. Get a massage - there is a great place called Casbah Spa across the Galleria mall in fort Lauderdale, it's heaven in a box.  The atmosphere is lovely, the service is great - it's a bit expensive but worth it - you may consider taking advantage of all those Christmas certificates you received - they go a long way.  If that's not an option, nature is your next best thing: go to the beach, stand outside early in the morning and breath the air before its tainted by activity.  Just do something that will make you feel like an angel.

3. Buy yourself a pair of crocs! I know - they have to be the ugliest shoes under the sun, but they are the most comfortable.   Yes, you can wear ugly shoes and still look good!

4. Laugh like you've never been hurt! Sing like no-one is listening - Dance.  In your heart, in your mind, in the very core of your being.  I would recommend reaching out to a higher power.  Whomever it is you believe in - I believe in God's devine intervention and have been helped by a lot of prayers, bible verses and unwavering faith.  

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4. Spend time with your favorite boy. This has to be a boy you trust, who is unquestionably nice to you, supports you and believes in you.  You can pick anywhere from your boyfriend, spouse, father, brother, best-friend - it really does not matter.  Just pick a boy.  Boys have a way of complimenting you and making you feel special that no woman can.  I can see all the women in my life snarling as they read this - but its true ladies and you know it! 

5. Make your office space ergonomic and Feng Shui. My office walls are red and eggshell yellow - its bizarre, but its me.  Its important that wherever you spend the bulk of your day is designed in such away to make you and the people you host in your space happy.

I really could go on - there are so many 'pick me ups' that work for different people, you just have to know what works for you.  I would say read anything by Marian Keyes, watch the movie Attonement, eat healthy, stay as active as you possibly can [swimming everyday has worked wonders for me], talk to intelligent people, don't listen to self-proclaimed doctors, say yes to invitations [do not become a social hermit], help other people in any way you can, it takes the focus off you - just do things.  Its amazing how the power of the mind can make you recover from anything and in no time you will feel like a million bucks.  P.S. how does a million bucks actually feel? 

A woman must always have...

Madibas Fungi Midhu

I have been fortunate to have a life replete with amazing women around me at different phases of my life - ranging from my mother, to my cousin Shuvai, my sister/friend Phinola, my life long friend Rudo, my little nightmares - Babs & Tiffani to name a few.  Today I pay tribute to a woman who holds a very special place in my heart: Fungai.

She is radiant - when she walks in a room, her presence is felt, not only for a beauty that is second to none nor for her slender model figure or astonishing height, but her aura.  You sense an air of confidence coupled with a hint of humility.  You see right away the laughter in her eyes and her calming presence beckons you to relax.

With a strong background in journalism and finance, she has conquered Rhodes Univeristy and shocked wall-street.  Whether she is discussing foriegn affairs or quoting the commodity market - you quickly realize that her intellect far exceeds her youth. 

She is truth itself.  A woman I can speak to about anything! We have laughed together, cried together, vowed to conquere the world together, failed, gotten up and tried again.  I can only be greatful for having this kind of influence in my life.  We never allow each other to be idle - constantly challenging each other to find areas where we can grow. Seeking ways to acheive academic excellence, emotional balance, spiritual growth, physical presence, career highs, integrity, victory in relationships among other things.  We open up about things we would frankly rather not tell a soul and have grown to become a force to be reckoned with.

Fungai, I thank you!  I thank you for the times when you never said a word and allowed me to speak till my throat was raw.  I thank you for allowing me to see your vulnerabilities - trusting that I would keep them safe and never judge you.  I thank you for the truth you told when I never wanted to hear it, for the disagreements we've had, the hopes, the dreams and the un-wavering support.  I thank you for accepting me the way I am - we've abused t'mobile's mobile to mobile minutes talking about things that involve no-one but ourselves, the women we want to become and the steps we need to take to do it.   We've helped each other define what it means for us to be noble women, we've rejected society's labels and limitations and daily encourage each other to see beyond what we have acheived to what is still out there for us.  Above all else, I thank you for the laughter, the glee - my world is painted with colors so bright I sometimes feel like I live on a rainbow.  You've helped to paint that world - I thank you!

And this I feel, is what every woman must have....

We must discard the idea...

We must discard the idea that past routine, past ways of doing things are probably the best ways.

On the contrary, we must assume that there is probably a better way to do almost everything.

We must stop assuming that a thing which has never been done before probably cannot be done at all.

-Donald M. Nelson