The Reminiscence Of the Football Shoes (boots) Campaign Back in 2004

Name: Johnmark Gachucha
Current profession: Cinematographer at Bauhaus Ltd.
Industry: Filming industry

For the better part of my life I have lived in Mathare North, a cosmopolitan estate where I started playing soccer as a young boy without football boots and the grounds were not conducive for any child to play but for the love and passion for football was burning in me like an inferno.

We watched our local stars rising from the same circumstances later to play in the Kenya premier league and other leagues abroad. One time while still training at Drive-in Primary school, one of the football legends that many admired his achievements was watching the training session like anybody else from the estate, well when we were done, his brother came to me and a colleague by the name Odongo accompanied them to their house which we followed together with great anticipation

The moment we got to Masaka's house, Odongo received a pair of black and predator Addidas soccer playing shoes; he was filled with joy and gratitude all over his face. Well, I was happy for him because I knew my day was going to come, this was in 2004.

One week later Wilson Masaka is also known as ‘Maja’ like we used to call him then, called me in his house where his brother and sisters were present, Banda his younger brother said '' hebu pima hizi'' try this one's out!, and this was a pair of black Addidas Mundial for me.

I could not hide my joy and I could not stop thanking him for this was my desire to play football with professional shoes, especially in secondary school games which was ongoing at Ruaraka high school we were playing in the quarter finals and I was the only student from form two in the school team which was a rare opportunity. We went on to the Nairobi final only to be defeated 2-1 by Hidden Talent academy who were later disqualified for filling premier league players who cheated to be their students.

All in all Maja gesture boosted my morale and the urge to be a professional player and the better part is that I was not the only neither Odongo but many youth have received the shoes, uniform and balls because of his love to see football in the slums and less privileged children have at least proper gears from training and play. Though I don't play football professionally like I wanted to I have never stopped playing for fun.

Thanks Wilson Masaka you are a true patriot of football who continues to inspire many youth through the football shoes campaign and I urge everyone to join in and support the cause. One person can reach hundreds but when we are a team, we can reach millions, I invite you to join Wilsen initiative’s vision of reach many young people in our community through sports for development program.

May God bless and thank you.

Sent through email by Johnmark
28th Marc

Be the Change: Start Today, There’s No Perfect Time.

Photo taken at Umoja Center in Arusha Tanzania, creating a brighter future for Tanzanian Youth

As time goes by, we grow older every day; you only realize it when you look at yourself in the mirror or when people start calling you names like Mzee which is a Swahili word used to express respect or an elder, uncle, aunty, mama and any other related names depending with the context. Responsibilities are a never ending part in our life, we continue to receive many signals to continue the process of infinite learning as the backbone for adapting into new challenges that come with the daily hustle and bustle of life. No matter what situation we are in, change is inevitable, thus we require a sober mind, a new paradigm shift on how we approach life in general, the big balance for some of us is  work, family, investment, saving, new prospects etc.

I continue to encourage the young people to belong to something bigger than them starting with their dreams, passion, professional networks etc. These are the only swiftest way to arrive at the mastery level of developing your career, while there are many options around us to choose from, let us make informed decisions on positive paths that will move us forward as one team or nation.

Starting today, give a helping hand, donate your time, donate your resources, share your skills and experience, etc.; this may go a long way in helping someone in finding the light in the dark tunnel and misery of life. Sometimes all that we do for others seems small and we think it has no significance is their life’s, this notion isn’t true as much as there are things that can’t be measured, but that one percent contribution is what sparks that energy, connects, motivates, inspires someone to continue pursuing their dreams into 99% realization.  For example, this might be that one minute you spared from your busy schedule to reply to an email or even gave compliments to someone by saying you have this unique skill and talent in you, this is the changing times and this is what I term as the bridges towards prosperity.

Let us not forget while building our own bridges, we should also think of how many people will use it to cross to the other side while they continue to lay the same foundation. This bridge doesn't have to be something tangible, but it can be through sharing that important value you uphold and have lived to see its magic in changing your life and that of others for example teamwork, empathy, love, commitment etc. We were not born with the same values, philosophies, character, backgrounds, etc. Hence, it’s totally impossible to change people, but we may influence them to see the great possibility they have in them to trigger a positive change in others (the champion in you…) as Mahatma Gandhi puts it clearly “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.
These and many more is the philosophy I have upheld dearly to date since when the light bulb moment triggered my mind while starting Wilsen Initiative (Wi). Values are good when they are written on paper; but they are great when they are live by them, each day I strive to see myself reach the vision by leaving positive trails.

