Decisions.

Written by Sivuyile Tshalana.

As a human being living on earth, along the way you have to make certain decisions to benefit you or your loved ones going forward in life. These decisions can effect you or your loved ones in a good or bad way depending on the decision made and the situation that lead you into making that particular decision. Almost everything is made up of decision in life and it is a matter of how well you make your decisions and most of the times you have to stick to your decision in the long run of life.

It is crucial to think before making any decisions, you need look at both the negative and positive sides of your decisions. Nowadays many people make rushed decisions that they regret later on in their lives. People cannot make proper decisions while they are not emotionally, physically and psychologically unstable. Many people need to learn to make decisions by themselves to show maturity and independence. You cannot afford to give powers to someone else to make decisions that will change your life forever but you can consult with them and you must make the final decisions. In this life it is your decision to be lazy, sleeping nonstop, being uneducated, being unsuccessful and being inferior to other people, while you can be superior if you wanted to be superior in your life. You choose who you want to date, your friends, your environment and if you want to be single as well as doing drugs, smoking and drinking alcohol. A lot of decisions certain people make are usually influenced by temporal people that enter their lives which end up affecting the rest of their lives, when these people have left them and that leads to more regrets. Hence people should make their own decisions and when things go wrong, they have no-one to blame but themselves and they have to take full responsibilities of their decisions. Many people need to understand the importance of making decisions, before even making any decisions and sometimes a person might not get it right the first time around but it does not mean they should quit in making decisions. They should learn from their mistakes and keep it going by making wise decisions. 

Many people need to learn to trust themselves and believe in their decision making skills in order to make successful decisions about certain things in their lives. People need to realize that they cannot run nor hide from making decisions sometime in their lives. One way or the other, they will make decisions and it is important that people start learning at an early to make proper decisions while still supervised by elders. Remember the decisions you make in life can make or break you but either way, you have to keep it moving and learn from every decision you make on this earth.

You, Can Succeed In Life, How?

Written by Sivuyile Tshalana.

It all boils down to how hungry you are when it comes to life itself. It is good to have goals, visions and ambitions in life in order to contribute to your success. Actions play a vital role when it comes to success. You can have a great plan on paper or in your mind on how you going to reach your dreams, but if you not doing anything about it on a daily basis then it will just remain a plan on paper or a dream in your head. No-one is born to be unsuccessful in life. Whether you believe it or not, it is what it is. We all meant to succeed in this lifetime.

‘Practice makes permanent’, if we all work on our dreams everyday. Put in the work, despite the negativity one gets when we share our dreams with others. I do not see any reason why people should not be successful. People need to accept that there is no smooth road to success, there is a lot of humps, roadblocks and traffic on the road to success. ‘Patience is a virtue’, which basically means waiting for something without getting angry is a valuable quality in a person's life and with such a mindset you cannot go wrong. Always remember that ‘easy come easy go’. If you did not work for something in life, but you get it for free, that thing has no sentimental value in your life and you will abuse it or misuse it. Since it is something you never worked for you have no idea about the work that was put into it for it to be a success. People need to visualize success in their body, mind and spirit. They need to be in it to win it at all costs, because it would not come easy. It is within your abilities to succeed, it is not far fetched because if you look within yourself you can achieve it. You can actually use that as a stepping stone to success. Do not be afraid to fail in life. Remember ‘it does not matter how many times you fall, but what matters is how often you get up’. Your downfall can also lead to your come up, hence it is just a matter of how you look at each challenge on your way to success.

Do not be afraid of trying out new things in life. Not everything is a rocket science, so ask if you do not have the answers. Hence do not let people tell you otherwise about success. Procrastination is the thief of time and is a major threat to success. In order to succeed you must value time and use it properly each day, because we all have twenty-four hours in a day to do something that contributes to our goals and future. But we usually spend those hours doing unproductive things, lazing around, complaining and gossiping about people. All of this is not the building blocks to success, it is just a waste of time and it should be a phase in people's lives that should not last long. They should quickly get over it, and focus on their lives and how can they better it. People must identify their strengths and weaknesses, so that they can fix it. You cannot fix something if you do not know the problem. Hanniffa Patterson says ten words that highly describe successful. They are being positive, perseverance, care (about people), generous, integrity, self-forgiving, excuse-free, confident, building relationships and focus.

