purpose

You must be willing to be disciplined as well as make personal sacrifices. It takes discipline to go through rigorous training and study programs. You need a coach or coaches and sometimes mates to help you stick to your planned program in execution of your responsibilities. To be excellent and effective, the non-essentials must give up time and space in your life _ some sacrifices have to be made. Work hard and work smart.

The obvious signs of a brand gone wrong are the levels of negative headlines it consistently attracts. People talking about you for all the negative and wrong reasons. You begin to shoot yourself in the foot and you have become your own enemy. The gospel about you should be good enough to create relevance and significance - or rather to confirm that.

Connect by listening well and speaking relevantly without being prejudiced or sarcastic. Learn to listen with your eyes as much as you listen with your ears. Generate interest in the person and subject, that way people will become more interested in you.

Review and question what you already know or have. In most ball sports and games, you confirm whether you have scored by checking whether the ball has gone into the goal or hit its target. So evaluation of results means that you must look at your goal to see if the ball has hit its target. Look at your educational aspirations or dreams and say __m I on track to meet my 2020 PhD target?

Always remember that every word you say contains power and you must ask yourself a few questions about your words; Are these words true and kind? Are these words relevant and necessary? Are these words effective for intentions? Reflect on what your words carry, they are a life-changing container!

Be disciplined enough to choose your network and be willing to sacrifice the circles that reduce your effectiveness and make you unproductive.

Bathing is not negotiable! So is brushing your teeth and washing your underwear, so that you always have a fresh inviting scent around you. People should want to be around you, not avoid you because of unfriendly odours coming out of your mouth, shoes or armpits. Do the best with what you have; even the old can be made clean and hygienic to improve your image.

Don__ be intimidated and at the same time don__ intimidate.

Train your emotions to listen to your fundamental empowering beliefs. Be principle-centred and values-driven.

Even if you bury me underground and put a concrete slab over the hole _ one day you will wake up to find a crack in the concrete with a tiny green sprout shooting through. When you see that shoot _ that will be me!

Make adjustments and improvements to enhance the effectiveness of meetings or surpassing of your target. Learn to define, quantify and be specific about what, how and when you want to succeed in each area of your life.

Shift from mediocrity to excellence. Mediocrity and Excellence are like jealous suitors fighting for a partner and competing to please him/her, to the extent they do all they can to reproduce in sets of twins. Mediocrity gives birth to Irrelevance and Obscurity, whilst Excellence breeds Relevance and Significance. These sets of twins cannot inhabit the same life, only one compatible pair can co-exist.

Make sure your reading, studying or research are always adding value to the defined vision, mission, beliefs and values that form your unique personal brand.

Shereketa_ is a Shona word ordinarily meaning to fidget, to be restless, and to show discomfort. Whilst this word has largely been used negatively, the Shereketa principle channels it into a different dimension to be used positively for success. Shereketa re__efined refers to deliberate movements, actions and adjustments inspired by the calling to excellence & success, driven by a conviction against and a growing discomfort with mediocrity. The movements and actions take place in two realms - the inner spirit/convictions of your heart and the outer execution platforms of your physical and material world (Shereketa within and Shereketa without).

Your personal development is your personal responsibility. No one can study or acquire knowledge for you. There are things only you can do, to bring the change or the results you require to make progress in life.

Your attitude should not settle for the average when you have what it takes to become the best. You excel by choice and you must be focused like a laser beam. Even the sun, powerful as it is, will not be able to burn a hole into a piece of paper until a magnifying glass is used to channel the power of its rays onto one spot. Focus your intellect and your knowledge to get excellent results.

Whilst your memory is as sharp as the most reliable computer, it is always wiser to write things down. Pre-meditation helps the refining process, taking out the undesirable elements from a dream or vision, even mounting the courage to face and overcome challenges before they appear in reality.

Slipping into bad attitudes and habits is like a beautiful queen growing older and uglier compared to the defined mission and personal standards. Time and again everyone who is serious about making their success more deliberate needs to stop by the mirror in their own mind and ask, __irror, mirror in my mind, am I still on course to succeed in life?