What is it all about???

Fancy car, big house, designer labels, having lots of money, being the best. Everybody runs around everyday going to school, university and work. Everyone is trying to better themselves everyday so that they can earn lots of money and live a fancy life. Sometimes I just look at the world and see everybody running around like headless chickens doing their thing. Has anyone just stopped to think...what is this all about???

Most of your life you spend trying to make more and more money, so that you can live a better and better life. Being comfortable is never enough. Working hard and achieving more for you is something our society perceives as admirable. It is the right thing to do, that’s what we think. When you come across someone who lives a fancy life you look at them in awe and amazement and think to yourself, wow this is how I would like to be.

I sit and think what the hell are we doing? Why do people make this the main goal in their lives? Surely there is more to life than the material world, but when you look at people and the way they live their lives, having lots of money is all they are really chasing. We see it around us every day, all the time and we are all guilty of it.

I always think that in the end it’s only about myself and God. As long as I am truly happy in the way I live my life, just being myself and being good to others, I don’t need to prove anything to anybody. If everyone could just be themselves I think the world would be a much better place.

Just think about it. What is it all about? What are we all doing?

If I were a boss...

So many people are in positions of leadership, but when you stop to look and think about their leadership skills, you come to the conclusion that they actually suck at being leaders. Most of the people in these positions are bosses, but none of them are true leaders. A boss and a leader are actually two different things. I honestly think we should have more leaders and less bosses.

Sure, bosses can get the job done, even if they do end up putting their employees down in the process. Most bosses simply fill the role of a previous boss, but how many actually make a real difference to their employees or an organisation on the whole? How many employees can actually say that they enjoy going to work, because it’s such a joyous experience? Not many I assure you.

If I were a boss, the golden rule in being a boss would be to create a truly happy environment for my employees. After all it is the employee who works for you and puts your company out there. If your employee is unhappy, your company will be unhappy too. You want your employee to produce the best work they can and take pride in doing so; therefore you need to treat them as best you can.

Obviously you can’t make everyone happy all the time, but you can always compromise and come to a mutual understanding. If you are open and honest in your leadership style, your employees will be open and honest with you.

Bosses need to learn to earn their employees respect and not just expect their employees to respect them, because they are the boss. Being a boss, in my opinion, is just a title and doesn’t really mean anything if you can’t fulfil your role. A title is just a fancy name most of the time anyway.

Basically, what I’m saying is that if you look after your employees first, they will be more likely to look after you in the end.

Two people come out of a building and into a story...

I sat in the street and observed everything going on around me. I saw cars passing by, people in a busy rush to get to work, children going to school and people walking their dogs. Everyone was frantic and distressed because it was a Monday morning, they were all in bad moods because they had to get back to work and everything was a big rush for them. Then, one particular image caught my eye and that was two people coming out of a building. As they exited the building, I watched them for a while and noticed that they were laughing with each other and were both in exceptionally happy moods.

When I saw this I was very curious to find out what had made them both so happy, when everybody else was in distress. Were they happy to be going to work? Did they not have to rush to get to work? I approached them and said, “Hey guys, why are you both so happy, when everything around you is like a wild goose chase?” They then took me by my hand and said, “Come walk with us.” I went with them and they told me that every day they wake up and have to do the same things that everyone else has to do. They also have to go to work and everything for them is also one big rush. In much confusion I asked them, “Then how can you be so happy about it?” They told me that each day they live, they get up in the morning and choose not to be negative, they choose not walk out into a new day with a frown on their faces and that they make the choice to have a good day, each and every single day. I replied, “As simple as that? Is there no hidden story to your unexplained happiness?” They then assured me, “As simple as that. That is our story.”

I smiled and thanked them for that simple, useful piece of advice. Then I walked away and decided to make each day that I live, a happy day.

Totally unacceptable!!!!

At this moment in time I am very angry. I cannot believe how 'professional' organisations are so completely unprofessional! These are supposed to be the leading organisations in our country, but yet they fail hopelessly and obtain bad reputations for themselves. I have this dying urge to share this issue with the public, so that they are aware of this organisations unprofessionalism and failure to deliver as they should. It is very wrong to make statements to the public about your vision and mission when all of it are lies! This is why so many things in this country fail terribly. People’s attitudes are wrong. People’s attitudes are the core reason for everything that has gone wrong in the world today.  They are dishonest, irresponsible, negligent and inconsiderate and to make matters worse, they don’t care that they are like that. Do they not have a conscience? How can you live with yourself when you conduct yourself in this manner? I pay a huge amount of money for a professional service, but yet I don’t have the right to fight, when unjustice has been done unto me. For the rest of the organisation to even accept this behaviour makes the issue even more serious, because it shows that even in the most professional environment, no one can be trusted. So what assurance do you have? None. None at all. For all my hard work and effort I have to be treated unfairly because the person in authority simply, “does not have time for this.” I’m so disgusted. How can people run an organisation with this mentality? However, this will not stay in my conscience, I can move on and achieve greater things, whereas they have just built one more bad relationship with a client and eventually there bad behaviour will catch up to them,not because that’s what I want, but because that’s the way the universe works. I have to let it go, which I’m fine with doing, because I know I did well and I don’t need to prove that to anybody else.

Designer PR

Many people are not aware of what the public relations profession entails. They ask, “What are you studying?” I answer, “Public Relations.” They reply, “What is Public Relations?” For those of you who don’t know what Public Relations is about, it is the management of relationships between an organizations’ internal and external target group, using communication. I quite like this definition more though: “Public Relations (PR) is a profession with varying definitions because of its many functions and the differentiating perceptions held by its practitioners and the public.” (wordnetweb, 2011) The reason I like this definition more is because Public Relations is a very creative profession and you can go into almost any field with this qualification as it covers a wide spectrum of learning modules.

