The Dreams we HAVE

Jerry Baird once said ‘‘Success is a journey not a destination’’. A journey that can make you cry, step on toes, angry but fulfilling. Each and every one of us has dreams. In one way or the other, we tackle these dreams from different angles. Different homes, made of different families. Different beliefs and practices and possibly different ways of falling in love with our dreams. In all these situations we experience our own peculiar challenges. Obstacles that try to impede our goals. Henry Ford said ‘obstacles are those frightful things we see when we take our mind off our goals’. In some one's world the challenge he/she faces may be someone else’s fortunate moment. A friend once told me, ‘never underestimate the pain of a person. This is because in all honesty, every one hurts, just that some people hide it better than others’. As we go about our daily schedules, we greet and smile at each other. Yet we rarely know what everyone goes through in their loneliness.

In our pursuit of happiness, we tackle life with different formations, using our own unique strategies. My friends have taught me that in life, smiles may be very deceptive. It all start from our childhood. We all start school with high aspirations. With hopes of being a lawyer, teacher, a soldier, a nurse, an engineer and whatsoever we sole desire to be in future. It doesn’t matter if you schooled in one of the top most schools or in a remote community. What matters is how you get there. Failure in our situations only get to add up and possibly divert our intentions. Sometimes the obstacles we face are just unexplainable. It may be a loss of the bread winner. Maybe a loved one that pushes us, inspires us to do more. Maybe a mistake that crippled our progress beyond our estimation. 

Realization of dreams are lessons all around us. Chris Gardener depicted that perfectly in his true life story movie titled ‘pursuit of happyness’. ‘Mandela long walk to freedom’ is no exception. An inspiration in itself. The story of Maruge, a Kenyan, and the oldest man to have gone to primary school in his mid-80 is just remarkable. Just to achieve his dream. To make a difference. Indeed this picture was clearly exposed in the movie ‘the first grader’, a very touching change maker. All these are not different from the famous award winning movies ‘Beyond the black board’ and ‘Front of the class ’ and in many untold stories and told stories. Some of which have been captured in movies i could continue mentioning. Your story is awaiting completion. Dreams do come true. Just do it. Let’s do it. Only if we believe.

As humans, and focused people, we listened to people who motivate us. We are drawn to people who say the sweet things to us. At times these beautiful moments defeat the intention of re-evaluating our weaknesses. As infallible beings, what makes our actions incomplete? This we hardly love to listen to. We claim we are dream chasers yet we rarely change the little world in our bed room. We are usually advice to change these challenges into positives.  As though it is as easy as 1,2,3......,easier said than done. An attitude built over time needs thorough measures to cleanse, a project of purity.  It does not seem easy as it is said. One thing however, is our own inbuilt motivating factors. We may not accept it but there is always something that keeps us on our toes. Something that gets us emotional and awakes our thoughts to face our dreams. In all these, the fear of failure never gives up.  

Nonetheless, the spirit to win lives in the dreams we believe in. I have a story which is unscripted.  A story I believe can motivate you. A story you might never imagined. One you never lived, that inspires me each time I fall, my motivation. We all have stories. We may never believe in them but its tales turns it into food for thought. How about yours, just maybe mine was just a class exercise and yours could be the final exam. In all these encounters, there are people who observe and may possibly judge you. They may not know the story but the little they see could discourage them or inspire them. How do you live your untold story?

The greatest gift of motivation is that part that you see wrong about you. That part which drives the change in you.When you let that weakness gets to you, it takes the best out of you. I do not know your dream. It may change as time passes. It may change because conditions change, yet you never stop dreaming. Dreaming is a game you know. A dream for which we have a ‘why’ for executing. A dream that has a reason. That knows no failure. It’s just a dream………..

The NEXT BIG Entrepreneur

Having watched and read about the many successful entrepreneurs in the world especially in Africa, I realize I have no justification for failing. Trust me, If you do not know someone's story, you may judge yourself as very unfortunate. What boggled me most was what kept them going? Their vision and target held them on. These people faced adversities of different intensities yet they stood still, fought and won. Indeed those adversities are not discussed in the public domain. Rather, we mostly discuss the quantum of money they make, spend and how they live their lives. Interesting isn’t it? In my opinion, focusing more on the challenges of their story should rather compel many potential stars to coil out from their shells. An act that would launch excellent incubating ideas into multimillion firms. The tone for motivation should be how these winners once failed but rose to their feet.

These heroes and heroines started off small. A beginning attribute associated with most successful brands. The underlining factor for each of them was to IDENTIFY A PROBLEM.

 The problem could be a challenge you have. It could be your siblings or parents. Maybe your colleagues or your neighbors. What challenge have you identified with yourself or those around you?

