MY NEW YEAR PROMISE

As the Clock turns to another year, memories, resolutions and plans gush through... Like a gift to my thoughts the good memories are packed in my head, giving me a day at a time.. I keep asking myself, just incase I leave, what would my footprints portray, I pat my self on the back and thank God atleast I lived, I loved and like Beyonce would say, "I was here". 

Before I die I shall make sure I lived. Neither will I allow a heartbreak nor a turmoil kill me inside. As I grow older in the outside, I want to be younger on the inside. I shall live for the moment. I shall not regret a speck of my time, for that was my destiny. 

I may not be the likes of Ghandi, nor am I any closer to Mother Teresa, but somewhere, somehow, sometime, I know I touched a life I know I mattered and I know I was loved. 

A long mediation of my past endevours doesn't but make me want to change nothing. If anything, I want to re-live it. Dwelling on regrets of my past fortifies the dark cloud of fear covering my sunny future.

I want to forget all the wrongs I've done and like a new born, start my journey again. 

Happy New Year to all my readers! 

MONEY CAN'T BUY YOU HAPPINESS. SO CAN'T POVERTY.

Dear Readers, this article is written by my beautiful friend Pauline Mtui. She also has a passion in writing like I do.. she will also be posting some articles in time..  Enjoy! 
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There has always been a myth about wealth. It isoften said that money is the root of all evil and that it causes nothing butmisery. It is also a common anthem that Money won’t buy you happiness. What I failto understand is, does it mean that the penniless are happier?

I know I should not generalise, but I cancomfortably say in my humble opinion that this type of gibberish is usuallyuttered by those who have nothing to lose because they have achieved nothing intheir lives whatsoever. It is probably a way of justifying their failedattempts at life if I may say!

The sad reality is that the resultant of poverty is often depression,hostility, anxiety, emotional stress, insecurity and loss of dignity andself-respect. Poverty breeds feelings of failure, despondency,frustration and defeat. It can lead to violence, crime and brokenrelationships. Poverty does no one any good and it takes a toll in society.

On the other hand wealth does not automatically bring happiness, it nonethelessprovides an opportunity for a comfortable living, security and independence.Wealth encourages self-confidence and a feeling of contentment and well-beingat heart. With wealth comes overseas travel, extra leisure time, luxury carsand homes, the finest food and fashion, the best education and so much more.

Money itself won't make you happy but having moneywill provide the freedom to do whatever you want and to live wherever andhowever you want. Some people are fortunate enough to inherit, marry into orwin vast amounts of money. But for the rest of us it comes down to hard workand resourcefulness. As the common saying goes, “it is very expensive to be poor”.


It is high-time we are true to ourselves, the mainreason we all wake up in the morning is not only love and affection or the willto live and die eventually but rather the will to live a comfortable and happylife and that is why we work for it!  Andthat is what waking up in the morning is all about.

KNOW YOUR WORTH

Love is not blind. We just tend to accept the flaws that come with the person you are in love with or the relationship itself. We tend to lie to ourselves that with time maybe things will fall into the right place and all will be well. Others associate love with pain. Love should not painful, love is a beautiful thing and it should be the one thing left in this world that brings you solace and happiness.

As a wise friend of mine would say, “everyone should have principles in life”. This is because once you have principles, only the variables would change but the main idea never changes. The same applies to our LOVE lives. This is only possible once we know our actual worth as individuals.

The wrong choices we make at the initial steps of starting relationships usually haunts us later. Most people especially the women undervalue their true worth to an irritating extent. They tend to put themselves in very compromising situations for example, being the other woman or being abused and beaten just because they love the people who mistreat them. One is left to wonder as to why a person should subject themselves to such demeaning relationships under the umbrella of love.

Are you sure you want to be that other woman that he sees on dark and dingy corners on his way home to his beautiful wife? Are you really that valueless to be the one he hides from everyone? Why shouldn’t you be that person he proudly presents in front of everyone as his wife or girlfriend?

Yes sometimes life circumstances can force you into situations you cannot untangle yourself but, in most cases it is the lack of firm principles that lead people into such compromising situations. At times you see that a man is happily married or committed and you accept to be that other secret third wheel in the relationship. What happens here is that you are neither loved nor needed but rather you are the dispensable one he lures, to complete his insatiable wants.

