Showing posts with label Book Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book Reviews. Show all posts
How to Build Enlightened Wealth As A Creative Entrepreneur
"You arrived here on planet Earth encoded with divine DNA - a specific set of talents, gifts, opportunities, connections, and sensitivities.
We believe you have a destiny to fulfill. There is music in you, a song you are destined to sing, or instrument you are destined to play in the symphony of life.
Some people discover their destiny quickly, some people take decades to do so, and others never even look for it. When you tap into this pure vein of gold you become the person you were born to be." - Mark and Robert
Now join me in the journey of discovering our divine life path through a book whose entire theme is the higher power's approach to business success.
Image: Freepik
We believe you have a destiny to fulfill. There is music in you, a song you are destined to sing, or instrument you are destined to play in the symphony of life.
Some people discover their destiny quickly, some people take decades to do so, and others never even look for it. When you tap into this pure vein of gold you become the person you were born to be." - Mark and Robert
Now join me in the journey of discovering our divine life path through a book whose entire theme is the higher power's approach to business success.
Higher power, God, the Creator, Source, we have different names for the Supreme Being that created us and cares for our well being.
Higher power should be the center of everything we do in business. We should think of how Higher power would treat our customers, how they would create our products and how they would give back to society.
The following are 5 business lessons that, as a Creative Entrepreneur, resonated with me. These lessons are from the enlightening book Cracking the Millionaire Code by Mark Victor Hansen and Robert G Allen.
The following are 5 business lessons that, as a Creative Entrepreneur, resonated with me. These lessons are from the enlightening book Cracking the Millionaire Code by Mark Victor Hansen and Robert G Allen.
1. Lesson One: Giving
According to the book, we should think of giving not as a duty but as a privilege because other than amplifying the fact that we have enough to spare, giving lubricates the process of wealth building.
Giving to me comes in many forms. One is creating a business solution that serves many people -another is finding ways to make people's lives a little better through monetary or in-kind donations. This explains why most successful businesses have vibrant CSR programs.
It is a trend among the ultra-rich to have foundations where the surplus of what they have earned goes to charities in order to help other people. Oprah once said "when more is given, more is required" and she lives by example.
2. Lesson Two: Finding Your Purpose
The destiny code is your purpose in life. The music you were meant to sing in the symphony of the universe.
It took Oprah Winfrey's demotion from a lofty news anchor position - which she did not like anyway - to a stagnating talk show no one watched at that time, for her to discover her destiny.
At first, when she started the talk show, she was made to interview a couple with their child. The cheating husband confessed in front of the national TV that his girlfriend was pregnant and Oprah saw the humiliation in his wife's face. And that was when she decided that enough was enough.
She decided that she would not let TV use her but rather she would use TV to impact people's lives positively. She continues to do so using new media like YouTube even after a successful 25 years as a TV talk show host.
It is important to know that at times your destiny is shown to you in disguise. In Oprah's case, hers was what her boss thought was a demotion. Yours could be a lay off that led you to follow your passion of cooking that you were putting off for the future which never seemed to come.
It took Oprah Winfrey's demotion from a lofty news anchor position - which she did not like anyway - to a stagnating talk show no one watched at that time, for her to discover her destiny.
At first, when she started the talk show, she was made to interview a couple with their child. The cheating husband confessed in front of the national TV that his girlfriend was pregnant and Oprah saw the humiliation in his wife's face. And that was when she decided that enough was enough.
She decided that she would not let TV use her but rather she would use TV to impact people's lives positively. She continues to do so using new media like YouTube even after a successful 25 years as a TV talk show host.
It is important to know that at times your destiny is shown to you in disguise. In Oprah's case, hers was what her boss thought was a demotion. Yours could be a lay off that led you to follow your passion of cooking that you were putting off for the future which never seemed to come.
The book also reminds us that we need a team and that there are people who are destined to be in our team. They will help us fulfill our destiny and we will help them fulfill theirs.
4. Lesson Four: Finding Multiple Revenue Streams
3. Lesson three: Finding Your Winners Circle
The authors introduce an interesting term in the book. The ANGELS code refers to the team of people working with you on your business. We need a strong team and they need us. It is good to have a team of people who are positive, forward-thinking and who have a track record for success.
One action step would be to come up with a list of people and start contacting them on whether they would be interested in collaborating on your joint business idea.
ANGELS stands for
Access to assets - The access to capital and financial assets your team members have.
Network capital - The people that your team members know.
Genius capital - The talents, gifts, and creativity of your team members.
Experience capital - The educational background as well as the street smarts of these members.
Light capital - Do they have a giving spirit and a strong belief in a higher power?