There was a need for telephones because we needed to communicate via long distances. Mobile Phones broke the barrier because we needed to carry it along for timely updates.

 Today we have pick up services for school children because there was a need to assist parents who hardly get time to pick up their wards from school. Most school buses are unable to pass by every pupil's house.

Estate development is the new emerging trend because the time to acquire land, build and to even supervise is limited. Not forgetting Land litigation issues and land economization. Let’s commence with the zeal. If I start a business today, I can employ two (2) or more, so can you. So what is the solution to the identified problems? How do we solve them? Can you execute it alone, do you need a partner? How do we set off to build a wonderful paradise? Imagine a Ghana with 100% employment. A country with minimal or no crime because our hands are engaged. Where there is work and Happiness.

So, let’s get started. What challenge have you identified? Or let’s start with mine. My cousin loves to eat beans with fried plantain (Gobe3) but the canteen at his work place does not sell that. Isn’t this an opportunity for a mobile Beans Van?

 

We can decide to sell very palatable local dishes such as fufu, apem with kotomre on special days (Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays) by using our Mobile Van. After all we all want convenience. I hate walking long distances just to go and eat. KOKO KING did it, so can we. Gari for some years now has been packaged in polythene. A model that the middle class shy from. Can you think of packaging Gari into various Kilos just as rice is packaged? I think this is enough for now. But the problems in Ghana are a lot.

. I am thinking of having plastic bins at strategic locations across the country. Instead of walking about and handpicking these sachets. Processing these polythene into secondary products called PELLETS. This can be sold at a higher price than the raw materials. Did I just share this! OMG! Anyway #justmaybe we can make more money.

You want more ideas? I hope to have a power charger for my rice cooker. As a substitute for electricity in case of power cuts. I want to consume my own food regardless of ‘DUMSOR’.

Let’s Share, Let solve our own problem. What problem have you identified?  I may not be a very good programmer but I can be good elsewhere. You may be good at identifying flaws in that movie or music video. You saw what they missed. Do you just say it to your friends? Let the world know of it. ‘Monetize’ your skills people. What’s your strength? Let’s reduce the unemployment rate by starting small. #LETS START SMALL. #letssolveit.

A letter to my Community

Hmmmmmm! Did you ask if I was PROUD? Not at all, not when it has to do with you. Not when you have 
litters all over. At least you gave me pathways I can use for my daily schedules. I have a place I call home, a place I find in your bosom. Even though you give me so much headache. Especially when everybody in this community cares less about you. All we care about is how to make ends meet and get a place to rest without thinking of your future. How Selfish! At times I find it very difficult to describe it as our character or our attitude, when all we do is to litter everywhere. Polythene is our closest pal now, our next of Kin, we dump them anywhere, anytime as soon as we finish using them. Is it because we do not have dustbins at strategic locations? Or its a habit we can’t quit? 

Oooh! My neighbours! Would there ever be a day when we will dispose of polythene properly and make our community polythene free? Eeeebeeeih!!!!!. What at all has the community done to us? Huh!? 

!? Our lorry stations are worst affected, they have become footballs that we kick as we walk through the stations. For the gutters, I pity them every time I see how they struggle to pave way for liquid waste to move. My Community, I sincerely apologize for all these inconveniences. By the way, are we still expecting someone from elsewhere to provide us with dustbins?   Maybe we are waiting for a fiasco. My fellow neighbours, we live in this community and so let’s play the game responsibly. How about we set the rules, led by examples, buy our own dustbins and keep them at strategic places. We can as well be the guards, no mercy for any culprit as we hold each other responsible. Is it our character or should I say our attitude to be nonchalance to such a negative uprising? Do we after all need someone to tell us to keep our community clean, or to clean them every first Saturday of every new month? Aaaaah! Sometimes I just don’t understand. We generate the waste yet someone must tell us when to clean the waste?Rather we eat, sell and live in this filth. So soo amazing!!!

 Our gutters are choked with filth, both liquid and solid waste, whiles these channels were built purposely for liquid waste. We define what these drains must be used for.When are we ever saying NO!!! , to all these bad practices? Huh!? We are all culpable.

So much money is invested in fighting malaria every day and the death tolls per household also keep soaring up. However, we nurture these mosquitoes ourselves in the best of habitat for them. We feed and care for them every day. So why can’t they be happy spending their vacations with us, as we rather kill them using insecticides. Or its just because two wrongs just don't make a right?. Why can't we just shut up and enjoy their way of saying good evening, after all we invited them, we bore them. We rather prefer to fight the very friends we nurtured.  We are ingrates! We rather enjoy their stings and pay for the cure? Imagine what that money could have been used for. What surprises me most is seeing elites litter the environment and causing the community so much harm, they that need to educate the others on the harmful effects of littering are rather victims, ‘smh’, it’s a pity. Is it because the community is deaf and dumb? OOuuchhh!!! Yen Ara Asaase ni. Eeeih! Okukuseku!

