FIND THE POSITIVE IN YOU

A huge, sometimes passionate debate raged on the Business Warrior (www.businesswarriors.co.za) site yesterday around this very subject. Tempers flared, people shouted at each other and in some instances, some very nasty things were said. Things that cannot be unsaid and have perhaps destroyed how some individuals are looked at - going forward.

I for one, am proud to be a part of the 'solution' in the country. I am not interested in the people who sit on the arses and do nothing but predict doom and gloom and would like the rest of us to wallow in the mud with them. For me their apathy is boring and their constant whining and whinging is just that - they deserve everything that comes their way.

Everywhere I look around me, I see opportunities in great abundance and my only regret is that I cannot get to all of them - I am human after all. Having said that I know that any of the opportunities that I miss are not lost forever, but are there for someone else to grab hold of and do something with. My hope is that someone will see them quickly, recognise them for what they are and then do something about them.

That is my wish for South Africa today - see the opportunity, grab it and do something with it NOW!

Find the positive in you
12 December 2006 at 06h00

At a traffic light 500m away from my very comfortable home, a man sits in a wheelchair with a dilapidated sign that reads: "Please help".

Just a few kilometres from there, on an offramp from the highway, a traffic sign reads: "Caution, high-risk hijack zone".

Further on down the road, newspaper headlines, yet again, issue dire warnings about the possibility of South Africa losing its right to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

This article is not about poverty, crime, sports or politics, but rather about how desensitised we have become to the world we live in. Rubble pollutes our parks, Aids is killing our children, corrupt leaders abuse their positions of power and we cope by desensitising ourselves to the point where we become content to drown in our own apathy.

Yet there are people like my friend Timothy Webster, who is very excited about what he is doing. He has recently launched a student project in Soweto. In relating this to me, his voice is so high pitched, he is almost screaming with excitement, telling me how optimistic he feels about Africa's future.

A couple of days later, I bump into Stephen Thomas, a man who feeds thousands of disadvantaged people and provides them with blankets and clothes he sources via donations from corporate organisations.

I then read about Taddy Blecher, founder and chief executive of Cida City Campus in Joburg, whose dream it is to provide quality tertiary education to those who cannot afford it and in the process, prepare the youth for a promising future.

I also know a young girl by the name of Thembi who arrives at my home twice a week. Her energy levels rival Eskom's output (when it works) and she is excited about life. Tomorrow holds a promise for her, and her infectious laughter and positive attitude impact the lives of everyone with whom she comes into contact. Thembi is a waitress and assistant at Bella's Baking, a local store.

All this makes me wonder how we can change this beautiful continent for the better. Unfortunately I cannot send Thembi on a roadshow to inspire you, but I can ask you to look for the Thembi in your heart and to follow her example. You may argue that positive people live in a fool's paradise and that the reality is crime, corruption and poverty.

But the question still remains: Do you think a negative mindset, a desensitised heart and no action will begin to solve our problems? I think not!What are the other options? You work it out for yourself!