This week on African Farming we are back at Oneo Farms with Rudolph van der Walt, External Technical Sales Representative at Rovic Africa. He unpacks the topic of irrigation in agriculture and discusses everything from pumps to filtration and tells us more about their DIY drip kit and knapsack sprayer.
What inspired you to start your company?
I developed a stress-induced auto immune disease that caused great disruption in my life. I want to help people to avoid such an event.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
My service is pretty unique. Many people focus on stress management methods such as meditation or deep breathing. While these strategies are powerful and useful, they don’t address the underlying beliefs. My service shifts the source of suffering when it comes to stress and moves clients to a much happier and healthier place.
Tell us a little about your team
I am the brand and am supported by people who help me with marketing, tax and IT advice.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
When I got so sick from stress, I was the MD of a small family business with five staff that managed R80 million of our clients’ money each month. I learnt many lessons and I loved some aspects of the business, but it was not my passion and it created great stress for me working out of alignment with my strengths and talents. The illness prompted me to write my first book and to start sharing the lessons learnt so that others don’t have to suffer as deeply.
What does your company do?
Inga Creative is creating a space where women and young people can connect, learn together, showcase skill and spark collaborations. We have people in different categories like visual arts, photography, horticulture, textiles, ceramics, calligraphy, and recycling. My major role is to arrange meeting dates, liaise with space owners, service providers and also advertise the events. I also do the logistics of hiring and transportation of the tables and chairs to the venues. Inga Creative’s services include:
1. Curating market space for members through exhibitions. The exhibitors pay for the tables in advance and on the day they just bring in their wares and a tablecloth.
2. In addition to exhibitions, we also do training on business management and recycling.
3. We create a networking platform through WhatsApp and Facebook and host various events.
4. As a Life Coach, I also do one-on-one or group coaching to this team and I call my niche Creative Coaching.
My desire is to help people cope with the uncertainties of the social, cultural and economic environment in Zimbabwe. For the past year I have seen improved people, improved products, and improved presentations on market days.
What inspired you to start your company?
I have realized that many women have a small business and are so gifted, but what lacks is knowing where to sell what they have produced.
Lioness Weekender spoke to Ruthida Kajumba this month to find out more about her personal mission and her own entrepreneurial journey to success.
What does your company do?
We help busy individuals redefine success so they can overcome overwhelm and live their best everyday life with more meaning, joy, inner peace, happiness and fulfillment. We also work with individuals know that they are successful but they do not feel as happy and fulfilled as they expected, rather they feel like something is missing and they cannot figure out what it is. We work with our clients through our virtual exclusive private coaching programs, as well as small cozy in-person masterclasses. We also offer speaking services with a focus on Authentic Success, Mindset, Overcoming Everyday Overwhelm, Happiness and Fulfillment.
What inspired you to start your company?
What inspired me was my own personal experience and what I saw happening with other high achievers in the entrepreneurial space online. And this was about always being in the chase for more success, more achievements, more stuff, and income goals based on what the world around us had designed for us. So, for myself and the other women entrepreneurs in the industry, I was seeing that this chase left us overwhelmed, burnt out, with no time for ourselves and loved ones, no social life, no time for the things that are important to us and more especially, being trapped in the comparison game and not feeling good enough. Social media made the situation worse. So, I got to a point where I asked myself, “Ruthida, what does success really mean to you?” And then I went through an intense and deliberate process to redefine my success. This process led me to transitioning from business coaching to life coaching where I now use my signature Authentic Success Blueprint and signature Creating Fulfillment After Success Model with my clients to help them redefine their own success and live according to their own terms with happier, fulfilled lives rather than living on autopilot.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
What makes my business special is that it touches the part of people’s lives that is so intimate to them, while giving them a highly confidential and safe space to open up freely so they can work on their transformation towards creating that meaningful, joyful, happy, and fulfilled life they desire to experience in their everyday life. When one is able live a life they feel is truly authentic to them, and moving from cookie-cutter success to true success that is based upon their own terms, I think that is powerful. Our coaching services and cozy in-person masterclasses are designed to create customized unforgettable experiences for our clients in a way that makes them feel special while deeply transforming their lives. In addition, our speaking services always have a transformational outcome infused in their delivery.
