World Class Retailers, Local Success Stories, And Celebrity Visits

* Reading( The Times of 14 /01 /09) that the local supermarket chain - Pick'n Pay - has been voted the best retailer in the world by the National Retail Federation. The N R F is the largest retail trade association in the world. It felt good to hear this about Pick'n Pay. A South African company being recognized internationally is always good news.
And I could not agree with the N R F more. I go to a Pick'n Pay outlet at The Glen mall quite a lot. And I am always struck by how well it is run.

* Getting to learn how a neighbour - Mr Paul Moya - turned his life around.
I had gone over to his house for some help. While I was there we started talking about this and that. I - like most neighbours - had marveled at his transformation and had wondered how it came about.
From a struggling car mechanic working from home in the hot sun - as he put it himself - he now owns several cars which include an imported Merc E class.
His big break came - after years of trying - when he got a contract( tender) to organize food supplies for the army( SANDF). He does this through his company called Moyhlu Food Distributors.
Mr Moya's secret of success was really simple.He said:
"Don't give up on your dreams. Keep working on
them patiently until God answers your prayers."
* The local celebrities that pop into our branch ( The Glen mall) once in a while. These guys add a touch of glamour to our work enviroment.
Chico(of "We miss you Manelo" fame) popped in this week. Jub Jub(of "Ndikhokhele" fame) also likes to visit. Thembi Nyandeni and Tod Twala (both of "Umoja" fame) do also visit.
The other day the 'people's poet' himself - Mwakhe Mbuli - made an appearance. And when a colleague asked him for some advise on how to become a good poet, he gave her this poetic and timeless advice:

"You must read. And read widely too.
You cannot lead without reading."

Sure, Mr Mbuli.



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


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Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:

Pick'n Pay - The Glen
________________

Love the variety of salads,
at your salad bar.
Love the wide fruit range.
Love your wide ailes.
Enough room to roam,
Enough room to push a trolley.
Love how you always have,
our favourite Sasko seed bread.
Love your friendly employees also.
Nico and Inno, sisonke bafowethu.
Love the whole experience,
Of shopping here.
Love it to bits.


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

Nice Guys bo-Lucas Radebe, Matric Exam Success Stories, And Handy Colleagues

* Getting a confirmation that former Bafana Bafana( our national soccer team) captain - Lucas Radebe - is indeed a very nice guy.
Mr Sesoai - a customer of ours that I helped recently - related how he once met Lucas in Leeds, in the UK. This was when Lucas was still playing for Leeds United. On discovering that Mr Sesoai is also from South Africa, Lucas enthusiastically made some small talk and seemed genuinely pleased to see a fellow South African.
Mr Sesoai was struck by how down to earth Lucas was for someone that well known.

This was just one of a number of instances where I got to hear about Radebe's lack of airs.


* The Sunday Times newspaper of this past weekend - 04/01/09 - carrying some truly inspiring matric exams success stories. The students featured here succeeded under very trying conditions.
There was Joseph Dimpe from Garankuwa. He "..had to walk more than 20km to school and back, cook for his paralylised mother and study by candle light". After all this he still managed to obtain six distinctions.
While Miseni Dladla, from Kwazulu Natal, got five As from a daily routine that included herding cattle after school, studying by candle light until midnight, then waking up at 3am to study some more.

Common to all these stories were the elements of hard work and self-sacrifice .These are attributes we can all do with as we start a brand new year.

* We are told that a model '1 and Done' branch worker is not only a jack of all trades ,but he uses these skills willingly to help in other departments outside his own.
In my fellow worker - Derrick Gayiya - we have someone very close to this model. He does not wait to be asked for help. When the queue in our department( front line service) gets too long, and he is not too busy in his, Derrick wades in. He does the same for other departments like Forex, for example.

"We truly appreciate it, 'tata'."


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


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Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:

In Your Heyday
_____________

Rhooooooooooooooo.
In your heyday,
A defender of defenders at Kaizer Chiefs.
Read the game brilliantly too.
In your heyday,
A fine captain for Bafana Bafana.
A similarly fine one at Leeds.
In your heyday,
You 'rocked' Chief.
And you still 'rock'.
Rhooooooooooooooo.


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

New Beginnings, A Surprise Edition, And Grateful Expatriates

* The fact that this week we are starting a new year-2009 . This is a chance to start afresh. It is another opportunity to make our dreams come true in the new year. And this thought of making our dreams come true is not too far fetched. All we have to do is to start FEELING GOOD now. Start by noting all the good things(or happenings) in your life right now. Every day write down stuff that made you FEEL GOOD. As you do this every day,  your happiness barometer will go up and with this,  your self-confidence. As you begin to feel happy more often, the Universe will speak to you. With your dreams in mind,  you will get hints to try this here, or that there. If you follow these hints you will find your true calling in life.
Here is to a HAPPY AND WONDERFUL 2009.

