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As time goes by....
Rank: Elder Joined: 12/9/2009 Posts: 6,592 Location: Nairobi
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Many things are within our control but there's one thing that we will never be. Time. Over time I've learned that one of the biggest mistakes I made was wasting this resource. But this has also been my greatest lesson as well. There are only two variables that are equal for all human beings. One is time, the other as Steve Jobs reminded us is death. These are our two equalizers. How unfair these two can be, that you could be younger than me but that still doe's not guarantee you a longer than me. I’ve learned how to conserve and use time better, mostly through experience and listening to the wisdom of others. These are by no means cast in stone or perfect, neither am I, but they work for me. Plan your day. Most of the time we just go with the flow. We just exist through the day, especially when employed. We do nothing but get ready in the morning, go to work (work that doesn’t satisfy us) then home, eat, watch tv, sleep and start all over again the next day looking forward to TGIF. Stop complaining and gossiping. I learned much later that the people I complained about never changed because of my complaining, the idea stealing boss continued stealing my ideas, the tea lady was always late, the mech always conned me etc…. Years later, none of them is in my life and I’m doing better than all of them combined because I realized that I was the only one who could do something prompting me to move from that toxic environment while changing my thinking. Don’t get angry over things you can do nothing about. Fear is the biggest time thief. Procrastination is fear too. Fear stops us from doing the inevitable. When it’s time to change your employer or start a business, go for it. Taking on your fears head-on is the best way to build your confidence. When I quit employment I had nowhere to go, I just knew I had to quit as I was extremely unhappy at the job. I really struggled thereafter but I had one important thing with me that I did not have at the job. Hope. Friends, without hope, you are dead on the inside. Forget perfection. Just do it and perfect later. Many brilliant ideas die in the perfection stage because they will never be as perfect as we want them to be. Plus, by the time you are done perfecting it, you do not like it anymore. This is a place I’ve found myself so many a times. Get enough sleep. When you are exhausted you’ll screw up. Isn’t it amazing how there’s always more time to re-do the ‘supposedly’ urgent project that keeping you up when we do them wrong? Ziba ufa. Deal with little problems immediately. Locate things that steal your time and deal with them.The best way to invest your time for the future is in people.Set higher goals. It takes the same amount of time to accomplish the higher goals as it would the mediocre ones and you’ll have more fun. Try it. Replace your non-progressive friends. This is kinda obvious. Read more books. Even the busiest person can spare 10 mins a day for a good book. Find God. No one can find God for you. There’s no formula and the experiences are never the same neither is your purpose and destiny similar to mine. Find God because you’ll need hope and peace, doesn’t matter who you are or how much recourses you have, some things will be beyond you, your resources and understanding. Those are the things that crumble empires, second only to promiscuity. So, what have you learned in your life journey… over time? Next post, I think I'll tell you about the pit-falls to avoid especially in family and business life. ~From my experience of course.
BBI will solve it :)
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 11/14/2006 Posts: 1,311
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2012 wrote:Many things are within our control but there's one thing that we will never be. Time.
Over time I've learned that one of the biggest mistakes I made was wasting this resource. But this has also been my greatest lesson as well. There are only two variables that are equal for all human beings. One is time, the other as Steve Jobs reminded us is death. These are our two equalizers. How unfair these two can be, that you could be younger than me but that still doe's not guarantee you a longer than me. I’ve learned how to conserve and use time better, mostly through experience and listening to the wisdom of others. These are by no means cast in stone or perfect, neither am I, but they work for me.
Plan your day. Most of the time we just go with the flow. We just exist through the day, especially when employed. We do nothing but get ready in the morning, go to work (work that doesn’t satisfy us) then home, eat, watch tv, sleep and start all over again the next day looking forward to TGIF.
Stop complaining and gossiping. I learned much later that the people I complained about never changed because of my complaining, the idea stealing boss continued stealing my ideas, the tea lady was always late, the mech always conned me etc…. Years later, none of them is in my life and I’m doing better than all of them combined because I realized that I was the only one who could do something prompting me to move from that toxic environment while changing my thinking.
Don’t get angry over things you can do nothing about.
Fear is the biggest time thief. Procrastination is fear too. Fear stops us from doing the inevitable. When it’s time to change your employer or start a business, go for it. Taking on your fears head-on is the best way to build your confidence. When I quit employment I had nowhere to go, I just knew I had to quit as I was extremely unhappy at the job. I really struggled thereafter but I had one important thing with me that I did not have at the job. Hope. Friends, without hope, you are dead on the inside.
Forget perfection. Just do it and perfect later. Many brilliant ideas die in the perfection stage because they will never be as perfect as we want them to be. Plus, by the time you are done perfecting it, you do not like it anymore. This is a place I’ve found myself so many a times.
