Get your groove back on

What happens when you have a job to do but your energy is down and your mind drained of inspiration? That is the question I put to my Facebook friends last week. You will probably never appreciate the dilemma I was in unless you belong to the world of literature.

Keep pushing no matter what

Some of us who live by the pen; turning words into money, face times when the mind shuts down, leaving you stuck in the middle of a desert without an oasis. Worse than writer’s block. Imagine you are paid by an NGO to write its annual report in a way that would induce funders to pump more money into the organization. You have done this several times and have managed online content for many company websites.

Suddenly you realise how boring the job is, and motivation plummets to irretrievable proportions. You have piles of audio-video files and newspaper cuttings from which to generate that blockbuster report that the NGO boss has been restlessly harassing you about. You have already been paid 20 per cent of the money you are meant to earn from the project. Isn’t that what they call being stuck between a rock and a hard place?

If you have been going through this, or related situations, I want to share some advice from friends that helped me. You are not the first nor will you be the last to feel overwhelmed. Just push all the way knowing new and more interesting opportunities will come knocking when you do a fantastic job. The reverse is true – doing shoddy work because you are stressed ruins your business; word will go around and no one will want to tap your talent again. Do not betray your ability.

Have enough rest, drink lots of water, exercise, listen to good music; whatever will fire you up, do.
"You don't need prayers but need to resist and reject the spirit of laziness to find your groove again," said Peter, my friend.


Remember good things come at a price. That is what psychiatrist Viktor Frankl meant when he said that "What is to give light must endure burning." Your endurance will pay off. 

The rich man and the shirtless man

A filthy-rich man fell sick, and no antidote that money can buy could help him. When he was on the cusp of giving up his ghost, a wise old man appeared with a remedy. "Find a really contented man and wear his shirt," advised the sage, "and you will be cured.

Fulfillment is not found in the number of crowns you have won

The rich man's servants went to work immediately. They searched far and near and after many days found a truly contented man in the remotest part of the land. He was living alone in a grass-thatched hut, with barely enough to eat, yet he was so at peace with himself and the world.  

When the servants returned and said they had found the man, the sick man's eyes lit up with hope as he asked for the shirt. "Sir," his servants said, "the contented man was shirtless. He has no shirt! 

The notion in the modern times is that happiness and contentment come from riches. Unfortunately, the word rich is not understood and appreciated in its entirety but is reduced to material possessions. But as several life stories have proved, rarely do such riches help in the hour of need. 

It is not bad in itself to want to have so much but often in the process of accumulation some lie, defraud and trample on others. Greed has them wrapped around its bitty little finger like a foolish man in the arms of a seductress.

I recently read an interview in which Arua Municipality MP Gabriel Ajedra said he used to have deep attachment to things until he realised the vanity of it after he lost his wife: "I now value my relationship with people more than anything. Wealth is nothing. We covet and clamour for so much, then we get it only to leave it behind."

He was right. In the end you will need only a 4-by-6 portion of land on which you will be buried!

A contented man is a truly liberated man because he won't lick boots or get easily manipulated like some of our MPs who at a simple price are driven like a dog on a leash to vote a certain way or pass fake bills in shameless betrayal of their country.

Let us learn to be content even in easy circumstances like the shirtless man in the story and you will have richness of heart; inner peace, joy and quiet confidence which make living worthwhile.

Five vital success tips

Be a hustler like this pineapple farmer

1. Don't seek promotion. Just keep doing your thing; always going the extra mile. Consistency of excellence with patience will unlock the door of elevation and the perks that come with it. Last year I interviewed a prominent entrepreneur and educationist named Mary Mulumba. She told me: "When you focus on doing a perfect job; on offering quality work, money will also focus on seeking you!"
2. Refuse to be offended by criticism and be quick to learn when it is constructive. Even a human who does nothing, sees nothing and says nothing is criticised because criticism and opposition are part of life, and should spur you to prove your critics wrong. King Solomon said, a fool gets offended easily but a wise man ignores insults.
3.  Relatedly, learn to pick your fights wisely. Some people are worth fighting while others are not. When Moses Golola took to the ring late last year, he knew he had a point to prove. The 'hard rock' had bought a coffin and managed to convince the masses that he was going to bury Golola live in it. The 'no-joking subject' was not going to be a doormat. In a record three seconds, the 'hard-rock' was eating dust, saying it was "ana-fair" and begging for a rematch. Those three seconds proved who the boy was and who the man was in Ugandan kick-boxing. In the end the 'Hot Temper' turned down the request for a rematch because the boy and the man are miles apart. He didn't want to oblige to what would result in the death of the boy, ha-ha.
4. Be careful about prejudices. Prejudices have prevented some people from pursuing their callings, they have prevented some men from marrying some special women, and worst of all prejudices have remained a thorn in the side of progress.  To do something special in this year, we must defy those debilitating and stultifying things. Just because Dennis is a randy man (I am not) does not make all men "dogs." First bury your insecurities if you want to play in the big league.
5. Remember nothing takes the place of action. This is how the bulb inventor, Thomas Edison put it, "Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine prevent perspiration." Bread bought out of your true sweat is so sweeter than bread begged for. Be a hustler, man, do not sit back waiting for manna to fall from heaven. Be an action man now because if you wait for perfect conditions you will neither sow nor reap.  

