David Ofosu-Dorte

Much blessed is he who derives joy from helping others and providing solutions .....much troubled is he whose joy is from power- no amount of vacation will give him rest....for though he may be far away, he is enslaved in his mind by the table behind which he sits. You gerrit?

The past must guide us, but nothing destroys our future more than focusing on the past-apparently, it turned Mrs. Lot into a pillar of salt in ancient times....in modern times, it is like driving forward whilst looking entirely into the rear view mirror instead of the windscreen.

Money, fame, power...all good...but the freedom to create, talk, laugh, love, be our God-given authentic self- whether broke or rich, famous or unknown, leader or led- that is how we thrive and inspire others...of course, besides morning coffee, evening wine and chocolates. Yea !

The fact that Africa is in debt is intriguing, but even more intriguing is what we at times borrow for....eg, to underkake a study of "the causes of non-tariff barriers".....essentially borrowing to find out what we already know and about which we do nothing. Amazing continent !!

Many things used to be WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get)....now, quite often- what appears to be is not, and what is not appears to be.....whilst acquiring knowledge is still key, in this new world, trust and discernment are the new precious metals in leadership soft skills.

Current problems have 3 angles..... the part that resulted from what was not forseen yesterday, present difficulties we have to ameliorate immediately and, how to ensure new solutions do not create future problems.... often, yesterday's solution evolves into today's problem. Yep

To appear sophisticated, some go to great lengths to make simple things complex....whilst sophisticated persons do everything to make complex things simple....for they know that complexity is not equivalent to sophistication and that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Yep

Since enemies can infiltrate, there is no certainty that those with us are all for us ...thus, in addition to those who claim to be for us, it helps to know others who are not with us but not against us either.... as scripture says, those who are not against us may be for us. Yea

Big dreamers encounter two enemies- those who seek to prevent them from making progress, and the attractive distractions which pop up...and since time is always limited, the greater the attention he/she pays to these two, the greater the likelihood of failure to attain the dream.

Before seeking what we don't have, let's first check what we have- our duty is to first multiply what we have and truly, what we appreciate, appreciates....when we fail to value what we have, we end up behaving much like Africa....we will go around borrowing what we already have.

Throwback

Unless it was achieved through cheating or some miracle, success comes out of discipline....so when leaders are disciplined and enforce discipline, there is almost nothing they can not achieve....and where they tolerate indiscipline, there is very little that can be achieved. Yep

They say at times, the coolest person doesn't know he is the coolest person......Yea, just like how the richest continent can become the poorest continent.....of course it is a pity.... but when people hold on to a poverty mindset, no amount of riches can make them wealthy. Sadly

They often appear together but there is a tendency to clash when they fall in different hands,...and in that combat, power almost always wins....for whether by fair or foul means, it is easier to attain or destroy wealth with power than it is to attain or undo power with wealth.

Is our situation always a reflection of what we deserve? ....And when we say life is not fair, do we mean life has given us less, or we mean more than what we deserve..... or is it that we think those to whom we perceive life has been fair don't deserve that fairness? Just asking

In our quest to develop Africa, we must work on our mindsets...it affects what we see and what we don't... some challenges can defeat us in our heads before we start tackling them, and our minds can create obstacles that are not there and blind us to opportunities staring at us.

Every society looks to a better future...and the pursuit of progress is at the heart of all human endeavours....but a people who tolerate indiscipline should not expect much progress...for their lack of discipline will either slow them down or destroy whatever progress they make.

Our weakness comes not from the lack of laws that empower us or laws that restrict us.... it is from our refusal to apply the mind and the lack of principles in dealing with each other....likewise our poverty is not for lack of resources but in our failure to recognise abundance.

Around each leader are those who speak the truth as well as those who package their lies as truth..... and when leaders rely on the falsehood of the wolves in sheepskin, they eventually lose gravitas and become both victims and the tools of manipulators from far and near. Yep !!

Mindset change is a transformation catalyst, but it can not happen if we pass on the false narratives we imbibed as kids .... apparently, some kids are still being taught that someone from Europe discovered the rivers Africans were already drinking from before Europeans arrived.