"Hilton Botha is not the State's Case"

The DREAMS DO COME TRUE Tour - Part 13, ABSA - Protea Gardens mall

   Doing a DDCT presentation on St. Valentines Day was always going to be a challenge. How do you flavour the talk in such away that you please the ladies on their day, but do not - at the same time - dilute too much the core message of goal achievement?

   In the end, I think we did manage to strike a balance. The ladies in the house and those who don't care much for this day were happy at the conclusion of the talk.

   Here are more notable things from this gig:

    - The 'Reading from the Book' session with this ABSA group was one of the best that I have ever experienced. The voices were united, strong and full of oomph. It felt like the whole of South Africa was reading with me. The memory of the 'No..oooooooooo' chorus still gives me goose bumps. "Nice one, ABSA." 

   - Bra Mandla turning out to be a good motivator himself. His pre-talk and post-talk remarks were very good, I thought. The bit about him acting like a manager long before he became one was very funny, and inspiring too.  

    - When members of the audience start filming the presentation on their cellphones and tablets, it is flattering of course. But is this filming a reflection of the value of the talk? Because, honestly speaking, I am still trying to get my act together on this motivational talks thing. 

  

                                                    SOME THANK YOU's  

- Bra Mandla(the manager) - for the 'go ahead'.

                                             - for buying our book(FEELING GOOD).

- Shirley Masia - for working tirelessly to make this gig happen.

- ABSA staff  members - for helping to make this Valentine Day talk memorable. 

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

                                                                   

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 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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