Reaching for the sky in 2014

There is a time for everything. 2013 folded on Tuesday, and Wednesday ushered in a New Year; a new time to formulate fresh winning strategies that should make 2014 the best year of our lives

Aim for the high sky in 2014

It will not come easy because life is a battlefield. Again and again we shall be thrown down, but being down is not being out. I mastered this lesson on my way to Mbarara last year. I saw a valley that had been razed by fire, leaving it desolate with ash. When I passed by a few weeks later, I was amazed to find that new papyrus reeds had shot up with unstoppable vigour. Immediately my perceptiveness told me that if you have roots that go deep, nothing can destroy you.

I am talking about the roots of wisdom and skills, action and hope and focus. There will be moments of betrayal and frustration, of sickness and brokenness and such tough times that try men's souls. But the waves will not prevail if you don't give up. You will become stronger after every challenge with the right mental frame to handle the crown that is the reward of true champs.

Hopefully you took stock of last year, and as news anchor Josephine Karungi Musisi said, "got into 2014 with a garden free of weeds" after uprooting the "riffraff". The riffraff are the things that obstruct progress; things like a negative attitude, wrong influences, procrastination, fear and lack of knowledge.

It is time to put on the winning dress. It begins with thinking about and writing down what you would like to achieve and how you will go about it. Thereafter all you meditations, actions and relations should be in alignment with your desired destiny.

This means adjustments must be made in one's life. The old moves and habits which did not translate to the expected fruits must be buried. If you want to harvest two sacks of maize from the same plot of land that gave you one sack last year, you must first fertilize that land with manure, plant better seeds, and be at hand to fight the couch grass that will try to compete for water with your maize shoots.

In all, have a practical masterplan. Finney Ongole who at the age of 20 wrote a fantastic book titled Understanding the Seasons of Life, reveals his success secret: "In my own life, besides my annual resolutions, I make a personal growth plan monthly and a weekly resolution and daily to-do list."

May 2014 be very fruitful for us. 

My personalities of the year

Uganda is one dramatic Republic. All year through, the fly on the wall has watched fast-paced action that provokes a combination of laughter and tears, thanks to the highly gifted players at the centre of it from whom flowed endless life lessons and inspirations. Presenting the optimist's top five personalities of 2013:

• Dr. Kiiza Besigye – for bringing back to life the best movie titles and one-liners: The Meteor Man, Superman, No Retreat No Surrender, Die Hard, "I’ll be back", name it. This guy embodies the famous Ugandan coinage: "Star taffa" (the star never dies). The Ugandan police has had to abandon their job to hold him hostage in his home. For fighting for the greater good of the masses; poking the government into doing its job, for teaching us to be tear-gas resistant and to stand for our rights, for belling the big cat in State House, "Senyondo" is my personality of the year. 

• Rebecca Kadaga – Last year, you promised to gift us by passing a strong law against homosexuality. Even though the dream was differed, you made it happen this year. I love your independent spirit and patriotism, and oh no one can beat you at dancing the pakachini! Madam Speaker, will you marry me? 

• Stephen Kiprotich – for using his legs to spread his name and fame. For flying the Ugandan flag high when we had lost hope. Nurture your talent, and you will never die broke, that is what I learned from you. 

• Jennifer Musisi – for taking on a five-star officer and an impudent Lord mayor and coming out almost unscathed. Then you threw the unruly, uncouth vendors off the streets to give the pedestrian breathing space. You also planted flowers in the city centre and parched the roads. Not so bad for beauty and orderliness. 

• Ruth Komuntare – for teaching us not to rush things. We learned that beauty, royalty and money is not everything. You need to be faithful, respectful and humble, and maybe you can find happiness.