We all need to ask ourselves what are we doing in this life in order to be successful. We can all succeed, but not at the same time and you can never judge or measure your success by other people's success. You can look at them as motivation and learn from them. Get up and start doing something towards your future it is never too late. Keep your circle small and full of people who share the same goals as you. Go out there, chase your dreams and do not be afraid some people might not get your dreams at first but sooner or later they will keep up.

Dj Fresh (Big Dawg): The Role Model.

Written by Sivuyile Tshalana.

In a world so short of role models and mentors that many people can a thing or two from them if they look properly for guidance. There is the Big Dawg that many people cannot stop mentioning when it comes to pioneers of South African House Music and just South African Music in general to the world.

This pioneer goes by the name of Dj Fresh and he is one of the humblest men in the music industry, despite all the things he has achieved in his career. He is so grounded, loyal, and a fantastic entertainer and all-round people’s person. Dj Fresh values his fans, whether it is on-air, face-to-face or social media, he always shows love to them and does not mind taking selfies with them. He is a House Music legendary deejay who has released numerous albums, best known for his House Flavas compilations. If he is not behind the decks making people dance or producing music, he is on the air waves, making people's mornings exciting with his jokes, great topics and unique opinions. ‘The Big Dawg Laugh’ that makes you laugh even if you did not get the joke, because it is very contagious. He makes real radio fun with amazing content and a great team. All the hard work, determination, positivity, perseverance and hunger for more attitude makes him standout. Dj Fresh has created scholarships for students from disadvantaged communities to attend university, especially to study media.

Dj Fresh has been able to remain relevant for so many years as a broadcaster, entrepreneur and a deejay. He is very unique, because he can be able to adjust to whatever the music, and broadcasting industry throws at him and he still comes out on top anyway. Dj Fresh is a true legend and a role model.

NB: Catch Thato Sikwane aka Dj Fresh ‘The Big Dawg’ on Metro FM! Monday to Friday from 5am - 9am murdering the airwaves. Alongside Somizi, Angie and Mpho on the #FreshBreakfastShow.

Music!

Written by Sivuyile Tshalana.

Nowadays music industry is of the biggest industries in the world. Its an industry full of longevity depending on how people involved deal with their revenues, threats, opportunities and strengths. Hence it is very crucial to go to the music with a clear plan, whether people are going to be in the music industry or music business and even both if people are good multi-taskers. Music speak to the heart and that is reason why a lot of people listen to certain songs during circumstances that happen in their lives, whether their good or bad.

People listen and watch music on their preferred music gadgets which then allow people to keep up with their favourite music. The people have the power to breakdown, and learn lyrics through their minds and which then leads to them singing their favourite music. Depending on the lyrics of a song, but that is what many people relate to in many songs. Certain people seek for closure, and advice on music to make them ease the pain they going through and others to even relate it to their past. With that being said, musicians have a lot of influence to the people, especially the youth as the see musicians as role models. That is why there is hardcore supporters that own every albums, merchandise, got tattoos, pictures of musicians and go to their favourite musicians concerts nor performances. Musicians have a huge hand in the growth of human beings within the world as they also contribute to the economy too.

Although certain genres within music are all about or promote flashing money, cars, jewellery, how many women they sleep with, drugs, alcohol and expensive houses, clothes and technology gadgets. They make explicit music videos to sell fake lives and negativity. Then a lot of people believe what they see and hear about their favourite musicians and they start imitating their behavioral systems. Nowadays some music has no meaning at all, as some musicians just mumble their lyrics, don't really care about their audiences and the message they want to portray to the world. Certain musicians care about how much they getting from their music, their individual accomplishments in terms of accolades and don't really care about the effect of their music to the world.

