Music good for the soul

Music... It may seem so significant at times but it plays such a huge part of our day to day lives. 

It can change a mood bring on sadness, happiness, a feel good moment. We do not realise the influence music has on us. A good song and a Friday and suddenly the mood is up! having recently moved to the United Kingdom I now spend a great deal of time on trains and walking all over London for work. My only companion is my phone and  music I feel lost without my headphones in and some good music playing. The music invokes different thoughts and feelings while I am on my journey. With the long train rides and walks its a time out from the rush and work, a de-stressing moment. 

I wake up most days with a different song playing in my head where this comes from I have no idea. I find certain music or songs brings up particular emotions or memories. Jazz, my dad is in mind as we are both great lovers of some good smooth jazz. There are some songs that bring back memories of great parties or moments shared with friends, some that bring back memories of a loved one who has passed on. I think we can all relate to this and we all have our own special songs for our own particular reasons.

If there is one thing I have seen which I think we should all be grateful or is how music can unify people. A stadium full of people listening to their favorite band or artist all united in support brings people together no matter, race, age, gender whatever it may be. I have found I have more in common with people who have similar taste in music to me we can relate and have similar emotional connections to the music. 

Think about a life with no music? I cannot that would take a way half of my life, memories, stories, laughs, friends. I think if we all look back at our lives music has been a big part of it from a child listening to the songs in church, to the school choir, to dancing in the club, to playing in a band it has always been a part of our lives. 

My favorite era would be the 90's soulful music with good messages behind the words. It encouraged unity, love, freedom. The message the music has to portray was awesome. I feel a great deal of modern artists have lost this, music has some what lost its meaning and we have many one hit wonder songs that come and go quickly spreading a negative message. Technology has also moved so rapidly that genuine music is rare to find, artists can change so many variables in a sound booth. Older artists had their voice or their instrument raw talent that was it. 

I do feel some of the modern artists are going back to the roots of music, If you have never heard of David Foster research him now! one of the greatest men in the music industry. If you would like to go back to some of the roots of music listen to David Foster and Friends if you are not left amazed and feeling good after this you are not human. A rollacoaster of feelings and thoughts from a wide variety of great artists and bands.

At the end of the day music is in bred and a part of all of us keep listening, keep smiling, keep laughing, keep crying music can do that to you! 

The BEST BRANDS!

I found this online today thought I would share, fully agree 100% Mr Starbucks

Interesting Economic Times

The start of 2015 proves to be rather interesting in the world of economics.

In South Africa many people are happy with the serious drop in the price of a barrel of oil with the price currently sitting at around $48 a barrel and economists expect it to go as low as $40.

While this is great in the short term and for us as fuel becomes much cheaper and in turn other commodity prices may drop in the short term, in the long run and in the bigger picture of things this poses a serious problem. 

If the price of oil has dropped so drastically from the last year this can only generally mean one thing the demand has dropped and why would the demand drop ? lack of economic activity. With Europe struggling at the moment and China also on a slow down this situation needs to be analysed further.

A slow down in economic activity world wide will affect everybody and each country's ability to boost its GDP. A country may be able to produce various goods however not be able to export as there will not be enough demand and in turn prices will drop.

South Africa at this point in time is in an advantageous position, with investors now rushing to invest in something more stable the demand for gold has increased and the price in turn. Being a large exporter of gold this could give the economy and the rand a boost. 

The rand has weakened drastically I believe due to poor government, a great deal of strike action in important sectors of business and lastly due to Europe's slow down. South Africa exported a great deal to Europe with them slowing down and not buying as much from us this has caused a decline in the rand and lack of foreign trade and currency coming into the country. We are in others words importing a great deal more than we are exporting and struggling to keep the economy thriving. 

It is interesting to see how various factors in the economic world has a knock effect and a vicious circle begins, A large drop in oil prices does not necessarily mean a good thing in the long term yet it may help South Africa in some ways as investors are now buying gold as a safer investment. However the drop in economic activity world wide means South Africa does not export as much as before in turn affecting us in a negative way,

It will be interesting to see the future where oil supplies are scarce or non existent how some countries will survive and how this will in turn affect the economic world. The UAE has seen this coming from a while back and has invested huge amounts and continues to do so in the tourism sector the infrastructure is mesmerising, but will this be enough to sustain them?

It is all a catch 22 and a difficult situation to control or monitor. 2015 seems like it is going to be a very interesting economic time world wide we shall just have to wait and see what happens...!

The Power of SOCIAL MEDIA in Business

While looking at various aspects and my own experience with social media platforms, I realise more and more the true power they have unfortunetely yes in some ways negative aspects but in many positive aspects as well.

I was asked a while a go by the marketing manager of a Cafe in Bostwana advice when using social media. My main answer was make it interesting. Many business Facebook or Twitter accounts are very focused on pushing a product or service and that is it. Whilst yes I agree your main objective would be to advertise and promote your product or service I do not feel this forms a relationship or interaction with the target market or client.

