WHAT MADE US FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?


Wednesday, April 22, 2009

A Free T-shirt for The FGM, Investec Bank's 50 000 World Cup Tickets, And Barry Ronge's Advice


* A lady friend of The Feel Good Movement deciding to make us a t-shirt for
free. Her name is Ausi Jabu Mabaso. She runs a company called Mbotane Business Services, which makes branded corporate wear and gifts.
Ausi Jabu - no doubt believing that The F G M is on the right track - agreed to do us
that favour of making us a Feel Good Movement branded t-shirt. This t-shirt is beautiful, I must admit. It is black in colour, with the name of the movement in front in large white letters and the movement's website address underneath the name in smaller letters. This writing on the t-shirt is embroidered as opposed to just being printed, which makes it a real work of art.
When Ausi Jabu rocked up at my work place with this lovely t-shirt I was over the moon.

"Much appreciated Ausi Jabu."

Now, the Feel Good Revolution can start in earnest ladies and gentlemen.


* Seeing - on TV the other day - an eye-popping act of patriotism by the Investec
Bank. Investec had bought - in one go - a whooping 50 000 tickets for the coming FIFA Confederations Cup. The total cost of these tickets was R3,5million. Investec
bought most of these for its employees. The bank said this purchase was its
contribution to making the Confed Cup a success .
Personally, I was blown away by this weighing in by Investec.
Interestingly, I first heard about this large purchase from one of our customers. This gentleman had come rushing to the branch to buy tickets for himself and a few friends after hearing of Investec's large buy. He had feared that the tickets would run out.
This act by Investec is a challenge to the rest of corporate South Africa to do the
patriotic thing too. Our employers would do well to follow Investec's example and make us employees feel good.
"Do I hear any takers?"


* Some excellent advice from Barry Ronge - the Sunday Times columnist and
movie reviewer - to a prospective film reviewer. A reader had written to him to ask for some tips on how to become a movie reviewer.
What I liked about Barry's advice was that it could be equally applied to other writing endeavours where one is a beginner.
This advice was contained in his regular Sunday Times magazine page( Barry's Space) this past Sunday(19/04/09).
On starting out, he wrote:

"The only way to do a thing is to do it."
Barry himself started writing movie reviews way back in high school.
On the possible lack of interested readers because one is starting, he said:

"...even if you write for an audience of one, remember you are
still learning and polishing your technique."

On the importance of writing something that you enjoy reading yourself, he
advised:

"You have to be writing to entertain yourself because if
you are not, you will never entertain anyone else."

Wise words indeed from a columnist of columnists.


THANK YOU UNIVERSE. THANK YOU FOR OUR 'FEEL GOOD MOMENTS'.


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Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:


Ausi Jabu Ke Mang?
_________________

Ke mang Jabu?
Ask me.
Ask Bessie, my colleague.
Jabu is humble.
Ke motho wa batho.
Ke mang Jabu?
Ask the Mbotane Business Service customers.
She delivers.
A promise she makes is a promise she keeps.
Hantle-ntle, ke mang Jabu?
She is generous.
I should know this.
She is niceness personified.
I should know this too.
She is all of this despite being a great success.
That's Ausi Jabu Mabaso for you.


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SO, SOUTH AFRICA AND THE WORLD OUT THERE, WHAT MADE YOU

FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?

Let us know at - feelgoodmovement@gmail.com
=====================================










Saturday, April 18, 2009

Obama's First Few Months, A Humorous Take, And Upcoming SA Elections

* By all accounts the US President - Barack Obama - doing a great job so far. I was drawn to this fact by a report( The Times of 9/4/9) about US officials paying Cuba a visit recently. These officials met with the current President of Cuba - Raul Castro, and they also met the former President - Fidel CastroIt was said in this report that this visit by US officials was part of Obama's efforts at normalizing relations between the US and Cuba .Cuba has been under the US's economic embargo for ages because of its communist way of government. It is pleasing to see Obama reaching out to Cuba.
And it is not only this Cuban 'peace' mission that makes Obama different. At the recent G20 summit in Britain, Obama was said to be one of the main players behind the scenes in getting some disagreeing countries to present a united front.
Finally, Jack Welch - the former boss at General Motors and an authority on all things about leadership - gave Obama an 'A' on his performance thus far.
So, by and large, Mr Obama is doing well, ladies and gentlemen.


* A statement attributed to a Thai businessman which made us laugh out loudly. He was
commenting on the recent riots that swept his country(Thailand), which affected businesses there. As a restaurant owner he had seen his business lose customers due to the rioting. He was quoted in The Times( 15/04/09) as saying:

"(the cause of the decline in businesss)......is this fighting,
people burning buses for no rhyme or reason."

