Tequila Sunrise™: 2017 - The Year of Promise

Tequila Sunrise™: 2017 - The Year of Promise: When the count down began to ring in the new year 2017 - I suddenly found myself very anxious - why? - Maybe because of the fact that I offi...

2017 - The Year of Promise

When the count down began to ring in the new year 2017 - I suddenly found myself very anxious - why? - Maybe because of the fact that I officially turn 29 this year and that's one year away from 30

I always had a certain picture painted in my head for when I reach 30 - the success, the accomplishments, the accolades. But alas I'm still finding myself.

Yes, I've been fortunate to know exactly what I wish to do with my life - and I think what I wish to do is sort of aligned with my purpose in life - but ever since facing the challenges, I came across I kind of lost my driving force 

Pay attention to the word Lost - I use this word illustrate the fact the if something is lost it can always be found.

Life has a way of readjusting your priorities and making sure you become more centered in order to receive exactly what is yours. So a voice deep down inside tells me that everything that happened to me was for a particular purpose.

- Maybe to get me closer to God

- To enhance the vision board for brand Philasande 

- to align my own personal goals with the goals God has created me for

Who knows - all I know is that I am looking forward to getting all these answers.

And another point that has dawned on me - is that with aha moments - just like success. We get there when we get there. A dream deferred is never a dream denied. By the mere fact that you have a single thought it shows you, you have the potential to achieve it.

Bonus point: It doesn't really matter what obstacles you come across - what matters is how quickly you move away from that obstacle and start gliding towards exactly what you wish to achieve. 

So my tip going forward is create a vision board whether mental or literal of all the things you wish to achieve and never sway between those things. Focus on one goal per time and make sure you master that specific craft before moving to the next. Also, meditate/Pray on all those goals and sure as the morning always comes - you'll get what's coming to you.

Forever Kinda Love

Philasande Mtembu

The Life & Times

Going through all my previous posts I am suddenly taken aback with how much I thought I knew at my tender years. And now about to turn 28 years old in December, I realize how some concepts I got right and how wrong I was about others.

Life is not as simple and as straightforward as it is depicted in movies or rather as I have painted it. They say life is the school of hard knocks and fleeting good moments. And boy are they right. The trick is to cherish the good, so that when the bad ones come you can look to the future when the situations will have possibly changed.

This post comes as something I have never outright mentioned before in my blog - and that is the power of prayer and believing in it whole heartedly.

They also say - You have to undergo many transformative situations just to become the person you were destined to be.

Well - 

As I've mentioned before - Life hasn't been rosey - ever since 2009. It's been one bad thing after the next. But things came blows after I had achieved a milestone in my life - which was starting my communications company. I suddenly found myself sick, like extremely sick. 

Not aware that I had anemia, I suddenly found myself fighting for my life.

My dear mother and aunt fought day and night just to keep me alive. I was suddenly bed ridden for 6 months straight. But thanks to the power of God. Slowly I began to get better.

In all honesty, modern medicine was not enough in my situation - strong prayer was the thing that broke the camels back. The doctors I attended still cannot fathom how I managed to pull through. 

I have come to realize that nowadays some people believe in miracles and others, not so much. The mere fact that I am alive is a miracle in my regard.

People tend to believe miracles have to be these big grand gestures - and of course, some may come in the form of something so big it beckons you to sit and take notice. Whilst others are just the random encounters of life. 

The love of a parent is honestly a miracle, achieving your daily goals like finishing a deadline or passing a subject your struggling with in school is a miracle. The fact that you are still walking towards your true life's purpose is a miracle.

The mere fact that you woke up this morning, you survived the atrocities of this world. You are still even given a chance to achieve all your hearts desires - these are all miracles

And trust me - this is not a post about conversion a.k.a trying to change you from what you believe in. It's simply rooted in the belief I have that we are all connected. And it doesn't really matter what you personally believe in. 

This post is just to encourage all of you readers to believe more in God or rather the great spiritual force governing all our lives. 

The Life and Times can be an amazing thing if only you just change your perspective 

Till next time

Philasande Mtembu

TEN | 10

TEN | 10

- In a world filled with an endless supply of chaos, being an authentic version of yourself means everything. Even when all odds are against you, stay the course. 

- Effort yields results. In order to gain any kind of recognition or praise, you need to work on your craft. That means, putting in the amount of work the task requires to yield the kind of gain you want.

- Before entering into a new relationship, always do some form of self-introspection. Assess how much baggage both of you have and weigh it against the feelings you have for one another. If the feelings are more than the latter, then purse it without reservations.

- Embrace change and growth. 

- The urban tribe is overrated : Like minded peers are great for rides to the airport or going to parties with, but huddling with people of the same age and caliber as yourself, limits the amount of knowledge you accumulate. So as difficult as it may sound, try and find new connections outside of your normal circle, this will contribute towards your mental and spiritual growth. 

- Never stay where you're not wanted, happy or where you feel your spirt is being compromised. 

