Man on a mission

If you catch a music video on TV, more often than not you will find that a high-maintenance lifestyle is in the spotlight. The singer portrays the "good life", and fans aspire to get into the same spotlight and life of luxury. There is nothing wrong with expensive jewelry and customised cars. There is also nothing wrong with life in the spotlight (after all someone has to be in the spotlight!) The challenge i show such videos and films affect our understanding of ambition. More often than not, if you ask a young person how they see themselves in future, they will talk about how many zeroes they want on their paycheck. Fair enough, press further. When you ask what they want to DO that will earn them that paycheck, they will blurt out some foggy idea that will sound something like winning the lottery or being paid for looking good in an executive office chair. In other words, they aspire to a life of high spending but do not aspire to productivity.

Okay, this pearl of wisdom did not hit me all at once. I am coming from a generation that looked at careers like fashions - what is everyone going for, which has the guaranteed paycheck? And I am not saying that these considerations are not important. But we need to start looking at our competences. What am I skilled at doing? What sort of things can I do, which always bring people back asking for more? Before we consider the upper class living, we must consider the productivity aspect. 

I knew a man who spent between 15 and 20 years playing the lottery, waiting for that big bread. He would spend Sunday afternoon listening to the radio, each day believing that "This is the day they call out my winning number!" The years came and went. They never called his number. Perhaps we need to focus more on our purpose, on apprenticeship, on small steps rather than big leaps. If a big break comes along, well and good. But until then, we must sharpen our skills and be the best we can be, at what we are supposed to do.

I wish our music videos could focus more on our mission, our task as citizens, as co-workers, as employees and friends. If we rewarded character and skill, rather than bootlicking and nepotism, maybe, just maybe, we will all be better off. Just some thoughts! We should prefer to be the man on a mission, rather than the man waiting for that lucky break. If nothing else, we will be able to say "What a ride!" And we will have served and helped a lot of people along the way.

5 good reasons to record your life story!

What makes an interesting story? To oversimplify, a good story needs (1) a character we can identify with (someone just like us), (2) a serious challenge to overcome (whether it is external problems or personal weakness) and (3) a goal worth reaching. I am sure you have noticed that this is the pattern of just about everyone's life. Life is a journey, there is the destination we hope to reach, and the challenges (and lessons) we have learnt along the way. 

Geoffrey Botkin describes what film goers want to see. I feel this can be stretched to apply to other story telling. He says audiences want to see "The modern audience ... wants to see vicarious thrills in a dramatic two hour presentation of a morally interesting story introducing a heroic character with whom he can identify." People like to see these elements in written form as well.

So what does this have to do with writing a biography?

1. We all have a story to tell

We can all talk about the three elements mentioned above. We all have a context - personal history, where we grew up, went to school, our temperament and mindset at different stages, etc. We all have faced challenges. Whether it was a rude neighbour or an exam system with 'leakages' or an illness. We all have goals and ambitions. (Even though these sometimes change). We all have lessons learnt, experience which may be invaluable to others who are yet to make big lie choices. In other words, we all have a story to tell.

2. Your story is more interesting than you think

They say "familiarity breeds contempt". You are so familiar with your own story that you may think it is not worth telling. But the things you take for granted may in fact be "stranger than fiction" to someone else! 

3. Real stories are more helpful than some fiction

Real motivation and inspiration comes from ordinary life stories. As long as it is not "hagiography", stories that create exaggerated "saints" that have no weakness and make no mistakes. Even in the Christian Bible, many of the best characters have made the worst mistakes (King David and the Bethsheba episode, Peter and his denial of Christ, Lot and his blunder at choosing to live in Sodom, and so on, except the incarnate Son of God of course). 

We can easily spot the one sided stories that skip the "bad choices" episodes of life. Real stories are helpful, because we can learn from the mistakes too. Maybe we can even benefit more reading about the wrong turns, than from the good days. If one has the courage to share the detours that caused panic or heartache, you will tell a truly precious story.

4. Writing your story will help you see your life more clearly

Sometimes we re too busy in the rat race to sit and reflect on our lives. But writing can be a good way to reflect on life, and even plan for the future. It gives perspective and it can be humbling. Reflection is a lost art in society, and many choices would be different if we took time to reflect. If you feel a biography is a long way of, start with a diary or journal. Reading through your own entries can give perspective, ma be even more perspective than it will give to others who read it!

5. Writing your story will help change the reading culture

Many books present the stories of people so far removed from Zambian life. We sometimes struggle to relate to their situations. But Zambians need to read Zambian stories, to see how life hanging principles apply in our setting. It will help others evaluate their own life's journey. This will help us abandon the culture of avoiding deep thought or reflection. This will help us make better choices, reflecting on the long term consequences of beliefs and behaviour. Your book will be your contribution to shaping the Zambian culture, and family tradition, hopefully for years to come.

So you may say I am biased, after all, I edit and write for a living. But I also have a passion for stopping the run-away train of urban culture. It is time we gave it some direction and soberness. It is time we owned it, but filling the book shelves and stocking the DVD wracks with our own works. Nature abhors a vacuum. Something else will fill the gap, ( just look at some of the films at books people already have!) 

There is hope. The music industry is showing promise. There was a time when buying a Zambian CD was unthinkable. We can do that with the book industry too. Get in touch if you want help writing a biography! 

A blunt axe and New Year resolutions...

It dawned on me ... the problems is not always how we execute the New Year resolutions. Sometimes the problem is the resolutions! This may sound bizzare, but give me a minute to prove my case!

Often we sit alone, dreaming of an alternate reality we want to create. In a few minutes, we have our goal for the next 365 days, and we get to work. But notice the flaw. The plan is often vague, a cloudy image of ourselves seated by a lakeside sipping something colourful from a glass with ice and a little umbrella. Then we say "That's the bulls-eye!" This dream has more about the destination than the journey! So to make our resolutions more practical, we need to do a number of things. These are things I am doing for myself, and hopefully I will bring a better report for the next year!

1) Plan the steps in the journey, not just the destination. Consider, how will you get from point A to B to C?

2) Consult in the planning making process. Don't just consult on the execution! You may be trying to execute a flawed plan! Be sure you have the right skills, or help, for this goal. TO rely on simply thinking positive will be a positive mistake!

3) Put the plan through the furnace! Find the most ruthless (but honest) friend you can find to put it under the magnifying glass. Be ready to even reject the plan and start from scratch.

4) The harder you work on the plan, the less energy will be wasted on a flawed plan! After all, "If an ax is blunt and the edge isn't sharpened, then one has to use more strength" (Ecclesiastes 10:10).

So my resolution this year is to sharpen the axe, to consult more and collaborate more. There is nothing more frustrating that trying to chop wood with a blunt axe. 

Then the rest is in the hands of divine providence!