I thought this gentleman's use of the poetic expression - 'no rhyme or reason' - was
really neat. Especially given the seriousness of the situation.


* Us here in South Africa getting a chance this coming Wednesday( 22/04/09} to
exercise our democratic right to vote for a political party of our choice. The whole of Mzansi is going to the polls this Wednesday to choose a national government.
And as it has been said a thousand times before, some people have paid with their lives to enable us to vote. Let us all go out and vote in large numbers. Let us make ourselves heard.
And isn't it nice, also, that this time South Africans living abroad have been
allowed to vote. And they have done so already this past Thursday.
Big 'ups' to those who went to court to make this voting by expartriates
possible.


THANK YOU UNIVERSE. THANK YOU FOR OUR 'FEEL GOOD MOMENTS'.

==============================


Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:

Is He The One?
____________

Is Barack Obama the one?
The one to end America's economic woes.
And the world's, by association.
Is he the one?
Is Obama another great US President?
Another like George Washington.
Another like Abraham Lincoln.
Or even another like FDR.
Is he the one?
Is he another great world leader?
Is he nother great source of inspiration?
Like Mahatma Gandhi.
Like Nelson Mandela.
Or even like Winston Churchill.
Is he the one?
The one to change the world.
The one to make the world a better place.
The one to bring world peace.
Is he?


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SO, SOUTH AFRICA AND THE WORLD OUT THERE, WHAT MADE YOU

FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?

Let us know at - feelgoodmovement@gmail.com
======================================



Friday, April 10, 2009

NPA Decision Freeing, Good News Revolution, And Getting Our Corporate Attire

* The decision by the National Prosecution Authority( NPA) to drop the charges against Mr Jacob Zuma bringing some normalcy back into our lives. The wait for the NPA to make this announcement - once rumours that they are considering it started flying - was nerve wrecking. Was the NPA going to drop the charges or not, we held our breath.
Now we know. Whether we agree with this decision or not,we have to accept it. It is now a reality. Our legal processes allow for such decisions to be taken.
We must be grateful that when Mr Zuma takes office after April 22nd, he will do so unencumbered by a pending court case. He will be free to tackle the many challenges that our country faces.


* A link in my email box that I received from one of my teachers - Jeanette Maw. It was a link to a Newsweek's online version - Newsweek.com. This article(of 23/03/09), by Daniel Stone, was entitled "Selling The Silver Lining", and was about how 'there is a growing demand for positive news' in the USA. I just loved how he started this piece. He went:

"Is the glut of bad news getting you down. Not me. I've tapped into
into a growing number of outlets that produce nothing but positive
stories. And I am never going back."

MR Stone went on to write that he got tired of reading about all the negative news about the US economy. In fact, he was getting depressed by all this bad news. He then started to consciously search for more uplifting news stories. In this search he discovered that there are indeed news organizations that only report on good and positive happenings. Organizations like ODE.
Also, big US TV networks like NBC are starting to get in on the act. NBC is now inviting its viewers to submit positive news to be broadcast in its evening news.
Good news is also good for us, says Mr Stone:

"Studies show that having a calm and optimistic mind
can have health benefits, like lower blood pressure and
deeper sleep......which explains why good news is a pretty
hot commodity these days."

So, when all is said and done, the future is about focusing on what makes us
feel good.
The Feel Good Movement is on point, ladies and gentlemen.


* The arrival this week of my corporate uniform. It was about time. I had gone
for my measurements with the rest of my colleagues way back in 2008. But for some reason - an administrative hiccup - my uniform never arrived on time. Long after my colleagues got theirs I was still the odd one out, especially among the guys.
Needless to say, I was delighted by this arrival.
What I did not anticipate, though, was how happy for me, too, most of my colleagues will be.
The following day when I came to work wearing my corporate wear, compliments
just flowed and flowed. I was bowled over.
I must give my thanks to Erica - our Admin Manager - for pulling the strings initially, to get the corporate uniform conveyor belt moving for me again. This was after we realised that there was an unusual delay to my uniforms' arrival.
Much appreciation, too, to my lady colleagues who took time to say I look good
in my new corporate wear:

"Ausi Felicity. Kea leboha. Yes, the tie is in my bag."
"Thuli babe. Your 'ke montle jwang' statement was really nice. It took me back."
"Lisa and Sarah Beebs. I was pleasantly surprised by your noticing."
"Ncebi 'babes'. Loved your compliment."
"Ausi Cynthia. Ke itumetse tota Mma."
"Bessie. My sister, what can I say? Loved your telling the whole wide world that I
looked awesome."

Now me and Erica( who also got her corporate wear this week) can do the
corporate 'walk'.