The authors introduce an interesting term in the book. The ANGELS code refers to the team of people working with you on your business. We need a strong team and they need us. It is good to have a team of people who are positive, forward-thinking and who have a track record for success.
One action step would be to come up with a list of people and start contacting them on whether they would be interested in collaborating on your joint business idea.
ANGELS stands for
Access to assets - The access to capital and financial assets your team members have.
Network capital - The people that your team members know.
Genius capital - The talents, gifts, and creativity of your team members.
Experience capital - The educational background as well as the street smarts of these members.
Light capital - Do they have a giving spirit and a strong belief in a higher power?
Serendestiny capital - What are their current opportunities and what does the future hold for them?
Use these to determine the right people to put in your dream team.
Use these to determine the right people to put in your dream team.
As a freelance artist and creative entrepreneur, I learned that there are multiple ways of earning from a single product.
These multiple ways can be summarised by the acronym PRISM.
PRISM stands for
Primary products
Related products
Information
Services &
Media
Say for instance your Primary product is a car; you could get another revenue stream from selling Related products such as spare parts of the car.
In order to ensure that your clients are satisfied with your product, you would want to share Information with them in the form of user training videos that show them how to use their cars in the best way possible.
You could also add to your revenue stream by creating Services that make the product easier to use. In this case, that could be car repairs and insurance.
Finally, through different Media, you can sell experiences through entertaining car events such as races and auto shows.
5. Lesson Five: Treating Your Customers Like STARS
The star code is discovering and serving a special group of customers and treating them like the stars they are. According to this book, most of the startups that succeed are those whose owners focussed on this code.
A good example of treating customers like STARS would be a story I heard from an audiobook I listened to a while ago about someone, let's call him Sam.
Sam had gone to a bar to watch a baseball match. He found the bar TV already tuned to another sports channel.
Since he was the only one at the bar at that time, he requested the waiter to change the channel to the one that was airing his favorite baseball match.
The waiter did and then proceeded to serve him his burger and drinks. Later on, as the bar started filling up, the TV was automatically tuned to the channel he had found on.
So when the waiter noticed, he went to Sam and told him that it was not fair because he was the first one there and should be able to continue watching his game.
Not wanting to stir up the crowd that had gathered at the bar, Sam told the waiter that it was fine. He was willing to move to another room that had no one in it to continue watching the match.
The waiter went on and changed the channel to the baseball match anyway. He also took the remote, removed the batteries from the remote, and gave them to Sam.
After hearing this story, I could not help but imagine the reaction from the other customers - and smile at how special Sam must have felt.
It is said that Sam did not enjoy the burger from the bar, but he left that place with a lasting impression and a great story to tell.
Conclusion
All these lessons are strongly dependent on finding one's divine life path and I believe everything else gets better with time after that.
At the moment you are able to start giving even if it is in the form of volunteering your skills and talents.
You are also able to find a team of passionate friends to work with on a primary product as well as those that are linked to it. Remember PRISM?
And once you start earning loads from these multiple revenue streams, you are able to give back monetarily or by building platforms that share tips on how you made it work for you.
You can also start treating your customers like the stars they actually are. I believe the business will keep coming back to you because of how special you make them feel.
It's a whole cycle people!
So join me this new decade in implementing these lessons into our Creative endeavors. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Let's crack that Millionaire code.
The star code is discovering and serving a special group of customers and treating them like the stars they are. According to this book, most of the startups that succeed are those whose owners focussed on this code.
A good example of treating customers like STARS would be a story I heard from an audiobook I listened to a while ago about someone, let's call him Sam.
Sam had gone to a bar to watch a baseball match. He found the bar TV already tuned to another sports channel.
Since he was the only one at the bar at that time, he requested the waiter to change the channel to the one that was airing his favorite baseball match.
The waiter did and then proceeded to serve him his burger and drinks. Later on, as the bar started filling up, the TV was automatically tuned to the channel he had found on.
So when the waiter noticed, he went to Sam and told him that it was not fair because he was the first one there and should be able to continue watching his game.
Not wanting to stir up the crowd that had gathered at the bar, Sam told the waiter that it was fine. He was willing to move to another room that had no one in it to continue watching the match.
The waiter went on and changed the channel to the baseball match anyway. He also took the remote, removed the batteries from the remote, and gave them to Sam.
After hearing this story, I could not help but imagine the reaction from the other customers - and smile at how special Sam must have felt.
It is said that Sam did not enjoy the burger from the bar, but he left that place with a lasting impression and a great story to tell.
Conclusion
All these lessons are strongly dependent on finding one's divine life path and I believe everything else gets better with time after that.
At the moment you are able to start giving even if it is in the form of volunteering your skills and talents.
You are also able to find a team of passionate friends to work with on a primary product as well as those that are linked to it. Remember PRISM?