Tell us a little about your team
Given the online nature of the business the team too is virtual, running the administrative work as well as design. Other functions of the business are outsourced as and when needed. Our team is aware that our clients are special and so they strive to make them feel as such.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
My entrepreneurial journey began in 2000 with a very successful fashion accessories business when I was at university and it lasted 4 years while I did my undergraduate degree, as well as my Masters in Business Administration. I then joined formal employment but in between there, I had a thriving cake business. Eventually I resigned from employment so I could be fully present for my kids. However, I did not want to just stay home raising babies. The ambitious and entrepreneurial spirit in me could not let me. So, I started a beauty blog and home-based business online. I later transitioned into a sales, online marketing, and business coaching. In 2018, the nagging feeling that had been tagging at me for some years that I needed to be transforming people’s lives at a deeper personal level grew even stronger. At first, I was extremely resistant because business-related coaching is what I had done for years and that’s what I was known for. I was resistant because the shift to life coaching meant that I had to lose all my years’ worth of business-related blog content and testimonials from my website. I think that was the most painful part but I eventually gave in to my calling. I did a life purpose course which I had dived into with an intense attitude of… “IT’S NOW OR NEVER!”, because I did not want to be transitioning into the wrong direction. And that’s how I ended up with my business today focusing on authentic success and creating fulfillment after success. My story featured as a cover story in The Daily Monitor’s Full Woman Magazine.
Yes, there’s 2 entrepreneurial icons in my family. My mother who has always been an ambitious entrepreneur. I grew up seeing her in a clothing and beauty business. Today, with my father they run a farm but she still runs the day-to-day activities. I believe she has unconsciously been the inspiration behind my passion for entrepreneurship. The second icon is my sister who for over 10 years has been running a successful baby, children, and maternity goods business on a large scale with 2 branches and still expanding.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
To reach more people in Africa and around the world. Many people are running around chasing success and are overwhelmed in their everyday lives. They do not get to stop, feel and enjoy their present moment. There is also lots of people who are publicly successful yet privately unfulfilled and because of their status, they are suffering silently with no one to talk to or trust. I want my company to be the go-to haven for them. I also intend to continue growing the 3 arms of my business to create more impact; that is the coaching, speaking and author platforms. Apart from me being a coach and working with a few exclusive clients at a time, the speaking arm of the business will get on more stages and in front of more audiences. My current author project is a book to be released in 2022. With this book, I intend to get my message reach a much wider audience not just in Africa but beyond as well.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
Being able to touch people’s lives in a special way for each one of them. Seeing the glow in my client’s eyes or hearing the excitement in the tone of their voice, when expressing how working with me has transformed their lives. It is very fulfilling to know that I have not only impacted their lives, but this also trickles down to the other people they interact with in their everyday lives. Knowing that I’m creating an impact in the world, through the ripple effect of my work. People say to me that I’m an inspirer. So, there’s even those people who are transformed through my free content or speaking engagements. When they say to me, “you inspire me”, “you changed my life”, it gives me a deep sense of satisfaction. At a deeper personal level, entrepreneurship has given me a priceless gift of tremendous personal growth and self-discovery. The satisfaction and fulfillment comes from knowing that I can fully express myself, my talents, and skills that when I look beyond, all I see is possibilities without limits or a ceiling.
What’s the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
If they haven’t already, they should discover their life purpose. This is the one thing I wish I knew before I became an entrepreneur. Once they know their life purpose, even though they derail, they will always steer back to the foundation rather than wander off. When they know their life purpose, building their business will be more meaningful, joyful, and fulfilling. Secondly, they should define their success. This will help them keep focused and grounded, in this our world where the picture of success seems to have been painted for us by “other people”. And lastly, once they get started, they should know that even though they have to continually work on their personal and professional growth, they should always remember that they are already good enough at whatever level they are at and that is why they got started in the first place. Especially now that a lot of businesses are going online, they should not compare their beginning to other peoples’ middle or pinnacle of success because this will destroy their morale, confidence, and self-worth. However, they can look up to these people for inspiration.
