The Patterns of Change and Self Belief

Above image credits to fusion...

Idea for Start-Ups 101 - Social Entreprise

Ideas are just ideas without any action plan for execution. 

There are many people out there with the same ideas or even better ones. The only things that will separate you from the crowd and stand tall is your execution plan.
The three building blocks to lay on your foundation for social enterprise are;

1. Human capital
2. Financial capital
3. Social capital

It takes courage, time and determination to build the three blocks, so never quit working on your plan of action and DO IT!

The Recipe to cooking SUCCESS!

"Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it."
Bruce Lee

"Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally."
David Frost

"True happiness involves the full use of one's power and talents."
John W. Gardner

Boaz Creatives: Logo and Business Cards Design

I love interacting with the creative's, I do appreciate my friend Boaz from Arusha, Tanzania for editing my videos on a pro-bono basis. This you can only find in people who are  willing to share and learn in exchange for other new skills from their peers.

Once in a while I work on zero budgets to help my peers create their on-line and offline identities with the philosophy of sharing new skills.  Boaz had an interest in creating his own unique brand as a motion and graphic designer  pushing his learning curve before reaching out to clients.

As a visual communication designer, specializing in both print and web content for more than a decade now, I have designed different products for friends, NGO's, business entity etc. It was a great pleasure exchanging with Boaz whereby I did design both his logo, business cards and crafted his slogan which he really likes. Next I will help him create a Facebook page and a blog website using WordPress to keep a journal of his work among other interesting stuff.

Contact me  for any web or print related projects, and don't hesitate to reach me at wilson.masaka[at]gmail.com for affordable prices in web and graphic design.

Check out for my porfolio  at www.behance.net/wilsenx

Below are the final works;

Selected logo on a business card ( his contacts are samples details and this isn't the exact business card size it only meant for the blog showcase)

Design Options!

The Making Of Champions Of Life, the Champion in YOU!

Bridging the Gaps…

Wilsen is a true story of a young person working hard in a society where there seems to be no opportunities with predisposed challenges from family life, community life, access to better education, peer pressure etc.  

We see a problem in our society, where many young people at the age from 16yrs to 30yrs  face lack of opportunities to develop their very personal skills to the best possible degree they want them. What we see, is a school system, that is mainly driven by the preparation for employment, focusing on the relevant skills to fulfil employers need – while the development of personal skills, talents and interests in art (like painting, photography, dance, music etc.) is not part of the core curriculum. Which leaves young people, who wish to dig deeper into these fields, alone and without support on this journey...

WILSEN is an Acronym which stands for;

• Willpower: Everybody has the power of choice which determines the consequences of how our future will look like.
• Inspiration: Ask the What, Who, Where, When, How? In connection to finding what inspires you in driving positive change, self discovery, career mapping, role models etc.
• Learning: Self learning is the greatest tools you have in your personal tool box of capacity building. Your learning curve will always be shaped by what you do on a daily basis and the interest you develop around a subject. Self learning with a great purpose and determination will lead to a prosperous future.
• Success:  What’s success look like in your own world? And how do you know you have succeeded? Mapping and tracking your success paths will always trigger great enthusiasm from dreaming to reality by taking action.
• Exploration: Explore new areas of interest, don’t lock your dreams and potentials in silos, be flexible to learn something new whilst this will shape your career path, and in depth interest.  Visit new places, interact with diverse cultures, meet new people and the list is endless. Exploration will unlock new potentials and create new paradigms. Our future is shaped by what we are exposed to, be at the right place at the right time! 
• Network: "Your Network is your Net worth". - Porter Gale; Connect with people who will inspire you to become even better and help boost your learning curve and connections. Collaborate with others whilst it will build strong bridges and pillars of support for your ideas, provide mentor-ship, coaching and new opportunities.

Based on a true story of the founder at Wi. Journey since 1997…

The Start-Ups: Keeping Your Social Enterprise Bubble Alive!

Every day there are many great ideas developed at workshops, events, group meetings, fellowships etc., but once the event is over, some of this brilliant ideas don’t get to see the light of the day because of lack of support especially funds, and if funds are available, one will be subjected to a lot of processes and if you don’t meet the requirements and are not determined to comply chances is that your ideas will fade slowly in thin air.

Fundraising is one of the most challenging tasks in a start-up venture or already established entities. There are millions of related ventures that also compete for the same funds and as Porter Gale puts it your network is your net worth is absolutely true. At Wilsen Initiative (Wi) we believe from the word go, that not only should we immediately focus our full attention in acquiring funds, but we should strategize on clear road maps on sustainability plans and give the venture time to grow while we learn in the process. Any new idea bubbles that pops up in our minds we dive into it with great enthusiasm and willingness to learn provided it aligns with our mission and vision.

Wilsen Initiative (Wi) with the slogan the champion in you… idea bubble started way back in 1997, its foundation started with the story of our founder Mr. Wilson Masaka, which has helped us develop the concept further and at the moment we are at the right timing to apply for funds to implement the ventures even further focusing on our three pillars of Inspiration, Connectivity and Education (ICE) model.