There's no perfect time, every day is a perfect time to make the right turn for positive change and create an impact. We can’t escape the challenge and problems either known or unknown to us, only through re-framing and re-wiring our system (mind, brain, feelings, wish list, purpose, thoughts, philosophies, desire, dream etc;) we will be able to convert the situations into new zones of opportunities and explorations. The biggest challenge isn't about resources, but rather the resourcefulness that will lead us to great resources. Never give up, your idea might not be new attractive to many, it still stand the chance of being a unique model by doing small things in an extraordinary ways that targets impact rather than follow trends for the sake. Listen to opposing voices; invite many voices, the supporting voices and most importantly, while making your decision never forget to listen to your inner voice calling you to take action in a certain way.

I leave you with is great quotes of inspiration;

 “The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance – it is the illusion of knowledge.” – Daniel J. Boorstin

“You have to know what sparks the light in you so that you, in your own way, can illuminate the world” – Oprah Winfrey

Brand Identity - Get Yourself Branded!

One of the things I love doing is creating a new brand identity for my fellow creative’s. We can’t have all the skills to do everything on our own, thus the need to collaborate and share skills to enable each other get a slice of the market share in our industry.

Choosing colours to use for your brand isn't easy if you don’t have one in place,  if you aren't knowledgeable you might use all the colour palette or even worse all the colours on the rainbow which might give you zero return on investment (ROI).

Many factors influence our decisions on the best approach to take, for example choosing  slogans, names, typography, images, colours just to mention but a few. There is  a big gap in creative industry especial for the start-ups who want to create great brand identities with zero knowledge and skills.

I'm passionate and I love to learn while offering my skills on the Pro - Bono basis for any upcoming musicians, fashion designers, painters, film makers, entrepreneurs etc. This quarter I'm proud to have offered solutions for Boaz Creatives and Mt. Hanang travel and tours, below is few samples of my work.


Tags: Colour, typography, logo, business cards, slogans, visual appeal and design that will last the test of time.

All copyright reserved @wilsenx

THE CREATIVE BLOCK

#TODO-LIST 

There is a number of buttons you can choose to press when you are hit by the CREATIVE BLOCK; this is a situation where you can't think further in generating new ideas and solutions for an assignment.

Choose two of your favourite BUTTONS!

1.  Panic button.
2. Help button.
3. Think more buttons.
4. Relax button, I will do it later.
5. Delete button.
6. Question mark button.

Inspiration for creativity comes from many sources 
#Environment @ Arusha, Tanzania

Today my day was green :) I live and work at a place surrounded by many types of trees and farms with varieties of vegetations.

Just a few steps next to my office is the orange trees with almost ready to eat oranges dangling on the trees. Capturing the creative moment I decide to do something creative about the environment which is to advocate for a green Africa. Let us conserve the environment by planting many trees for a better future.

Tags: Photography, creative bubble, conceptualization.

Here is the artwork!

Grass Root Soccer in East Africa

Dear Friends,

I hope you are doing great!  I would like to invite you to join me in cause to nurture great football talents from the grass-root starting with Mathare slums.

The African cup of Nations is over, and looking at the teams that participated we missed again (East Africa). Reaching the World is very possible only if all of us stand up and support the grass-root soccer / football despite the mismanagement history of the game.

I believe for those who don't love the game you still stand a chance of making a big difference in someone else dream. By the way, your son or daughter might love the game or you know someone whose life has changed because of the game leave alone Myself, Origi, Oliech, Wanyama just to mention but a few.

The question is how many didn't make it to see their dreams 'blossom' due to frustration, drug abuse and crime?

There are a lot of talents that goes to waste due to lack of support and mismanagement.

This Easter holiday you can make a difference by donating a pair of football shoes, footballs, uniforms to support nurture the talent.

I invite you to watch this video and share with your wide networks! Grass Root Soccer in East Africa http://youtu.be/DI1YopqyNkM

For follow ups on contribution;

I will be reachable on my Kenyan line +254721898710 from 2nd April 2015.
Here is my Tanzania line +255758559662.
You can always reach me on wilson.masaka@gmial.com

Have a blessed day.