If you would like to find out more about Ruthida’s work, send her an email to: clientcare@ruthidakajumba.com or visit the company’s website and social media pages:
Real Stuff for Success is an education and coaching company based in South Africa and focused on empowering people to achieve success sooner in their lives. Founder Candice Preston has launched her first book,”Unlocking your superpowers: keys to achieving success in school and beyond” to empower young people to build success (however that looks to them) sooner in their lives. She wanted to cut through the noise and give young people a simple guide that connects them with the ‘real stuff’ they need to know whilst combining this with powerful coaching to help them achieve real results.
Speaking at the launch of the book, Candice said: “I hope that this book can empower many young people to achieve the success they desire sooner and live happy lives. 10 years out of school I looked back at what I had learnt and wished I knew then what I know now. I want teach and coach students on how to build successful lives. I am making it easier for them.. giving them a road map – making it simple – clearing the noise.”
Reflecting on how she got into coaching, Candice said: “Sports coaches help athletes become the best they can be so why not have a coach for life to help us become the best we can be in all of our endeavours? I was extremely fortunate growing up because I had access to incredible teachers and coaches who helped me become who I am today. I wanted to give more young people access to these types of people and empower them no matter what their upbringing. Maya Angelou said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” When we give young people great knowledge, tools and support they can achieve great things and lead more fulfilled and happier lives. We need to empower our youth and support them as best we can in a world that gives them many challenges but also many opportunities.”
She adds: “I am a sports coach and I use the principles I use on the court in the classroom and in life – not everybody is on court or on a sports field. Lessons learned here can empower them for life. In the pages of my book I impart knowledge and experience but coach my readers to apply this into their lives to create change and achieve the success they desire (on their own terms) sooner.”
Candice sends a message to all those young people who might wish to read “Unlocking your superpowers: keys to achieving success in school and beyond”:
“I believe in the power of coaching. I have had some amazing coaches throughout my life, and they have really helped me to reach new levels that I would not otherwise have reached. I am also aware that not everyone has access to these types of coaches, so I wanted to allow you access to me as your coach within the pages of this book. I wish every child could access a great coach.”
Unlocking your superpowers: keys to achieving success in school and beyond is available to purchase from the following platforms: publisher.co.za and as an eBook via Amazon
Candice Preston is a teacher, life coach, academic coach, Certified Financial Education Instructor, netball coach, entrepreneur and lifelong learner. She began her career in teaching in 2011 and never looked back. She has been a teacher and coach for more than 11 years. In 2020, Candice earned her Masters in Education degree after researching how life coaching impacts female high school students. Feeding her deep love for learning, she continues to read, learn and explore each day. Candice’s desire to empower more youth led her to write this book and to create her company, Real Stuff for Success, in which she helps the youth build confidence by equipping them with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed. She does this by training and coaching students in Whole Brain Learning methods and financial education. Candice hopes to empower more young people to learn, grow and live their lives to the fullest.
To find out more, contact Candice via email: candice@realstuffforsuccess.com or visit her website and on social media: WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
Book Review
If you are a woman entrepreneur looking for a transcript of what to say in every situation, then Kimberley C. Menchion’s book, Make the Pitch…Get the Results, is not for you. Life changes at a rapid pace. But if you are looking for strategies, techniques, and practical solutions that transcends time, this book is for you. This book is for full-time entrepreneurs, professionals, and those with side hustles who want to up-level your pitch to grow your business. If you only want the nuts and bolt of pitching, go to the second half of the book only. If you want the total package including inspiration and strategies, this book is a must read from beginning to end.
Readers will discover:
The various approaches to pitching and how to set yourself apart from the pack.
3 of the best all time strategies for persuading others and closing the deal.
“Put it into Practice” sections which takes the newly imparted skills and empowers the reader to walk through their next steps on paper to achieve the reader’s goals, such as how to pitch the tough ask for money.
If you are a woman serious about success, growing your business, or up-leveling your pitch to get greater results, this book is for you.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a ‘pitch’ is a speech that attempts to persuade someone to buy something or do something. In order for women to be successful entrepreneurs, they must demonstrate the ability to persuade others.