* Getting the Sunday Times newspaper this past Sunday(28/12/08 ). I had thought that after the year-ending tabloid edition the previous weekend(21/12/08 ) we will next see it in the new year. If this had been the case, my Sunday would not have been the same .It would have lacked it's main ingredient. The good stories and good writing in the Sunday Times make for really enjoyable Sundays for yours truly. So 'big up' to the Sunday Times team for working throughout the festive season.


* In the same Sunday Times edition(28/12/08 ) above there was an email in the Reader's Views section that made my heart sing. This email made me re-appreciate what we have here in South Africa. We have something beautiful.
The email was was from Colin Bremner. He is an expatriate who went and tried his luck living overseas in the UK. But had come back home. There he was a pilot to rock stars. I loved hearing his reasons for coming back. As he put it:
"This( coming back) was the best thing that ever happened
to me. I remembered my mansion in Johannesburg(paid for),
 my swimming pool, my sports cars, and, mostly, my wonderful
friends. Not to mention the beautiful people who cared for my
every need with regards to cleaning, cooking, ironing and security.
In SA, I too was a rock star and very lucky indeed."

Nice one Mr Bremner.  And not forgetting our beautiful, beautiful weather of course.

Viva SA!Viva!


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

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

Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:

Nothing Like
__________

There is nothing like.
Nothing like a NEW YEAR.
A new year to make us wish again.
To make us young again.
A new year to give us a clean slate.
To make us let go of the painful past.
A new year to inspire us,
And make us feel good.
There is nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Like a NEW YEAR.


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

Generous Co-ordinators, Hip CEOs, And Festive Cheer

* Our co-ordinator(supervisor) - Linda Dickson - is in the habit of giving people things.
Last week,for example,we each got a slab of chocolate in the department.This past Monday we all got these lovely Christmas cards from her.And it is not just at this time of the year.Throughout the year there is always a small thing here(sweets),or there(a packet of Simba chips).

Linda's generosity sometimes goes beyond our department.When a colleague is leaving us,Linda is not averse to using her own money to buy a farewell card for them.
Her generous spirit is an inspiration to all of us.


* Pleasantly surprised to see our CEO - Michael Jordaan - featured in BESTLIFE magazine.I 'bumped' into an old copy(September 2008) of this magazine our local hair salon.

BESTLIFE is really hip.It regularly has famous actors like Dennis Quaid or David Duchovny on its covers.It's a magazine about wealth,health and good dressing for men.
To see one of our 'own' featured in here was awesome.
His advice was good too.On the topic of motivating staff he was qouted as saying:

"Find those successes you can celebrate - they're always there."

And here in the Feel Good Movement we should know all about that.We do this every week.


* The wishes of a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from our customers making us all feel good here at work.
Our manager - Aneshree Gopal - further adding to this Christmas cheer by saying that on Christmas Eve(24th Dec) we can come to work dressed as we wished.Even in jeans and takkies if we wanted.My colleagues rose to this challenge brilliantly.They all came dressed in their colourful casual best.
And 'Nesh' was not done.On this day(24th Dec) we all got a free lunch from her.
What a 'mighty' manager we have in her.


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

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

Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:


'Tjovitjo' Mrs Dickson
_________________

Besides your giving nature,
We love your energy,
Your vibrant personality.
Outside your kind heart,
We love your good command of English.
"At your earliest convenience,Essi."
We love you lots and lots,
In addition.What was that about dynamites?
How they come in small packages.
Sure, Mrs Dickson.

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

FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?

Public Broadcasters, Friends of The FGM, And The new Miss SA

* Our public broadcaster - the SABC - unexpectedly covering COPE's inaugural conference that took place this past weekend in Bloemfontein. The SABC carried some parts of this conference live. This broadcast was a nice surprise.To a lot of people the line between the SABC as a public broadcaster and that of it as a government mouthpiece has become blurred. It follows therefore that a ANC government mouthpiece would not necessarily want to give a rival political party(COPE) this kind of media exposure. So it was really commendable of the SABC to act like a true public broadcaster in this instance. A broadcaster that belongs to all South Africans.


* The many messages of congratulations and support from old friends of the Feel Good Movement since the launch of this blog. They all wished us well going forward. Our favourite is this sms one from Dorcas:

"I hav gon into the Feel Good Movement website. I'm impressed.Congrats. I hope it lives on. There is nothing like feeling good. I also like to thank the Universe(my GOD) 4 giving me values that r keepin me satisfied with what I hav. It doesn't help to complain.
Goodnt."