And once you start earning loads from these multiple revenue streams, you are able to give back monetarily or by building platforms that share tips on how you made it work for you.
You can also start treating your customers like the stars they actually are. I believe the business will keep coming back to you because of how special you make them feel.
It's a whole cycle people!
So join me this new decade in implementing these lessons into our Creative endeavors. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Let's crack that Millionaire code.
10 Profound Treasures In The Book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert is an awesome, quick read with a couple hundred pages that I guarantee will hook you from the word go. Elizabeth Gilbert is best known for her memoir Eat Pray Love which happened to be on the New York BestSeller list for 3 years, and later became a Hollywood movie starring Julia Roberts.
As a huge fan of Elizabeth's work, I was eager to find out what she had in store for creatives like us in Big Magic. I say us because as you'll soon find out below, we were all created creators; in short, we are all creatives. I hope these 10 treasures will jog your memory if you have already read this book, or spark an urge in you to get your own copy and indulge yourself if you haven't.
The 1st treasure is:
Do whatever makes your heart sing and let it be imperfect because it is likely that no one will even notice.
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Elizabeth mentions some advice she received from a woman in her mid-seventies whom she met while she was in her insecure twenties. The advice went like this:
"We all spend our twenties and thirties trying so hard to be perfect because we're so worried about what people will think of us. Then we get into our forties and fifties, and we finally start to be free, because we decide that we don't give a damn what anyone thinks of us. But you won't be completely free until you reach your sixties and seventies when you finally realize this liberating truth - nobody was ever thinking about you, anyhow."
With this knowledge, you have the ability to liberate yourself from your insecure thoughts. You can finally pursue the things that fascinate you and make your heart sing, giving the outcome permission to be imperfect because it is very likely that nobody will even notice. The most beautiful thing is now you understand that just like you, everyone else is too busy thinking about themselves and their lives to be talking all that much about you and yours. So it's time you live your life unapologetically.
The 2nd treasure is:
Creative living is more than owning the title artist, writer, poet e.t.c
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In the book, you will meet Susan, who at the age of forty took to figure skating after more than 2 decades. She had quit skating in her teens after realizing she did not have enough talent to be a champion. This way of thinking naturally places pressure on anything so I understand her decision.
When she turned forty, she went through some soul searching and realized that her current state of restlessness and heaviness had a remedy. It came from asking herself an important question - when is the last time she felt truly light, joyous, and yes creative in her own skin? After this soul-searching, she realized it was decades ago while figure skating as a teenager.
According to Elizabeth, "Susan was appalled that she had denied herself this life-affirming pursuit for so long, and she was curious to see if she still loved it. So she followed her curiosity. She bought a pair of skates, found a rink, hired a coach, She ignored the voice within her that told her she was being self-indulgent and preposterous to do this crazy thing.
She tamed down her feelings of extreme self-consciousness for being the only middle-aged woman on the ice, with all those tiny, feathery nine-year-old girls. She just did it. Susan still figure skates several mornings a week simply because skating is still the best way for her to unfold a certain beauty and transcendence within her life that she cannot seem to access in any other manner. And she would like to spend as much time as possible in such a state of transcendence while she is still here on earth.
That's what I call creative living."
It is important to note that Susan did not quit her job. She just added skating into her weekly to-do list. And so can you with your passion.
The 3rd treasure is
Value curiosity more than you value passion
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As you noticed in the 2nd treasure, curiosity led Susan to discover something about herself she had forgotten. Elizabeth says she prefers curiosity to passion: curiosity is what keeps you working steadily, while hotter emotions may come and go.
She encourages us to follow our curiosity, ask questions, sniff around and remain open. She also says that we should trust in the miraculous truth that new and marvelous ideas are looking for human collaborators every single day. All we need to do is let them know we are available.
That brings us to the 4th treasure which is:
Ideas look for collaborative humans to partner with but if you do not give them the attention they deserve, just like any other relationship they move on to someone else who will.
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I was so used to the tired idea that if you share your ideas, someone might steal them - until I read Big Magic. Because unless you are ready to work on an idea, it is of no use to you. Just as the name of the book suggests, ideas are somewhat magical. For example, Elizabeth narrates how she and her friend Ann happened to have the exact same storyline for a book they each wanted to write.
Elizabeth got the idea first but due to a relationship issue, she lost the spark that came with the idea. And so the idea was transferred to her friend in the most remarkable way. In this case, the idea got a better collaborator in Ann to make it manifest. Ann later saw it to completion and published the book.
Instead of Elizabeth beating herself up she used this experience as evidence of her beliefs about creativity; that ideas are alive and that they seek the most available human collaborator.