Most people think that being an entrepreneur is about having that big idea, but it’s about so much more. It’s about being able to execute on that idea, and it’s the ability to turn that idea into reality.
Being able to persuade others is critical in order to realize your vision.
Kimberly C. Menchion, J.D. is an attorney with over 17 years of experience working in practice areas ranging from family law to billion-dollar business industries. Kimberley’s ability to persuade judges and decision makers in favor of a client’s position, her entrepreneur experience of owning a law firm, and award winning innovative ideas for civic engagement have all come into play to help her learn the art of successfully pitching BIG IDEAS and getting BIG Results. She decided to lay out her experience regarding the art of the pitch to help women business owners pitch their big Ideas and get great results.
by Catia Mondlane
As this worldwide monetary emergency proceeds, it is normal that organizations won’t get back to business as usual for quite a while. In case you are a stay-at-home parent, these business thoughts will without a doubt brighten you up since shopper habits will go in a different direction. Dithering among shoppers to go out and shop will still apparently be seen, affecting the general vender purchaser ordinary excursion.
With pretty much every business being changed to online platforms, and most experts working straightforwardly from home, on-request home assistance organizations are seeing a major rise in interest and are being sought after. The current age seeing the biggest purchasers of online on-request home administrations since they are additionally the biggest shoppers of the Internet. The bustling way of life of these shoppers is prompting them to favor benefits directly resulting from on-request solutions, and this will bring about a flood in the market’s development in the coming years.
The development of this market is additionally set-off by the development and openness of the cell phone market by which the clients procure data and book administrations. The on-request home administrations overcome any issues between this present reality to offer proficient types of assistance. The on-request home administrations can be jack of all trades on-request, such as cleaning administration applications, tasks application, home support administrations and so on. Since the purchaser’s reliability is subject to the help obtained, the specialist co-ops want to keep up with great quality assistance reliably.
Many businesses and entrepreneurs are confronting slumps in some manner in light of this worldwide pandemic. Yet, remaining hopeful and being open to adapting can help in fighting this challenging situation. Think about home business ideas that can be provided and can actually help many people who have to multi-task each day, like moms or business owners, and you are on the right track.
by Nontobeko Mbuyane
I always say that transformation starts when the desire to change overpowers our fears of it. Sweeping things under the carpet and pretending everything is alright allows you to stay in control only in the moment, but the problem grows stronger until you realize eventually that running from, neglecting, and betraying yourself is no longer an option. You have to choose yourself, show up and find your way back to true self. My honest advice would be that you firstly need to commit to healing, just shift from self-abandonment to self-ownership. You might go through a lot of emotions at this stage. You might feel shame, feel like a failure, blame yourself for everything that has gone wrong in your life, but nonetheless just surrender everything to the higher power and pull all your energy back into yourself.
External Circumstances
Most of us will seek change in our external circumstances first if we are not happy with our lives. This works well to a degree, but at some point, we hit a wall and realize we must look within and change ourselves too. Healing is not for the faint-hearted. That’s why so many choose to never do this work. It is taxing, confronting, and there are no guarantees. You have to be willing to do difficult work, to take action, and move out of your comfort zone in order to face fears you may have been running from your whole life. You have to be willing to take a punch and risk emotional pain while you move through your fears. Often, you will be tested and tempted to give up. Keep going! Show up for yourself and do the work and your future self will thank you! Being everything for everyone might make us feel productive and valued, but it’s also draining. And it’s unsustainable. This is a recipe for burnout and feeling powerless and neglected. Shifting from self-neglect requires that you invest in yourself first and foremost. This starts with establishing healthy boundaries, listening to your body, and owning your mental health. You recognize that, like plants, you too need to be nourished and tended to in order to thrive. Radical self-care goes one step beyond that. It is recognizing your addictions and the habitual behaviors that are keeping you stuck and shifting to new ways of being and behaving. It’s not chasing people or giving energy to relationships that are toxic to your well-being. It’s dropping the compulsive need to control the outcome. It’s realizing your worth and putting yourself first, recognizing that only then you can be truly present for others.