The truth is there are less good musicians nowadays that actually sing about peace, love, respect and tolerance. Even if there is but they're not getting the right exposure in media. Many people are glued to music that doesn't have messages that people can learn and reflect it on their lives. Musicians have the power to break or build human beings depending on their content within the songs. It's vital that musicians know the power they have over the world and they need utilize it properly. We need more real musicians, with their unique stories told through music and musicians that don't allow fame get the better of them. Musicians that actually tackle issues that we facing in the world are truly scarce. 

Mzansi Super League (MSL).

Written By Sivuyile Tshalana.

South Africa cricket board should be proud of their hard work into making Mzansi Super League (MSL) a successful tournament. A lot of work went through it, in terms of superb marketing strategies as their advert was easy on eyes and quite enjoyable to watch. MSL advert involved some well-known celebrities nor influential human beings like Tumi Morake, LKG, Jomo Sono, AB DeVilliers, Nina Hastie, Makhaya Ntini, ThandoThabede, etc. Just to name a few as the list was endless and everyone who was involved in that advert really did their best to make that advert a success. The theme song was incredibly catchy and one of the great theme songs that overcome from South Africa. Dj Fresh and Busiswa really out did themselves in making the MSL theme song. MSL came up with a brilliant slogan, “Fast, Fun For All.”

MSL commenced from the 16^th of November and ended on the 16^th of December 2019. Which means there was a full month of MSLT20 cricket that played on different cricket stadiums across South Africa. Twenty-Twenty (famously known as T20) cricket is a 20 0vers fast paced, full of excitement, quick runs scored and many wickets that are takenkind of a cricket. The runs scored and wickets taken by different crickets teams was exceptional done well. Even though some teams might feel they lacked on certain departments during their actual cricket match days. MSL showed case the sort of talent South African cricketers have and put everyone on the map. All those young players that got exposure into playing with their cricket heroes and most of them made the most of their chances give them by their coaches.Every team was made up of fantastic players (bowlers, batsmen and all-rounders) and an excellent technical support teams. The MSL T20 was made up of 6 world class cricket teams and there was only one team that could be crowned the first MSL T20 champions.Namely, Cape Town Blitz, Durban Heat, Jozi Stars, Tshwane Spartans, Nelson Mandela Bay Giants and Paarl Rocks. All these team had amazing support from their supporters across the country.

MSL didn’t disappoint and it lived up to its standards. Surely the organizers should be happy with the way everything transpired. SABC played a critical role in making sure that the MSL T20 cricket matches were broadcasted on television and radio stations. MSL can only go to greater heights next year with more investors and more international players being involved in the tournament. Finally, South Africa got a tournament that the world can look forward to part of each year. These are exciting times for South Africans and their cricket. The South African Proteas selectors will have a good headache when it comes to choosing cricket players to represent South Africa on the world stage. MSL T20 is a force to be reckon with and definitely the success rate will increase as time goes by on years to come.

Congratulations to Jozi Stars for winning the first ever MSL T20.

The Journey Part 26: Festive Season

Written By Sivuyile Tshalana.

I have to say this festive season wasn’t all that in terms of hype and the way I thought I was going to enjoy it. In fact I didn’t really dwell on the festive season, as I was mostly busy throughout the whole December holidays seasons. I’m trying to get my life together and on track with what I want on earth. At the same time I felt that growth has hit me big time as I found no interesting things with December. I tried to going out and having fun every now and then but when the budget it tight its very hard to enjoy your festive season. My finances haven’t been up to date this year. At the same time that didn’t mean I shouldn’t be grateful for life and all the blessings that are going my way this year.