Next time you think of demeaning yourself into such unfair situations you should remember that:

DO NOT HOLD BACK!

At the sight of seeing how painful it is upon losing a friend to a sudden death, it got me thinking as to how my story would end. I tend to imagine how things will be when my time comes. Would I die a legend or would I be just another number added to the fallen loved ones.  

They say when you are about to die, your whole life flashes in front of you. I wonder what the time-line entails, is it the good things that you did in your life or the bad things that flash by you. Time is a baseless concept at that moment because all that you have lived for is summarised in a concise theatrical manner.

The value of life is priceless because no matter how young a person is, when they leave us, the pain is the same. The series of unfortunate events served me a quick reminder on the value of living life without holding back.

In the pursuit of achieving our dreams we tend to get carried away with the day to day hustles of life forgetting that at some point we all die. We always emphasise on “living for the moment” but are we actually doing that?

 

In life we expect everything to fall in the right place and at the right time. To us, human beings, it is all about time. Time to study, time to have fun, time to love and time to marry but God retains the well-kept secret of time to die.

It is with this reason I would like to share my take on love. Love is not something we just decide to feel. Love should not wait for the right time because when it hits you, you will know! Do not be overpowered by the fear of falling for the right person in the wrong time. That is one thing that shall never wait for the right time because it is always the right time to love.

Once you find that person can “click” with, as the modern youth would phrase it, do not hold back! Even if it means you making the first move just go for it. Do not hold back because you never know when all that wonderful feeling will come to an end.

Emancipate your emotions to run free and experience the sweet side of life. No matter how tough life can get, one thing remains constant, and that is love! As long as you have love by your side, be it towards your family, friends or your soul mate, it is still a wonderful feeling.

The moral of my story:

Let yourself not hold any regrets when it comes to love because it is the very same feeling that makes life worth living.

BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE

Her full figured body with the waist of an hour glass, swinging her hips when she walks with the elegance of a zebra, her big bright beautiful eyes that could light up everyone’s heart, her flawless chocolate coloured skin with a caramelized glaze that makes Cleopatra an ‘average Jane’. Her body is like a mythical wonderland that with just a glance, you disappear into a dream come true of a masterpiece in a gallery of goddesses. With just a smile, her indescribable beauty brings fantasy fiction into reality.

BUT, she is ugly. She is very ugly that if her heart was a place, it would be a dark, deserted lonely place with no signs of life. A very dark cold place that not even a lifeless stone can stand. She feeds on the external attention that she garners by her angelic and flawless façade but indeed her heart resembles the witches of the fairy tales. She forgets that her outer shell is not eternal for it will eventually wear out with age. 

Enough of the Shakespearean analogy, my issue is with regard to the concept of beauty. We all have our preferences of what we term as beautiful people. As human beings, we are very quick to thoughtlessly judge a person just by their physical looks notwithstanding what beholds the inner person. It is more often than not that a better looking person gets it easy in life than a less attractive person due to such convictions.

The outer beauty is a subjective cultural concept that varies with place and time but the inner beauty is a sacred and timeless concept. My above description of a beautiful woman may not be as appealing to others as it may seem. Beautiful people are those that glow from within. They are those that are selfless, loving, caring, honest and kind towards others. Beautiful people may not possess star like looks but their hearts are priceless and their quality is timeless.

Moral of my story:

You can always buy outer beauty but there isn’t a shop in the world where you can walk in and find humility on display. 

A CHECKLIST FOR RAMADHAN

1. Ask Allah to enable you to reach Ramadan and to get the most out of it as the Salaf (early generation of pious people) used to do. 

2. Intend to fast every day with Iman and pure intention seeking the reward from Allah alone. The Prophet peace be upon him said, “Whoever fasts in Ramadan with Iman and seeking reward (from Allah) his past sins will be forgiven”. (Bukhari) 

3. Read the whole Qur’an at least once as the Prophet peace be upon him did. 

4. Have Suhoor as the Prophet peace be upon him said, “Have Suhoor because it is blessed”.

5. Make Du’a during the fast because the Prophet peace be upon him said that three people’s supplication is not rejected one of them is the fasting person. Ask for the good of this life and the next for yourself, your family and Muslims in general.

6. Make Dua before opening the fast. The Prophet peace be upon him said, “The fasting person has a supplication that is answered when he opens his fast”.

