The DREAMS DO COME TRUE Tour - Part 12, Nedbank - Maponya mall

   Water is a life saver.
I learned the true meaning of that statement during this Nedbank gig. Playing large in my mind, when I recall this presentation, is an image of yours truly frequently reaching for a glass of water.                 
For some reason my throat kept getting dry. So dry that I could not continue speaking. After each sip I was then able to continue talking. 
   The glass of water, plus the fact that I now know my material well, helped me to put across my message of goal achievement relatively well, given my throat/voice challenges. As to the cause of the dry throat, I still have no idea.
   Besides being able to finish the presentation in spite of my speaking problems, there was one other notable positive about this presentation. Ausi Portia opened proceedings by reading a 
poem('Surely Not?') from our book. This poem was inspired by the excellent service I once received at our local Pick'n Pay. The poem is a plea to other supermarket employees to also up their game.

                                                  SOME THANK YOU's
- Ausi Portia(the manager) - for the permission and the public recital.
- The staff members - for bearing with my hiccups here and there.  
                                   
                                   ==========================                                      
            

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

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

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

GOOD THIS WEEK?

Let us know at - feelgoodmovement@gmail.com

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A Guest Pastor Impressing Again at Grace Bible Church

   After a BIG disappointment, you normally don't want to do anything constructive. You just want to wallow in your misery and forget a little about the outside world.

   This was how yours truly felt this morning after our national soccer team - Bafana Bafana - were knocked out of the AFCON(Africa Nations Cup) last night. They lost to Mali on penalties in a quarterfinal game. This game was a draw(1-1) after the end of regulation time.

   I came very close to abandoning my plan to attend a church service at Grace Bible Church this morning. I wanted to sleep and sleep, in order to dull the pain from last night's loss.

   In retrospect, I am glad I dragged myself out of bed to go to church. I would have really missed out. Today's sermon by Pastor Bill Hybels - who is visiting from the Willow Creek Community Church in the USA - was totally out there(the stratosphere of church sermons).

   The content of the sermon in itself was very good. It was about the '4 Warnings on the Use of Words' from Solomon(the wisest man that ever lived). Briefly, No 1 - Speak few words. Do not speak quickly and all the time; No 2 - Make sure you speak words that are true. Do not lie; 

No 3 - Be gentle with your words. Do not be harsh when you address others no matter how angry you may be; and No 4 - Use life giving words. Your words must build someone up and not tear them down. Say phrases like ' I believe in you', 'I am proud of you', 'I trust you', 'I love you' etc, more often. 

   But what really took my breath away about this sermon was Pastor Bill's technique in delivering this sermon. It was a master class in public speaking.

   No matter how interesting the content of your speech may be, people's minds do drift while listening. This drifting can easily lead to boredom, which can then lead to falling asleep(for those of us who stayed up late last night watching the penalties shootout in the Bafana game). The trick is to keep your audience engaged throughout. And this Pastor Bill did to perfection. He did it in several ways.

   Firstly, he used humour. He started by telling us one or two funny anecdotes about how he ended up giving this sermon at GBC today. Something about him believing in 'free speech'. Laughter here and there helped to hold our attention.

   Secondly, he made us say things and do things. If we were not saying stuff after him("We are proud of  you Pastor Mosa Sono"- on the eve of his consecration), we were looking at our immediate neighbour as we mouthed phrases("I believe in you", "I love you"...). This saying and doing resulted in much mirth among congregation members. 

   Finally, for each point the Pastor made, he gave real examples from his own personal life. This helped to make the message he wanted to put across come alive. It made it a real, living thing.

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

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

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

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

GOOD THIS WEEK?

Let us know at - feelgoodmovement@gmail.com

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The DREAMS DO COME TRUE Tour - Part 11, FNB - Maponya mall

   When the manager introduces one by saying, "Thapelo is a very good motivational speaker", it is humbling. But it also raises the stakes. It puts one under pressure to perform, in order to live up to this top billing.

   I need not have worried about my performance though, in this particular talk. My ancestors were with me. It was one of those instances where everything fell into place the way I had  expected it. I flowed during this presentation. And the FNB staff came with me. There was so much energy and excitement during this talk that by the end of it, the house was jumping.

   Of course these observations are my own assessment of the talk. But even if they are off the mark, they can't be too far off. Because the smiles and the big, warm and lingering hugs after the talk told the same story.

                                                 SOME THANK YOU's 

Bra Charles( the manager) - for the permission to do this talk.

                                             - for the stimulating intellectual discussions.

                                            - for buying a copy of our book( FEELING GOOD)

The staff ( bo Khethiwe et al ) - for a VERY, VERY WARM EMBRACE.

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

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

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

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

GOOD THIS WEEK?

Let us know at - feelgoodmovement@gmail.com

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Other Positives in Our Lives

   We have to find other things to make us feel good after this past Saturday night.

   We must, if Bafana Bafana's performance in the AFCON(Africa Cup of Nations) opening game against Cape Verde is anything to go by. As hosts of this soccer tournament much, much more was expected from our national soccer team. 

   For starters, it is really wonderful to have the whole African continent, so to speak, here in the country. The soccer fans from the various African countries,  in their national teams' jerseys and flags, make for a colourful sight on Mzansi streets. There is this vibe in the air.

   Secondly, the fact that this tournament started off well. There were no major logistical problems to speak of on the first day(Sat 19th Jan) of the tournament. The CAF Local Organizing Committee seems to have done an excellent job in putting this tournament together. Even more so given that they did not have much time to prepare for it. South Africa had to step in as hosts after Libya - the original 2013 hosts - declared early last year that they were not ready to host the tournament as they were still recovering from the tumult that swept Gaddafi from power in 2011.

