« May 2004 | Main | July 2004 »
Just returned from Kenya - what an inspiring journey.
How inspired/ motivated are you feeling at the moment?
It is time to review progress on your 2004 goals and dreams.
What action have you taken in the context of their achievement?
What have you learned from the journey?
Which category do you fall into - gonna doer or action man?
If you fall into the former; it is critically important that you reverse this pattern immediately - otherwise, progress will never be possible in your life.
How?
By doing the reverse - commit to taking action today.
Begin now.
Enjoy.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 10:49 AM | Comments (0)
Imagine being beaten up and still managing to focus on other peoples plights?
Imagine studying by day and begging by night?
Imagine smiling with your eyes, though finding it difficult to survive in a shack 10ft x 10ft with eight other people?
Imagine having the resources to see the stars, though truly living in the gutter?
For the students and teachers of Gatoto, there is no need to imagine, this is their reality.
Now think about how much we could do in the western world to really make a difference in their lives - in a few weeks time, I will be announcing a major project. Hopefully you will choose to contribute.
Towards making a real contribution in people's live.......
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 10:42 AM | Comments (0)
Strolling through the local market, I was approached by many street traders all in search of the mzungu's (white man's) money.
One was to catch my attention:
"Sir, Sir I am Mr Cheaper, I do you a good deal," he said.
On closer investigation he was not joking - the name of his company was Mr Cheaper Investment.
Should he have been called Mr Entertainment!
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 08:05 AM | Comments (0)
Last Sunday, I spent an afternoon with four Masai women in their menyatta (their home).They shared with me their philosophies.
On time:
Obviously this culture believes there is unlimited time.
In the western world, we never have enough time, indeed time passes us by. In this world time is unlimited and people passes through time. On our way to their home we stopped two Masai herdsmen requesting directions.
"Just up the road, and turn right," we were told - the journey took 90 minutes.
On the second occassion the just up there took us thirty minutes!
When I asked Peter, our translator to find out the womens ages; they didn't know exactly!
On how to deal with depression or mental illness:
Any problems are invariably considered a by-product of their upbringing ie the roots of the problem are family happenings.
Thus, to solve any problem, step one is to return to your family where a celebration or ceremony will take place in the hope of removing the spell.
If this doesn't work, a visit to the witchdoctor is planned.
At this stage, the hope is that the spell is lifted.
On cows:
Similar to the Hindus, a cow is a very sacred animal - run over one at your peril!
The more cows a Masai has, the more wealth, the more wifes and thus the more children. The four ladies were the four wifes of a herdsman who had over 200 cattle. Things are not good for the tribesmen at the moment, as more and more cows are being lost due to disease and drought. In despair, some of the tribesmen go to the top of the mountain and slaughter a sheep as a sacrifice in the hope that the bad spell will be lifted.
Many young Masai who traditionally would have became farmers, are now being educated and getting other jobs, but as Peter said they will always remain faithful to the Masai traditions, otherwises they run the risk of being expelled or cursed by the father.
On marriage:
Women have no choice - they marry who invariably their fathers decide.
Women are booked as early as when they are a baby for marriage. They join their husband after they are circumcised. The suitor or husband pays a dowry for the wife - anything up to fifteen cows.
On life:
Very simply, their philosophy appears to be - what is, is.Over the space of an afternoon I tried in vain to get Seroti Sinbila, Kerisila Sinbila and the two other wifes to complain about each other or about life - mission impossible. Yes a very different world!
At one stage, they did say that they felt more relaxed when their husbands went awol during the day, but hastened to add how much they respect them.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 03:32 PM | Comments (1)
C is for cheerful.
H is for honest.
I is for innocent.
L is for loving.
D is for dear.
An excellent contribution from Winifred, one of the teachers at Gatoto.
Where does the spirit come from?
A question from Stanslauss, a ten year old student at the school.
Obviously we can add wisdom to the list.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)
Last weekend, I secured the services of Joseph Ngigi - taximan come translator.
The mission was simple - track down members of the Masai tribe and gain an understanding of their very unique culture.
On the way, Joseph shared his philosophies with me - this was no "ordinary taximan."
On money:
"You must be the master of money - money should not be your master."
On giving and receiving:
"I have two hands; one for giving and one for receiving."
On living life now:
"Life is like driving a car, sometimes you want to keep on going eventhough you have arrived."
On living life congruently:
"Many preach milk and drink wine."
