The beggar's mentality

It is a vicious bug that obstructs progress and reduces one to a slobbering creature you would rather avoid. And some of you who think it bites only the half-naked homeless kid in the neighbourhood or the streetside cripple would be in for a rude awakening if you did some thorough self-examination.

We reduce ourselves to the level of monkeys when we expect free things

For example if you like hanging out with the boys but when the bill is brought you start fiddling with your phone hoping for "a good Samaritan" to pay for your drink, or if you are one of those ladies always expecting your boyfriend to pay your rent, it means the bug has its fangs inside you!

This bug is called the beggar's mentality! There is nothing as stultifying. No one can be constructive or make headway in life when they have the beggar's mentality. They are too blinded by the crumbs they receive that they never see the opportunities lying at their feet begging to be exploited. The poor girl is always begging for the bad boy to stay with her that she never sees the knight in shining armour willing to love her right.

I agree with Zimbabwean preacher Tudor Bismark that Africa's problems and slow advancement stem from the beggar'
s mentality of its people: "As long as we remain beggars; as long as Africa remains in a beggar mode, we will get the junk from the First and Second World and we will be pleased with it. We will have people own us. And the minute you are owned by somebody else, you prostitute your gift; you neglect your talent and ability; you never ever find out how great you are."

It is good that foreigners are cutting aid. It is an opportunity to prove that we can make it on our own, become givers not takers, work out our visions and live fulfilled lives.

Dancing along with the champs

The national flags flying high in the wind, the players' palms on their chests, singing along heartily as their national anthems play. What a lovely moment! How beautiful it is to be there in the lights representing your country in a prestigious tournament like the Fifa World Cup!

Hand on chest as the national anthem plays

Every man and woman deserves to bask in such glory as is in the service of their country. It is possible through hard work and believing in our inherent ability to do awesome things. No one could have revealed the secret better than boxer Sugar Ray Leonard: "You have to know you can win. You have to think you can win. You have to feel you can win."

This winner's mentality is what distinguished Muhammad Ali as well. So optimistic was the boxer that he called himself the greatest way before he knew he was. Then he said: "The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses -- behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road..." to emphasise the value of inner conviction alongside actual preparation in the success equation.

Psychologists have empirically established that the world is bursting with failures whose plight is a result of giving up too soon. The mentality of Yogi Berra that "it ain't over 'til it’s over"otherwise known as the never-say-die attitude is missing in many. We forget that failure is, according to Nigerian motivational speaker and writer Hugo Africa, "a dress rehearsal for success."

If inventor Thomas Edison had given up on the 20th attempt, we would probably still be living in darkness! He experimented 60 times before he cracked the winning formulae for his famous invention -- the light bulb.

Watching the 2014 World Cup has spurred and reminded me to win the battle of the mind and to never give up if I want to dance in the lights like the true champions.

Something to die for

Martin Luther King, Jr., once said that a man who has not found something worth dying for is not fit to live. His sobering words remind me of the Uganda martyrs who we commemorate every June 3. I wonder if in similar circumstances I would find the courage with which those men refused to recant in the face of danger.

Soldiers are ever ready and willing to die for their country

Yet when we cower at every terror society gets rotten to the core. Imagine the wretched pit this country would have plunged into if the brave had not picked guns to end Idi Amin's reign of terror. That is why Nelson Mandela will always be exceedingly admired. A man who spent 27 years in prison for the right thing; a man who was prepared to die for the "ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities."

But in this country people are saying it is impossible to get a job or win a tender without bribing. But just because everyone does it does not make it right. Be the one to defy the status quo even if it means dying of hunger through joblessness! Cling to your principles and refuse to sleep with the boss for a promotion. That is what it means to die for what you believe in.

Once a courageous woman abandoned the safety of a convent for the unpredictable streets of Calcutta, rolled her sleeves and began loving the unloved children. Mother Teresa had found something worth dying for, and she made a difference that will never be erased. Do you love your children enough to lay down your life for them?

Well, Martin Luther King, Jr., did and was assassinated in the cause of ensuring that black children would one day be judged by the content of their character rather than the colour of their skin. His dream has largely come true. As we remember the Uganda martyrs tomorrow, may we be spurred to find something worth dying for.