Elizabeth says "Ideas have no material body, but they do have consciousness, and they most certainly have will. Ideas are driven by a single impulse: to be made manifest. And the only way an idea can be made manifest in our world is through collaboration with a human partner. It is only through a human's efforts that an idea can be escorted out of the ether and into the realm of the actual."
The 5th treasure is
Hard work guarantees nothing in the realms of creativity we should work with stubborn gladness on our craft no matter the outcome.
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It is never guaranteed that one will succeed as a creative but one thing is for sure at the very least you will know that you tried. And that no matter the outcome, you have honored your heart and traveled a noble path.
Elizabeth also adds "My ultimate choice, then is to always approach my work from a place of stubborn gladness. I worked for years with stubborn gladness before I was published. I worked with stubborn gladness when I was still an unknown new writer, whose first book sold just a handful of copies - mostly to members of my own family.
I worked with stubborn gladness when I was riding high on a giant bestseller. I worked with stubborn gladness when I was not riding high on a giant bestseller anymore, and when my subsequent books did not sell millions of copies. I worked with stubborn gladness when critics praised me, and I worked with stubborn gladness when critics made fun of me. I've held to my stubborn gladness when my work is going badly, and also when it's going well."
The 6th treasure is
Shake off failure and shame in order to keep living a creative life.
And this is what Elizabeth had to say about this: "First of all, forgive yourself. If you made something and it didn't work out, let it go. Remember that you're nothing but a beginner - even if you've been working on your craft for fifty years. We are all just beginners here, and we shall all die beginners. So let it go. Forget about the last project, and go searching with an open heart for the next one."
If you have been studying a bit about the law of attraction, you may have come across the phrase what you focus on you attract. So if you keep on moping about your failure and how uncomfortable it makes you feel, then you are bound to keep on going in a loop of similar experiences. So I suggest you do yourself a favor and just let it go. All will be well. And remember the 1st treasure - it is exceedingly likely that nobody will remember or even notice your failure.
The 7th treasure is
There are times when you feel like things are too crazy and you need a break from your craft; look for another lighter creative avenue to pursue, while you take your break.
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Elizabeth put it so well, "Be not solitary be not idle. Find something to do - anything, even a different sort of creative work altogether - just to take your mind off your anxiety and pressure. Einstein called this tactic "combinatory play" - the act of opening up one mental channel by dabbling in another. This is why he would often play the violin when he was having difficulty solving a mathematical puzzle; after a few hours of sonatas, he could usually find the answer he needed."
The 8th treasure is
Reject the flawed notion of artist martyrdom
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I remember after the creative entrepreneurship training
I did in 2017 with GoDowns Art Center,
we received some advice from the guests of honor during the graduation ceremony. One piece of advice stuck and it went something like "No matter what your craft takes you through, do not let yourself be at the mercy of substance abuse."
Elizabeth adds "All I can tell you for certain is that my entire life has been shaped by an early decision to reject the cult of artist martyrdom, and instead to place my trust in the crazy notion that my work loves me as much as I love it - that it wants to play with me as much as I want to play with it - and that this source of love and play is boundless."
That is a belief Elizabeth decided to cultivate. A belief is basically a thought that you continuously think until it becomes true to you. If you believe that you are just playing with your craft, and just like any other game at times you win and at times you lose, then it's no biggie. You will wake up the next day and play again no matter the outcome. Losing yourself to booze or on a puff is only a temporary fix. This simply takes us back to the 6th treasure which was you need to shake off your failure and shame in order to continue living as a creative.
The 9th treasure is
Avoid falling for the stereotype that creativity drives people crazy
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According to Elizabeth and I agree with her "Not expressing creativity turns people crazy. (If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you don't bring forth what is within you, what you don't bring forth will destroy you - Gospel of Thomas.) Bring forth what is within you, then, whether it succeeds or fails. Do it whether the final product (your souvenir) is crap or gold. Do it whether the critics love you or hate you - or whether the critics have never heard of you and perhaps never will hear of you. Do it whether people get it or don't get it."
The 10th treasure is
Learn to cooperate with inspiration, make the environment conducive for a worthwhile partnership.
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Inspiration and ideas are almost synonymous and as we learned in the 4th treasure, we are supposed to have a respectful partnership with inspiration too. Living a creative life comes with the responsibility to clear all the obstacles that may prevent creative living. If you are wondering what kind of obstacles these are, just know that what is bad for you is probably bad for your work too. Elizabeth advises that you may want to lay off the booze a bit in order to get a keener mind. Also, nourish healthier relationships in order to keep yourself from being distracted by self-invented emotional catastrophes.
