Andy Warhol said, “In the future everybody will be world famous for fifteen
minutes.” You can’t choose the 15 minutes but why would you be world famous?

Everyone might be famous but not in the classic sense of the word. Generally, to be famous you have to be known by thousands of people, your story and your image has to be out “there”, people want to talk to you and sometimes they would want to be like you. Up until the 90’s this was the case for movie and music stars.

Today, with the internet, applications such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs make it possible for people have up to thousands of followers, “followers” want to talk to them from all over the world and in a sense they can or do become a brand.

This is not so different from the 90’s accept that more people are "famous" and standing out is a lot harder. People have more icons to follow.

So, if being seen by thousands and being in demand feeds your alter ego, then here’s to your 15 seconds of fame. I hope you recognise it when it comes around.

The power of music

One Sunday evening I decided to tune into one of the local radio stations. To my surprise the music compilation turned out to be so good that I forgot about the 8pm movie and refused to turn off the radio.

While swaying to the tunes of various genres, I was transported to a time where everything was possible in the unknown. I danced with the memories of family members who had passed away. I remembered those who came into my life for a glimpse period of time and I remebered emotions of the good and the bad times.

It was a truly celestial experience.

After the the time slot had finished I felt euphoric and at peace at the same time. It was just a good feeling to have made time for the memories.

The music had the power to cleanse my soul.It even set the mood for a great week.

A skill set called leadership

I read an adapted version of “The last lecture of Randy Pausch” on a site called Lifecatalyst. He likens the ideal leadership skill to that of Captain James T Kirk, Captain of the Enterprise.

In case anyone was wondering, this write up refers to the Star Trek series. He mentions that, James T Kirk, as Captain of the ship never claimed to know everything. He trusted his officers i.e. Dr Spock for logical insight, Scotty for his ingenuity with engines and mechanics and, another of his trusted friends, Dr McCoy as the chief Doctor of the ship.

His “Captainship” came from the fact that he could recognise the talent in those individuals and make all of their gifts work in harmony during periods of stress. At other times they were all just able to enjoy the company of each other while working on future plans.

He had the vision and confidence to implement the necessary and whether or not there were disagreements. This enabled this group of people to evolve into a dynamic, inseparable group.

This leads me to believe that you don’t have to know everything to be a leader.

Being able to mobilize talent, inspire others, carry out a vision and being able to encourage every person to do their best through disagreements, makes a leader exceptional.

Frank Zappa

This composer, musician and song writer made quite a few interesting comments. His quote “Rock journalism is people who can’t write interviewing people who can’t talk for people who can’t read” resonates with me.

I think that it is true. Every good journalist worth their weight in gold suffered at least once from the “Rock journalism” syndrome.

To their advantage, they stuck it out with the age old of art of practice and trying over and over again. Today they can write while interviewing people or speak for people who can't read. If they were lucky they might have had good mentors to serve as a guide.

On the other hand, “Rock journalism” was never overcome by others. Maybe it was just a sign to say that this is not the career for you?

You are either gifted to be a journalist...or not.

Be blest.

And I'm aspiring to ...

I just received the latest copy of a leading industry magazine that is all about featuring "real" people on the cover. There is no air brushing or, by the looks of it, no make-up artist either. This is one of the reasons why I do like the magazine.

This month the magazine features a female and presses on about her, and in general, female achievements. I am, however, left with a few questions about making my mark as a female in the media industry. Why is it that (in a number of cases) leading female journalist, editors, writers etc look tired, with limp hair, skin that is not well maintained and teeth stains as a result of either smoking or consuming red wine or a combination of the two?

I ask myself, if it is so great to achieve in this cut throat industry, what is the kick back. From the looks of it there is much to be desired from the quality of life that comes with these achievements.

I'm not talking about looking like a model but is being an achiever all about stressing, combating that with smoking or drinking or some other lethal habit. Is it about working hard to earn more money with no holidays or spa treatments, even though I can afford it? All because my life evolves around deadlines?

Where is the quality of life in that?

Simplicity

I find it amazing that no matter what great things we achieve in life we still crave the basic needs. We still appreciate a hug or someone saying I love you, someone making us a sandwich or being surprised by a crumpled note on the fridge saying something cheesy like "You're special."

The act of living and making daily experiences seem to be remembered better when they are shared with others through a laugh, a tear, a look of understanding or just a simple acknowledgment of an achievement.

No, we don't need a pat on the back and neither do we need permissions etc for everything that we do, but sharing an experience with someone does make the memory much more sweeter.

My top 200 achievements

My life, when looking back, has thousands if not millions achievements if I add up the all the daily successes.

The ones that stand out the most are as follows:
Matriculating
Gaining National Diploma
Paying for my tuition
Working and living abroad
Earning a fat cheque of close to R20 000 before I was 25
Purchasing my first car cash
Buying my first flat
Getting married
Experiencing the gift of a child
Completing my degree (the first year without a child and the second time around with a child)
The mammoth task of building a house
Purchasing goods on a cash basis
Holding various top positions
Turning 30.... and the list goes on and on and on.

The one sentence that comes to mind is "Thank you God for granting me the strength and making this possible"

I doubt that this is the end but it's nice to have a fuzzy feeling of accomplishment when looking back

Technology or death?

Over a five day period, I was the victim of a "computerless" desk. The first day felt like a holiday, I must admit, but by day two "task completion" worry set in. Added to this was the stress of a new floor plan activation and voila, double stress and disorientation became the order of my days.

Now, as I'm sitting with a backlog of work including my studies, I wonder if the future of technology is not to cripple mankind. As I called up people, in a futile attempt to feel as though I was completing tasks, I was constantly requested to "send me an e-mail". I was then left to be professional as it doesn't help to call up someone regarding a proposal and only send them a document 3-4 days later.

In my short experience without a PC, the telephone has become a desk ornament and e-mail technology has become an all encompassing wave, whether we like it or not. So for the person sitting without a computer connection, my sympathies lie with you.

What motivates me?

My motivation cannot be pin pointed to one specific thing. It rather stems from this little voice inside of me that gains inspiration from a multitude of things. It is this little voice that pushes me to go on every day, try new things, set new goals and to keep on achieving them.

Personal experiences, and that of others, feeds this little voice. The good experiences motivates me to keep on going, while the bad experiences forces me to stick to a goal in order to avoid experiencing them again or to ensure that I don't go through the same bad experience like someone else.

Why I am motivated is much more simpler to explain, as it all boils down to the age old task of survival. It is the survival and succeeding at a career, motherhood, as a sister, wife, colleague and friend. No matter how many times I can fail at something, I somehow still remain motivated to go on in this circle of life.

I remember a quote that I read many years ago and it was something along these lines "Despite the high cost of living, it is still quite popular" author unknown.