On Masai attributes:
"If you eat alot of meat or become a little aggressive, people will say your Masai blood is showing."
Joseph is married to Esther, has three boys and works for six long days on the very stressful streets of Nairobi. Only on Sunday does he return home to share some valuable time with his family.
Look him up if you need a guru or guide if you are visiting Nairobi.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 04:17 PM | Comments (0)
Welcome to Nairobi - "the land of cold water" or "Nairobbery" as described in the Lonely Planet publication.
In 2002, 37% of Nairobi's residents were mugged. Most of these incidences happened in the slums.
Walking through Mukura, one of the slums, you are overcome with the smell of raw sewerage - it is stifling.
Many of its residents live in little shacks (10 ft x 10 ft) made of four sheets of corrugated iron barely able to accomodate a family of two. Imagine bringing up a family of nine in such a space. No play area, with raw sewerage within touch and smell.
All in all, not a place to visit?
Actually yes, indeed a place where you will be inspired, challenged, moved out of your comfort zone, experience warmth, generosity, innocence and joy.
One visit to Gatoto Community School will deliver all this and more; truly a light in the dark.
Working in conjunction with Suas, the new dynamic educational development charity, I am currently in Nairobi learning from and working with the children, teachers and management of this school.
Within moments of walking into their school, I was struck by their philosophy - "we strive to shine," and shine they do. They are now one of the top schools in Nairobi and number one for music.
What a team!
A very charismatic, driven, caring leader, Betty and Vice Principal, Joseph, wordsmith extraordinaire - " the best way to talk is with your ears!"
Add to this, a very committed group of teachers and support staff who have an unparalleled appetite for new teachings and knowledge, and you know you are in the organisation of tomorrow, ie totally focused on adding real value.
And there is more - the children.
Within moments, they had left positive imprints on my heart and reaffirmed my belief in the wisdom of a child.
Their smiles, sense of joy, innocence, ability to listen, I was humbled in their presense.
I will never forget them and am now 100% committed to their cause.
Many of us "visit the gutter" in our lifetime, but like the children and staff of Gatoto we too can choose to see the stars.
This is the right and only choice.
More tomorrow from the spirit of the slums
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 04:34 PM | Comments (0)
The more choice, the happier you are – right?
Well, actually wrong according to the latest report “The Explosion of Choice:
Tyranny or Freedom” penned by Dr Aric Sigman.
Indeed, people are suffering from what he calls “product claustrophobia.”
Take an average sized supermarket in London where you will find on offer 83 different shampoos, 68 shower gels, 42 deodorants, 77 washing powders and 87 rival breakfast cereals.
Each choice is laboured and time consuming as a result.
“In the past few years, I’ve travelled to countries such as Iran and Burma and from Tonga to Timbuktu where they have limited consumer choice.
I wanted to see for myself whether our Western assumptions regarding greater choice bringing greater individual happiness was true. They aren’t.
It has been a salutary lesson that choice is beneficial, up to a point, and that limitations, restrictions and boundaries can have a strangely liberating effect in the psyche” said Dr Sigman.
Interesting.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)
"It is unwise to be sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err."
Gandhi
"One of the marks of an educated person is the ability to say 'I dont know' when he doesn't know."
John Moriarty
"If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything. It is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities. In the expert's mind, there are few."
Zen Master Suzuki Roshi
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 10:59 AM | Comments (0)
While reading the "Bookseller of Kabul," a fascinating insight into life in the taliban era in Afghanistan, I came across the following passage:
""He looks out of the window on to the blue mosque which is sparkling in the morning sunshine. Hundreds of white doves fly over the holy place. They live in two dovecotes by the tomb, and it is alleged that if a grey dove joins the flight, its colour will change within forty days."
Fact or fiction, it does illustrate the potential power of groups.
Very simply, if you align with a positive group whose focus is on contribution, making a real positive difference in the world, then you can move mountains.
If on the other hand you fall in with a negative grouping, your positive energy will dissipate over time. Yes, you too could make the transition from white to grey.
As Nietzche advises in his literature - "beware of the damned compact majority."
Laurence Steinberg of Temple University highlights the power of the group in his latest research.
His work has showed that children on their own will make safe choices but when put in a group will take more risks.
"Most teen crimes are committed by kids in packs", he says.
"The reason I see so far, is that I stand on the shoulders of greats." Isaac Newton
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 10:19 AM | Comments (0)
Bad news on the money front – it can’t buy you health, happiness or sex according to the latest research.