Everyone Struggles
Learning to be mindful of your thoughts and feelings and staying in the moment despite the storm you may be feeling inside is very difficult, especially for those of us who experienced trauma and all sorts of life challenges. When things get hard remember that no one is perfect, and everyone struggles in one way or another. Don’t abandon yourself. Do your best to meet your internal experiences with presence and compassion. Remember to love yourself through whatever shows up, all parts of you need to be witnessed, accepted, and integrated.
Healing is an exploration of who we are at a deeper level. As we go through discovering ourselves again, we find what was lost, reconnect with our wounded parts, and remember what we wish to honor, support, and strengthen in ourselves going forward. Once you create distance between triggers and your patterns of reacting, you allow space for healing. This is where you discover you have the power to transform your pain into strength. Each time you stop glossing over your wounds and having compassion for your pain, you show up to deal with what hurts and has been hurting perhaps for years. When you are no longer willing to betray yourself. Instead, you face your fears, breathe through the pain locked in your body, and slowly dismantle your story around your underlying worth and your place in the world. For me writing about my pain helped me develop compassion for myself as I slowly released the stories that kept me stuck in the past. As painful as this process was, I kept showing up seeing how all these years of masking pain, running from fear, and not taking responsibility to heal what needed healing was a form of self-betrayal. I decided to surround it with love instead. My pain became the fuel for awakening, my wounds a birthplace of resilience, inner strength, empathy, and wisdom. As I embraced myself both my strengths and weaknesses, I began to show up with the fullest of who I was.
Worthy
Many of us have negative beliefs about ourselves that we have been shamed into believing and now accept as truths. Deeply hidden, these stories keep us stuck and feeling “less than.” This further sabotage our life and stopped us from being who we truly are. Challenging and rewriting those beliefs can get us unstuck and moving forward again. It is empowering to finally stand up and assert your worth, needs, and boundaries. As you begin to validate your own feelings, fulfill your needs, and give yourself love and care your confidence and resilience grows as well. You will begin to trust yourself and follow your inner guidance, learn to flow with what comes, grounded in self-care and self-love. The opposite of self-betrayal is self-love. The journey of transformation is really a journey of self-love and coming into wholeness. It’s the recognition that we are inherently worthy, not flawed, less than, or damaged in some way, as we were led to believe. It’s unbecoming, dropping all the programming we have accepted as truths about ourselves and our place in the world. It’s showing up even when things are not comfortable. No more self-rejection, exile, and making yourself wrong.
My own journey changed me in more ways than I can count. I found inner peace where there was only turmoil and anxiety before. I processed a painful past and turned hurt into resilience. I embraced my vulnerabilities and accepted the complexities of who I am without needing to deny or shame parts of myself. I learned to trust myself, knowing that I can draw on my inner strength to handle whatever comes next. I shifted my energy toward building up and supporting myself instead of focusing on what’s wrong or missing in my life. I became my own friend, I learned to love and support myself, no matter what. Instead of constantly abandoning myself, I released the past, awakened to who I truly was, and began living out of that truth, fully, wholeheartedly, and apologetic. So, to you from me I say, Stop Betraying Thy Self!
by Claire Keet & Sinal Govender
Lots of our biggest life moments hold hands with the law. Those moments might be happy and celebratory – like starting a business or getting a new job, bringing our children into the world, buying, renting and selling our first homes. Other life moments are really tough – like losing our jobs, ending our marriages or burying our loved ones. Even though we sign all sorts of contracts before and during each of these life events, we just don’t think there’s enough conversation or education about the legal aspects of any of these life events. This is pretty scary considering that many of us will experience at least a handful of them. The life event we skirt around the most is, ironically, the one that every single person on the planet will experience. And that’s death and the resultant legal administration that comes with it.
Here are some important things you need to know about the legal admin of dying that’ll hopefully inspire you to start getting your “ducks in a row” or, at the very least, encourage your loved ones to start doing so.
