7 Power Statements for the week

Posted on February 22, 2012 by rshumba

1. If ever you are not understood then check whether the audience was listening or you simply spoke complex jargon above their heads. You can adjust the complexity and relevance of what you are delivering but it maybe hard to adjust the audience’s attitude towards listening. Listening is an art which is as important as speaking. In this world, we need more listeners than talkers.

2. You are always wired to behave according to the way you think others think of you not according to who you really are. Take time to reset the wiring to see yourself for who you are and can become. Change your way of thinking and you will soon change your life positively.

3. Refusal to change with the times is giving change the license to erase you from the mainstream of progress. Extinction is the reward that dinosaurs received and now they only appear in museums.

4. There is always one thing left to do after you have tried and failed. Just try again one more time. You are not judged on how many times you tried. You are judged on whether you decided to give up the fight.

5. It is good to be concerned with your immediate surroundings and what they demand of you. It is even more important to use your mental binoculars to see yourself in the future. If you can create a vivid mental picture of what can be then you will start walking towards your destiny with greater confidence and boldness.

6. The mentality that says we need to pull others down in order to appear like the more progressive and successful deserves to be condemned. Success is sweeter if you take others up the ladder with you. Take a moment and think of ONE person you can help discover their purpose. Life becomes a worthwhile journey.

7. No, don’t say ‘It’s impossible’. Say ‘noone has done it yet’. Whenever you call something hard or impossible, that will suddenly become the ceilimg for your mind. You begin to see more impossibility.

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7 Practical Steps Towards High Achievement

Posted on February 3, 2012 by rshumba

Below is a summary of this presentation which’ I did on the 24 the of January 2012 at Food for Thought hosted by US Embassy Public Affairs.

You can click here to  download the full PowerPoint Presentation

To become a high achiever and leave a legacy:

1. Have a DRIVE to INNOVATE and IMPLEMENT

It is wasteful to claim that you are innovative when the ideas never see the light of day. Implementation separates winners from wishful thinkers.

2. STRIVE  for EXCELLENCE

Anyone can achieve mediocrity, the few who dare to be excellent will always be successful. Your results (output) must speak for you in your absence.

3. THRIVE through NETWORKS

The resources you will ever need in life are hidden in the networks that you will intentionally build. You are not in a network just for you to gain but to give of your time, finances, intellect, experiences etc.

4. BELIEVE in & MENTOR OTHERS

People with a legacy mindset realize that they can increase their reach and influence beyond present generations just by taking time to pass on what they know to those around. You are never too busy to bring someone up.

5. GIVE a SOLUTION

You will succeed in life when you master the art of bringing efficiencies where there is inefficiency; and solutions where there are challenges.Opportunities for success are hidden in the multitude of challenges in any given environment.

6. REVIVE a sense of COMMUNITY

People who awaken communities to unite towards making this world a better place will always have their names resonating beyond the present generation.

7. SURVIVE under DISCIPLINE

It takes a high level of discipline to develop a world class athlete.It takes an even higher level of discipline to build a successful character or business.

You can click here to  download the full PowerPoint Presentation

Angeline Chiwonerwa gives a powerful & precise talk. She is product of the Rabison Shumba Mentorship Program

Part of the crowd that attended Food for Thought

 

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7 Professional Development Nuggets

Posted on January 17, 2012 by rshumba

1. We may not all be entrepreneurs but we can all work for someone somewhere. The same effort and discipline you would use in your own business is the same amount you should put in someone else’s dream. The day you decide to launch yours, you will be better experienced and equipped to make the dream a definite success.

2. Many truncate their success in the workplace by turning it into a playground. Employers deserve your total commitment for the time you agreed to work for them. It may call for you to cut away any weight that lowers your productivity. Your excellence in delivery is all your employer needs.

3. There is a significant shift from promoting people for hard work to promotion based purely on delivery. We are in a zone where through innovation people will shed less sweat and yet achieving the incredible.