I didn’t really spend quality time with my family as we were scattered along the country and everyone was very busy. Most family members were working and they didn’t really get December holidays in their workplaces. Its understandable though as we need the money in order to look after ourselves and our loved ones. With that being said, I enjoyed spending time with my son. It was the first time we spent quality time on the 25^th of December, as it me and him, just the two of us. I had to prepare Christmas lunch for us and it was an exciting yet challenging task as I wanted to impress my son. We really had a time of our lives, he actually loved the Christmas lunch and he played a role in helping me prepare the lunch. It was a bonding session, father and son moments that were priceless. Sitting with me, catching up and having some incredible conversations. A child doesn’t lie so I like to pay attention when we have conversations so that I’ll what’s bothering him in his life. As we don’t stay together currently, but soon we will be together as a proper family. What amazes me is that he could truly have a conversation with me and being called “Dad” is an unexplainable feeling. Although I’m still learning in this fatherhood industry but bits by bits I’ll get it right. I will make him and my family proud, its just a matter of time.

I also spent some time later that day with my childhood friends, to be honest we got up to no good since they had this idea that its Christmas and we could actually do all with our time. We enjoyed some few drinks and then we went to the nearest pub for some more fun. We came in the morning all tired and no regrets though as we made the most of our night. I hardly have fun but when I do I make sure I enjoy my time outside my comfort zone. I’m glad that no-one got hurt as we all came back in one piece. It was a fantastic day and I can’t really complain as I saw that the best things in life are actually in front me, like literary. I realized that fun differs from person to person but more often than not fun is created by myself as a human being. Each person is capable to create their own fun and it doesn’t really have to involve alcohol and drugs in order to be considered as fun.

My New Year’s Eve was something to remember for the rest of my life. Although I can’t really get into more details but it was enjoyable. When the song of the year played which was Banomoya by Prince Kaybee ft Busiswa and TNS, I danced like nobody was watching. I had to thank the Lord for giving me yet another year to be greater. I feel that 2019 is year for success and happiness all around. Whatever that has happened in the previous year, it is now in the past and in order for us to go forward we need to make peace with our past. The future is in our hands, don’t let anyone fool you into believing you not enough and that you can't make it life. It’s about time we put those brilliant brains of ours into good use.

The Journey Part 25: My Festive Season: The Bad Side.

Written By Sivuyile Tshalana.

It’s always great to see another day in this world. I know I’ll live for a long time and be successful. With that being said I still appreciate every moment spent on earth. I don’t take anything for granted, as I make sure I thank each day I get on earth.Speaking of that sadly I lost two people I knew, one was my childhood friend and the other person was an ex-colleague of mine. 

My mother sent me a message to let me know that one my childhood friend has passed on and it was just before the 16^th of December 2018. He was involved in a car accident whereby everyone died in the scene except him. Since he was badly burnt on his body and all his injuries he sustained made him more sick. That unfortunately led to his death. He died very young as he was in his early twenties. He was really one of those well behaved children in the township, he valued respect as he gave a lot of respect to almost anyone despite their age and status in the community. He loved cracking jokes, I never seen him angry at all as he was always showing us a big smile on his face. Even if he was angry I would really applaud him for hiding his anger to the world. He enjoyed going to church as most of the times I would find him dressed smart and going to church, not only on Sundays but during the week too.He used to shout my name even if I didn’t see him just to greet me and check I was doing at that time. What really stood out for me was his love for people and his family. As he used to do some part-time jobs to support his family. As we grew up we grew further apart as I relocated to another place to do my own things in terms of self growth.I still felt he was good person based on the times we spent together. Although I didn’t make to his funeral due to unforeseen circumstances but may his soul rest in peace.