1. Every single person who dies in South Africa has an estate that will need to be “wrapped up” one day
Every single person – wealthy or not – will die with an estate. It’s almost like a knee jerk reaction: you die and your estate comes into effect. Even if that estate has a zero or negative value, every South African registered as deceased leaves behind an estate that needs to be “wrapped up”. You might think that “having an estate” is reserved for people with loads of assets and accumulated wealth. That’s part of it, sure. An estate is defined as the sum of your investments, assets and interests, and liabilities. It includes your belongings, your property, your investments and your general stuff – including your debt and creditors. Estate taxes have to be paid on the value of your estate when you die. Wrapping up an estate means that a few boxes are ticked: that your debt is paid, that your estate tax is paid, that your estate is divided up correctly amongst your beneficiaries. (Remember that a beneficiary is any person or entity who will inherit from your estate. A beneficiary can be an actual person or a corporate entity, like a company. Your will is the legal life document where you describe which parts of your estate go to which beneficiary). The thing about dying is that it doesn’t affect just you – let’s face it, you’ll be dead. Those you leave behind are the ones affected by the assets you’ve acquired during your life – your kids included! Your wishes for how these assets are dealt with when you’re six feet under is what a will takes care of.
2. The same legal administrative steps are followed for every single person who dies in South Africa
When people die, what they leave behind is “wrapped up” by the State and goes through a standardised process to get finalised. This process is the same no matter who you are or what you own. The great thing about anything standardised is that it’s formulaic, which allows us to think ahead and get organised. The Master of the High Court has a very specific list of things they’ll ask for one day when you’re not around anymore. The sooner you’re able to supply those things and the more thoroughly you’ve completed and organised them while you’re still alive, the sooner your estate can get wrapped up. (As a side note, the Master isn’t really a real life person that you can send a Facebook friend request to. It is better to think of the Master as an institution created by legislation and operating from court. Who your Master is will depend on where you were living when you died, but can also be where anyone with an interest in your estate (like an executor) resides, if they make a special request to the Master in that location). At the very top of the list that’ll be asked for by the Master one day is your will. Your will – or your “Last Will and Testament” – is the legal document that says how, when and to whom your assets get dished out when you die. The assets you accumulate in life might include things like money, property, art, cars, businesses. If you have minor children, then your will is the document that will say how and by whom your kids will be looked after in a truly worst case scenario in which both parents aren’t around anymore.
3. We will all leave behind people who’ll need to handle the legal administration of our passing
The people left behind when you die one day are the people who’ll be dealing with wrapping up your estate. They’ll be walking a tightrope balance between finding space to grieve you whilst also overseeing the wrapping up for your estate. The more organised you are before you die, the easier you make that process for your loved ones. No one wants to be scratching around for laptop passwords or trying to guess who the life insurance policy is with during their moments of grief. We read a story last year about a woman who’d just lost her mother that sums up this point really well. Her mother had left a perfectly organised folder of all the things that her daughter would need to wrap up her estate as easily as possible. Everything. Insurance policies. Her banking information. Her tax information. It also included family recipes. Old letters. Photographs. As this woman navigated both her grief and the administration of her mother’s estate, she said that this folder was almost like a last hug from her mom. A deeply loving gesture that said: “you aren’t alone, I’m here with you and I’ve done my very best to make this horrible life experience a bit easier for you”.
4. Having a will in place makes legal death admin faster, easier and (sometimes) cheaper
If you have a clear, up-to-date will detailing how you’d like your estate split up one day, it goes a long way in helping the wrapping up of your estate go smoother. Having a will allows you to choose who gets what and how they should use the asset, versus your assets being shared out by the State. For example, you may want your art collection to go to your husband with a clear wish for him to sell the art and put the money towards your kids’ education. When you sign your will, you choose an executor. This is the person who is authorised to act over an estate in terms of “letters of executorship” approved by the Master of the High Court. Said simply, your executor is the person who will wrap up your affairs when you’re dead. In South Africa, if you don’t appoint an executor in your will, the Master will appoint one to wrap up your estate. It’s not nice to imagine your loved ones getting scrappy over your stuff, but it can happen. A well written will can help avoid family arguments about who gets what, thereby making the process clearer and less of a hassle. Keeping an updated will allows you to keep a legal record of all of your assets – especially those that your loved ones might not be aware of. It’s also a way to reduce inheritance tax. Done properly and under legal counsel, you can structure your assets in such a way that they don’t become part of your general estate when you die. Optimised tax equals more money for your loved ones. If you die without a will, you die “intestate”. In South Africa, this means that your things will be divided up according to a set formula defined by the Intestate Succession Act, 1987 (Act 81 of 1987). Your wishes about how, when and to whom your assets get given won’t come into the equation. If you’re in a long term partnership but haven’t got married, you can’t be guaranteed that the State will recognise your partner as a beneficiary. Remember, if you die intestate (i.e. without a Will), then the State dolls out your assets according to a set formula in which your relatives get your assets. The only way your partner is guaranteed to get your assets is if you say as much in your Will.