* An article about the crowning of the new Miss S A (Tatum Keshwar) that appeared in The Times newspaper (Wed 17/ 12 / 08). In its tone this article was upbeat and celebratory. It was a story about another dream that had come true. How many of us have"prayed,hoped and cried" for our dreams to come true like Ms Keshwar did?
Well,the new Miss S A has just shown us that with faith our dreams can indeed come true.
The picture that went with this article was beautiful also. The new queen, with her two princesses to the right and left of her, is surrounded by the other 9 finalists. Everybody is smiling. All of the ladies look to be genuinely happy for Tatum.


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

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

Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:

SABC For All
______________

South Africans,
In all your hues and shades,
This broadcaster is for you.
Everyone,
Be you PAC,
Or ANC,
This SABC is for you.
DA or Inkhatha,
The public broadcaster,
Is for you also.
Let SABC not devive us.
Let it bind us,
For 'Election 2009'.


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


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

GOOD THIS WEEK?

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

DJ Colleagues, Bara Taxi Drivers, and MDs

* Three of my colleagues showing us their other side at a recent branch Christmas Party function. Romique, Sbu and Sanele were on the decks at this function. They displayed their skills as DJs. What was exciting about this was the possibility that, if these guys really wanted to and were prepared to work hard at it, they could live the life of their passion. If they really wanted to, they could live a life of 'travelling, babes, music and Amamboweni'. They could live a DJ's life.

* The driver of our taxi to The GLEN mall( from the Bara taxi rank) proving to be a considerate someone.And being considerate is a rare quality in our taxi drivers.
An elderly lady had gotten into 'our' taxi by mistake. She wanted a taxi to GLEN(an area back inside Soweto), whereas we were actually moving outside of Soweto. Our driver got to hear about the lady's mishap just after we departed from Bara.But instead of getting upset at having one passenger less and therefore losing a R7, our driver simply dropped the elderly lady at the next 'robots'(traffic lights) and directed her to the right queue. And indeed we continued on our way without him mentioning the incident any further. In these trying economic times for the taxi industry, our driver's handling of this incident was admirable.

* The MD of Iburst - Alan knott-Craig - weighing in once again with one of his trademark positive and uplifting emails to his staff. This email appeared in the Sunday Times of this past Sunday(07/12/08). We particularly loved this part of it:

"Report crime,pick up litter, give to the needy, create jobs, look after the children, practise safe sex, drink filter coffee. We all have a responsibility to make the magic happen, otherwise you'll end up in bed in 50 years time, looking back and saying: What if?"
Well put MD,well put.

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


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

Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:

Outside our 9-5's
_______________

Who are we?
What are we?
Outside our 9-5s.
Are we still just FNB employees,
PICK'N PAY workers,
Even on weekends?
We can be more.
If we put our mind to it,
We can live our passions,
After hours.
One little step at a time,
Like Romique,Sbu and Sanele.
On weekends we can dream a little.
What do we want to be,
When it's all said and done?

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

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

FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?
=====================================

'One and Done' Branches, Chubby White Guys, and 'kasi' IT Guys

* The continuing praise that our newly redesigned branch is getting from our customers. This new design is called '1 and done'. Our customers simply love the way the branch looks. They say it looks fresh and modern. With it's big plasma tv screens, colour co-ordinated service areas and it's spaciousness, they say it looks futuristic. One customer even joked that on first entering the banking hall he thought he had forgotten his suitcase, because, "This place looks like an airport terminal."

*The VISA tv advert that is currently being flighted on Sabc tv. The one about this group of tourists from overseas that is here for the Fifa 2010 World Cup and are taking in the sights of Mzansi. This advert - more than anything - gives Mzansi people an idea of what the atmosphere will be like when the real thing comes to town in two years time.
And don't you just love how this chubby white guy - whom we have seen in local adverts before - has suddenly been transformed into an overseas tourist. That is the 'make believe' world of movies for you.

*Now that this F-G-M website is up and happening, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the IT guys in my 'kasi'( Protea North) for their technical assistance. All of it given free of charge.
This goes out to Moeketsi(of Moe's Internet Cafe): "Thanks, authi yaka.Your patience in showing me a few things on the internet was heartening."
And to you Shimi, our Tshabangu street computer fundi," Loved the way you took time out the other day to come to my place and help me with a few technical glitches on the website."
Sisonke bafowethu.


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

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

Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:


Who Is Here Today?
__________________

Pleasing sorroundings,
24 hour banking,
Are here today.
Longer service hours,
'Happy hours' for staff,
That's what is here today.
Now we spend our days,
Customers and staff,
Saying,"Thank you.Thank you."
Because '1 and done' is here today.

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

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

YOU FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?

Let us know at - feelgoodmovement@gmail.com