7. Give Sadaqah and be good to people. The Prophet peace be upon him was the most generous of people and he was most generous in Ramadan.

8. Avoid anything that diminishes the fast such as, lying, backbiting, cheating, getting angry. The Prophet peace be upon him said “Whoever does not give up false statements (i.e. telling lies), and evil deeds, and speaking bad words to others, Allah is not in need of his (fasting) leaving his food and drink.” [Bukhari] 

9. Do not eat too much after Iftar.

10. Ask for forgiveness since this is the month Allah frees people from the fire.

11. Pray At-Tarawih with Khushoo. If you pray in the Masjid complete the Salah with the Imam. If you pray at home prolong the Salah as long as you can. The Prophet peace be upon him said, “Whoever prays during Ramadan with Iman and seeking reward (from Allah) his past sins will be forgiven”.

12. Feed the poor and invite others for Iftar. The Prophet peace be upon him said, “Whoever gives Iftar to someone fasting he will have the same reward without decreasing the reward of the person fasting”.

13. Try harder the last ten nights especially the odd nights. The prophet would strive in Ramadan more than he would in any other month and more so in the last ten days.

14. Say this Dua in the nights that Laitul-Qadr is likely to fall on: Allhumma innaka afuwun tuhibbul-afwa fa’fu anni (O Allah you are Forgiving and love forgiveness so forgive me).

15. Ask Allah to accept all your good actions during this month.

O you who believe, fasting is decreed for you, as it was decreed for those before you, that you may attain salvation. (Quran, 2:183)


For more information on Islamic insights visit: http://islamicthinking.tumblr.com/

A LETTER TO MY LIFE

It is in the dead of the night and an endless train of thoughts gush in making the noises in my head unbearable forcing me to wake up and put them in writing. At this moment my mind is at liberty of making so many life plans and aspirations. In my head I can do anything and I can become anything. The level of my determination is untameable at this juncture. 

With optimism in abundance, my will to succeed is larger than life itself, with my hope bigger than the Taj Mahal, the career path all laid out like a treasure map to the promised land with detours of a few holiday stops and personal rewards here and there.Like an exotic food recipe my future is all spiced up with great plans of having a cool corner office and a booming career, a small beautiful family and a great life full laughter and happiness.

Just as I was picking the theme colour of my dream house, the dogs outside start barking and disrupt my wishful thinking… Oh! How I wish my wishful aspirations would come true relieving me of all time I spend desiring. I know I am not alone in this for everybody deep inside believes in wanting to do something and be somebody someday. The difference is that some of us just build castles in the air and it ends there whilst others are insatiably driven by the wishes to put them into reality.

Even the great Gandhi said “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. Indeed it does because we all have to start somewhere. My biggest dream is to one day sit on this same spot and write about how I managed to make it all happen, how I managed to put my wishes into reality. And that day I will look back and afford to say the famous procedural tag line “it’s just like yesterday!”

I believe that God has set default destiny to everyone’s life however when it comes to us as individuals our lives are like a piece of cloth that we can tailor it to our liking by determination and faith. We only have wishes because we believe that one day they will come true.

Like any other young woman, I face so many hurdles and challenges in my journey but I take them as mere speed bumps to make sure I take the right turns and stop on the right spots. When I fall, I dust myself and get back up knowing better on how to avoid it next time. We all need something to hold on to when things are tough. Well, with me, my writings are my motivation.

I find solace when I share my thoughts in writing because they remind me where I come from and where I am going telling me I deserve to be where I am, it is okay to be wrong, it’s okay to not be perfect and it’s okay to lose sometimes. Losing motivation is like losing faith because only when you have a strong reason to do something will you be able to do it regardless of the setbacks you encounter.

At the start it may seem impossible and rejections may be inevitable. But I will not give up, I will not accept to be average and I will not give anyone the prerogative to bring me down and demean me. I know if God could get me here then I can go even further and even if I don't get there, at least I reached here! Thus I dare to be true to myself and accept nothing short of greatness as my destiny. 

From the most determined part of my heart, 

Yours truly, 

The Dreamer.

P.S 
I have dedicated my time to write this article as a special note to all my special friends and my good readers who have dreams and aspirations just like I do. 

BEING THE BIGGER PERSON

In any conflict there is always the wrong and the wronged one. Through our trials and tribulations in life, most of us have been through both situations. In any heated altercation there is that urge to retaliate just to make sure we have the last say and prove that we are right. Not everyone likes being on the losing end especially in arguments that are just alleged against them.