My ex-colleague died on the early mornings of the New Year and I was informed by another ex-colleague of mines through a call at night on New Year's Day. We had a good working relationship as he was my superior and I pretty much loved working under his leadership. I would be lying if I say we didn’t have our ups and downs at work. I now realize that I was wrong at time for not taking simple instructions from him. We had less conflicts though and more happiness through our working relationship as I respect his experience of working with people. He was a great person, loved smiling as he was truly attracted to happiness and it was easy for us to know if he wasn’t having a good day as he would stay in the office almost the whole day or night depending on his shift. I didn’t spend a lot of time with him but the time we spent together at work was truly amazing. Almost forgot to mention that he was a very outgoing person and was very known in the place where he lived and worked. He had many posts of him and his living it up in certain clubs. He invited me to a couple his birthday parties but I only able to attend one of them. Which was quite a vibe and we enjoyed ourselves as I brought my friend with me. We also once went to a club with him as well as the rest of the night shift staff. We had a great time, even though I hardly went to clubs but I enjoyed myself. Our staff party was also the one to remember as he made his presence felt through his kindness of making sure everyone was enjoying the staff party. He loved seeing people happy I must say and that brought happiness within him. He loved picking my brain every now and then and loved teasing me in a good way though nothing hectic. He will be dearly missed as his family was expecting a lot from him as he died due tuberculosis and he was still in his early thirties.May his soul rest in peace. 

Death do not be proud. It’s always a shocker when you hear someone has passed on whether you that person or not. Death is something that we can never get used, even we know it exist. But I always have hope that death will decrease and people will live their long happy lives on this earth. We here to stay and our lives better and showing humanity to others. As one wise man once said, “each one teach one.”

Our Quick Analysis On Brands: “MoFaya.”

Written By Sivuyile Tshalana. 

Most energy drinks are either bitter or too strong in terms of taste.I then had a chance to drink the first and only South African energy drink called MoFaya. Wow, I’m very impressed with the uniqueness of MoFaya. Firstly, it’s branding is simple yet so easy on the eye. It’s not complicated at all and it oozes that “buy me” kind of attractiveness. It stands out as it has the latest words that are used in the country. The one I had bought was written “Thol' Ukuthi Hey!” and I’ve seen another one written “Vrrrphaaaaa”. These words are home brewed in South Africa like MoFaya Energy Drink.

I also noticed some inspirational words on the MoFaya. It’s written “Set your Ambitions alight! Let your Mind breed a new Fire for Passion & Rise beyond the Ashes of your limitations. Ignite Your Mind with countless Possibilities!” By drinking MoFaya I also felt motivated to do better things in this world. This writing goes pretty well with the energy drink itself. It made me think deeply in my future while I was indulging my taste buds into MoFaya. My thirstiness went away quickly and my body literary thanked me for drinking MoFaya.

The appearance of the MoFaya is like a cylinder, its black in colour with gold and red writings on it. It’s also a 500ml bottle and its super portable.It cost only R10.00 at the stores. The usage of MoFaya is straight forward: Maximum 1 can every 4 hours. Do not exceed 3 cans per day. Not recommended for children under 12 years of age, pregnant or lactating women and persons sensitive to caffeine.

Its one of those greatest products to come out of South Africa. Definitely Africa as a whole should embrace MoFaya as their own brand. Thanks a million to Sibusiso “DjSbu” Leopefor creating MoFaya. This media, author, musician and entrepreneur extraordinaire outdid himself as this is nothing but a genius innovation from him. Long live MoFaya long live.

You must keep at least a 6pack of MoFaya in your fridge. Especially this in this heat. You going to need some MoFaya in your life.

I Need To Know!

Written By Sivuyile Tshalana.

I have a couple of unanswered questions in my mind that I need answers to and really your honesty is required. We've been together for sometime now and I would like to know where do we stand as a couple? Don't get me wrong I just want to figure out the state of our relationship. I'm enjoying the love we giving each other, I adore your company and all that comes with it. Sex is great and I couldn't change it for anything in the world. But that isn't all, i wanted to know where we going in terms of our relationship. What are your goals and how are going to achieve them collectively as a couple?

