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Once Were Warriors

It took my mom just over 12 years before she finally left her abusive marriage.

Her harrowing ordeal still affects me today. When I’m prepared to go a bit deeper and delve into the hidden and well-protected part of my psyche where the demons live, there’s always two questions that come up. “Couldn’t I do more to protect her?” “Why did it take so long for her to leave?”

I can never answer the…

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We are all passengers looking for connection

We are all passengers looking for connection

“What’s lacklustre about Passengers isn’t just that the movie is short on surprise, but that it’s like a castaway love story set in the world’s largest, emptiest shopping mall in space.”

When I read this critique, I almost didn’t watch the movie. But, I’m so glad I decided to watch it.

The movie is about the starship Avalon transporting 5000 passengers (in induced hibernation) from earth…

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Ghost

Sunday, 31 May 2020

How long has this lockdown been. 8 weeks? 9 weeks? I don’t know. It feels interminable. I feel like I have no voice in this new world. It has brought the best and the worst out of me. It has united and polarised us. It has unmasked the biases I didn’t know I had … and, never wanted to confront. I think that many of us are clamouring to be heard. We want to know that we still…

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Fitzgerald could have been a great author

Fitzgerald could have been a great author

I love hanging out with authors, particularly the broken ones. I like them because they’re fractured beyond repair. Their disabilities, impediments, diseases, perversions, alcoholism and drugs should have disadvantaged them.

They’re base animals, surging with emotions and lacking in logic. Yet, they’ve carved out a tiny footnote in history, more than most of us can say.

I turn to these crazy ones…

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We're built to run

We’re built to run

I wrote this three years ago. It seems like yesterday and a whole different planet away.

I’m training for my first Comrades Marathon (86,6 km) on 4 June 2017. Here are some of the lessons I’ve learned thus far.

We’re always striving for something

I’m 53. Hardly the time to be looking for new frontiers to conquer. Yet, like you, I do it. I think it’s in our nature to to push ourselves until the…

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You're an unlimited masterpiece

You’re an unlimited masterpiece

If you’re like me, I’m sure that you want to leave at least one magnum opus before you depart this world. You want to leave a masterpiece and leave a legacy. And, maybe you want to become Einstein, da Vinci and Bieber-famous?

You want people at your graveside singing eulogies of praise for the positive difference you made in the world.

The thing is that relatively soon after your funeral you’ll…

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Destinations are where dreams go to die

Destinations are where dreams go to die

It’s in our nature to want better things for ourselves. We dream of a better life. We dream of a bigger house. We dream of a better place. We dream of a better car. We want better food. Better education. Better body. You name it, we want it bigger, better and more.

We’re focused outward with our eyes in the direction of our goals, dreams and aspirations.

Like the Pandora myth, the last thing we…

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Lokinwi Festival Update

I presented a discourse and exhibited at the Lokinwi Body, Mind & Spirit Festival on 14 – 15 September 2019.

It’s the first time I’ve ever exhibited at something like this. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Hilda de la Rosa and her team were absolutely outstanding. Nothing was too much effort for them.

My co-exhibitors were fantastic. I got to see a lot of different spiritual, body and mental…

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Memento Mori discourse at Lokinwi Body, Mind & Spirit Fair

Memento Mori discourse at Lokinwi Body, Mind & Spirit Fair

I’m presenting a discourse, How Practicing For Death Helps Me Live at the Lokinwi Body, Mind & Spirit Fair on 14 September at 13h00. As a practising Sufi and armchair Stoic memento morri (Remember you will die) is carved into my psyche.

The timeless words of Roman Emperor and Stoic Philosopher, Marcus Aurelius, are etched into my heart: “You could leave life right now. Let that determine what…

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Test

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You could have been born in Yemen

You could have been born in Yemen

Whenever we used to see someone less fortunate than we were, my mother used to say, “But there for the grace of God go I.”

I’ve used this idiom with my own daughter. But, I’ve never interrogated its real meaning until recently.

I get to hang out with super successful people in my line of work. Many are grateful and humble of the largess bestowed upon them. But some are arrogant, entitled,…

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Great artists crave appreciation

Great artists crave appreciation

There’s one thing artists crave more than food. And, that’s appreciation.

All humankind craves appreciation.

The thing is that we were created to be appreciative by the great artist.

When he spoke his first words, “Let there be light”, he got the ball rolling. He called light, day and separated it from dark, night.

He was pleased. And, this was only day one.

Like all artists, God wanted someone…

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Cujo the Alsatian

It was 1980 something, somewhere in Namibia (then South West Africa).

We’d heard that a new tracker dog was being sent from South Africa.

Finally, the big day arrived. The whole company came to see the dog. It was something to break the interminable boredom of camp life and walking patrols.

It’s handler brought it out of the Buffel.

It didn’t disappoint. It was an Alsatian. Majestic and mean.…

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Find your purpose in 5 minutes

Find your purpose in 5 minutes with a pencil.

Do you remember Forrest Gump’s iconic quote, “My mom always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”

He clearly had a smart mom.

I was writing a piece of text with a pencil the other day.

It soon became blunt and I had to use a sharpener to get it back into shape again.

In that moment it occurred to me that maybe…

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Professional Speakers Listing Campaign

This is a campaign that was aimed at professional speakers, trainers, coaches and consultants who need more exposure in the search engines.

Professional Speakers Listing Campaign was sent to a mixture of my database and LinkedIn.

Sales Landing Page: Get Found

Sent: 1200 Visits to landing page: 121 Conversion to sales: 20 (16,53%) Secondary conversion: Speaker Services Another 10 sales.

Sales @ R1…

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Executive Coach - Dawn Klatzko

Executive Coach – Dawn Klatzko

Executive Coach, Dawn Klatzko’s profile page has gone live on Professional Speaker Services.

Of course, Dawn isn’t only an executive coach. She’s also a motivational speaker and author.

She’s written a book called The Art Of The Suit. She also has a keynote and a workshop by the same name.

The first 35 years of her working life was spent in the advertising industry.

She shares this hard-won…

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Mindfulness

Mindfulness: Friend, Why do you play so small?

Mindfulness. This is a weekly newsletter I send out called Find a Path With Heart.

Here are the statistics:

Date: 30 November 2017 – 17h05 Sent: 653 Opens: 409 (62,83%) Clicks: 73 (11,21%)

Hey Friend,

In today’s mindfulness article I’ll be short and sweet. Strangely enough.

Why Do You Play Small?

I wrote Why Do You Play Small? to try and make sense…

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