Thomas Hardy - Life and art

Wisdom is defined by the free online dictionary as The ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; insight. The dictionary continues to define it as the sum of learning through the ages; knowledge, as well as, a wise outlook, plan, or course of action. When I was invited as a guest speaker at a 2007 high school Ball, I had to review for the first time what I had learned. What do I know for sure? This was the first time I had to look into my limited wisdom to ensure I separated what is true, right or lasting to capture and share what has helped me achieved what I have achieved to date.

After delivering my speech, I received this African artwork as a present. Being approached to inspire and shape the minds of future leaders was an honour in itself; never did I anticipate such a gesture of a wisdom mask as gratitude. When the Programme director handed it to me he said it was a wisdom mask. Apparently the merchant told him so, and that is enough for me, wrong or right. He continued to explain the logic behind the name, stating that it came from the big forehead that gives an illusion of a large brain or brain content.

Weeks before the lovely gesture I had to strategize on how to reach common ground with restless minds whose only concentration is on the freedom that awaits them outside the doors of their final exam. To reach common ground I knew I had to be creative and present concepts in their simplest form. My end product was to deliver a common acronym that will be easy to remember. Before I got to it, I had to crystallize the message I needed them to understand. I needed them to understand that they have potential and that they needed to follow their passions. Most importantly, they needed to have a positive attitude towards their vision.

And there it was, P.A.P, and that was all they needed to remember. Pap is a common meal made out of maize, but in this instant it meant:

P : Potential

A : Attitude

P : Passion

It was an amazing night; I know I made an impact at least, for sure to one student who till to date is my protg. This wise outlook came from my own experiences and I used these experiences as part of my speech.

When I was outlining potential I used my favorite movie of all times: Couch Carter. I love how it inspires and promotes poetry at the same time. Most importantly, the script contains such powerful words that have always been with me and I just had to share them with these future leaders:

Our biggest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our biggest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

Powerful beyond measure, this is unlimited potential. Its shocking to know that we are afraid of our own potential, but its true. Its sad but true; we continuously doubt what we can do even when we are doing, and doing it right. Fear is our biggest enemy, but as long as we remember that we have potential we can conquer the fear and achieve our dreams.

When it comes to attitude, we all have heard, attitude determines your altitude. This is so common that we sometimes overlook the essence and the important message it presents. I knew this saying for the longest time but it never meant anything. When I started working I looked back at my varsity life and questioned why I spent an extra year. Why did I fail and how did I recover; funny enough, the answer was attitude.

A friend of mine who finished in record time will always say without fail that he would finish his degree in record time, and that is exactly what he did. It did not matter if he had failed a test, missed a tutorial, or passed an exam. His message was always the same. For me it was always a matter of wanting to promise less and deliver more. So my message was, Well see when I finish, and there will be a reason why it might not be in record time. I was sure this is the way to go, for me this was being humble. So if it ever happened I did not finish on time, I couldnt be quoted to have said I am finishing 2002. My attitude was wrong so I delivered what I had promised less.

My second degree was about proving the attitude theory. I decided before hand it was going to take me two years flat. When I spoke to my lecturers about it they said one person has done it. Its possible," they said, "but it will not be easy. My class mates thought I was nuts. I had to finish my thesis within two and half months to achieve this and graduate by December. As I sat at the graduation, I was sitting with strangers and none of my class mates where there. The difference between the two degrees was my positive attitude. Do not be fooled; attitude without the necessary hard work will only make you look like a fool.

The importance of passion for me crystalized when I started working. At work I came across a strong individual who wasnt educated in process engineering. He knew everything about the plant though and he would get emotional about everything. For the longest time I was convinced he was a rude and arrogant individual with no respect for others. After four years of process engineering, the biggest lesson I learnt was one of passion and this was from the same individual. He knew everything about the plant. He knew more than people that went to school, because he was passionate about the plant and producing diamonds.

His passion for his job taught him everything he needed to know about the plant and rewarded him financially. As professionals we would have tea over his salary complaining that he is paid too much for an uneducated person and yet we are paid less. Our heads were bigger than the value we added. The truth is, he was paid more because he added more value. Passion was the driving force behind his knowledge and value added. Look around you; I am certain you will identify a successful individual whose only claim to success is passion. Passion is the fuel to success, it just makes everything challenging in your journey to success minuscule.

As I know it to date, PAP (Potential, Attitude, and Passion) is the fundamental key to success.

Every day we are leaving footprints on other peoples lives, same as if we are walking on beach sand. Others do the same on our lives; let us all learn from each other and ensure that with every life lesson we improve our emotional intelligence for a better future for all.

Table of Contents

You Are

How can one be so beautiful?

Your face defined from underneath

By splashes of light

As they ascend to the skies

Your feet dancing

Dancing to the sounds of thunder

As they caress the ground

Through silent paces

While they watch and admire

Your hands drive and control emotions

As will do an automobile,

Through the curves of death

They create and destroy

Yet admired

Admired by bats

Your brains live on

Defining isolation by force