To sum up all these 10 treasures, just know that it is okay to be pleased with what you have created. And if your project did not work, you can choose to take it as an experiment that taught you a couple of things - rather than a chance to carry blame and sink into shame. If it gets too heavy for you, don't let yourself be at the mercy of substance abuse.
You can battle your demons through other means such as meditation to quiet your mind and put you at ease; therapy, as a problem shared, is half solved; recovery, rest and restoration; prayer or any other way to get in touch with your spirituality. And through another creative endeavor that is different from your main one, just to mention a few.
Keep in mind that ideas and inspiration are your partners and require respect and commitment just like any other relationship. Also, remember that it is not guaranteed that you will "succeed" at your craft in societal terms. But the fact that you are even working on what makes your heart sing, means that you have won in your own relationship with your heart by following a noble path.
Have you read Big Magic? Which of these 10 treasures stands out to you and why?
Inside Out: Inspiration For The Creative Process
Sometimes feeling bad emotionally is the best thing that can happen to you. It took me a while to soak this fact up.
Eat, love and pray is a memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert who drew inspiration from a messy divorce, and the result was 10 million copies sold.
Just like joy, all the other emotions we experience as humans are essential for the whole human experience, and the creative process.
The animation Inside Out made this clear on so many levels, relatable to both adults and kids.
The animation Inside Out made this clear on so many levels, relatable to both adults and kids.
At times we want to get rid of those negative emotions quickly, but resisting them only seems to blow them up.
The idea is to become a silent observer and let them flow in and out. A lesson I am still learning during my guided meditation sessions with Andy courtesy of the mobile app Headspace. (You should try it out)
Inside Out is a narrative that plays in the mind of an 11 year old girl called Riley. The main characters in the animation are her feelings joy, sadness, fear, disgust and anger.
The animation simply gives faces to those little voices we have in our minds.
When joy is nowhere to be found then the other emotions tend to come to the rescue. If you watched Inside Out you can remember Sadness proved to be very useful when Joy was lost.
Joy just like many of us, was of the opinion nothing good comes off negative feelings. It was later evident that however painful some of these emotions are. They are there for the ultimate good.
The Emotional Guidance Scale (double click for a clearer view)
According to the book Ask and It Is Given, emotions always provide clues as to what kind of energy we are allowing to flow. It is good to identify where you are on the emotional guidance scale, so that you can raise your vibration gradually and comfortably.
It is also explained that it is better to travel upwards, through the contrasting number of emotions in the guidance scale in order to raise your moods. Than to leap from a very bad mood to a very good one.
So that rather than leaping from say doubt about your work, (number 19) straight to rekindled passion (number 2).You could experiment with your craft, fail and get disappointed (number 12) but then you have learnt what works and what does not work.
You could start trying many other things to see what works and end up feeling overwhelmed (number 11). A good place to be because it means you did not let the failure stop you.
You may continue trying out many things for a while and none of them seem to work so you get frustrated (number 10) . However, since you tried out many opportunities before you got to the frustrated stage you start receiving positive feedback when you least expect it.
You slowly start getting hopeful (number 6) that all the effort you put is paying off. You start positively expecting (number 4) more good to come in your life.
Good things happen, you get two free trainings consecutively. One is on digital marketing and right after you are done with that one, you get another one on creative entrepreneurship.
The creative enterpreneurship one conveniently happens to be taking place in the evening. Perfect for you considering you just started an internship on digital marketing meant to cement what you learnt during the training. You become more enthusiastic (number 3) about life.
With every session in the creative entrepreneurship training now, you take something home that rekindles your passion (number 2).
You are a creative and you have always wanted to use your talents to start a lucrative and sustainable business and now you are slowly solidifying and executing your plan.You realize that the whole process was important.
The emotions you went through kept you alert and more appreciative of the small wins in your pursuit of rekindled passion. I strongly believe in this process, because the steps along the emotional guidance scale you just finished reading have been my journey so far.
So the next time you feel like you are stuck in a bad place. Try identifying where exactly you are on the emotional guidance scale.
Be kind and gentle on yourself. Even more through the emotional roller coaster life often presents and give yourself time to gradually raise your vibration by moving up the emotional guidance scale. Before you know it you will be where you want to be. So all the best to us, cause we are in this together.
So that rather than leaping from say doubt about your work, (number 19) straight to rekindled passion (number 2).You could experiment with your craft, fail and get disappointed (number 12) but then you have learnt what works and what does not work.
You could start trying many other things to see what works and end up feeling overwhelmed (number 11). A good place to be because it means you did not let the failure stop you.
You may continue trying out many things for a while and none of them seem to work so you get frustrated (number 10) . However, since you tried out many opportunities before you got to the frustrated stage you start receiving positive feedback when you least expect it.