Thinking about the legal administration of dying is confronting and overwhelming. Whether you’re thinking about it in preparation for yourself or educating yourself about it so that you can encourage your loved ones to get their affairs in order, it’s not nice stuff to engage with. If you’ve got this far in the article, we take our hats off to you.
by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department
In this he answers what (to him) it truly means to be educated and he starts by quoting Wilhelm von Humboldt a leading humanist and Prussian Philosopher (1767-1835), who said that “The core principle and requirement of a fulfilled human being is the ability to inquire and create constructively independently without external controls.”
We love that – “to inquire”.
Prof. Chomsky then relates the story of one of his colleagues at MIT who would “…tell his classes it’s not important what we cover in the class, it’s important what you discover.”
That is a wonderful statement.
“It’s not important what we cover in the class, It’s important what you discover.”
Think back to our own education, the Teachers we really remember were the ones who inspired us, let us dream (so long it was about their subject!) and let us discover.
The great Professor continues:
“To be truly educated from this point of view means to be in a position to inquire and to create on the basis of the resources available to you which you’ve come to appreciate and comprehend.
To know where to look, to know how to formulate serious questions,…to find your own way, to shape the questions that are worth pursuing, and to develop the path to pursue them. That means knowing, understanding many things but also, much more important than what you have stored in your mind, to know – where to look, how to look, how to question, how to challenge, how to proceed independently, to deal with the challenges that the world presents to you and that you develop in the course of your self education and inquiry and investigations, in cooperation and solidarity with others.”
Such education cannot be learned through just sitting in a class and being told what to remember for the exam, nor through reading a self help book, but actually by getting your hands dirty, by becoming involved, by having a guide who will fine-tune your direction whilst allowing you to make your own mistakes, and through this, learn, grow and understand.
Children should have scrapes on their knees and mud on their shoes, because if nothing else, it shows that they have not been wrapped in cotton wool, that they have raced around the playground. But more importantly this teaches them that if they run too fast around the climbing frame, they will slip and scrape themselves. It is a lesson well learnt and deeply remembered!
The same is true of learning later in life at companies – all organisations have a responsibility to develop their employees, to allow them to discover though learning but also discover through mistakes, the best way forward, both for the good of the employee, but also for the company.
There is why the saying: “Theory and Practice are the same….except in practice!”, is so important for all to remember – this learning in the real world outside of the classroom is essential.
Let us return to Prof.Chomsky –
“to be in a position to inquire and to create on the basis of the resources available to you which you’ve come to appreciate and comprehend.”…and most importantly to “…proceed independently.”
We begin to recognise that this is the foundation not just to a good workforce, but to a great workforce, and why micro-managing is so insulting and degrading. “I can do it on my own, without you hanging over me, thank you very much!!” is always the frustrated thought from the poor employee.
But how to do this when there is such pressure to generate results and yet no time? This “tension between a manager’s dual obligations to deliver results and develop people” as McKinsey write here, is a constant push and pull on Managers’ time and strength (of purpose). As they say: “In the end, we often prioritize completing the task and cast aside the learning opportunity. However, these lost opportunities pile up, exacting a cost on individuals, professional development, and overall organizational health and cohesion.”
This pressure on the managers is then felt by the employees who then feel there is little or no time to develop themselves – that RESULTS are all that matter. As the World Economic Forum’s ‘The Future of Jobs Report 2020’ shows: “only 42 percent of employees are taking up employer-supported reskilling and upskilling opportunities in their organizations.” (here)
Sadly the report also shows that when workers are Retained, Recalled, Transitioned or Displaced, the gender gap widens: