There's more to winning than a cabinet of silverware

It's over ten years since my favourite football club, Arsenal, won the English Premier League. My friends who support other big clubs like Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United wonder why I stick with a club whose trophy cabinet is full of "cobwebs". They don't get that Arsenal is about art, and art cannot be understood or appreciated by unartistic minds.

The 'Invisibles'. Internet photo

We are living in times where winning is more about collecting trophies than creating beauty, or doing something in a way that reminds us of the magnificence and splendor of the heavens.  Arsenal is about the latter.  It is managed by a French professor of Economics who is obsessed with beautiful style that in 2005 his team were dubbed the "Invisibles" after displaying  aesthetic, lightening-quick football that took them through the entire season undefeated. It was a feat that has since not been replicated, and Arsenal has continued to play beautifully like no other English club. 

It is because of its inimitable style that the club has for 20 years consistently finished in the top four in the Premier League, and not missed playing in the elite league - the Champions League; something no other English club has done. That consistency has given Arsenal fans lingering memories of beauty that inspire them to sharpen their quality and remain steadfast to win in life as well. 

Every time I watch the Gunners play, I'm provoked to dig deep and give the best without losing my uniqueness. For example I strive to write this column with fluent originality and clarity. The focus thus should never be on winning an award but on producing something of pure lasting quality. 

That is what real winning is about that. It is about inspiring and mentoring, it is about standing for certain values and ideals uncompromisingly; is it about personal style and expression, about character, hardwork, patience and perseverance which combine in birthing quality and class for which one will always be remembered. That is the kind of unfading crown we all should strive to win in life.

Trump-et of courage

The protests and the tears I saw on CNN told of the trail of heartbreaks that followed the ascendancy of Donald Trump to the American presidency. During the campaigns he presented himself as arrogant, insensitive, brash and too reckless that Barack Obama dubbed him "uniquely unqualified" to be president of the United States.

Yet when it came to the polls he garnered an enviable number of votes and swept the electoral colleges to swagger into the White White, leaving the media and many know-it-all political pundits staggering from the seismic shock of the impossible having become possible! 

But what is it about Trump that got him defying the odds that were alarmingly against him? Many reasons have been advanced to have orchestrated his utterly surprising victory but for me it is the sheer enormity of Trump's courage that made all the difference. Hillary Clinton had her batteries of courage fully charged as well; standing up to such a man, but Trump is another animal! The power brokers in his Republican Party wanted to dictate his flow but he refused to toe their line; he was the captain of his own ship and he didn't care. 

 Then everything was hurled at him. The spoilers had rummaged through his old life and returned with some nasty stuff with which to tarnish his name and reputation beyond repair, but no one can stop a man whose time has come! The past was past, and in any case no one among his accusers was saintly enough to throw the first stone. They hoped the things he said about Muslims, Mexicans and Hillary's character would boomerang; the media unfurled its fangs doing its best to turn his words against him but Trump refused order his mouth alright or be politically correct for that matter. He was and is no pretender and that takes enormous courage. In the end many voters were won over because they felt if he was a devil he was a devil they knew well; a devil they would have no problem sticking with.

Trump's courage was too irresistible to them; it is like the courage that girls find very attractive about the bad boy. It is the courage that comes from knowing that you were created for greatness and nothing can stop you except God. It is an extraordinary courage that very few possess. It is the courage of big winners.

Equipped for something

"In life everybody was created and equipped for something." Those were the words of Muhereza Kyamutetera when he was hosted on Capital Fm's Desert Island Discs on Sunday. In fact we are here not just to do what we are equipped for but to do it excellently; maximising all the capacity within.

People who fail to discover what they are equipped for live a life of tinkering; doing this and that; becoming masters of none, because their  focus is on financial returns than on making a difference; adding value to humanity; a value greater than themselves. Some indeed get exponential increase financially only to realize that money does not bring the joy and fulfillment that we all crave for deep inside.  Consequently they wither and die with their potential still unfulfilled like undiscovered gems. 

Tyson's talent was spotted during a street brawl

The inability to discover one's purpose is a huge problem in Africa, unlike in the developed world where  scouts of every profession are always scouring about for young talent. For example Mike Tyson who became the youngest heavyweight boxing champion of the world at the age of 20 was discovered during a street brawl. American music sensation Justin Bieber began singing contagious tunes when he was still in his diapers, and the music scouts immediately knew the lad was born to sing. 

But in Uganda few parents and guardians have the insight and foresight to help their children discover and nurture their talents and gifts. A child who loves to crack jokes is reprimanded for being cheeky and instead of  watering his sense of humour to flourish he is sent to university to study law or medicine at the expense of his natural talent.

