In the past week I have been reflecting on the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and what it means for us going forward as individuals, families, employees, business owners, entire economies and the world. What I have come to know is that I have very little understanding of this impact. I think few do. There is just so much I can’t answer, and I probably don’t even know what the right questions are to be asking.
What I share below is my perception of the immediate effect and some thoughts I have on the situation we’re in.

The term force majeure is often only raised in a business context, but I believe it is relevant across the board right now. Your personal view of the world will determine if you see this as a disaster or as a blessing. It will determine if you see it as an obstacle to what you were going to achieve or as a catalyst to achieve your goals. It will determine if you see this as a threat to how you planned to do things or an opportunity to redefine them.

Whether this came from bats, a laboratory, an act of nature, God stepping in or 5G – none of that matters. It is here now, that is all that matters.
This force majeure is upon us. But what is a force majeure? Continue reading → Force Majeure: COVID-19 The Catalyst?

If you’re South African, you are quite accustomed to seeing people begging at street corners and traffic lights. In fact, it is quite sad that most of us, South Africans, are actually desensitised to this. It is almost ‘normal’ already. As a South African or someone that has visited SA, you may also be familiar with car guards and many other types of people you might be enticed to give money to on your way to work, to a friend’s house or the shops.
The reason I decided to write a blog about this was because I have been wondering about the value exchange when transacting with a beggar, juggler, dancer, window washer or car guard.

Continue reading → My Wish For The Beggar

It’s the day of national elections in South Africa as I write this. I am on a plane descending, about an hour away from OR Tambo (Johannesburg) International Airport. After I land, I will grab an Uber, go say hi to my mom and then go home to drop off my bags before I head to the voting station. It’s an important election year in South Africa (SA) because it is our first since our previous president left office. He almost crippled our country because his [ruling] party let him get away with things a president should not even be involved in. The damage he did in nine years will take at least two decades to undo if all goes well. Will we see change after this election? Will the voice of the people be recorded on their ballot papers to show their dissatisfaction with our current state of affairs in SA? Or will we see more of the same? The next few months will tell. It’s an important time for me as I return to South Africa from Canada – having experienced everything SA can be, I hope this election will produce change in the country I love so much.

For those who haven’t been to Canada before, I wanted to share this. Previous visits have been holiday mode and more focussed on just having fun, but this time around I decided to record some of the things I find interesting, peculiar, funny, frustrating or great about Canada in comparison to SA. Some of it is inconsequential and I put it here just because it might be interesting, but other things matter a lot when I think about how much better SA could be if we implemented or adopted some of them… Continue reading → Canada and South Africa – Some Cool and Some Important Differences