One of the reasons for my new project, of creating an online video course sharing my experience in starting a career in international development, is that I want to grow thicker skin. I want to be able to take criticism (well-intentioned or otherwise) with grace. What better place to learn than on the internet? I also chose to host it on a teaching platform instead of youtube because the commenters on youtube are generally not very constructive. This reminds me […]
I read this article called “The Courage to Stay in One Place” back in 2014 and it really resonated with me. The past few months, though, have given me a new perspective and more nuance. Two paragraphs that particularly stand out: When the first pangs of anxiety hit, my default is always a suitcase and a ticket to anywhere. I have gotten used to the idea that an Italian train and fields of red poppies are the cure for any sort […]
One of the biggest personal lessons I’ve learnt in the past year or so: Being at the desk when inspiration hasn’t struck is just as important as being at the desk (or where ever you work) when inspiration has struck. It’s the daily steps that build up a project. And it’s easy to forget that when those fingers just don’t seem to be typing or those thoughts just don’t seem to be flowing.
“We’ve forgotten how damaged we’ve been by oppression and injustice. People think that apartheid was just a political yoke, but it got into the psyches of both the oppressors and the oppressed. We’ve not yet found the remedy where we help people recover their sense of self-worth. When I went to Nigeria for the first time in the 1970s. I got on a plane in Lagos. Both pilots were black, something I’d never come across in South Africa. I grew […]
Tried to film outdoors and was thwarted by a cloud (literally) of tiny mosquitos that gave me over 100 bites within 30 minutes. So I was forced to improvise on filming indoors. Didn’t turn out too bad actually. As always, one can prepare, but it’s hard to foresee everything. Flexibility is the key. Also, bug spray. My website had a small glitch I’ve been trying to figure out for almost 2 weeks now. Finally figured it out by adding a […]
Today, I made a decision. Recently I got a first round interview with an organization I’ve been idolizing for the last few years. I didn’t present myself as well as I could have and lost the opportunity. It was a great learning opportunity nonetheless. On the other hand, it made me think that I really should choose and focus on one thing at a time. I’ve been flip flopping about whether I wanted to take another venture under my wing […]
I came across a fascinating article, titled “How the Average Triumphed Over the Median”, about why we now tend to use the arithmetic mean compared to the median (or even the midrange – have you heard about that before?). This is a great example of why we should be teaching science history along with science. Science, no matter how “unbiased”, does not exist in a vacuum. It’s full of fights lost and won, skewed cultural perceptions, and a strong insistence on […]
I was listening to a podcast the other day and the guest speaker talked about his journey from being a super introvert (with low physical appearance self-esteem also) to running huge sales and marketing companies. He became a very successful sales person through what he calls introverted sales. He said he learnt it all on youtube from Brian Tracy. I started watching the videos and I wished I found out about them 10 years ago! Learning to do sales was […]
This was on Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook page. For some reason it was deleted after a day. But I really liked it and so I’m posting it here as a reminder to my future self. “Dear Ones – Most of us, at some point in our lives (unless we have done everything perfectly…which is: nobody) will have to face a terrible moment in which we realize that we have somehow ended up in the wrong place — or at least, […]
She’s one of my favourite journalists and someone I met randomly on a trip to Rwanda back in 2009. I’ve been following her work since then. She posted this the other day and it’s such an inspiration and reminder to me that even she, as brilliant as she is, had to work so hard to finally land her dream job. (her name and identification info are erased for privacy reasons).
