Increase Your Net Worth As a Young Person.

After my trip from Germany I have been pondering and asking why do we young people find ourselves on the failing trail? I came to realize that most of the young people never take stock of what they want and  what they  have done in life.  Most of the time young people move with the flow for example  in choosing a career path, dressing code, how they spend leisure time, friendships etc. Some of the reasons why young people fail are for example, and not limited to below;

1. We don’t follow our dreams or even worse we never listen to our inner voices.
2. Never take stock of what we want to do and have done.
3. Never follow up on  projects started.
4. Lack of patience.
5. Hang out  with the wrong friends.
6. Imitating others and lack the drive or the courage to be original
7. Procrastination and lack of self confidence.
8. We want instant payment and we are afraid to volunteer.
9. We care less with the our little hard earn finances by purchasing unnecessary (impulse buying)things rather than save for the future. This doesn’t mean all the youths are like this there are many exceptional cases,  but through the systems that most of us underwent we are financially illiterate. Among others…

If there’s something we can’t place a price tag on, is the human kind we were created in God’s image and we can’t be compared with anything  and we are  installed  by the almighty Father as the supreme being on earth. My definition of worth here is determined by what you can do or have done to get other opportunities. Failing once in life doesn’t mean you will fail forever and even if you got an E- grade  in your O’level doesn’t mean the ‘END’  to life, though it is a wake up call to try again and do more about searching for  something that you can do better for  example by exploring other avenues like business, sports,  talent usage, technical skills, art and design etc. Some of us are blessed with either business, creative, leadership acumen that we ought to utilize them to increase our worth in the society.

Recently I came to  notice there people who have reached a point they never submit their CV’s  / resumes in search for a job because their development track records speaks for itself and is evident when you mention their names and they are at another level of ball game thus their net worth is super!  In this case instead of looking for work, the work awaits for them or are created to fit them in any system. I will spare mentioning names for this time round but open your eyes wide and look around your society and you will have many answers.

My advice to young people in terms of increasing or boosting their Net Worth are;

1. Be a specialist in your area of operation either in music, ICT etc. Do it at your level best!
2. Develop a Unique Selling Point which can be even the people skills, Quality Assurance etc.
3. Strive to learn something new every day, watch your learning curve growing.
4. Don’t enroll in a course because of a friend or even with your parents  persuasion. Listen keenly to the advice given and make the decision, and by doing so you shall have the zeal all time with you.
5. Don’t do things primary for money but rather focus on how you can land many assignments like the current one by giving quality products or service.

This is all for this month till next month,  and if you have an article you would like posted on our platform kindly don’t hesitate to share with us and the rest of the audience.

The World of Information Flow from My Own Spectacles!

Last month (August 2012), I had an opportunity to travel to Kampala- Uganda on our scheduled mentorship program organized by my employer (Nairobits Trust). During the mission, I had the opportunity to ‘criss-cross’ the streets of Kampala mostly in the day time because I’m not a night person. At night, I generally prefer to relax either by watching television, reading a book or doing something on my computer. This might sound boring to you, but I love what I do! I want to acknowledge the team of Kampabits staff and students who are dedicated to working tirelessly to seeing the Bits (www.nairobits.com) philosophy expand its roots to the deepest part of Uganda. Usually, when I meet and work with passionate people anywhere in this planet, I get inspired by the environment, people, daily routines, transport system just to mention but a few. The outcome of my learning expeditions either results in personal traits, creative projects or even deeper appreciation among others.

The bottom line is that I get to learn something new which is part of self discovery that never ends. Like the Chinese saying “A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step” I am embracing exactly that to infinity. On the contrary, when I was on a mission in Kampala, I was surprised to see what content (content is King or Queen as asserted by many authors!) is exposed to the public especially the children without mentioning any newspapers or publication. I was shocked to see especially one type of newspaper that is accessible to all and to me I could term it ‘adult content’. I might be wrong in my understanding and interpretations, though it is amazing to see and learn from diverse cultures and to realize what the young minds are exposed to without their knowledge on what the consequences of this might be.

During one outing in Nairobi with my friend Mr. Mbarak from Zanzibits, we had a chat in a joking manner explaining that we have been sold almost everything in this world as consumers; and  I don’t know what is left which has not been sold to us on the streets... Just a few weeks ago, somebody was claiming that if you drink your own urine you get some therapeutic medication.

I’m not a scientist neither I’m I a doctor to ascertain the claim, but to me the ordinary ‘mwananchi’ (citizen) I’m puzzled by the events that surrounds us.