In my opinion a business should have a website, this is their foundation online and in the digital marketing space, This will have the basic details the company profile, their products and services and a contact page.

A social media page however I feel should be "the personality of a brand", it should be fun and inviting as well as interactive with people. It acts as a supporting tool to engage current clients and potential clients and drive traffic to your website which has further details. This process also helps with search engine optimisation for your website.

A social media page for example a cafe should not only have the food specials on it, but share a joke or wish all your Facebook friends or Twitter followers a good weekend, put up interesting quotes. All this portrays your brand and your business personality. Our consumers are all human and we need to grab their attention and communicate with them on a human level. If the page is more exciting and interactive we can form a relationship with our clients make our brand exciting.

Social media also allows two way traffic, you can post and show clients various details and receive feedback as well. This helps with market research and gaining further information about your market, it helps to define your target market.

Each social media platform has their own strength, for example Google + helps with search engine optimisation, Facebook is very interactive great for market research and  for pictures, Twitter is good for sending out quick information and quotes, Linked in for a more professional profile. When these platforms are used to their full potential they can be a great digital marketing strategy run on very little or no budget

Are you living or existing!

Tyler Perry: 'It doesn't matter if a million people tell you what you can't do, or if ten million tell you no. If you get one yes from God...

There is not to much I can say about the above its explains itself, Tyler Perry another man who grew up with nothing and worked his way up to be on of the best producers, actors and directors today. This profound statement may be just a few words stated by one man but packs a good punch!


Tyler Perry is an example of a man who has grown up with nothing and has worked to be the man he is today and is a "man for others" his generosity and willingness to empower others is amazing. God has used him in so many different ways to reach out to people.

His movies and stories always have a deep meaningful idea behind them, he uses them as a tool to communicate some of the issues the world faces today. If you have not watched a Tyler Perry movie my advice would be to watch all of them!

The statement above drives the entire foundation and thinking behind my blog. with God, passion and hard work you cannot go wrong. You can be used as a tool in many different areas. One small human in a big world yet you can make a big difference.

I would like to share the following link, a speech Tyler Perry made at Whitney Houston's funeral which gives you an idea of his faith and a great story of the amazing Whitney Houston.

In valor there is Hope

I thought I would share this poem. I first stumbled upon it after watching the movie Lone Survivor, the story of Marcus Luttrell and his team who are sent to capture a  notorious Taliban leader. The mission however does not go as planned and he is the only man who survives.

Ironically he is saved by a group of local villagers who risk their lives to help him. The human spirit is one remarkable thing!

I am currently reading Marcus Luttrell's book Lone Survivor that the movies is based on a must read.

In Valor There Is Hope - (A poem by Chief Tecumseh)

 “So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.

Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none.

When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision.

When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.”

~ Chief Tecumseh ~

Risky Business.... or maybe not ? “ Perseverance and audacity generally win ”

 “In the same way that I tend to make up my mind about people within thirty seconds of meeting them, I also make up my mind about whether a business proposal excites me within about thirty seconds of looking at it. I rely far more on gut instinct than researching huge amounts of statistics.” Richard Branson 

The words of who I call the crazy man! After reading Sir Richard Branson book "Losing my Virginity" a book I highly recommend it changed my perceptions on taking a risk, the courage or bold step that needs to be made.
 
Branson had learning difficulties growing up and struggled in school, reading, writing and speeches were not his strong points. Today he runs an empire, has written a book and does many talks all over the world. He took so many risks and still does in the effort to build the Virgin brand. Virgin started as a small record company, grew into a recording studio and record label which has signed some of the greats and has grown further into the many areas it is involved in today such as Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Money and many many more. Branson had what can simply be put as balls! Virgin Cola ??? who did he think he was to take on the greats Coca Cola and Pepsi? well Branson did!

As I have said I have always been a realist, look and analyse all situations deeply. In business I would think this would be wise to ensure the success of any venture. Branson based a lot of his business ventures on feeling, passion, and his own perseverance and drive. He also had a heallthy disregard the impossible and know one could tell him that something could not be or should not be done. Once his mind was made up he put 100% into everything he did.

I think we can learn a lot from this, yes we should look at the facts and figures but also how we feel about any venture or idea. Facts and figures can provide us with certain details but they do not take into account that we all think differently and work differently. "One mans junk is another mans treasure" a very true statement.

Sometimes we have to take that bold step, the courage and self confidence that no matter what the world may say and think we have our own ideas and can prove to all that nothing is impossible.

Bransons bold approach to business inspires me to put myself out there, get out of the comfort zone and work harder than ever, this is surely a recipe for success.

His business philosophy was to surround himself with good hard working people, without the team Branson has supporting him the Virgin brand would not be what it is today and that goes for any business. he treats his employee's with the utmost respect and values very single one of their contributions to the Virgin group.

Once we have pushed ourselves to take this big step perseverance is a big factor in the success of anything we try to do. It will always get difficult, it is what we learn from those moments that only makes us even stronger for further challenges.

 

" The Miracle Isn't That I have Finished. The Miracle Is That I Had The Courage To Start"