The essential thing is to think and do everything to discover what one is created and equipped for. Many of the unemployed people and other frustrated lot would not be stuck in a hole of stagnation if they discovered what they were created and equipped for because they would be busy enjoying the fruits of using the opportunities that God throws in our way; opportunities that have a direct connection with the potential that is in each one of us.

The age of duplicity and depravity

I was walking home on Wednesday evening reading a text message when a boda-boda rider vrooming by snatched my phone. But as he lacked the timing and dexterity of an eagle; his grip was not firm, so the phone fell from his thieving hand and landed into a roadside trench which luckily was dry. Every part flew apart and it was another miracle that its screen did not even crack.

Some boda-boda riders are crooks

After I had reassembled my phone I stood there reeling with anger at the rogue. I use boda-bodas a lot and now I'm not sure I want to ride on a boda-boda again unless I personally know the rider. A boda-boda who tries to steal your phone can drive a knife through you in order to take your wallet. They say one bad apple does not mean all the apples in the basket are bad, but we are living in desperate times that have turned good people into wicked ones. 

 It's scary that some people no longer have troubled consciences. The story that drove this point home was a story of a young lady whose handbag was snatched by another boda-boda rider in the same style my phone was almost stolen. It was a new semester and the handbag apparently contained tuition. The poor lady shouted, "My bag!" and collapsed in shock while the thief vanished on his boda-boda. After the young woman had regained consciousness all she could do was cry. I will never forget the pain and grief I saw on her pretty face. 

Some thieves don't always get lucky. Some are nabbed in the act and killed on the spot through what is known as "mob justice" yet this seems to have done little to stem the ugly wave of shameless thefts sweeping through our nation. It's so bad that even money donated to help a cancer patient go for specialized treatment is stolen. 

The only solution is for every good person out there to remain different and set an example that little ones under their care can emulate.

The tigers in us

"You've got two tigers in you; the weak one that doesn't believe and the one that does. Which one will win? The one you feed." I heard those lines from the movie "Dragon Eyes" and they stuck for their sheer beauty and veracity.

I started wondering why the metaphor of a tiger was used, and not another animal in the cat family like the mighty lion which is nicknamed the king of beasts. Then it struck me that the reason the tiger was used is because the tiger hunts alone; something that is akin to human beings. 

Once a man becomes an adult he essentially becomes independent and must begin to hunt for his own meat or he will suffer the ridicule of society as a dismal failure. For example when I was still a student I had many free sources of income from my parents and relatives. But after graduation the taps immediately closed because I was now a man who they expected to support himself. 

In life some battles are fought with others but essentially every being is on his own just like an adult tiger wins or loses alone. Even in death you stand before the Judgement Seat of God alone. Understanding this is essential in helping me and you to hustle harder rather than sleeping and expecting to be taken care of by our richer friends and relatives. 

I suspect that the tiger's majestic standing, amazing beauty and awesome gracefulness are amplified by the fact that it's not indebted to anyone since it supports itself 100 percent. It's a hard thinker, planner and executor that marks and defends its territory from trespassers and naysayers. There's a whole lot to learn from how this striped predator perfects its hunting and survival skills without the sense of entitlement that most Ugandans suffer from. 

To make a successful charge in life, a human being must feed his strengths and starve his weak side. To dwell on past failures or give room to anxieties only drags you down yet you and I were created to sprint like that great cat -- the tiger.

What money is for

In The Top 10 Habits of Millionaires, Keith Cameron Smith writes, "Being generous is a sure way to be happy. Being greedy is a sure way to be miserable."

That's right; money should be used to give tangible meaning to generosity. Money is there to help us but the joy is squeezed out of the picture when we hoard it and enjoy alone like diehard capitalists yet those around us lack.

Lately money has become such a god that most people have no modicum of shame as they exploit and defraud in the name of accumulating as much in the shortest possible time. They do it with such zeal you would think every shilling represents a life-sustaining pill meaning that the more money you have the longer you live.

But we all know that's an illusion. When Steve Jobs was suffering from cancer and about to die, he said, "...lying on the sick bed and recalling my whole life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride in, have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death... non-stop pursuing of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like me."

Steve Jobs learned too late that the most important thing in life is to love and cherish others. That's what exactly money is for. A person who uses his money generously, helping those that seek his help, reaching out to the needy without inviting the press and demanding recognition, has the riches of the heart which are the kind of riches money can never measure up to.

As Keith Cameron Smith notes in his book about habits of millionaires, "Being generous is witness to others of kindness and love. It benefits the giver as much as, maybe even more than, the receiver."

Let's use our money to plant seeds of generosity and the rewards will be greater beyond our wildest imagination.