In Michael Marmot's, Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health and Director of the International Centre for Health and Society at University College London (UCL), new popular science book "Status Syndrome," a sense of control over your life and social connectedness are cited as having the greatest impact on your health and life expectancy as opposed to financial resources or access to medical services.
The book is based on more than three decades of research drawn from all around the world.
Meanwhile the National Bureau of Economic research study just released, based on a University of Chicago database of surveys of 16,000 Americans from 1988 to 2002, found no correlation between household income and how frequently someone has sex or how many sexual partners someone has.
Recent research reported on this site also showed how incomes levels may have increased since the sixties but the happiness index has not.
So- why all the rave about money!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 10:14 AM | Comments (0)
105m - Number of votes cast in the 2000 U.S. presidential election out of the 156m registered voters.
65m - Number of call - in votes recorded for the two finalists on American Idol.
Thought to ponder - Does Hollywood create our new version of reality?
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 09:54 AM | Comments (0)
It is happening everyday!
More and more people are realizing that their transaction with a sales person is no longer sacred, it is secondary!
Imagine the following: the salesperson has just presented a new offering when his mobile phone rings. Rather than disregarding or silencing it he/she proceeds to answer and engage in conversation with the caller.
You, “the special customer” or so you had been told earlier sit in silence.
How are you expected to feel?
Are you happy? Unlikely!
Do you feel important? Certainly not king!
Recent research conducted at the University of Surrey has revealed that modern gadgets such as mobile phones and laptop computers are increasing levels of stress in the workplace.
The study found that using such gadgets in meetings is inappropriate and distracting for others and adversely affects the patience of others in the workplace.
More than half of those surveyed believed that it was inappropriate to use any form of IT equipment in a meeting or when talking to another person at work.
Only 11 percent thought it was acceptable for a mobile phone to be switched on during a meeting. While more than 80 percent felt it was inappropriate to look at or send text messages when with others.
To build rapport with your client in what is now a very challenging marketing environment, you have to give them your undivided attention.
Anything that stops this from happening needs to be eliminated, otherwise you can say buy, buy to the elusive customer.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 11:08 AM | Comments (0)
Two quotes I recorded during my visit to South Africa:
"However painful the experience, the wounds of the past must not be allowed to fester. They must be opened. They must be cleansed and balm must be poured on them so they can heal. This is not to be obsessed with the past. It is to take care that the past is dealt with for the sake of the future." Desmond Tutu
"It is true that Robben Island was once a place of darkness; but out of the darkness has come a wonderful brightness, a light so powerful that it could not be hidden behind prison walls, held back by a prison wall, or hemmed in by the surrounding sea." Nelson Mandela.
Without doubt doubt life is a journey of choice and a journey of light and dark.
We possess the necessary resources to grow and glow in the dark.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 12:04 PM | Comments (0)
Interesting findings just published in the latest issue of the Journal of Applied Social Psychology show the link between food craving and stress.
In the experiments, 29 men and 34 women, ages 18 to 45, were divided into three groups and asked to solve maths and geometry problems.
In the first group, participants were subjected to the noise of a jack hammer during the test. While the subjects were given the opportunity to turn the sound off, none did.
Why not!!
The second group was also exposed to the noise but not given the option to turn it off.
A third group worked in silence.
After completing the puzzles, the three groups were brought snacks and given another test.
Women who has been exposed to the noise ate more of the snacks overall, especially the high-fat crisps, cheese and chocolate.
But the men ate the same amount of snacks regardless of which group they were in. Furthermore, the women who were experiencing stress were less persistent at completing the second puzzle, but men were equally determined to crack it regardless of their exposure to the noise.
“One possibility is that, for men, noise exposure may have engendered feelings of competition and a desire to assert control or to win” claimed the researcher.
As an aside let us not forget that in silence comes wisdom.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 10:05 AM | Comments (0)
Insanity - where you keep doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.
Are you insane?
Is there any aspect of your life where you continue to repeat a pattern that has failed you?
In relationships?
At work?
At play?
Maybe you have not spotted the pattern - remember, the problem is never the problem - it is that you do not see the problem.
Identification followed by choosing differently in the future dilutes the power of the problem.
But more importantly it opens the door to a life full of magic and adventure.
Enjoy.
Posted by Kevin Kelly at 02:54 PM | Comments (0)