If the type of information or content spread across isn’t a concern to stress my point, on the weekend before the opening of schools for third term, I decided to attend this event which was supposed to be a family fun day .I like the zeal which they created the awareness in all media platforms without leaving an inch of information which indeed pulled a big crowd thus this was really encouraging and strategic.
Before the event kicked off, I captured some interesting points that are worth learning from;

• If you create big expectations you have to match them even if it’s a free or a paid event.
• Keeping time is still a taboo; this was quite evident by the event starting late.
• Test you systems prior to the big day and get quality equipments. Remember that cheap is always expensive. During the event the systems did fail and I can’t confirm the reasons…

What left me wondering is where our nation is heading to especially in nurturing the next generation of responsible youths. During the event, I was awed from the way the master of ceremony spoke to the children when they failed to be the best during the dance competitions. Even though it sounded funny to the parents, I wonder if it was the same for the children trying to fit in their shoes. Secondly, the type of music played and the outfits of some artists’ to me wasn’t fit for the audience present; bearing in mind that most of them were children. Or it is me who is growing old? Please help me here...

The children in the event were accompanied by their brothers, fathers, sisters, mother s etc. These are people who are very dear and close to and the artists ought to check their language and gestures when they are addressing this group. Additionally; the Dj’s ought to choose an appropriate mix of songs since there is a pool of playlist/genre for different audiences.

Let us not use creativity in the wrong perspective at the expense of holding to good practices or traditions like dressing and the style of dancing, especially when your audiences are young minds. Let us not intoxicate their minds by thinking in a certain direction.

It is high time for parents to follow what their children are exposed to; either music, games, film, television programs, fun days etc. It is a shame when the event organizers somehow don’t put a keen consideration on their target audience and the impact they want to create.

Life isn’t about selling products only without contributing to the well being of the consumer even if it is information oriented. It is my plea to event organizers to re- think and give an in depth awareness campaign when organizing events. For example, by having appropriate playlists or even live performances that match the expected audience.

Are you familiar with this term GIGO! It’s mostly used in computer programming meaning Garbage In Garbage Out! So don’t be caught unawares!

Kenya My Future...

How much do you love your country? I was born in Kenya and I love my country as much as I love myself, it is part of my life. I have heard many of my colleagues complaining and wishing to live in other countries other than Kenya, little do they know what our beloved country has got to offer because of their limited movement around the country and abroad due to especially economical situations or limited opportunities.

In foreign countries, there are quite some developments which can’t be compared with our country but on the contrary, there are unique things that you can only find here in Kenya that makes me a proud Kenyan. I’m really looking forward to the Olympics and I wish team Kenya will do us good as usual. My biggest wish would be that we have the Olympics mood with us forever more because during such global events we usually come together as one Nation and we forget our tribes, the politics and other negative affiliations that surround us.

We should embrace our cultures because that is also what make us proud Kenyans, thus we should shun negative ethnicity by all means. Sometimes I don’t want to watch the news because it is predominated with bad news and politics. All in all, I thank the government for establishing the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) www.cohesion.or.ke/ which has seen a reduction of all manner of polarization on tribal lines; NCIC never give up! On the other hand, it is astonishing how we have promoted our local tourism that we can’t even enjoy the flora and fauna of our country.

The problem is that we are unfortunate that we were born on the crack side of the country like the slums and other deplorable situations, but this is not what Kenya is made of, apart from the beautiful natural sceneries there are other precious values of life like hospitality, happiness, peace, love and unity that are rare to find in other countries and Kenya is one of the destinations you can’t miss these values. It is high time we open our eyes and vote wisely and refuse to be used to dive into tribal cocoons. Rather, we should open our eyes wider and see the bigger picture called Kenya and engrave the true spirit of peace, love and unity in our hearts and make Kenya one of the greatest havens in the world.

I have come to appreciate the true value of education and if you are educated and informed, no one would influence you to act before thinking. Let us educate our sons and daughter because Kenya belongs to them and we need to make sure we pass on the baton in a peaceful and prosperous county. Here is a question to you, what have you done for Kenya to make sure we either live in harmony with each other? A sober advice: You don’t need to be a politician to influence positive change in our country, it all starts with the small things we do, say, think and even share.

 As the founder of Wilsen Initiative it is my sincere hope that one day we shall roll out our sport tourism project starting with football to make even bigger contributions in uniting all Kenyans using sports as a vehicle to our destination. The main aim of this project is to create linkages, tour our country, and learn other cultures and the end result being peaceful cohesion of people and appreciation for our country whereby everyone feels fully responsible in developing the Kenya that we want.

“A country never prospers when the good people remain in silence and do nothing in making sure they shape the paths for a prosperous nation”. Wilson Masaka Picture by Wilson Masaka ( Wilsen Initiative Founder), on the picture Tecy Kimberly and her Mum. High resolution picture available for billboard campaign…

By Wilson Masaka: “Love & Passion for what we do shall make us prosper” Lastly a big thank you to everyone who purchased our tribe42 t-shirts which is one year old since we launched it, for those that haven’t gotten a copy and would love to purchase , kindly get in touch with Wilson.masaka@gmail.com