Tag: MAP

  • Platform

    Platform

    Thanks for all your congratulatory messages and good wishes following last month’s detailing of my productivity journey. I really do hope you’ve had the opportunity to try out the LIST method and are enjoying the benefits. Please share your stories – I love to hear them!

    This month, I want to continue with another train of thought I had, post MAP 2018. At MAP, we announced registration for MAP 2019, with the theme ‘Significant Me’ because I believe the theme is particularly apt for this season. Many of the women I interact with, whether at MAPMe sessions or in my day-to-day grind, have a desire to leave a legacy and footprints in this world. It lends to my #LiveWell #LiveFull #LiveOut platform where we do not stop at making a sustainable living, but go beyond it to extending our purpose and giftings to the world around us. The questions then arise –
    How do we go about living out?
    How do we make an impact in a world that is so alive with ideas?
    How do we become a VOICE in a world full of noise?

    Recently I have been thinking about this a lot and the word PLATFORM comes to mind. Why you might ask? A platform is defined as a raised surface on which people or things can stand. It gives leverage and a better opportunity to be seen in the midst of a crowd. Just imagine trying to get heard with a big crowd around you, a platform could give you the much-needed visibility. Of course, if you shout loud enough, you will still be heard, but there is definitely a correlation between visibility and getting an audience, so, where necessary, make yourself visible to be heard.

    I believe that as we make the effort to be seen, heard, and make an impact, we are that much more effective when we stand on our platform. The next question then is – ‘How do you discover and make use of your platform?’

    To get started, lets work through together, the four Ds to maximising your platform.

    1. What do you currently DO? What are your daily DUTIES? These are often a clue to your platform as continuously doing the tasks have made you an expert of some sort and people associate the duty with you. Are you a student, fulltime mum, career woman? What are you known for and what is the first thing people think about when they hear you name?
    2. What is your DREAM? What needs do you DESIRE to fulfil? Even if it you are far from it right now, writing it down might help you understand the steps needed to someday make the dream a reality
    3. Connect the DOTS! How can your current position enable where you hope to be? What can you do with what you already have, to make you edge closer to your dream?
    4. DESIGN – After doing the three tasks above, you would need to make a next steps plan, knowing that taking those steps will lead you to where you eventually want to go.

    Essentially, I believe that when you seek out what you do effortlessly, and what increases your credibility, you need to perfect it and use it as leverage to other new pursuits – this is the platform way! Remember your platform could be a job, an association, a business you are involved in or a skill you have. To get your message across to your world, consider using this platform as a leverage to your dreams.

    On a personal note, I have always been passionate about developing Africa through innovative entrepreneurship. However, 2 years ago, that seemed impossible – I was simply known as a Mary Kay sales director. I didn’t give up, but kept my dream alive and started to connect the dots… I saw how being successful in an entrepreneurship venture gave me credibility to become an entrepreneurship expert, and therefore have a voice in Africa. Well I designed my path and today, I am back in school to add academia to my experience and begin the journey of influencing Africa.

    I hope sharing my personal experience has given you a clue to finding and building your platform. If you need help doing the essential step of CONNECTING THE DOTS, you could book a MAPMe session with me and I would be delighted to help.

    Remember, your voice needs to be heard so start speaking today!

  • Pass the BATON

    Pass the BATON

    In the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, the American female relay team, which included Marion Jones was tipped to win the 4 x 100m relay. The team was packed full of individual talent who understood together, would make a formidable quartet and seal the deal – they were disqualified!

    In the 2016 Olympic games in Athens, the American male relay team were also tipped to win a medal – probably not gold, considering they had the Jamaican team to contend with, but at least win a medal, especially with seasoned sprinters like Justin Gatlin a part of the team – they were disqualified! It was the 9th time they had been disqualified in 21 years

    So what actually happened? History has it that the disqualification was based on technicalities. In 2004, when Marion Jones, who ran a brilliant 2nd leg passed the baton on to Lauryn Williams, the handoff was not completed in the 20-yard exchange zone. For the men in 2016, it was a similar failing. Mike Rodgers in passing to Justin Gatlin flouted Rule 170.7 because the baton was passed outside the takeover zone.
    I don’t run (I wish I did) but I am fascinated by races because they draw several parallels to our everyday life and teach us how to complete our course well.

    Sometime in August last year, I began to question myself. Many talk about me being a strong individual and about my daughters also being individually strong but I wondered if I was passing the baton on to them, at the right time and in the right way. This birth my new book ‘A letter to my daughters’ – it contains all I want to say to my daughters and all I want them to know from my life so that they can supersede the successes I have enjoyed and build on what I have started. Atimes it was scary to be so open and to bare it all on paper, but then I remembered that it’s not about individual brilliance but about working together to WIN.

    5 thoughts flood my mind as I think of the baton to pass on:

    • B – Belief. It is essential for the next generation to run with BELIEF in their ability. So many of our youth lack self-confidence and seek ways to mask their insecurities. The wave of social media opens their eyes to people to compare themselves to and they never seem to measure up. It is our responsibility to extol their virtues and pass on belief in themselves that they are able and can excel.
    • A – Attitude. ‘You can do everything wrong with the right attitude and succeed. Do everything right, but with a bad attitude and you will live in isolation…?’ In my book, I made an A-Z list of right attitudes to develop. From commitment to respect to zeal, learning the attitude alphabets will make a difference.
    • T – Trust. Do you trust the next generation to do right? My younger daughter is fond of saying ‘mummy you don’t trust me’ in response to my frown when she attempts to do something new. I remember one of my favourite childhood films ‘Finding Nemo’ and in particular when Marlin, Nemo’s father met Crush, the turtle in the EAC. In this scene, Crush seem to be losing his son and Marlin panicked and wanted to run after the baby turtle. Crush stopped him saying ‘Let us see what squid does flying solo….’ He tried to assure Marlin there was a time to let go, to which Marlin asked “Dude, how do you know they are ready?” and Crush replied “You never know you know, but when they know, you’ll know”. Wow! There comes a time when we have to trust our children to make their own decisions. This of course will be easier if we have done the first 2 of imparting belief and teaching them the right attitudes
    • O – Optimism: the belief that tomorrow holds a better promise. Nothing trumps hope and passing on this baton by sharing our life’s experiences and how we overcame them is sure to make a difference to their future success.
    • N – Nurturing: we need to teach them to pass it on too, to value those behind them and to work to ensure that all they have learnt is passed on to create an even greater success.

    As we countdown to Mother’s Day in a few days, 26th March to be exact, I encourage you to purchase my book ‘A Letter to my daughters’ on Amazon and when your daughter hands you that mother’s day card or gift, in return give her a copy of my book, schedule time to read it together and you will be passing on the baton at the right time. When I wrote it I had teens and twenties in mind, but from the reviews, I hear it is for every woman of every age so please do check it out