Now, Designer PR can be anything you want it to be. You could be a designer of a new clothing range or perfume. You could be the designer of a new building or any new product. You’ve got the design, we do the PR! Designer PR however is probably one of the more exciting routes to take as you can be very innovative and creative. ‘Thinking out of the box’ is one of the most useful skills you can acquire as a Public Relations Practitioner as this is what the field requires of you.  

I am very excited about going forward in this field as it will allow me many opportunities to explore the unthinkable.

Simple changes...

On my way home one day I realised that I hadn't finished my lunch that I packed in for the day. My friend then told me to give it to a homeless person, which I sometimes do when I have leftovers. Then as I was driving, I spotted this young boy in a rugged, over-sized top and called him over so that I could give him my lunch. The road was very busy and he didn’t manage to get to me, so I decided to turn my car around and get to him. I did not succeed and had to keep driving on. My heart was broken, because I really wanted to give this young boy my food. So, I carried on driving, looking for another homeless person and eventually found one. I was happy that I could give him my sandwich as I’m sure he was very hungry and it felt good to do good for someone else.

As I was driving and looking for a homeless person, many thoughts crossed my mind. I thought to myself...to prepare an extra sandwich everyday is effortless and inexpensive. What if everyone could just pack in an extra sandwich everyday and give it to any homeless person they see along the road?

We all have so much. Giving away one sandwich a day will do us no harm at all and we would be helping another human being. It’s an extremely simple concept, but yet nobody does it. I wish we could implement small, simple concepts and make gradual changes in South Africa. I believe the problems we have are simple and if we all just put a little effort into helping make our country a better place we can achieve so much more, in a much quicker time!

There is so much work to be done in our country, especially labour work. Yes, we lack a lot of skilled workers, but what about small important jobs such as maintaining gardens or cleaning the city. All the people on the street sit around everyday expecting people to give them money, which I believe is a pathetic attitude to have. If they could just do one of these small, important jobs and earn even as little as R100 per day, they could buy them a meal, a toothbrush or deodorant. They could buy them the basics they need to live and who knows where they could go from there? It’s all about attitude.

All these concepts are simple and easy to achieve. I question everyday why they just can’t be done? Simple efforts can make big changes... Human beings complicate their own lives and do it so well.

Perhaps I am idealistic in my way of thinking? I don’t think so, but that’s just me.

All the buzz around social media...

So, I get that social media is the latest trend in the business world. Facebook, Twitter, blogging and so on is the tool people use to advertise and promote themselves, their businesses and the services they offer. I won't deny that it has become a very useful tool in our everyday lives. We can communicate much quicker and cheaper with one another and the communication methods have also been made much easier. Everyone's doing it. Internet has made everything in our lives much simpler and easier to access. By the click of a button, you can now view an individuals entire life almost, nothing is personal anymore. Pictures, biographies and even personal details such as telephone numbers and home addresses are all easily accessable to almost anyone...I personally am not too fond of social media. As a business tool - sure, but in my personal life...no. Yes, I do partake in social media, but I would think to a limit. I think the thing that gets to me most is the 'status' and the pictures people upload of themselves. I hate 'statuses'. I hate everyone knowing what's on my mind and what's going on in my life, not because I'm secretive or anything, simply because it's MY life. I don't live it so that others can constantly see how I'm living it.

People constantly feed the internet with personal information about themselves and are unaware of how transparent they're making themselves. Not only is it not the wisest thing to do, but some people actually enjoy it! "At the One and Only for breakfast with my boy" "This party is rocking!" "You put the B in b#@ch". These are some of the statuses I see on the social networks I use and I look at it and think to myself..."who wants to know?" Why do we all need to know about irrelevant things people are doing, or the latest material items (not fabric) they got? If the party you are at is rocking, why would you be on the internet while it's happening? Why do you need to have meaningless, foul language quarrels on the internet where everyone can see? These are some of the thoughts that run through my mind when I see these things.

Is all this necessary? Is it all about status and ego?

This is just my opinion. I have nothing against anyone using these social platforms or posting these statuses, I just sometimes sit and think 'what is it all about?' Then I ask questions, which is exactly what I'm doing here.

I think all I'll ever write in my blogs are just random thoughts that come to my mind. I always wonder if people think of the things I do or if people have similiar views on specific topics. Maybe...maybe not.

I AM...

I am...questioning a lot of things about myself in this period of my life. Almost as if I am temporarily under construction. Usually I am always sure of myself, my values, morals and what I stand for. I still am sure of all those things, but my perception of myself is constantly being questioned...by me. I percieve myself to be spontaneous, confident, realistic, friendly, happy, open-minded, dorky and always true in everything I do. Observing is one of the things I do best. I love to analyse anything and anyone that interests me to the point of giving myself a headache. I am very curious about life and the way people view life. If there is someone out there who has something valuable to teach me about life, I want to learn it. Laughing, smiling and being truly happy is something I live by. One of my greatest passions is the outdoors. I want to work in nature, using my hands, out in the sun, with no shoes on my feet, in a shorts, by the sea. If there was no such thing as music, I feel like there would be no tune to my life and no blood flowing through my veins. I am passionate about living my life and not wasting a second of it with negativity or unimportant hang-ups, my life is limited and I keep moving to its beat, the beat I was given to live. I love being just me, as I am, improving myself and my experiences continuously. There is so much to me, that I am still learning. This is my journey and I'm excited about exploring it. I am...