The Cross Roads in Our Career Development

The youth need early coaching and mentoring in their career development. Choosing a career is still one of the most juggled processes amongst young people, and more so those who have just finished high school. The puzzle is interconnected with many influences ranging from economic factors, the teacher’s advice , job opportunities, acquired grades, curriculum, peer pressure, what’s trending, parents decision, family lineage, personal desires, just to mention but a few.

This is a process if not closely monitored, the youth end up doing what they don’t love. I urge the youth to get certified with reputable institutions which will increase their chances of getting a slot for job interviews, whilst not forgetting to work on developing their competences.  We need to embrace an infinite process of innovation and creativity in all industries.  Many people today have the right certification for the job as advertised, but the question is how many are competent for that same job is the tricky part that is difficult to capture in the interview process.

Many things that boost or build our competencies were not taught in our schooling lifetime and this is why we should have an infinite learning curve towards innovation, creativity and technical application to our career choices.  I thank Amani Institute in Nairobi, Kenya and the Do school in Hamburg, Germany for instilling new approaches to my learning curve as a social entrepreneur., I loved the personal coaching, the fun, the teamwork and their entire philosophy towards addressing the gaps in the education sector and promoting a new generation of leaders and social change makers.

So the question is how do I build on my competence for my career choice? This a good question that every young person needs to ask themselves. My take is that work experience can be acquired through being employed, intern-ship, personal projects, freelancing,  paid small assignments, volunteering, pro-bono assignments, working on a team project etc. The goal is to acquire skills and experiences while building a portfolio (Tell and Show Rule).

Ok, lets come back to our main topic of career choices, cross roads and development. Lets us compare and contrast a few quotes which sometimes might be misleading in the career development process if not followed with an open mind.

1. Nobody is perfect versus practice makes perfect.  If no one is perfect why practice? Mmh! This is the misleading thought towards the two quotes.
2. Jack of all trades master of none versus you need to wear more than one hat to survive. 

You get want I mean now? And, there are many more from people telling you don’t do this and that. My advice is, love what you do and do what you love. There are many possibilities of learning many things in the same career of your choice and specialization comes later in the process after learning  the fundamentals in your field of choice.

Here is my example: I’m a web /graphic designer, web developer, Blogger, social entrepreneur and IT trainer plus many others things that I love doing. You need a mastery of your own timelines and wish all, and do what you love to do, just a word of caution don’t spread yourself too thin in almost everything as you will be overwhelmed and get a burn-out.  Mastery is key and it is a process which requires patience in learning about yourself (inner voice, power, strength, discovery etc).

 In the society we have, for example, Web masters and creative directors who are people with a good grasp and mastery of the field of operation which they have gained after accumulated experiences over a period of time.  I believe in learning multiple subjects while you develop your road map towards specialization, even though some career combination is suicidal.

I don’t think you can combine being a doctor and film producer at the same time, but a film producer can still operate cameras, create story boards, edit and actually manage the entire process and this is what I'm talking about mastery of a subject which increases your efficiencies, a chance for employment and starting your own business.

Ok, back to my real life example of how I developed or am still developing my career to emphasize my pointers. My career choice is interlinked or interwoven; I have to learn more than one subject, and each subject is deeply rooted to other small sub links, and links to the products that I seek to develop with the acquired skills and knowledge.

A T-shaped person: The concept of T-shaped skills, or T-shaped persons is a metaphor used in job recruitment to describe the abilities of persons in the workforce. The vertical bar on the T represents the depth of related skills and expertise in a single field, whereas the horizontal bar is the ability to collaborate across disciplines with experts in other areas and to apply knowledge in areas of expertise other than one's own. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-shaped_skills

I just finished this website www.wilsen-initiative.org and www.kilimanjarofilm.org/blog
Please check them out; to finish the projects a lot of time, knowledge and skills went into the following;

• Graphic design ( color scheme, layouts, Info graphic and slices).
• Web development ( CSS, HTML, JQuery, Forms, Joomla and Structure).
• Photography ( Shooting, retouching, cropping, storytelling and selectin)
• Copy writing (Content production).
• Project management ( communication, follow ups, timelines)

Check out more about my work at www.wilsenx.com and www.behance.net/wilsenx .  I wish you all the best in your career mapping process (development).

Quick tips:  Join learning networks, personal learning, and research, follow your interests and passion, keep it real and have the ME time, do a project, create time and learn from other people’s work etc.