You slowly start getting hopeful (number 6) that all the effort you put is paying off. You start positively expecting (number 4) more good to come in your life.
Good things happen, you get two free trainings consecutively. One is on digital marketing and right after you are done with that one, you get another one on creative entrepreneurship.
The creative enterpreneurship one conveniently happens to be taking place in the evening. Perfect for you considering you just started an internship on digital marketing meant to cement what you learnt during the training. You become more enthusiastic (number 3) about life.
With every session in the creative entrepreneurship training now, you take something home that rekindles your passion (number 2).
You are a creative and you have always wanted to use your talents to start a lucrative and sustainable business and now you are slowly solidifying and executing your plan.You realize that the whole process was important.
The emotions you went through kept you alert and more appreciative of the small wins in your pursuit of rekindled passion. I strongly believe in this process, because the steps along the emotional guidance scale you just finished reading have been my journey so far.
So the next time you feel like you are stuck in a bad place. Try identifying where exactly you are on the emotional guidance scale.
Be kind and gentle on yourself. Even more through the emotional roller coaster life often presents and give yourself time to gradually raise your vibration by moving up the emotional guidance scale. Before you know it you will be where you want to be. So all the best to us, cause we are in this together.
AA(Auspicious Art)
Wendi Mutisya
Ten Life Lessons (TLL) from Trevor Noah's Book: Born a Crime
One John W. Gardner once said "Life is art done without an eraser". Today I list down some 10 life lessons from Trevor Noah's autobiography Born a Crime. I'll do so along with a few steps I took getting to the finished dotted ( pointillism/stippled) art piece I did of him.
The book is a memoir of his childhood as a biracial in South Africa during apartheid. He was born of a South African Xhosa mother and a Swiss-German father. Interracial relationships were illegal at the time and thus the title Born a Crime. His mother had risked 5 years in prison when she had him.
The book caught my attention and embraced it gently that there was no letting go. I was always looking forward to continuing from where I left of.
The descriptions given in the book are so vivid and African that they resonated so well with me as a Kenyan. Through his words I could feel his joy and his pain and at some point he managed to make me an emotional wreck. A wreck in a good way though, because the point was driven straight home.
Trevor is known for his comedy and it goes without saying that the list will start with something related to laughter and a positive attitude.
Lesson 1: Look for humor even in the worst of situations
Trevor's step father shot his mother in the head and she miraculously survived.
A few days afterwards in the hospital, his mother was the first one to crack a joke. Trevor was crying by her bedside and she said to him. Don't cry. Look at the bright side: Now you're officially the best-looking person in the family.He bawled his eyes out and laughed hysterically at the same time.
According to Trevor they overcame a lot because of laughter That is why he says he thinks he loves comedy so much. It is what kept his family going through every single type of adversity.
Lesson 2: Nurture your spirituality
At the very beginning of the book we are introduced to Trevor's mother and her strong faith. On Sunday's Trevor mother would take him from the black people's church to the mixed race church and then to the white people's church to attend different services. To her, each of the three Churches offered something unique.
As I drew close to the end of the book, the vivid expression of the emotions that were felt after Trevor's mother got shot in the head drew tears to my eyes.
I still remember that day I was reading it in a matatu and I had to stop reading it for a while to prevent myself from crying in a bus full of people.I had to take a few deep breathes too in order to calm down. Emotional movies do that to me all the time, but that was the first time a book had evoked such strong emotions in me.
When someone gets shot in the head and suffers no brain damage and is alive and does not need to go through any surgery because the bullet completely passes through the head, missing all the major organs. It is hard to deny the miracle in that.
Lesson 3: Language unites sometimes even beyond race
In many instances Trevor realized language unites. In the book he says "Maybe I didn't look like you, but if I spoke like you, I was you.
He can be described as a polyglot a person who has mastered multiple languages. He speaks several languages including English, Afrikaans, German, Zulu, Xhosa and Sotho.
Due to his light skin color Trevor got a hard time in school. In order to gain acceptance from the black kids like a chameleon he would blend well with people when they spoke different languages. When someone spoke Xhosa to him he would reply in Xhosa the same applied to the other South African languages like Tswana and Sotho.
There's one instance Trevor heard a group of guys speaking in their native language planning to mug him. He turned and started speaking their language saying "Yo, guys, why don't we just mug someone together? I'm ready. Let's do it" They looked shocked for a while then they started laughing. The fact that he spoke their language made them change their attitude towards him, they even apologized and told him they thought he was something else.
Lesson 4: Use your gifts and be keen on spotting opportunities
Trevor ran very fast. His naughty nature had helped him improve on his speed. He wrote" Nobody ran like me and my mom. She wasn't one of those come over here and get your hiding type of moms. She'd delivered it to you free of charge." Even if it meant running after him.