We inquired from our founder, what can someone do with zero funds at a Start-Up? “As a founder of the idea you need to put all your blood, sweat and tears no matter how long it will take to develop and implement the venture further, you will start alone, people will talk, you will walk alone but eventually work with a great team that believes in the cause with a strong DNA for the venture to grow and live beyond ourselves. If you wrote it down it means you believed in it” ~ Wilson Masaka.

At Wilsen Initiative (Wi) we have been able to achieve many activities which is part of our mission with almost zero funds through collaboration and our strong philosophy of everybody being a champion no matter what is our current status for example;

• Establishing a community football team called Mathare North Rangers which seeks to connect the youth with other opportunities.
• We have organized successfully two community tournaments during the December holiday in 2012 and 2013 featuring 16 community teams each contributing to the facilitation fees.
• Participated in a pre-season tournament featuring premier and national league clubs organized by Tusker F.C.
• Organized and attend motivational talks at different community based organizations.
• Purchased new football jerseys through contribution of friends and players.
• Received football kits for our club from friends oversees (Networking).
• Featured story of one of our members on Women in sports on Kenyan leading television station Citizen TV.
• Football boots campaign – A shoe For a Child; Children Right to Play.

So, what is the secret behind achieving all the mentioned above with zero funds?

1. From the founder “As the founder you need to give 100% of your time and energy, sometimes you might be required to make personal financial contributions to see the activities through and of course it depends with your financial status and what is required”.
2. Create a dedicated team around you, these are people who believe in the cause they might not have the financial power but they bring a valuable resource called passion, teamwork and dedication.
3. Club member’s contribution, no matter how little contribution they make!
4. Embrace success and failures at all stages as pivots for learning. Overcome the fear of failure!
5. Mentor others and delegate some roles, here though we would insist on timely delegation to people who have developed a strong DNA of the cause to steer the ship forward.
6. Improve your media presence.
7. Develop common values that bind the team together.
8. Network online and offline while you search for collaborators.
9. Participate is learning fellowship, workshops etc. that target the development your venture.
10. If you sense some burnout, take a break don’t quit the race!
11. Develop all the required documentation that shapes your mission, vision, activity etc.
12. Register the entity
13. Connect with experts for coaching and mentor-ship.
14. Have a business model around your activities that will keep the cause on the move.
15. Map your graph of money versus meaning.

 Working philosophies at Wilsen Initiative (WI);

• Funds should get us on the move…
• If you write it down it means you believe in it.
• We should see ourselves as the source of funds and if everyone gives a shilling we shall reach our target as a TEAM. This principle was used in purchasing a new pair set football jersey for Mathare North Rangers Football Club.
• Doing What You Love, Loving What You Do. This called PASSION DRIVEN.
• Inside Out (Developing a social value): Start with yourself, family, the community, country then the World. Inspired by ; Gandhi: "Be the change you wish to see." –

We asked our founder Mr. Wilson if there are other inspirational quotes that has also supported his philosophy and belief that all is possible; Here we his best Seven amongst many others;

1. “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Adams
2. "Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, 'What's in it for me?' “~ Brian Tracy
3. "If you want 1 year of prosperity, grow grain. If you want 10 years of prosperity, grow trees. If your want 100 years of prosperity, grow people." - Ancient Chinese Proverb
4.  “ Be the change you wish to see” Ghadhi
5. "It always seems impossible until it’s done." - Nelson Mandela
6. No matter where you're from, your dreams are valid. - Lupita
7.  “Your Network Is Your Net Worth” - Porter Gale

Your support is highly appreciated write to info@wilsenx.com Compile and written by Evaline Akida

Career Fair at St. Jude, Smith Campus, Arusha Tanzania

On 12th September 2014, I was honoured to participate in second annual Career Fair at St. Jude, Smith Campus located at Usa River across Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge.

All St Jude’s secondary students, invited guests, parents and teachers attended the event prestigious event. There were many activities lined up for the day from inspirational talk from invited speakers, talent show, exhibition by companies and institutions, students exhibitions, awards and appreciation and of course great lunch together at their prestigious institution fully equipped.

Different practitioners attended the event from doctors, lawyers, architect, engineers, accountant, human resource, business managers, pilot, social worker, graphic designers, bank manager, business owner, librarian, teachers, journalists, IT professionals, finance, photographer, just to name a few. More than 10 institutions around Arusha and beyond exhibited their programs at designated exhibition booths and Kilimanjaro Institute was well represented.

The main theme and objective of the event was to familiarizing the students with different life options that will insure that each of them makes the best and the most informed decision about their future. This year’s theme was, “Appreciating the diversity of career options and employment opportunities” and the goal was to raise students’ awareness of diversity in career options and employment opportunities.

Topic addressed during my speech: Talent versus education, how to use both to achieve excellence. It was a great day at St. Jude where I had the opportunity to inspire the students and also award certificates to the best performances during their annual career day.

Thanks for the invitation;

The School of St Jude
Secondary School at Smith Campus
Tanzania
www.schoolofstjude.org

Self Awareness - Lesson at KFI, Arusha Tanzania

I love teaching and sharing insights with the young people, in return I learn and discover new ways of either presenting by understanding their youth world from their own mirrors and lenses, It was a great privilege to conduct a session on Self Awareness at Kilimanjaro Film Institute where in attendance were 1st year and 3rd year students and some staff members.

This topic is dear to me and my tools for trade are always the SWOT analysis of Self versus Team and the JOHARI Window (A model for self-awareness,  personal development, group  development and understanding relationship)

Brief Lesson Outline;

1.  Introductions; get to know to what extent the participants are aware of themselves by doing a self rating out of 100% and writing down three things they are good at and three things they need to work on. These notes are collected and we pick some similarities and differences in term of learning points. There’s no need of writing names on the notes…
2. Group assignment; Each group was given a product to find the best way they could sell it in the marketplace within 3 minutes presentation. The groups were free to choose their presentation mode.
3. Feedback from the facilitator
4. Q & A.

This is a quick bullet list of the lesson I facilitated today, my style of facilitation is based on; participants presentation, group assignments, Question and Answers, some insights and examples, brainstorming etc.

Next time I'm in town send me an invitation to talk with your youth groups at zero cost
In the spirit of knowledge sharing society which is one of the philosophy at Wilsen Initiative (Wi)

Pictures taken at the session;

Explaining the Johari's window and SWOT analysis as applied for teams and individuals

Participants presenting their ideas

Role plays; selling the perfume. How to pitch your idea within 3 minutes!

Feedback and Q&A session

Video Launch; Leading SELF & OTHERS – Build to Last Leadership

Key words towards creating the video; Inspiration, Story Telling, Putting our Ideas into action, Doers community, leadership, the champion in you, Leading SELF and OTHERS, Journey, idea networking, social capital, shaping your future.  Donate time and skills sharing, bridging the knowledge gap, Talents and Skills, building from the door steps, changing making, Theory of Change and Network Marketing


Leading Quotes

#LeadingSelf “It doesn't mean we can't be better, it depends with the kind of exposure we receive and decisions we make from different stages of our lives" ~ Wilson Masaka, founder Wi.

“The creation process didn’t stop in 199BC, it’s with us today and tomorrow”. ~ Wilson Masaka founder Wi.

“The hardest challenges is to be yourself in a world where everyone is trying to make you somebody else” ~ E.E. Cummings

"Don't pick a job. Pick a Boss. Your first boss is the biggest factor in your career success. A boss who doesn't trust you won't give you opportunities to grow." ~William Raduchel

“Our CAPITAL OR CURRENCY is what's within us; Talent, Knowledge, Skills, Aspiration, Experiences, Passion and Self-belief ~ Wilsen Initiative, the power of self discovery.

Inspirational video - I'm great fan of Simon :)

Copy & Paste vs. Copy & Progress

There may be no new ideas under the sun, but there are plenty of fresh ways to use old ideas in creating new innovations. Instead of copying and paste, let us copy and progress.

In this World of technological advancement, a lot of power is with the users and the makers to an extent some of the players don’t want to crack their minds to develop new progressive concepts.  It’s approximated that we are seven billion people in this planet earth and big chance is that whatever you are thinking of doing somebody else did it a long time ago, one of the ways you can come in is to give a fresh look and innovate new trends which are simple, easy and powerful.

Powerful example is how great brands evolve, I love sports and let look at how Addidas and Puma emerged  in brief and I quote;

“Every great story has a beginning. This one started in a small town in Bavaria, Germany. After first steps in his mother’s wash kitchen, Adi Dassler registered the “Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik” in 1924 and embarked on his mission to provide athletes with the best possible equipment. Gold medals in Amsterdam (1928, Lina Radke) and Berlin (1936, Jesse Owens) were first rewards and milestones – and only the start of our story.” Source http://www.adidas-group.com/en/group/history/

“Adidas was founded in 1949 by Adolf Dassler, following the split of Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik between him and his older brother Rudolf. Rudolf had earlier established Puma, which was the early rival of Adidas. Adidas and Puma are both currently based in Herzogenaurach, Germany.” en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adidas
So, what is the difference between Copy and paste versus Copy and Progress?

Copy and paste is whereby somebody or even a company imitated a certain product with almost zero additions just a flip of maybe color, shape, typeface and names. This is witnessed in even electronics, food products etc. the creators are clever enough to either ride on colors or naming their product. Nobody owns a particular color that is the hard fact.

Copy and progress which I advocate for in another way of looking at things, building the visual muscles by appreciating other peoples work to evoke advancement of ideas to what has been developed.  Great ingredients in copy and progress are curiosity, compare and contrast, appreciation, imagination, research and prototype,