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Friends & Fiction: Ode to opportunity and art of expression

Walk peacefully through the peaks and valleys of life. Remember that the mist, the wind and the sun obey the laws of nature.

Work with them. There is no point in trying to control them. Rather, focus on what you have control over.

When it is cold, dress warmly; when it is hot, wear a hat and drink your water. If you are caught in a storm, pray if you like, but run for shelter.

Do not let the dust blind you from the great prize, for it passes with the wind. Yet opportunity, like time or tide, waits for no one to prepare to meet it.

Do not strike in anger because you are likely to injure yourself.

Being downtrodden does not mean you are a victim, unless you choose to be.

A worm’s-eye view may be the perspective you need to plan your way to the top. So, do not be quick to judge those who do you wrong because you do not know the thorns that prick them.

Hold neither blame nor bitterness, for they are the comforters of the hopeless.

Malice is the poison that kills the bearer.

Spend your time thinking good thoughts because pettiness cannot give birth to strident action.

Foolishness is infectious, but the tree of knowledge needs time to grow.

Those who do not learn cannot teach, and those who do not listen are deaf to advice.

Do not try to recreate history, because it is someone else’s perspective.

Embrace today’s difficulties and work through them, because in the future someone will consider this the golden age.

Times change. There was a time when water was free and we paid for the news. Ironically, most people hate change.

Good deeds are the basis for good business.

Take care of your workers, and they will take care of your customers.

To give your business a long lease of life, reduce your expenses.

Remember that the boss’ chair is not a throne. It has thorns. Spend little time trying to sit there.

A boss who is a mystery cannot motivate.

People need to shake the hand and feel the flesh.

Saying “I have made it” is self-deception of the worst kind.

Money talks but it has no soul, and those who buy loyalty will invariably lose their soul to the highest bidder.

A rebellious philosophy glues souls together better than the promised spoils.

Commitment to the cause has made men prefer the confines of prison, rather than live in opulent tyranny.

Choose a business that you will be proud of, for a good business is not one that destroys the community but plants the seeds of progress.

Live life, and remember that every hurt is a lesson, because an enriched life is better than a big bank balance.

Always ask “Why?” – it is the most subversive word in the dictionary. Mothers hate it, as do the self-styled authorities in society. But those who persist with this question have the entrepreneurial spirit sorely needed by our beloved country.

However, subversion without humour is attrition warfare. Nando’s won the hearts and wallets of South Africans through humour, not big budgets.

We build businesses so they can take care of us. Many people choose to raise children for this purpose. But an absentee business owner, or a parent, cannot expect reciprocation.

If you want to be successful, copy the habits of the successful, but always bear in mind that you are a unique, un-clonable soul, and life is nothing but the art of self-expression.

Kuzwayo is the founder of Ignitive, an advertising agency

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