Indeed it hurts inside when allegations are lodged against you for something you have not done. The burning rage and anger may sometimes compel you to do things that you may regret greatly at a later time, especially when proving your innocence is next to impossible.

One of the strongest and best characters one can have is that mere ability to conquer one’s heart and be the bigger person in a conflict. People can be unfair to you, lodge allegations against you, try to point out all the wrong things you have ever done and forget the good in you. But this does not mean you have to go prove to the whole world that you are not that person.

I do not dispute the fact that such advice is easier said than actually done however, as human beings, we should always try to seek harmony at hard times by reminding each other on the things that make the world a better place.

The best portrait of yourself is what you paint in your head and not what other people think. Yes it matters in some aspects because we don’t live in a vacuum. We live in a society where such encounters are inevitable. The best way to deal with such challenges is first of all is to master the ability being able to accept who you are and dealing with it.

Sometimes people do or say things with the intention to hurt us and when we show them that we are angry and hurt they feel victorious since they will have managed to achieve what they intended to do. Thus the best way to deal with such situations is being the bigger person and apologise if need be or just walk away and keep quiet. Keeping quiet or walking away from an argument does not make you any less of the person you are but rather the stronger one who managed to halt the altercation. Being the bigger person often demonstrates your strength in character and personality.

As much as revenge would seem the best idea on people who hurt us, at times it only makes us the very people we despise. It is best to sometimes just let go and let them be. In reality such vile people are very weak at heart and only feel good by tarnishing others' images. Thus one should not give them the benefit of winning by stooping to their wicked level just because of vengeance. Don't let such little people capture your attention, sometimes ignoring them is the best vengeance you can ever offer them.

LEARNING TO LET GO

Love is not something you just decide to feel, it is a natural feeling that hits you when the time is right. When we are in love, the feeling is almost eternal in that we tend to think nothing can break us apart. The feelings are sometimes so strong they border on hate, resulting to endless arguments when our loved ones happen to do contrary to what we desire or expect. The heart is at its most fragile that with a slight misunderstanding, feelings can be triggered greatly.

We all have that one person we can be ourselves around, that one person we talk to about everything and anything without the fear of being judged. That one person you are comfortable to confront whenever you feel that things are not right. Arguments are healthy in a relationship; they spice up the relationship to cook up a perfect journey of two people who learn to live with each other through hard and good times. But we all know sometimes, too much of anything is harmful. When there are more of arguments than serenity it defeats the purpose of being in-love.

It is unfortunate that some differences are irreconcilable leaving the parties with no any other option than parting ways. Going through a break can be a very tough thing, this is because letting go of our past relationships is a difficult process overpowered by anger, guilt, fear of moving on and sometimes the fear of being alone. Despite all the different reasons, the hurt is the same.

Love should not be an annoying contest entailing constant fights because you never know when you are busy giving endless chances to that one person who constantly hurts you, there is someone out there yearning to please you. Love and respect should come as a package. You don’t love someone if you don’t respect their feelings. You only know someone is not worth of your time if they keep abusing the privilege of forgiveness from you constantly.   

It is easier said than done when people commonly tell each other “if you love me let me go” …of course I love you and that is why I don’t want to let you go! However, sometimes the best thing to do is to move on and forget about the past because that is where it belongs. Holding on to it is being unfair to yourself and those who are worthy of your time and affection. 

A note to remember: 

  We all have our battles to encounter but we only take up arms for the ones worth fighting for. 

THE LACK OF MOTIVATION IS LACK OF AMBITION

Have you ever experienced a situation where you totally lack the drive to go on with whatever you are doing whether it is school or work or just life in general? That unpleasant feeling where things have gotten so tough yet you have neither the drive nor the motivation to do whatever you are supposed to do!

The only option you have is to compose yourself and do it or otherwise you fail. Well, we all have that one thing in our hearts which gives us the drive to wake up in the morning and fulfil our purpose in life. There are however some who may not feel the same way since whatever or whoever the influence was, is no longer there thinking they have nothing to lose.

We ought to remember that just as everybody came alone in this world, so shall the exit be. At the end of the day your life is all about you. You may have a family that you love, friends who care about you, a partner who cannot live without but when it comes to your life, you should know that you stand alone because with a blink of an eye all that may vanish leaving you alone.

Growing up, my only challenge was to make my parents happy by excelling in everything. Since their happiness is my solace I did everything to make sure I achieved that, which also included working so hard in school and being good at what I do. 

As time progressed however,school life ended and despite having my loved ones on my side, life is no longer all about excelling in school and going home with that impressive report making my parents happy. Now I have to attend to more pressing matters than just that report card I always worked hard for. It was all too overwhelming to realize that now it is all about me as an individual and no longer as a family package attached to my parents. They did all that as a catalyst to bring out the best in me to shape up my future. It is now up to me and only me to be whatever I want to be in this life. Of course, God has his plans in store for us but he doesn't expect us to sit there and wait for that good job or that lifestyle of our dreams to fall from the sky.

The moral of my story is that before we start complaining that we lack the motivation and drive to do whatever we have to do to succeed we should remember that we are not living on behalf of somebody else. These are just mental role models to catalyse our pursuit to greatness. That opportunity you are wasting may be the only chance you have to be whatever you want to be in your life.

Note: 

 Lacking motivation is lacking ambition.

YIELDING MOTIVATION FROM "Haters"

Have you ever wondered why and how you made the cut to survive in this world till today? Well, considering you have no any special contract with God to survive to date but you still are, there must be a purpose of your existence. Everyone and everything in this world has a reason to be there and indeed not behind everyone’s presence is there a great story to be told. Others exist for the greater good whilst others are there, not for the wrong reasons but rather to shape and motivate others’ lives.

I don’t think ‘haters’ (as we loosely refer to them) is the right word to use when we refer to ‘not-so-good’ people we encounter in our lives. Perhaps the right word should be motivators. Yes motivators, because on my opinion I think we should appreciate having such challenging characters in our lives. This is because it is undeniable that most of us are where we are today because we either strived to prove a point to some ‘motivator’ who told or made us feel that we can’t make it, or, are where we are because we were at some point driven by a positive vengeance to become greater personalities, instead of confronting our ‘motivators’ who hurt us at some point.

Imagine how disheartened a performer feels when singing in a big stage without an audience. Drawing such an analogy to our lives, I believe we all need an audience to heckle or cheer us up as we perform in this show called life. Motivation sometimes comes in the weirdest of ways, sometimes the worst people we meet in our lives can bring out the best in us. We may not notice at the time we encounter them but the things they teach us along the way make us look back and sometimes be thankful we ever met them.

Indeed it hurts when we are unfairly done unto, bullied, bad mouthed or oppressed.  But life is not all about fairness, even in an exam, you sometimes perform your best when you learn the hard way. Thus life is like an endless exam with a few rewards here and there. Not even a motivational speaker or a life coach can push you to the limits you can achieve when the drive to succeed comes from a vengeful place in your heart. This is what we refer to as a positive vengeance!

On this note that we acknowledge the contribution of the not-so-accommodative people we have encountered in our lives. They touch our lives in a rather magical way that we always treasure unconsciously. We may not see the impact of how much their presence in our lives mean to us but it is worth noting the lessons they teach us in the process. The question to ask yourself is what is the purpose of your life to you and to others? Are you to be remembered for the best or for your fortunately failed attempt of demotivating others turned positive?

OWNING UP TO YOUR MISTAKES

Everybody makes mistakes and it is common to expect an immediate apology when one is wronged. The issue is on the other end when it comes to accepting that one is wrong. It is common human behaviour to feel defensive and self-righteous at times. What we overlook is that not taking responsibility of our mistakes is yet another big mistake. This is because in a community be it a social or any formal setting we are bound to clash whether in a minor or major way and to overcome this inevitable outcome we need to own up to our mistakes sometimes because an apology never killed anyone.

Sometimes one’s ego will never let them step down and accept they were wrong because they either feel what they did was the right thing or they feel that they can fix whatever they have done without apologising. We all have gone through that feeling at some point where deep inside you feel wrong but the mind tells you what you are doing is right.

Sometimes climbing up the corporate ladder for instance, is not only attributed to an attractive CV and expertise but also little details like character. And that is why some people never progress because trivial things like not accepting your flaws can demonstrate a weak character which may be the hindrance of one’s development in many ways.

It is not uncommon to find people denying they were wrong by apportioning the blame to others and coming up with a million reasons. I believe a true leader is the one who owns up to their mistakes and takes responsibility of their actions. This does not make anyone lesser of what they are but rather it manifests a strong character who can take criticism constructively which is a key ingredient if one wants to live harmoniously with others.

By saying this I don’t mean that one should be docile and submit to apologising at impulse because this is also a weak trait if I may say. Once people realise that you are a submissive character they may abuse the opportunity. But when we are genuinely wrong, there is no harm to own up to our mistakes and apologise because life is a journey that no one has it all figured out, we learn so many things in the process and accepting our mistakes is one of the lessons.

Life is not a story we write on a piece of paper erasing anything we desire at will. We cannot undo anything we have done but we can always try to make things right by sometimes accepting that what we did was not right. Growing up we can never understand the importance of little things like an apology but as we progress and experience the repercussions like losing friends, losing a job, a bad vengeance or even ending up with a bad image in the society is when we realize the importance of accepting we are wrong sometimes. As the famous saying goes:

“It is only an error in judgement to make a mistake, but it shows infirmity of character to adhere to it when discovered.”

A MESSAGE TO MY FATHER.

There are so many good things I would want to say about my father, 

There are so many ways I would want to show him what he means to me, 

There are so many prayers I would want to make for him to live longer, 

There are so many ways I would want to return the favours he did to me, 

But nothing I can ever do will explain how much I love him and what he means to me.

At my failed attempt of composing a poem just to explain how much my father means to me, I came to realize that the feeling is indescribable. I was fortunate enough to grow up in the presence of my father, I must say it was one of the best favours that God ever granted me. To me, everyday that God grants me, is another Father's an Mother's day because I cannot recall a second of my life that goes by without the feeling of gratefulness towards my father and my mother. 

A father need not be a biological one but even that father figure in your life is still your father. We all have different personal experiences as to how our parents have touched our lives and sadly some have not been fortunate enough to have their fathers and mothers in their lives either due to death or separation and the like. But the fact remains the same that regardless of the time or distance, the moments that you have shared or are sharing with your parents are the ones that should be cherished. I could say I have the best father in the world, but everybody's father is their best father because he is the only one they can ever have.

I could take a whole day narrating the moments I have shared with my father and how much he has sacrificed to shape me into what I am today but to make the story short, I attribute every proud moment and milestones of my life to him because today I am a proud young woman in so many ways thanks to God who made him my father. 

Before I take up the whole day cherishing this moment, I think I should end here and give my father a call just to hear that voice which always gives me my life back when I am down, that voice which always tells me which way to go when I am lost and that voice which always proves to me there is love in this world even when I have lost faith in it. Fathers day is just another cultural and commercialised day to acknowledge fathers but my urge is to take everyday as fathers and mothers day to appreciate and thank God for having them in our lives.

To my father with love,

Tanisah. 

ENDURING MOMENTS

There is that dark moment in your life when you feel everything around has broken down. To a point where you have reached rock bottom, the darkest moment of your life where no one but you understand how you feel.  Nothing can get worse than how things are and the best your loved ones can do is feel sorry for you and try to understand what you are going through.  

That moment where you have nowhere to turn to, the only option you have is to endure the moment. We all face those moments at some point of our lives with every scenario different from another, be it losing a loved one, an argument, a wrong step taken, an embarrassing moment, a mistake done or a job lost. These are feelings that cannot be generalised into one sort since everybody has their threshold of pain and their intensity of endurance.

The feeling is so bad it compels you to feel like you are of no purpose in this world and at times, for the faint hearted, suicidal thoughts start creeping up their minds. What we fail to remember at this point is that we are neither the first nor the last to have made such mistakes or endured such pain and that such situations only test and strengthen our humility.

Regardless of one’s age, growing up is an inevitable process which entails not only the physical and emotional progression but also a learning process in which mistakes are bound to be made and situations are bound to be faced along the way.

Our lives are our legacies as individuals, thus we should be the authors and the judges of our stories. Making mistakes or enduring a painful moment is just another part of the process, there is not a divine person in this world neither does anyone live in a bubble immune of the challenges of life. If anything, we need the bad moments in our lives to appreciate the good ones while they last as the famous quote goes: 

"Love the moment. For even flowers grow out of dark moments. Therefore, each moment is vital. It affects the whole. Life is a succession of such moments and to live each, is to succeed."