In our markets and streets, we have chosen to use pedestrian pathways as stores leaving pedestrians to compete with vehicles for the same road. So why at all was the pedestrian Walkways created? Was for Aesthetics? Some of us claim we are students in the High Schools, Colleges and Universities yet we lead all these practices by helping our parents arrange the items on the walkways, this I think can be done better by all parties. So interesting, how we belittle our Community. I feel so sorry for you. We prefer to play hide and seek with security personnel over that too, and bribing our way out? Oooooh! What a shame!! Let’s bow our heads in Shame. We are all guilty and we know we are yet we rather prefer to Blame someone for not doing his Job as we continue to do what is Wrong, inflicting pain on an innocent community. Indeed, every sector is guilty.
Many of such negative attitudes are exhibited on a daily basis. It is either the kenkey seller who used spoilt pepper mixed with proper ones for her pepper sauce resulting in her clients suffering food poisoning, or the teacher compromised with some students just to pass them. May be the electrician helped in that illegal connection that resulted in that fire outbreak or the accountant just bloated the figures to make more money at the detriment of someone or the engineer just did a shoddy job, may be the port official allowed the inferior goods into the country without thinking of his step mother

’s grandchild of possibly consuming that product. Just May be it was you and you know it could be you. Many things we have done just to punish this ‘mute’ Community. It is time we call it ‘A QUIT’ to correct ourselves and stand up to correct others. Be a game changer Brethren. Make a difference. It all starts from Here. Do the right thing when No ONE IS WATCHING.

When Transport Beats Time ...........( PART I )

                               

Walking on the railway right behind Accra Brewery Limited, en route to Agbogbloshie market, made me wonder if my village was too close.Is this railway actually in accra? This railway is partially buried in the sand with foreign materials all around it. However, the rail way behind Unilever Ghana tells me the future is bright. This railway looks so clean, with a very good train stop that is capable of attracting every Tom,Dick and Harry,in fact irrespective of the person's status which can significantly draw more people in patronising it. Imagine such structures at different locations, wouldn't that promote the transportation sector by adding value, minimising air pollution and intense traffic,how about productivity? Is this dream ever possible? Many a times there are agitations with regards to roads, either there are no road networks or deteriorating roads. Do we consider the rail system as an option in solving this road problems? Or we only serve them with temporarily solutions as we get caught in traffic jams in the future, where we spend so many hours just to leap an inch. That sucks right! Ide3 pain rof’

, especially when the sun is so hot and the car accumulates so much heat, imagine a ‘trotro’ with no AC stucked in traffic for hours. The worst happens if the car right in front of you emits so much smoke from its exhaust and you get to inhale all these toxic gases into your body.

Recently I attended a conference organized by Bicycle for all friends (BFAF), on how students can patronize the use of bicycle riding on campus, nice initiative, I wish them well though. However, I prefer to graduate to something a bit higher and more efficient.  Imagine a more advanced, efficient, safer means of transport of goods and services, a train system that can transport us from one destination to the other. Not just any train system, but a system that reduces vehicular stress.Imagine, a train taking 5 minutes maximum to get you to work. Wouldn't that be so sweet. Huh!?so fast...woooooh!.

Wow! My appointments would definitely be secured on time, that interview you were late for just because you were stuck in traffic, is solved. How about that habit of getting home late and waking up very early. Hmmm…. Small rest pee3! Yet more is expected from you at work. Everyone assumes you are very fine yet your strength wears off gradually. Can this translate into high productivity? ‘SMH’, unfortunately kids have become victims, since mum and dad want to avoid traffic, they wake these innocent kids up, as early as 3am. Won’t these kids dose in class after all? What would they even learn in school? This challenge has even denied some kids from seeing dad and mum during the weekdays. Mum and Dad are only available during the weekend. Very Funny. I am looking forward to everyone owning a car someday in Ghana, what a wonderful city it would be. Traffic from the entrance of your gate right to work, it will be soo much fun. Crawling, crawling, and crawling just like a chameleon. A day when the city will be choked with cars.

AM WAITING FOR A DAY WHEN THE COMPETITION WILL BE BASED on WHICH TRAIN IS MORE RELIABLE, FAST AND COMFORTABLE. When all our ‘Big’ men who cannot do without their cars would prefer to use the train , when a life won’t be lost cos the specialist could not beat traffic to save a life, when workers will sleep well and no more excuses for lateness, lol!!. Am waiting for that day WHEN entrepreneurs will invest in the train business. I am waiting FOR THAT DAY, when road accidents will be significantly minimized….#JUST THAT DAY……