This was a gift that he leveraged at school. Immediately after assembly, there would be a race to the tuck shop because the queue to buy the food was so long. Every minute spent on the queue was working against people's break time too.
Trevor was always first in line, so people started going to him to buy things for them in return for some money. He grabbed that opportunity and started telling everyone at assembly to place their orders. He was an overnight success and in his words " Fat guys were my number-one customers. They loved food, but couldn't run."
Fun fact:
Trevor was a naughty child but luckily unlike his cousins he never got punished by his grandmother. "A black child you hit them and they remain black" she used to tell his mother. "Trevor when you hit him he turns blue and green and yellow and red. I've not seen these colors before I am scared I am going to break him. I don't want to kill a white person."
Lesson 5: Fear regret rather than failure
In his own words; " I don't regret anything I've ever done in life, any choice that I've made. But I'm consumed with regret for the things I didn't do, the choices I didn't make, the things I didn't say. We spend too much time being afraid of failure, afraid of rejection, but regret is the thing we should fear most."
"Failure is an answer. Rejection is an answer. Regret is an eternal question you will never have an answer to. ;"What if?" "If only" "I wonder what would have..." You will never, never know, and it will haunt you for the rest of your days"
Lesson 3: Language unites sometimes even beyond race
In many instances Trevor realized language unites. In the book he says "Maybe I didn't look like you, but if I spoke like you, I was you.
He can be described as a polyglot a person who has mastered multiple languages. He speaks several languages including English, Afrikaans, German, Zulu, Xhosa and Sotho.
Due to his light skin color Trevor got a hard time in school. In order to gain acceptance from the black kids like a chameleon he would blend well with people when they spoke different languages. When someone spoke Xhosa to him he would reply in Xhosa the same applied to the other South African languages like Tswana and Sotho.
There's one instance Trevor heard a group of guys speaking in their native language planning to mug him. He turned and started speaking their language saying "Yo, guys, why don't we just mug someone together? I'm ready. Let's do it" They looked shocked for a while then they started laughing. The fact that he spoke their language made them change their attitude towards him, they even apologized and told him they thought he was something else.
Lesson 4: Use your gifts and be keen on spotting opportunities
Trevor ran very fast. His naughty nature had helped him improve on his speed. He wrote" Nobody ran like me and my mom. She wasn't one of those come over here and get your hiding type of moms. She'd delivered it to you free of charge." Even if it meant running after him.
This was a gift that he leveraged at school. Immediately after assembly, there would be a race to the tuck shop because the queue to buy the food was so long. Every minute spent on the queue was working against people's break time too.
Trevor was always first in line, so people started going to him to buy things for them in return for some money. He grabbed that opportunity and started telling everyone at assembly to place their orders. He was an overnight success and in his words " Fat guys were my number-one customers. They loved food, but couldn't run."
Fun fact:
Trevor was a naughty child but luckily unlike his cousins he never got punished by his grandmother. "A black child you hit them and they remain black" she used to tell his mother. "Trevor when you hit him he turns blue and green and yellow and red. I've not seen these colors before I am scared I am going to break him. I don't want to kill a white person."
Here I was working on his mischievous grin
Lesson 5: Fear regret rather than failure
In his own words; " I don't regret anything I've ever done in life, any choice that I've made. But I'm consumed with regret for the things I didn't do, the choices I didn't make, the things I didn't say. We spend too much time being afraid of failure, afraid of rejection, but regret is the thing we should fear most."
"Failure is an answer. Rejection is an answer. Regret is an eternal question you will never have an answer to. ;"What if?" "If only" "I wonder what would have..." You will never, never know, and it will haunt you for the rest of your days"
Lesson 6: Be comfortable being unique
Imagine yourself living in a land where you are isolated because you are not black enough even though you were born and raised in an African family. You are not white enough because only one of your parents is.
Trevor was able to see and feel what both races went through during apartheid. He could not walk next to his mother in public and at some point his mother had to hire a mixed race lady friend Queen to walk with her and Trevor. So that she looked like Trevor's mother and his real mother would look like his nanny. Trevor could also not call his father Dad. He grew up calling him by his name Robert.
Trevor used his unique qualities to his advantage. He used his language skills to reach all races, he may not have felt like he fit in anywhere during his teenage years but speaking a certain groups language helped him earn trust. Even to date Trevor says he enjoyed his childhood because it was all he knew. He never felt like he lacked much.
Lesson 7: Even in hardship home is where the heart is
Trevor got tired of seeing his mother abused by his step father. He felt helpless because he did not know how to assist her. They had reported him to the police a couple of times but he had some police friends. So nothing really ever happened to him.