4. It is wisdom to get a job not just for the financial rewards it promises but more importantly for the exposure and lessons you are bound to get. You are better of gaining what you can’t lose than be happy for a season.

5. If you hate your boss, job and company you work for then it maybe time to quit. Wisdom says you cannot quit unless you have an alternative. The last place you want to be is where you select the next job as a way of escape and out of desperation. You maybe the problem you are running away from. Check why you detest them closely.

6. It is misappropriation of your creative power to find means and ways to avoid your key results areas. Those are the very areas by which you are promoted or demoted. You don’t create your own deliverables in the name of ‘taking initiative’ unless you exhaust the given expectations.

7. It is robbery to do your own personal business during your employer’s time. You can not run your business at someone else’s cost. Failure to observe this is tantamount to sowing similar seeds whose fruit you will contend with when you employ others. You definitely reap more than what you sow.

Bonus:

Employers place a higher priority on attitude and commitment than skill. They have noticed that it is a lot easier to train someone to become skilful than change the attitude of a skilled employee. Customers usually come into contact with attitudes before they interface with the products and services. A positive attitude creates great prospects for growth.

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7 Inspirations for this week

Posted on January 11, 2012 by rshumba

1. If you want to avoid a life of criticism and constant scrutiny then sit back and absolutely nothing. However, the world has enough people doing nothing even about the problems they face. You rather face the wrath of bystanders while you step put to make a positive difference

2. It is time to break new ground. It is time to come up with ideas that have never seen before. Don’t limit yourself to what already is. Create a new path, a new product, a new phrase. Thomas Edison did not spend time improving on the candle, he started a new idea. May witty inventions be attributed to your name.

3. Conform not to standards and status quo around you. Don’t follow the trends, rather set a new standard. A frog will never jump out of water as heat is applied because it thinks that it’s fashionable to adapt to temperatures around until it is cooked. You are not ordinary. You are royal by nature. Step up your game.

4. Far too many times we concern ourselves with issues which are not addressed to us leaving us with very little time to achieve in the areas we are measured on. It’s not how busy you are that matters, it’s how much relevant business you can do in a given time that counts. Make it a point to Mind and Manage Your Own Business and see how productive you become.

5. It is easier to hurt those close to you than strangers for the simple reason that they are close enough and within reach. Watch out for words you say without thinking, actions you assume to be understood or tolerated and matters you view as trivial and yet others hold closely to their hearts. People are different and hence deserve different treatment and attention.

6. You are not ready to learn until ignorance slaps you enough to move you from present comfort towards knowledge acquisition. Sometimes we fail to advance not because we deserve it but because we lack information or we feel immune from duty to absorb more knowledge. Your victory could be hiding in what you are yet to know and master.

7. You are not ready to learn until ignorance slaps you enough to move you from present comfort towards knowledge acquisition. Sometimes we fail to advance not because we deserve it but because we lack information or we feel immune from duty to absorb more knowledge. Your victory could be hiding in what you are yet to know and master.

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7 Festive Inspirations

Posted on December 30, 2011 by rshumba

1. You want to succeed in 2012? Remain true to your mandate (purpose) even in the midst of adversity and difficulties. A clock in a broken down state still shows the correct time twice a day and remains eternally committed to that cause. Commitment to your purpose will separate you from the rest.

2. How much of what you planned to do in 2011 did you start? Of the things you started, how many did you finish? You will always repeat what you failed if you do not objectively examine and evaluate your plans. Start what you plan and finish what you start. Procrastination is not fashionable. It is your enemy. Make 2012 count.

3. Be very cautious about what you select to take into 2012. Toxins account for the many ailments we grapple with as humans all because of what we ingest. Time for a detox regime. Flush out wrong thoughts you entertained, bad ideas that hold you back, poisonous relationships taking you nowhere in a hurry. Complete overhaul is necessary if you are to conquer 2012.

4. The year 2012 is not about the amount of noise you generate but tangible results you can provide. Your results must do the talking while you simply take action. You are never rewarded for loudness of voice but quality and soundness of your output. Get those hands dirty, that project will not work itself out in the absence of your deliberate input. However, realize that action without the backing of a strategy is a disaster. Take action according to what you have planned.

5. A new year is a fresh chance to open a new slate. Use the lessons you learnt from last year to set yourself up for success. You have another opportunity to run again, you have a fresh chance to be on the starting line once more. This time you are wiser and aware of the things that slowed your progress. Take a fresh look at this fresh chance. You it to yourself and your children’s children to succeed. Yes, you can.

6. It is better to set a few goals and achieve them in the new year than overwhelm your program with so many goals and not achieve one of them. Remember goals must be achievable. Too many times we become discouraged before we even start because our goals look audacious and yet seem unachievable. I am not encouraging you to aim too low and set flimsy goals you will achieve in 2 days. Be realistic.

7. Everyone has the same amount of time allocated in a year. We all have 365 days in every year. It is how you choose to manage each day that will determine your level of achievement. Time lost can never be reclaimed. Be disciplined with your time.

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7 Weekend Soundbites

Posted on December 16, 2011 by rshumba

1. Noone was born a failure. Whoever told you that has serious misconceptions about how successful you are meant to be. You would be in error to listen to everyone’s interpretation of where you are going. You path is clear. Your assignment is vivid. You have permission to close your ears to anyone who thinks you will not succeed in your lifetime. You can only be drawn towards failure when you follow the script of those who in error advised you as such. Failure should never be your aspiration. Always look forward to succeeding even if the present story has no figment or sign of it

2. Before you think that you need a loan, first think deeply and be convinced about your business idea. Let your dream justify the budget than trying to patch your budget to spell your dream. Good ideas are followed by funding and not the other way.

3. The strength of any relationship is seen not in the material resources gathered or shared but in the nature and magnitude of problems the relationship survives and solves. A sound relationship has the ability to prescribe solutions with minimal external intervention.

4. Take your mess, create a message out of it that others can learn from. You will then realize just how much impact you can make. Those after you should not have to fall into the same pit you fell in. Similarly, learn from other people’s mistakes and save time, money and emotions. The challenges people face are not new or unique.

5. Effective marketing is principally the business of managing consumer perception. Perceptions are affected by the brand reputation. You therefore need to create, alter or maintain what your existing or potential customers perceive of your services and or goods.

6. You will gain more credibility as a leader when you own up and take responsibility where you created a mess. You emerge stronger that way and noone can hold anything against you. The most crafty shifts in blame will never take your organization forward. It just sows bad seed in those who emulate you.

7. You should never have to endure life but enjoy it. One way to ensyre you make the best out of life is to make sure you are hungry to learn a new thing daily. As long as you confine yourself in what you already know, familiarity creeps in and boredom is the end result. Never despise what you can learn from those around you, young and old, rich and poor. There is always something that another person knows better than you do. Position yourself to learn from them and likewise be available to show those who are willing to learn a new thing you know best

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7 Ponder Points

Posted on December 10, 2011 by Rabison Shumba

1. Give two people similar circumstances, you will certainly get two different outcomes. One will be quick to point the challenges, pain, impossibilities while the other will quickly identify how quick it is to turn challenges to business. At the end of the day success is premised on PERCEPTION and what we choose to MAGNIFY.

2. There are not many secrets to success. Sometimes we go about looking for it instead of just going back to school, learn a new skill, perfect an existing one and being available to potential employers or business opportunities. It is not as difficult or mystified as we sometimes hear. Just don’t make laziness a career.

3. A practitioner who is not willing to invest in excellence and quality is not worth your business or time. If you will have to pay for a service then it must be worth every penny. Time should come when even freebies have to be worth your attention. Why should you endure what someone is delivering to you. Set your standards and everyone will adhere to them.

4. Two things always seem desirable and yet one can never have enough no matter how much they gain or steal. That is power and money. Sadly, we spend life time hunting for them yet none can accompany us to the grave. Rather invest in developing those around you to perpetuate your heritage.

5. Not all the resources you have access to are meant for your benefit. Sometimes we have access to things just because we are willing to share with others what we have. You can never contain or own everything and feel satisfied. Our joy is made complete when we part with things to empower others.

6. People with a poor perception of themselves may never have an excellent and objective view of others. It is hard to see others for who they really are when you are perpetually ignorant of how to see value in who you are.

7. Guard what occupies your mind. Sometimes what we ponder on for long periods has no significance in shaping the outcomes of life. While you do it, it seems valuable and compulsory. After time has been lost, you are filled with regrets and yet you can not turn back the clock.

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7 Inspirations to Challenge you.

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Rabison Shumba

1. It is waste of energy to pray for things that God expects you to think about and implement. If we could use our minds and hands to the required levels, it would change the paragraphs that punctuate our wish lists or prayer points. Don’t be spiritually oriented that you freeze your mental creative faculties while misdirecting your productive energy.

2. If you can not manage one life or entity called yourself, what on earth are you doing trying to enter into relationships especially where marriage is the end result. Success comes when priorities are aligned accordingly. Be selfish for a moment and focus on knowing who you are, why you are here and where you are going if at all you are moving. Only then can you upgrade your relationship status to involve another party, who hopefully is doing the same.

3. We will not build a strong nation when we stop working on creating foundations that generations can build on. Yes, secure your family, but your community needs you too. No longer can we pride in having a yawning gap between those who have and the needy. If we live for the temporary, we will leave a template of consumer behaviour at the expense of the ultimate. Are you a good model in your sphere?

4. Frustrations are almost always a result of expectations that were confidently raised and yet they were never fulfilled even in part. When you make a vow or pledge, realize the potential of creating a track record of frustrated individuals around you. It is worse when you don’t show remorse through an apology or even an attempt to mend the fructures you create. It makes others mad.

5. A business without competition tends to create a monopoly which results in consumers being taken for granted. Your competition is actually not meant to be your enemy. In fact, thank them for they remind you what can happen if you stray from pleasing your treasured assets; your customers.

6. It is easier to treasure what you worked for or purchased than freebies. Many will go to great lengths to maintain what they sweated for. Of interest though is that what may seem like a freebie to you cost other people. Nothing is ever for free. Treasure every gift but work for most of your treasure.

7. Your enemy is not my enemy by virtue of us being friends. As far as possible refuse to be contaminated by the relations and experiences that other people have had with each other. Craft new relationships, build networks while exercising a great deal of caution. It is up to you to take the risk and connect with people you do not know. However, writing people off by virtue of incomplete reports from one side can jeorpadise the pool of human resources you can mutually impact, inspire or benefit from. Referrals must be treated with wisdom.

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7 Power Statements for You

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Rabison Shumba

1. One of the most exciting phenomena of our generation is the desire to setup and run businesses as a faster way to generate wealth. My honest advice to young people is that while that drive is exceptional and commendable, you have to be committed to your vision totally. For some, it is advisable to grow under someone either as an employee or volunteer. Just dreaming or wishing for success does not make you get any closer. Diligence, integrity, character and attitude come into play.

2. Ever realized that when you are constantly exposed to the wrong way of doing things, the very wrong things begin to appeal to you as right. You are no longer moved the way you did on first encounter. That is the power of repetition. The truth is that the evil never changes but it changes in the eyes and minds of those who encounter it. What have you been exposed to that you are no longer sensitive to? That very thing may have put a ceiling on your achievement.

3. Be grateful even if doors of opportunity are shut in your face. The fact that there are doors is encouraging. Some never get the chance or ability to be waiting on a door to open. Similarly, the fact that you are alive should be your source of hope. Some were brilliant, vigilant and extremely intuitive but they are in a place where that can not be exercised now. Smile, you have a chance to turn around your circumstances. Cry not over lost opportunities. Clear your eyes and remain awake to new possibilities.

4. Wisdom is so essential in the way you run your life. Instead of clamouring for more resources, you rather seek more wisdom. When you have it you become a better manager of all the wealth you will ever get. Wisdom is essential to mind just as the rains are essential to the grass. Seek wisdom above everything else.

5. The question is not whether you are aware of your purpose or not, it is, are you willing to pay the price to fulfill it. Many would rather pretend to be ignorant about it. They forget that they are eating into the space, time, chance and opportunity to fulfill their mandate. There is no excuse good enough. Noone can do it better than you.

6. It is not how many friends you have that matters. It is how many friends value your voice and you can also derive sense and direction from. A good friend will never sugar coat the truth, they rather let you live with the truth than have a syllabus of falsehoods. A brick of truth is better to swallow than a chocolate of lies. If we can not benefit each other we are allowed to mutually separate.

7. There is nothing worse than a treatment by a fellow human being that is meant to make you feel like a second class occupant of the same planet. If we can’t respect each other then we have sincerely and accurately missed the essence of human co-existence. Respect is earned but can also be lost instantaneously.

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7 Inspirations to munch

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Rabison Shumba

1 Unless a seed falls to the ground, multiplication will never happen. Life is essentially defined in the form of seedtime and harvest. You are or should always be sowing seed and harvesting. At the centre of every seed is a mandate for multiplication. The important thing to note is that two kinds of seeds exist, positive (good) and negative (bad) seed. They both have the same mandate; to replicate. Always check what seed you have inside you. You could be carrying poisonous seed whose character and effects may be propagated to generations after you. Sow good seed today. Thoughts, ideas, words, actions are all seeds.

2. Thou shall not murder or abort. We seem to adhere to this but silently murdering the dreams of others and aborting the ones we carry. It is not easy to carry a vision especially when others won’t understand or appreciate it. It remains wrong to encourage others to mutilate their dreams and still audaciously attending the funeral ceremony to ‘console’ while privately exhuming people’s ideas for your benefit. Carry your dreams responsibly

3. It is fraud to claim or demand the attention of onlookers when you don’t pay attention to sharpening your skill and talent. When you pay lip service to the value you can provide, no one will pay a dollar. Money runs behind tangible value. Whatever you set to do, do with excellence and watch your cash flow improve.

4. Everyone has a level of intelligence. The challenge with most people is they wait for others to discover that exceptional component instead of searching for what your intelligence is best expressed in. Sadly, some use their creativity and wit to make earth inhabitable for others. Use your mind to create a progressive atmosphere.

5. The mindset that each man is for himself has killed a sense of community and involvement in that which affects our neighbors. We should realize that we are each other’s answer to prayer. Our differences add up to total care because all loopholes are catered for. Come out of your shell and benefit your community with your wisdom and expertise. Replicate yourself by teaching a few young people what you risk being buried with on your final exit.

6. For corruption to prevail, it takes initiators and facilitators to remain active. Complain not about its prevalence if all you do is pay bribes as that immediately makes you an accomplice. If we all said no and swore to never pay bribes, corruption and underhand activity would cease. It is time to build the nation and re-create the foundations. It takes a mindset that it is possible to actually have a corruption-free nation. We owe it to future generations. Take a stand against any form of corruption. Refuse to be an initiator or facilitator of this indecent act. Pay fines and not bribes. Get business on merit and not on who you know.

7. Do not dig yourself into your grave simply because you seem to be the only one who sees things a certain way. You are not crafted to follow the tide. When you seem to go against the flow, you maybe doing something right. Quit spending time in frivolous arguments when you know where you stand and what you believe in. Refuse to be shaken by what the majority think. You have a strong mind. Stand on what is right even if that is the only thing to stand on. Soon enough, others will join you.

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