   Finally, the host country did not suffer a complete humiliation by losing its very first game with everybody watching. And they could easily have. The result was a stalemate(0 - 0). A draw against Cape Verde - who are not really giants in African football and are also first time participants in the AFCON tournament - is not good enough. But the less it is said about this game the better.

      "We are still waiting for those goals and that flowing football you promised us, Mr Igesund."

                     

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

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

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

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

GOOD THIS WEEK?

Let us know at - feelgoodmovement@gmail.com

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The DREAMS DO COME TRUE Tour - Part 10, ABSA - Maponya mall

   Offers of coffee or tea by the hosts upon arrival are always so heartwarming. They make one really feel welcome. They also kind of set the stage.

   To these add some hymn singing and praying before the motivational talk starts, then not much can go wrong with this presentation.

   Indeed this ABSA talk went without a glitch on my side. One wishes all talks, henceforth, could go like this.

                                                  

                                                     SOME THANK YOU's

Ntate None(the manager) - for giving us the 'go ahead'. 

The 2nd in command -  for 'kamohelo e mofuthu'.    

The rest of the staff(bo- ausi Thando et al) - for your time.

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

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

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

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

GOOD THIS WEEK?

Let us know at - feelgoodmovement@gmail.com

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One Prediction for 2013 We Want to Believe In

   I do not really believe in sangomas/witchdoctors/'lingaka tsa Sesotho' and their ways.

   From my personal experience, most of them fly by night. There has been too many instances in the past where one was given a powderish stuff and told to throw it to the west after having a bath at home. When this remedy did not work and you went back, you were told that you got the instruction wrong. The powder was actually to be thrown to the east.

   This year however, in this one instance, I am going to suspend my skepticism about the sangomas' know-how. I am going to be a believer just this one time.

   A friend of my sister who bought a copy of our FGM blog book(FEELING GOOD) happens to be a trained sangoma. She first smsd my sister this prediction on New Years's Eve(31st Dec 2012). In this sms this friend said my sister must tell me that I must be patient as far as the FGM blog book sales were concerned, because soon the book is going to take off. In 2013 the book's sales are going to go through the roof, the sms said.

   When I heard about this prediction, I did not take it seriously. My past history with sangomas did not allow me to get excited. What will be will be, I told myself.

   This past Tuesday(2nd Jan 2013) my sister's friend was again at it. This time she made the prediction in person while visiting us. She told my sister that the book is going to sell in huge numbers this year and implored my sister to please take her seriously. On being asked how she knew this for sure, she said she can 'see' these things. 

   On hearing the prediction for the second time - this time delivered by the horse itself - I sat up. I then decided to note it on my calendar, just in case. And I did get excited a little bit also. But I remained calm on the outside and never said a word to the friend. A guy must keep his cool, you know. I also decided to treat this divination as a self-fulfilling prophecy for myself. Now that my ancestors - through my sister's friend - have told me about the book's good prospects, I am going to work even harder, harder than I currently am, to make the book a success.

   There you have it otherwise, ladies and gentlemen. Remember you read it here first: FEELING GOOD is going to be HUGE in 2013. Courtesy of our resident sangoma.

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

                                 

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

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

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

GOOD THIS WEEK?

Let us know at - feelgoodmovement@gmail.com

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

               
             

THE YEAR THAT WAS - 2012

AROUND THE WORLD

   President Barack Obama's re-election not only pleased American citizens who voted for him, but it pleased most of the watching world. It could be said that the world wanted the fairy tale, that started when he was elected the first black US President, to continue. Everybody loves fairy tales.

   The African continent had even more reasons to delighted at Obama's second term win. This American President is the closest in blood relations(his father was born in Kenya) to the African continent. He is our man in Washington(DC).

IN SOUTH AFRICA

   Locally the story of the year for us has to be the heroics of our Olympic team at the London 2012 Olympics. Be it the swimmers(Chad Le Clos - 200m butterfly gold & 100m butterfly silver, and Cameron Van der Berg - 100m breaststroke gold), the coxless lightweight rowing team(Sizwe Ndlovu, James Thompson, Matthew Brittain and John Smith - gold), Caster Semenya(800m sprint silver), or Bridgitte Hartley(kayak single 500m bronze), all these guys made us really proud to be South Africans. These athletes flew our national flag well and high in foreign lands. 

ON A PERSONAL NOTE

   The publishing of our Feel Good Movement blog book - FEELING GOOD : The best from 
the Feel Good Movement blog - PART 1 - was a personal highlight this year. It was an achievement that made me truly believe that dreams do come true. After pulling off this goal - in only 9 months from start to finish - I now fully subscribe to every motivational speaker's mantra, "You can achieve anything if you set your mind to it". Hence my subsequent '1 Million Books Sold' target for this book's sales.

   The start to this '1 Million' target, which is now my second BIG dream, has been slow admittedly. In the past 8 months since the book's publication, I have only sold 57 books(an average of 7 books per month). But I am not discouraged. These 57 books are the first step of the fabled journey of a thousand miles. Like the book dream, this sales dream will, too, come to pass.

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

ON THAT NOTE, MAY I WISH ALL FGM BLOG READERS A HAPPY XMAS AND A PROSPEROUS 2013.

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

SO, SOUTH AFRICA AND THE WORLD OUT THERE, WHAT MADE YOU JUMP UP AND DOWN WITH JOY IN 2012?

Let us know at - feelgoodmovement@gmail.com

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