His mother is the key personality in his book and he wrote the following " Finally, for bringing me into this world and making me the man I am today, I owe the greatest debt, a debt I can never repay, to my mother."
Lesson 8: Be better because of your past
Patricia Trevor's mother being a key personality in his book and in his life in general had the following to say" Learn from your past and be better because of your past, but don't cry about your past. Life is full of pain. Let the pain sharpen you, but don't hold on to it. Don't be bitter."
Patricia had gone through a lot but she practiced what she preached. She was never bitter. The deprivations of her youth, the betrayals of her parents, she never complained about any of it.
Lesson 9: Have respect for other people no matter how they treat you in return
Patricia had suffered a great deal from her husband Abel, Trevor's step father. Trevor was hurt when he saw his mother suffer in Abel's hands. He did not at any point disrespect this vile man though.
It was only when Abel shot his mother that Trevor lost control and called him. At that point he thought his mother was dead. She had been shot in the head so it was hard to imagine she would survive that. Trevor threatened to kill Abel at that moment of rage.
He says " To this day I don't know what I was thinking. I don't know what I expected to happen. I was
just enraged." Clearly Patricia raised Trevor exceptionally well.
Lesson 10: Make the most of your situation
Trevor was hidden from the real world. His innocence as a child hid the truth behind his special treatment. To his young mind he did not think his special treatment was because he was light skinned. When it came to his grandmother to him it was "Trevor doesn't get beaten because Trevor is Trevor.
For a while Trevor did not have friends because he was neither black nor white.He learnt to accept his situation and resorted to living in his head. He would also read a lot while he was a lone. That would eventually make him the awesome author he is today that penned this amazing book. If you are going through a tough time, remember it is there as an opportunity to learn something new. That lesson is bound to stick and will probably help you a whole lot in the future. So hang in their and try to make the most of the situation.
AA (Auspicious Art)
Wendi Mutisya
Imagine yourself living in a land where you are isolated because you are not black enough even though you were born and raised in an African family. You are not white enough because only one of your parents is.
Trevor was able to see and feel what both races went through during apartheid. He could not walk next to his mother in public and at some point his mother had to hire a mixed race lady friend Queen to walk with her and Trevor. So that she looked like Trevor's mother and his real mother would look like his nanny. Trevor could also not call his father Dad. He grew up calling him by his name Robert.
Trevor used his unique qualities to his advantage. He used his language skills to reach all races, he may not have felt like he fit in anywhere during his teenage years but speaking a certain groups language helped him earn trust. Even to date Trevor says he enjoyed his childhood because it was all he knew. He never felt like he lacked much.
Lesson 7: Even in hardship home is where the heart is
Trevor got tired of seeing his mother abused by his step father. He felt helpless because he did not know how to assist her. They had reported him to the police a couple of times but he had some police friends. So nothing really ever happened to him.
His mother is the key personality in his book and he wrote the following " Finally, for bringing me into this world and making me the man I am today, I owe the greatest debt, a debt I can never repay, to my mother."
Lesson 8: Be better because of your past
Patricia Trevor's mother being a key personality in his book and in his life in general had the following to say" Learn from your past and be better because of your past, but don't cry about your past. Life is full of pain. Let the pain sharpen you, but don't hold on to it. Don't be bitter."
Patricia had gone through a lot but she practiced what she preached. She was never bitter. The deprivations of her youth, the betrayals of her parents, she never complained about any of it.
Lesson 9: Have respect for other people no matter how they treat you in return
Patricia had suffered a great deal from her husband Abel, Trevor's step father. Trevor was hurt when he saw his mother suffer in Abel's hands. He did not at any point disrespect this vile man though.
It was only when Abel shot his mother that Trevor lost control and called him. At that point he thought his mother was dead. She had been shot in the head so it was hard to imagine she would survive that. Trevor threatened to kill Abel at that moment of rage.
He says " To this day I don't know what I was thinking. I don't know what I expected to happen. I was
just enraged." Clearly Patricia raised Trevor exceptionally well.
Lesson 10: Make the most of your situation
Trevor was hidden from the real world. His innocence as a child hid the truth behind his special treatment. To his young mind he did not think his special treatment was because he was light skinned. When it came to his grandmother to him it was "Trevor doesn't get beaten because Trevor is Trevor.
For a while Trevor did not have friends because he was neither black nor white.He learnt to accept his situation and resorted to living in his head. He would also read a lot while he was a lone. That would eventually make him the awesome author he is today that penned this amazing book. If you are going through a tough time, remember it is there as an opportunity to learn something new. That lesson is bound to stick and will probably help you a whole lot in the future. So hang in their and try to make the most of the situation.
Wendi Mutisya
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