Get enough sleep. When you are exhausted you’ll screw up. Isn’t it amazing how there’s always more time to re-do the ‘supposedly’ urgent project that keeping you up when we do them wrong?
Ziba ufa. Deal with little problems immediately.
Locate things that steal your time and deal with them.
The best way to invest your time for the future is in people.
Set higher goals. It takes the same amount of time to accomplish the higher goals as it would the mediocre ones and you’ll have more fun. Try it.
Replace your non-progressive friends. This is kinda obvious.
Read more books. Even the busiest person can spare 10 mins a day for a good book.
Find God. No one can find God for you. There’s no formula and the experiences are never the same neither is your purpose and destiny similar to mine. Find God because you’ll need hope and peace, doesn’t matter who you are or how much recourses you have, some things will be beyond you, your resources and understanding. Those are the things that crumble empires, second only to promiscuity.
So, what have you learned in your life journey… over time?
Next post, I think I'll tell you about the pit-falls to avoid especially in family and business life. ~From my experience of course. @2012, great post there. We'll done
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Rank: Elder Joined: 7/1/2011 Posts: 8,804 Location: Nairobi
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What about those of us, who can't plan the day because there's simply no 'time'.
I'm thinking of time as a capacity to change.
What happens to such people? In the end, even if your lifestyle is pleasant to many, it can still not be prescribed to others without infringing on their freedoms.
Could you be affirming widely spread beliefs? And that we should instinctively agree?
Maybe this is even another postulate of our worldview. We must be part of the majority. But, the minority can be looked after.
We should question our values first, not because there's order, but to remember how they arose.
Is it anyones' responsibility to prescribe or encourage an ethic on others?
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Rank: Elder Joined: 12/9/2009 Posts: 6,592 Location: Nairobi
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tycho wrote:What about those of us, who can't plan the day because there's simply no 'time'.
I'm thinking of time as a capacity to change.
What happens to such people? In the end, even if your lifestyle is pleasant to many, it can still not be prescribed to others without infringing on their freedoms.
Could you be affirming widely spread beliefs? And that we should instinctively agree?
Maybe this is even another postulate of our worldview. We must be part of the majority. But, the minority can be looked after.
We should question our values first, not because there's order, but to remember how they arose.
Is it anyones' responsibility to prescribe or encourage an ethic on others? Of course nobody can prescribe anything on anyone. This is about me and I know it cannot work for everyone. What works for you? But to your first concern, just wondering, why can't you plan your day? How is there no time? If you are not planning your time, someone else is. We all have equal time so I can't see how there's 'those of us' and the others.
BBI will solve it :)
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Rank: Elder Joined: 7/1/2011 Posts: 8,804 Location: Nairobi
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2012 wrote:tycho wrote:What about those of us, who can't plan the day because there's simply no 'time'.
I'm thinking of time as a capacity to change.
What happens to such people? In the end, even if your lifestyle is pleasant to many, it can still not be prescribed to others without infringing on their freedoms.
Could you be affirming widely spread beliefs? And that we should instinctively agree?
Maybe this is even another postulate of our worldview. We must be part of the majority. But, the minority can be looked after.
We should question our values first, not because there's order, but to remember how they arose.
Is it anyones' responsibility to prescribe or encourage an ethic on others? Of course nobody can prescribe anything on anyone. This is about me and I know it cannot work for everyone. What works for you? But to your first concern, just wondering, why can't you plan your day? How is there no time? If you are not planning your time, someone else is. We all have equal time so I can't see how there's 'those of us' and the others. There's no time because there's no sufficient energy supply to create change. Wastage. And, no. You may fail to plan your time and still have no one plan your time. Look at it like an 'externality'. We don't have equal time. Some have more time than others. Those who have more time have more power. But power is far from evenly distributed. Time is even different qualitatively. Would you say 1 day, say in jail is equal to a day in a holiday resort? No. Because of the relations and emotions involved. What works for me? Getting rid of everything.
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Rank: Member Joined: 12/17/2016 Posts: 225
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2012 wrote:Many things are within our control but there's one thing that we will never be. Time.
Over time I've learned that one of the biggest mistakes I made was wasting this resource. But this has also been my greatest lesson as well. There are only two variables that are equal for all human beings. One is time, the other as Steve Jobs reminded us is death. These are our two equalizers. How unfair these two can be, that you could be younger than me but that still doe's not guarantee you a longer than me. I’ve learned how to conserve and use time better, mostly through experience and listening to the wisdom of others. These are by no means cast in stone or perfect, neither am I, but they work for me.