I don't want us to waste each other's time by only living in the moment. Although its great living in the moment and not having to worry about what our future entails. Basically not thinking broadly about our tomorrow and what it holds. Unfortunately in this case,  have to ask you if you up for longevity in terms of our relationship and our love. Are you prepared to date one man intentionally and loving every moment of it? Despite the challenges that comes with it. Are you going to be by my side through ups and downs? Are you prepared being questioned by other people why you dating me and what makes me special from other men in the world? I just need to know since I love building an umpire with a special partner. I don't really like dating many people, as well as being involved on those few months relationships that don't last. At the same time I don't want to force anyone to fully commit to me as well as us. I would really appreciate your honesty so that I will know where I stand within our relationship. Are you content in terms of our relationship itself? I know that we still have a long way to go in terms of our personal goals. It's just that I have been quietly looking at our relationship and the weight of it on us. The question that came up was is this what we both want in terms of love and relationships goals?

Hence it is very important to know what you want in a relationship and be clear about why you started it. This is done on purpose to make sure that both people involved in the relationship are on the same page in terms of their needs and wants as well as the description of their relationship. Are we dating each other to benefit certain hidden things from each other, things like money, clothes, food, house and car - as well as many other materialistic things. That will just put into a proper perspective if we in love or its just lust nor we both playing a game. I need to know so that i can protect my feelings if there's a need for such actions. I am very capable of loving you and being happy with you for the rest of my life. But that is just on my side, i wouldn't want you to say the things you wanted me to hear as in sugarcoating certain things for me. I didn't want to keep all these questions to myself as I felt you needed to know what's on my mind when it comes to our precious relationship. It really means a lot to me, hence I needed clarity on where we going in terms of our love and relationship. You're truly an incredible human being, and if you had your own personal plans without me I would truly understand that and happily let you achieve your goals. I just wanted you to spit out whatever that's on your mind about us and we would then take it from there.

I need to know if your love is unconditional and true. It doesn't change like weather or even mood swings. Is your love here to stay temporary or for a lifetime? Is your love transparent and not two faced? I need to know if you love having a big family and that can you handle being a working wife and mother? Can you multitask and stop complaining about what isn't going correctly in your life? Are you a talker or a doer in terms of your dreams? Can you handle being a wife. Do you love children and marriage? Can you submit to your man? Can you stay within your role in a relationship? What comes first in your life, is it your happiness or other people's happiness?  I just need to know if you ready to transform your life into our life? Do you think before you act? I need to know.

How To Make A Girl Smile And Love Hanging Out With You?

Written By Sivuyile Tshalana.

There’s nothing sexy like seeing a happy girl. Damn, happiness looks amazing on a girl. Especially if a guy has something to do with it. There’s that extra glow when a girl loves being around her special somebody. Don’t get me wrong a girl can also be happy on her own but it’s more noticeable when she has a partner to share that true happiness with all day everyday. The aim is to spread unconditional love not hate. As guy there are certain things that you need to do to keep a girl happy within your life.

Simple things like calling her weekly to check up on her. Having those fruitful conversations on the phone while cracking up jokes here and there within the call. Many girls love morning texts, here’s an example: “Good morning beautiful, hope you slept well. I hope you have a great productive day. Take care and God bless.” Compliments works often than not, just shower her with compliments while you maintaining eye contact with her and smile while talking to her. Also making sure that you as a guy you constantly keep the communication on a high, if you can’t call or text her, leave an offline message on her social network. You can even leave a different meaningful or romantic message on all her social media platforms. The thing is as a guy you must not stop being sweet, caring, kind, thoughtful, respectful and showing unconditional love to a girl. What you can also do is when you in the garden pick a beautiful flower and give her when you see her. Even when you going to buy some groceries you can buy chocolate for her. When she asks is this for me or why you being so good to me? Say to her, you deserve the best things in life. When I see certain best things in life, I automatically think of you.

Make a girl feel like the only girl in the world. All of this is strictly achieved by being there for her when she needs a shoulder to cry as well as in good times. Spend some quality time with her and try by all means to make her one of your top priorities in life. Show a lot of gratitude towards her and make her feel your presence. Most importantly listen before you talk to her. Get to know her as well as her favourites things she loves to do on her spare time and do it with her. It’s great to have someone to count on as a human being and a girl will cherish your efforts for life.