An Open Letter to My Mentor

Dear Sir,

I have honestly wished for the best day to communicate to you how immensely you have contributed to my life. Times have flown without a clear conviction of when such a day would ever come but I thank the heavens for today. Eternity has given me a space in time to engrave my letter on an eternal memoir because you not only turn three scores today but today marks the day I saw your stone of tears; one born out of great passion and love.

The tales of Rabbis have always been far from my reach but you placed in my struggling reach what is so possible. You taught me how to fine tune my rugged individualism with a blend of love and service for humanity. I wish I could write a poetry as to a lover but such respect as I owe you will not permit me to. I nothwithstanding want to highlight on your day what it is for me that you have added to my life:

1. You have been an amazing source of inspiration to me. This is perhaps the biggest thing for which I will always owe you a thank you. Your inspiration for me is not any less than the passion from a first love or a first kiss. Your story of how you started this growing empire, your background, your sincerity and values system have been a huge boost in the pursuit of my purpose.
2. You provided the platform for me to meet the right people. It is in your vision I have found friends and acquintences for a life time. I have equally found teachers, admirers, criteques and friends on my journey through life. These are all people who have added and are adding to my life, for from all these new people, there has been something to learn.
3. You point me to the best directions you know how. I remember quiet earlier knowing you, you made fun out of my best wit and it changed in an amazing way a perspective I had.
4. You not only have been a mentor but a friend. You know me in person and call me by my first name, listening and relating to me on a personal basis. You have been a great boost to my personal confidence and sense of self-worth. THANK YOU!
5. My gift matters now, my poor background has little in my future because I have found space in your vision to provide value to the world.  I know without a doubt I make a difference in this world because people like you laid the foundation of making a difference. 

Certainly Sir, you have done more for me than what I could write of in this letter but I just want you to know my heartfelt appreciation for been my Mentor. The implied benefits of what I can lay my hands to are many and I join the many in celebrating your life at sixty.

I kindly end here reminding myself of our last thanks giving church service, where your words pointed to your amazement in building this vision to where it is. Certainly acknowledging God in the build-up. I would be grateful to know the role faith, religion and spirituality has played in all these years. 

Reflecting on the few year together I can only imagine the next thirty-five years when I would have been your age and when you would be five and eighty. We may then talk and reflect well on how far life has come and in such reality appreciate the meaning of life such as God has given us to know. 

You have been a huge pillar in my life, your words of RESPECT and your life to show such will never leave me, thank you and happy day.

Yours faithfully,

Yaw Okyere.

An African Attitude

I write today in the spirit of boldness adventuring quite a courageous move, daring to bunch the varying attitudes of one of the most diverse continent in the world into one blog post. With prejudice to none and no sense of victimising the African Attitude because I am a proud African. But I only hope to write of what I have observed through my life, born and bread in Africa and of my short life experience gathered basically through interaction, observation and association with my own people.

I write herein in this blog the story of An African Attitude (The Story of AAA):

1. The story of AAA always begins as one of a communal living breeding the spirit and attitude of community. Values and virtues to the African is measured basically according to social status. Our African proverbs and wisdom protect this treasure with words like, "Although the egg of the hen may be for the owner, it ceases to be his/hers after it hatches, for it crows in the morning to wake the whole village up". The African is naturally relational and people conscious.
2. The story of AAA is also one of an Enterprising attitude. We have a continent where almost every person has an enterprise basically rooted in trade. Kiosk and small trades are of ancient and modern Africa. Commerce is done by almost every body  in African not as a product of chance but and attitude that strives for greatness and self-reliance.
3. Amazingly the AAA story is full of optimism. The average African is overly an optimist. I do not intend to discuss the merit or demerit of these attitudes necessary but to purely lay bare my observation of the African hopefulness. Such an attitude is what gives room for faith and religion making the African primarily religious.
4. Although there is a seemingly communal spirit there is also an overwhelming attitude of mistrust and disunity. Perhaps no one trust each other enough for a joint enterprise and a global force. The attitude of the African is perhaps to trust a stranger with its best than his fellow African. We sell out of ourselves, betray each other and back stab each other as a continental attitude.
5. The story of AAA proceeds no further without noting that it is one of lack of confidence. We strangely confuse vices such as timidity and cowardice with virtues such as modesty and humility. The average African child will grow up been taught directly or indirectly or by any means possible to believe in the superiority of other races and his/her own inferiority.
6. The AAA story gets sour to know WORK is considered PUNISHMENT and LAZINESS known for SMARTNESS. The cancer of corruption is hard fought but the truth is that it roots into an attitude of laziness to do the right thing in the right way and the perhaps the slothfulness to build tough skins enough to endure the hard way. No better description that laid back.
7. Like children, the average African is easily content. We strife for barely little to go by, just enough to survive on. We get too focused on our own small world to hold and to treasure. We protect jealously standards and traditions that are way below mediocrity and market and sell such as our way of life. But who can blame someone for wanting too little?

There is certainly more to say, scenarios to understand, analysis to make and examples to give but I do not intend to dive into any of such. Every reader will have his/her own opinion and judgements of who the African is. Let me be clear to say emphatically that there are some African who share no lines with any of these attitudes as a result of a kind exposure, some personal mental choice or a kind personal commitments to other attitudes. Certainly so but these people are clearly outliers in the vast minority.

We do business, conduct our politics and live our lives guided by these attitude and sad as it may be we are mostly guided unknown to us. People who know these African Attitudes have either exploited the woes to their own advantage or manipulated the strength out of our hands. I finally end with an invitation for you to scrutinise your own attitude. Objectivity is the golden rule to enlightenment and I dare you to that illuminating path!

LONG LIVE THE AFRICAN ENDURED WITH AN ATTITUDE THAT MAKES A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE...

The Truth about Attitude

I am sharing this short post at a critical point in my carrier path. I have always loved and pursued Risk Management and graciously I am in the centre of it now. I share this not because of any professional merit or academic theory but the practicality of how virtuous right attitudes are.

I wish I could write about such with a taste of poetry or perhaps the usual thoughtfulness and tact. But I herein honestly recommend to all a short scripture: " Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men, (RSV)" - Col. 3:23

There is no honest way to put it than the quote above, stay in the right attitude if you desire and pursue to high altitude.

ATTITUDE MAY IN FACT BE ALL THAT MATTERS!