Plan your day. Most of the time we just go with the flow. We just exist through the day, especially when employed. We do nothing but get ready in the morning, go to work (work that doesn’t satisfy us) then home, eat, watch tv, sleep and start all over again the next day looking forward to TGIF.
Stop complaining and gossiping. I learned much later that the people I complained about never changed because of my complaining, the idea stealing boss continued stealing my ideas, the tea lady was always late, the mech always conned me etc…. Years later, none of them is in my life and I’m doing better than all of them combined because I realized that I was the only one who could do something prompting me to move from that toxic environment while changing my thinking.
Don’t get angry over things you can do nothing about.
Fear is the biggest time thief. Procrastination is fear too. Fear stops us from doing the inevitable. When it’s time to change your employer or start a business, go for it. Taking on your fears head-on is the best way to build your confidence. When I quit employment I had nowhere to go, I just knew I had to quit as I was extremely unhappy at the job. I really struggled thereafter but I had one important thing with me that I did not have at the job. Hope. Friends, without hope, you are dead on the inside.
Forget perfection. Just do it and perfect later. Many brilliant ideas die in the perfection stage because they will never be as perfect as we want them to be. Plus, by the time you are done perfecting it, you do not like it anymore. This is a place I’ve found myself so many a times.
Get enough sleep. When you are exhausted you’ll screw up. Isn’t it amazing how there’s always more time to re-do the ‘supposedly’ urgent project that keeping you up when we do them wrong?
Ziba ufa. Deal with little problems immediately.
Locate things that steal your time and deal with them.
The best way to invest your time for the future is in people.
Set higher goals. It takes the same amount of time to accomplish the higher goals as it would the mediocre ones and you’ll have more fun. Try it.
Replace your non-progressive friends. This is kinda obvious.
Read more books. Even the busiest person can spare 10 mins a day for a good book.
Find God. No one can find God for you. There’s no formula and the experiences are never the same neither is your purpose and destiny similar to mine. Find God because you’ll need hope and peace, doesn’t matter who you are or how much recourses you have, some things will be beyond you, your resources and understanding. Those are the things that crumble empires, second only to promiscuity.
So, what have you learned in your life journey… over time?
Next post, I think I'll tell you about the pit-falls to avoid especially in family and business life. ~From my experience of course. Well in, resonates with some of my 2017 resolutions. Timeless post-Thanks for sharing. Reflection Eternal
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 9/19/2011 Posts: 1,694
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tycho wrote:2012 wrote:tycho wrote:What about those of us, who can't plan the day because there's simply no 'time'.
I'm thinking of time as a capacity to change.
What happens to such people? In the end, even if your lifestyle is pleasant to many, it can still not be prescribed to others without infringing on their freedoms.
Could you be affirming widely spread beliefs? And that we should instinctively agree?
Maybe this is even another postulate of our worldview. We must be part of the majority. But, the minority can be looked after.
We should question our values first, not because there's order, but to remember how they arose.
Is it anyones' responsibility to prescribe or encourage an ethic on others? Of course nobody can prescribe anything on anyone. This is about me and I know it cannot work for everyone. What works for you? But to your first concern, just wondering, why can't you plan your day? How is there no time? If you are not planning your time, someone else is. We all have equal time so I can't see how there's 'those of us' and the others. There's no time because there's no sufficient energy supply to create change. Wastage. And, no. You may fail to plan your time and still have no one plan your time. Look at it like an 'externality'. We don't have equal time. Some have more time than others. Those who have more time have more power. But power is far from evenly distributed. Time is even different qualitatively. Would you say 1 day, say in jail is equal to a day in a holiday resort? No. Because of the relations and emotions involved. What works for me? Getting rid of everything.  Classic Tycho
“People will believe a big lie sooner than a little one, and if you repeat it frequently enough, people will sooner or later believe it.” ― Walter C. Langer
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Rank: Elder Joined: 12/9/2009 Posts: 6,592 Location: Nairobi
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Business.I learnt (though late) that you are only in employment to gain skills and capital. I really feel sad for the people who found/find employment in areas they have no passion in and I know they are many looking at the situation of the retired folk in Kenya. Most of them either end up opening kiosks, purchasing some rental units and all manner of other life sustaining tu-businesses depending on the amount dictated by the ‘hand-shake’. I will insist to you that you must find a path to employment in areas you are passionate about. If you are where Kenyans call ‘I’m somewhere’, ongeza gear in search of where you should be and jump to the new ship immediately. Don’t settle, settling leads to comfort and comfort will eat your years. One thing I can assure you though, is that you will have to leave employment either voluntarily (early retirement, resignation) or otherwise (retrenchment, fired, retirement), but to leave you must. So you really have no choice but to start thinking of your business as soon as possible if you haven’t. You will have to stop building other people's