- Smile more often than you cry or get angry. This brings positive energies into your heart and space.

- Never take yourself to seriously. It's awesome to laugh and embrace your own mistakes. And as they say, we are all imperfect creatures in search of perfection.

- Invest a lot of your time in your spirit, cause honestly that is where a lot of battles are either won or lost.

- Be optimistic at all times.

Till Next Time

Philasande Mtembu

Essence of Beauty

Sometimes we never take into account how truly beautiful we are. We are constantly shown images of people who are "supposedly" superior to us and this makes us feel morbidly inferior to an extent that we often doubt everything about ourselves.

That needs to change through the understanding of inner beauty.

What is inner beauty?

Inner beauty is defined as the pure essence of goodness that resonates from a person's spirit. It is the flow of pure spiritual energy that flows from each and every being experiencing the journey of life.

I recently found myself thinking a lot about beauty and what it means to be beautiful. Nowadays beauty  has become synonymous with light skin,the perfect facial features or even abs of steel! More and more people are going under the knife in pursuit of beauty and radiance. Even social media platforms like Instagram continue to encourage/embrace outer beauty as the most important element of the human experience. I mean what is a selfie without a little filter right? 

Well....it's a true reflection of who you are.

We need to start embracing our true reflections and stop buying into all the hype the media and other platforms have deemed to be socially en-vogue. And as Audrey Hepburn once said :

I've grown up investing more in my inner beauty than the outer, because I feel that has more substance and personally, lasts longer.

My grandmother had a saying, which goes  "Zithande kuze uthandeke" 

Which basically means Love yourself enough and the world will follow suit.

Trust me on this one, you are so much more than just your physical appearance. 

Till Next Time 

Philasande Mtembu 

U.N.I.T.E.D

Life is difficult. That we pretty much grasp this every single time we turn on the television,radio or pick up a newspaper. Everyday we pass people dealing with turmoil of the complexity of life and don't for a second consider connecting. By connecting I mean lending a helping hand to the best of our abilities or merely/insignificantly asking "How can I help" - No! we just pass. 

We focus on our own lives to the point that we forget we are united in the most profound manner. We are united in life. From breathing,waking up in the morning with hopes and dreams, smiling,crying and falling in and out of love. 

These are the fabrics that make us human, whether black,white, coloured or even Japanese. And from my understanding humanity equals love and love equals a world free of poverty,pain and suffering. Remember this, The more we unite together and change any ill-humane situation - be it, a family starving everyday, a child being bullied or homelessness. The closer we become the divinely created spirits we are. The more we will achieve the actual purpose we are all here for.

I mean - look at yourself, YOU ARE AMAZING! Now go out there and make someone else feel just as special,loved and amazing as you are.

Kind Regards

Philasande Mtembu 

THE BIG QUESTION

From a very young age, we are asked a very important question. What do you want to be when you grow up? Being the typical kids we are at ages  (5-10) Our answers vary from Policeman, Nurse to Even Superman. When we're passing through puberty and adolescence, we are asked the same question again. Now our answers range from Lawyer, Accountant to Doctor. Any career that has a guarentee of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, We instantly jump at. 

We never take into account the amount of work its going to take to realise these dreams. We just assume they will magically fall into place and one day we will wake up living a life just like Sir Richard Branson or Khanyi Dlomo. We also tend to focus on what the group we surround ourselves with is doing and tend to limit our ambitions based on that factor .

  Another hurdle which always challenges us with regards to answering this question, are people who through having been disappointed alot in life want to constantly put others down and not just limit their potential but utterly destroy it. They are people who have a negative prospect on life and who constantly want to infect those with dreams and bigger pictures with the same infectious desease. 

I ll be honest, many people have told me the goals I ve set for myself are unrealistic and impossible to achieve. I ask this?  If the dreams that were dreamt by the world's greatest innovators were unrealistic (as some clearly were), Where would we be right now?

Could we be flying in the air if the Wright Brothers had not had the inspired idea to create flying birds in the sky? Could we be chatting on Social Networks if Mr Bill Gates and his co-conspirators had not had the ingenious idea of creating Microsoft? So many of the worlds greatest creations came from people who were asked the same question as you and I . What do you want to be when you grow up? These people assessed themselves and through perseverance decided to change the world and how it is viewed through their own personal answers to that intial big question.

Ms Oprah Winfrey always says We each have a purpose and the older we get, the more we discover what that purpose is. Maybe your purpose is to cure the sick or count and assure businesses of their financial stability or change the world in a way that best describes you and your Life purpose. 

Never let people define your answer to the question mentioned above. Always do you! and dream bigger than you ever thought possible. 

I leave you with these last words, Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, Its that we are greater than we ever imagined. We ask ourselves who am I to be Beautiful, Talented and Successful, Question is, Who are you not to be. We search the high heavens to find answers and never realise We are the answer. It all starts with you, and you have the power to make all your dreams and aspirations - no matter how big and outrageous they may seem.

Regards

Philasande Mtembu