Self-made visionaries set out to inspire SA youth
IF YOUhad the chance to sit with Patrice Motsepe or Bill Gates and ask them anything, what would it be? These are busy men and getting their time and attention is tricky, so what would you ask to make it worth your and their time?
Some people might ask for a job, others for a handout. The smart answer, however, has to be to ask them how they got where they are. Most of us do not realise the power we have within or that we have the potential to be greater. Before we get all preachy or sound like The Alchemist, let’s agree on something: time and opportunity are given to us all. The only difference is how we react when those two components come our way.
That’s why you need to watch Visionaries’ Lounge, a talk show that is all about quizzing accomplished South Africans on how they got to the top.
Hosted by ex- Morning Live host, Ayanda Allie-Paine, who is also into business, the show invites a number of self-made people who started out with nothing. Some of them include Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, Pastor Musa Sono and Mirriam Zwane, to name a few. While they have all walked different paths, one thing will become clear as the show grows: all the featured people have the same hunger.
South Africa, and even Africa, has uninspired youths who feel they are owed something by the world. Programmes like Visionaries’ Lounge show that nothing comes for free. Even sunshine is not free, as you have to get out and position yourself in places where it is available.
There is a need to break away from the linear thinking where one goes to school in the hope of eventually being employed by some company. While there is nothing wrong with being gainfully employed, the world would be a better place if we had more open thinkers like Steve Jobs and Adi Dassler (the guy behind Adidas). They started companies at home and now these companies have outlived them and are global brands. We need local stories that are also on that level to inspire the continent’s young people.
It would be great if this show had local names like Mark Richard Shuttleworth, who is the first citizen of an independent African country to travel to space as a tourist. He runs Canonical Ltd which works closely with the Ubuntu operating system, bringing in big bucks for him.
You, too, can do it. Find out how on Visionaries’ Lounge.
airs on SABC2 every Tuesday at 8.30pm