THANK YOU UNIVERSE. THANK YOU FOR OUR 'FEEL GOOD MOMENTS'.


========================================


Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:


NPA Or No NPA
_____________

NPA.
Or no NPA.
The sun will still shine tomorrow.
I still have my wonderful colleagues.
I still work for the best branch in the South.
NPA.
Or no NPA.
I still have my health.
I still have my family.
I still have my positive attitude.
NPA.
Or no NPA.
We still have 4 of our Nobel laureates.
"Ms Gordimer, Mr De Klerk, Madiba and the'Arch'.
We love you guys."
NPA or no NPA.
We still have our beautiful country.


=================================================


SO, SOUTH AFRICA AND THE WORLD OUT THERE, WHAT MADE YOU

FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?

Let us know at - feelgoodmovement@gmail.com
====================================


Thursday, April 2, 2009

Mood Enhancing Columns, Confed Cup Tickets Drive, And Emails from bo-Linda

* A highly uplifting article in THE TIMES( 27/03/09) by Matthew du Plessis. This article appeared under his column( Devil And The Deep Blue Sea) and was entitled ''Where have all the heroes gone?".
In this piece Matthew highlighted the fact that despite what appears to be doom and gloom all around the world - the economic meltdown, the melting of the icebergs etc, etc - there are still things to cheer one up. He wrote:

"If you know where to find it, you'll find plenty to brighten
your soggy spirits."

He went on to give examples of good and positive happenings from around the four corners of the world. From a child being saved by a 'Spiderman' fireman, in
the East, to a government minister( SA's Barbara Hogan) daring to differ in opinion to her government's position, in the South.
This article by Matthew was refreshingly inspiring. And this 'looking-for-good-
and-positive-news' wherever one can find it is at the heart of our Feel Good
Movement philosophy. We believe this is how we can turn around the tide of negativity.
So, Matthew my brother, welcome to the Feel Good Movement.


* The launching, recently, of a campaign to get more South Africans to buy
Confederations Cup Tournament tickets by the FIFA 2010 Local Organising Committee. This is a campaign to boost the less than enthusiastic buying of these
tickets by the general S A public.
If there is one campaign that all South Africans should support, it is this one.
The Confed Cup is a tournament of soccer champion countries of the 8 continents( or Fifa world regions). In this group are included the current World
Cup champions - Italy, the current European champions - Spain, the African
champions - Egypt, the perennial favourites - Brazil, the host country and many others.
The Confed Cup takes place here in Mzansi this year in June and it is a teaser for the real thing -FIFA'S 2010 Soccer World Cup - next year. This tournament gives us a chance to show the world that we are going to ably host the 2010 World Cup. Derek Carstens - the chief marketing officer of the LOC - was quoted( The Times, 19/03/09) as saying:

"We want to encourage South Africans to take ownership
of this tournament, to see themselves as hosts, and the
best way is to go out and fill the stadiums and welcome
the teams and visitors to our country....."

The Confed Cup ticket application forms are available at all FNB branches.
Let us all join this campaign to make our country proud.


* This email we received from Linda:

"Recently I had found myself in tricky situation. I had to complete an
assignment on economics, the politics of the country and the world markets.
This assignment was due the next day. Well, a bunch of us sat around and scratched our heads as we battled to get answers to some of the questions.
No matter how hard we tried we could not come up with the answers.

Then, out of the blue came along Mr Feel Good. He took one look at the
questions, went back to the text book and then supplied us with the correct answers.
Needless to say, I was delighted.

Thank you TP. You are a STARRRRRRR!

Thank you Universe for my 'feel good moment'.

Kind Regards,

LINDA."

Doing our best to make the ladies feel good.


THANK YOU UNIVERSE. THANK YOU FOR OUR 'FEEL GOOD MOMENTS'.

======================================

Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:


The Good News Matthew
____________________

What's the good news Matthew?
Autumn is in the air.
There are clear blue skies all around,
And temperatures are mild.
The uplifting news Matthew:
IPL cricket is coming to SA.
Some high - octane cricket is heading our way.
And more heartwarming news Matthew?
Bafana Bafana are winning.
They won the Nelson Mandela Challenge.
Winning against European opposition, nogal.
2010 here we come!
The wonderful news Matthew:
Our robust and stable democracy.
Elections are around the corner,
But no major bloodletting to speak of.
We can go on and on Matthew.
One thing is for sure.
It's DAMN GOOD to be living in Mzansi right now.
And that - Matthew - is the good news.


================================================


SO,SOUTH AFRICA AND THE WORLD OUT THERE,WHAT MADE YOU

FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?

Let us know at - feelgoodmovement@gmail.com
=====================================