dreams and start building up your own. There will be fear and a lot of sleepless nights and mounting, scary debt. Many thoughts will go through your head and I hope you’ll be grounded on something, a pillar of hope, whatever that is to you. You will need it. Believe me, you will really need it. But I think for me, the fear of being ‘let go’ or retirement into nothing when your youth is all but gone should be far much more scary prospect especially in our generation that gets kids late and some will still be schooling. But, decide for yourself which is worse. So business is really scary but it is achievable and will be the most gratifying thing ever; and once you build one you can use the same formula to start another. Just learn these 3 words, SEED, TIME, HARVEST. Seed and Harvest are great, easy and enjoyable; Time on the other hand is the killer, master the time phase and you are home dry! Here’s an example; you get a contract, you execute it efficiently, put in your best work and your client loves, loves, loves it!. 3-4 months down the line you still have not been paid… say 500k, and you are no-longer dealing with the 'happy client' but a ruthless accountant - your landlord, sub-contractors, school fees, free rolling down the hills with the car on E (and not for ‘enough’), Christmas holiday bila gifts for the kids and their cucus etc. all come knocking… Now this is the phase you need to get through to be in business. But on the positive, this is probably the most important experience in business as it will harden you sawa sawa – (To use a bad analogy, it’s like when you use a rope to tow another vehicle and it cuts, then you find something stronger and more stronger, chances are you will never make that mistake again) - It will also teach you how to develop strategies and measures for getting your pay, knowing the cycles so that you at least have a client paying when another delays. You’ll also know which clients to keep, which ones to fire and the caliber of clients to look for. A bad client is not the one who cannot pay on time, it is the one who strings you along after your part is done. From my experience, multinationals and big corporates are to be avoided. They are only good for your portfolio. Do not be surprised when an intern from a big corporation calls you and emails you to quote for a job, what I used to do is put in a high quote for ‘just in case’, but I can assure you as a start-up, you ain't getting the job. You are just a ‘3rd Wheel’, a phrase we use when referring to a quote that has been requested for to fulfill a procurement requirement of getting at least ‘3 quotes’ yet they already know who they are swinging the job to. But just incase you receive such a request, ask them to send you the company 'procurement guideline document' so you can comply, then ask to be entered into their supplier list first. I can assure you that you’ll not qualify as you might not have an audited report and your business will probably not meet the 5 or 10 years existence rule meaning you stand disqualified long before they open the document you spent weeks putting together. This is a trick we fell for time and again until a friend who is in procurement in a multinational educated us. One other thing you should remember is that there’s no friendship in business. Your business is a separate entity from you. You will be taken advantage of a few times by your ‘friends’ especially before you learn this. Never lend out company money. Never lend out your company credentials or elements eg, logo or business cards to be used by a friend with their name pretending s/he’s part of the company, most may be well meaning but you can never know. I’ve made these mistakes too and learnt. But finally, if you are a believer in God, put all your trust in Him not only because you’ll need hope but because this baby you’ve given birth too will give you true purpose - money will come too. And eventually, those things that seemed impossible will be yesterday’s news. Also, get your spouse on your side before and well informed through every step of the way, the reason they leave us at this difficult time is not because we are unable to provide adequately but because we cocoon into ourselves in defeat and the zeal gone from our eyes. Your spouse is the only person who can go with you through this madness, your friends will resurface after, and for selfish reasons. You see, business is madness, it's not for the normal or ordinary person - so allow yourself to be a bit abnormal once in a while, that's where your sanity and extraordinary will come from. Oh, before I close, keep away from corrupt deals. They come with very long, elastic strings attached and you will never know peace. They won’t even give you the short-term gratification, they'll eat you from the inside. I know of a former colleague in employment who started a business and landed a lucrative deal through chini ya meza, the guy only kulad 15% and after deducting his cost, it was less than 5% which was far much less than what he would have made genuinely. 85% went to sort the guys who swung the deal and then they started blackmailing him, threatening they would expose him as having undersupplied (which he did as part of the scam)… the company closed and nothing he’s tried has succeeded ever since. If you have skills, you should not worry, just find the X-factor, something that makes your product or service different - it could be as simple as meeting deadlines…. I hope this encourages someone. So now, what have you learnt too from your business or employment life?
Next – dealing with people….
BBI will solve it :)
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Rank: Elder Joined: 4/22/2010 Posts: 11,522 Location: Nairobi
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Thank you... possunt quia posse videntur
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Rank: Member Joined: 8/25/2015 Posts: 839 Location: Kite
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Hapo pa dealing with people weka eg tycho!
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