THE AUTHOR OF 'Life & You' - A MOMENT WITH COSTANTINE MAGAVILLA

We are all influenced by something or someone at some point in our lives and as human beings; we all have a past, be it good or bad. Everyone has experiences to share with others, as one of my friends put it, the question is "to which audience are you narrating your story."

There are many great people in this world who have done great philanthropic things that have influenced many but sometimes you may not need the likes of Gandhi, or Nyerere to move you. It may be anyone. And that is how this brilliant Author I came across falls in the picture.  

Growing up I had many dreams and writing was never one them. When it came to literature, my interest was being a reader and that is where it ended. The most writing I did was the compulsory school essays! However, after coming across some very interesting and motivational literature authored by a very brilliant guy by the name of Costantine Magavilla, the author of the book "Life & You - a guided journey through self" and his many other articles, things changed. 

I must say, prior to meeting him in person, I always visualised him as an older and very experienced person in the realm of life as a whole. But I was even more impressed after realizing that he was no superhero but just a normal smart, focused, outspoken and very optimistic young man who used his life experiences to motivate others. 

I was impressed because his motivational efforts through his writings and speeches taught me that in this world one can be whatever they want to be regardless of their age or experience, quoting from one of his remarkable notes: "The legacy you leave is the legacy you live." Thus in acknowledging his influence on the youth as a writer and a motivational speaker, I asked for a few minutes of his time to interview him with regard to his career as a writer and a motivational speaker and this is how it went: 

Qn: what inspired/compelled you to become a writer? was it a life long dream or it just happened as a good coincidence?

Ans: I have always been a passionate communicator having my roots in public speaking and debate. Writing has enabled me to further my life-long dream of communicating with purpose.

Qn: Do you consider writing as an alternative career or a side hobby?

Ans: It has become an alternative career over time as it has evolved into motivational writing and speaking, which is something I am quite keen on building on professionally.

Qn: As a youthful motivational writer/speaker, your aim seems to be to influence the youth into some form of emancipation of self. You even impressively coined a new phrase, 'Magavillaism' which stands for your ideology. How do you think you can achieve that devoid of the prevalent circumstances?

Ans: I will continue to use every opportunity I get to share the learnings I gather in life; life is a great teacher only if we allow ourselves to learn from it. Every time I share my experiences, I am humbled by how similar we are as a people; we just need to be more candid and giving of ourselves and we can truly make a difference.

Qn: What do you envision yourself doing in say 5 years to come?

Ans: I see myself doing more communication and consultation work in personal/ social development; I want to be of service to my people.

Qn: Have you ever considered becoming a politician? (because you seem to have very revolutionary ideas which will be well received with the general public)

Ans: Becoming a politician as in running for a public office; no.

Qn: What advice do you have to young people aspiring to prosper like you?

Ans: The challenges of life should never be a cause for regret or remorse but rather fuel that burns your drive to live the best life you can; I always say that rejection has been the source of my conviction. Young people should take control of life and have confidence in what they believe in and focus on the target by taking decisions that reflect their longer term desires.

Qn: What challenges have you faced from the public as a young writer considering much of what you write is inspirational and motivational, of which by the norm of our African societies, such wisdom usually stem from the older generation?

Ans: I had a lot of doubting Toms around me. My belief is simply one: any experience, when communicated well, is worth sharing. We are all authorities of our lives and that is what my work aims to do - get people to see that they are the authority or reference of last resort in their lives.

Qn: What are your future plans with regard to your attempts to help the Tanzanian Youth? have you ever considered opening an institution to manage their dreams and stir them to prosper as you motivate them?

Ans: In my past life, I was involved in setting up youth groups/initiatives (i.e. ISWT, TYVA & YUNA to name a few) that have since nurtured great talent in Tanzania and am currently exploring communication platforms that will help me reach and help as many people as is possible.

Qn: In your book, 'Life & You - a guided journey through self' you have brilliantly authored a motivational story, leaving your audience wanting more from you. Does it end there, are we to expect another book?

Ans: My first book was a foundation book based on reflections gathered in my life over a period of 5 years. A lot has happened in my life in the 4 years after I authored my first book in 2007. Whether it merits another book, will be seen soon God willing.

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Thank you very much for taking your time to insight me and my audience on your plans and aspirations. For more information on his book and articles you can visit: http://magavilla.com