Achieving Continuous computing in Zambia

Continuous computing is defined as the continuous access to computing resources such as social media, email, blogs and other web-based resources or tools. In a digital world, people communicate using digital devices such as laptops, smartphones, media players, camera phones and other separate devices. Digital life makes everything simple and better.

Zambia’s access to computing resources is limited and only less than 5% of the people have access. This simply entails the government has not invested so much in science and technology.

Things are changing and computing is making things possible, consider the way we work (using different types of software applications to do tasks that were previous considered to be tedious, hence achieving higher levels of productivity); the way we communicate with our beloved ones, family and friends (using tools such as social media, internet-based tools such as BBM, WhatsApp etc.), how we learn or obtain information about a certain place we want to visit (using four Square) etc. I mean the usage of technology is vast, and mostly is being spearheaded by the usage of internet with the right infrastructure in place. Technology in Zambia is being driven by the private sector especially the telecommunications sector which is investing heavily in the usage of latest technologies. For the IT sector to grow in Zambia, it needs the intervention of the government, the government needs to set out priorities among them which should be the promotion and investment in science and technology. The benefits of science and technology are profound and cannot be compared to any other discipline be it economics, business etc.

Below I will propound and expound about two enabling technologies that can help to make Zambia a digital economy, so that it become a continuous computing country.

1.    Internet access: digital society is all about information sharing, and that information sharing comes about with the help of access to private networks and public network mostly the internet. Continuous computing requires the continuous sharing of information and knowledge. The cost of internet access in Zambia is exorbitant, therefore, there is a need for government intervention and compel ISP players reduce the price drastically. We need people to have continuous access to the resources via cheap internet so that life can be easier and do work out of the convention offices. An investment in the internet infrastructure should take precedence. Government should also start giving incentives to the ISPs the same way they do to the investors in the mines, thus promoting continuous computing and investment in science and technology. What is essential is more collaboration with the use of internet. We need to have cheap internet broadband with fast speed. We need our airports, bus stations like intercity in Lusaka, KMB in Kitwe to have internet hot spots, places like shopping malls need to have hotspots as well; not forgetting rural remote areas such Shangombo, Mporokoso etc. What we seek is continuous computing where people are able to access web-based resources wherever, whenever and anytime! Zambia need inexpensive internet access, and not what are subjected to at the moment. The government through the ministry of transport and communication (ZICTA) should look into this issue. Imagine with inexpensive internet access, how students from higher learning institutions will be able to do a lot of research. With cheap internet access, conventional telephones calls can be eliminated with the use of IP technologies such as Skype and Vonage which offer cheap and free voice and video calls. Holding of conference via the use of internet technologies can be the order of the day. Inexpensive internet access is a required. We need people to do a lot of e-payments anytime. People should be able to do a lot of inter-banking transactions via e-banking. With cheap access to the internet we shall a lot of creativity among computer programmers, and IT starts-ups will definitely emerge.

2.   Inexpensive, Wireless Computing Devices: Continuous computing requires access devices and mostly its wireless devices. These devices can mostly be Smartphones, Laptop, Tablets, PDA, Web-Cameras, video recorders, voice recorders, MP3 Players, pagers, GPS receivers, instant messaging and other separate devices. They are all supportive of social computing. Currently in Zambia, these devices are expensive and only a few elites are able to manage leaving out the majority poor. Anyway, thanks to MTN Zambia who recently launched the cheap internet access phone to enable more people get connected to the internet. I would also like other players in the sector to follow suite and introduce cheap internet access phone so as to carter for all the citizens regardless of their social status. Cheap digital devices will enable access to the internet thus making communication more cheap and affordable to the ordinary Zambians. We need more of such initiatives in Zambia. The government should also take the leading role and push for industry players to reduce the price of these devices. We have also witnessed the penetration of Chinese smartphones on the Zambian market which are cheaper compared to the western phones such as Nokia, iPhone and alike. Apart from phones, the price of laptops in Zambia should also come down drastically. The government should remove taxes for the importation of new computing resources and not second hand. We can make Zambia a hub of technology in Southern Africa. By removing certain taxes, it means we are enticing the technological giants to come and invest in Zambia by setting up assembly plants, which will result in job creation and poverty reduction. Technological vendors in Zambia should reduce the price of laptops, desktops and servers. Wireless laptop is one of the resources that can be able to access web-based applications thus making computing more social.

Continuous computing allows people to share knowledge, experiences, creations, schedules, and locations. The most common is the sharing of interests over social networking sites. The fallacy is that social networking sites are just made of people who are connected by a shared object. The experience of computing is phenomena and it’s the greatest invention of the 21^st Century. The two trends discussed above can shift and bring computing far closer to our everyday life or experience. “We have seen how social software can give us new ways to tap into the collective wisdom of the people in our social groups. But that’s one consequence of continuous computing. On a personal level, for example, the portable devices that sustain the information field are more respectable to our bodies and are perambulatory nature.” laments Wade Roush (MIT Technology Review, 2005).  Digital connection should be almost anywhere. I believe in the next 5 years Zambia will be a digitally connected country where even when on the beaches of Siavonga or lake Bangweulu, I will be able to connect with people back in Lusaka and when my boss request for certain information, I can send over to him like at the speed of lightening (Its greasing data).

Continuous-computing applications also mesh with lives by understanding our preferences. With continuous computing, you can synchronize all your activities with friends, family and colleagues. A lot of Zambians will be able to read news anywhere using smartphones and other digital devices. We can do it, we can digitalize our lives as well just like our western world friends.

Technologies change the way we work, live, love, play, think and feel.

References

MIT Tech Review: Social Machines

Lukonde L. Chaibela

Email: longanjela@gmail.com

TRANSFORMING AFRICA’S SOCIAL-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE USE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

There are higher levels of illiteracy in Africa that has affected the continent to move forward especially in sub-Sahara Africa. But with the dawn of science and technology, African can move forward and grow her economy speedily if she can embrace and invest in it. There is a lot of potential in Africa for technological growth.

In recent past, we have seen African governments investing much in science and technology, one such example is Ghana which is building a $10 billion high-tech hub – it will encompass a technological university, hospital, assembly of technological products, sports etc. This high-tech investment will foster technological growth and attract major players in the global ICT industry. Countries such as Nigeria which is building a new data centre that will be hosting cloud computing services; Kenya which is also a hub of technology in east Africa had the technology giant firm Hitachi opened a new branch there. Not forgetting Uganda which is also a power house of technology innovation in Africa.

African needs to invest a lot in science and technology if her economy is to grow. Technology unlocks a lot of potential in any country. We have seen how our Western and Asian counterparts have benefited from science technology and they are still utilizing its potential.

Rwanda which recently recovered from genocide is making advances under the leadership of President Kagame with regards to embracing technology. They just launched a project called One-Laptop per Child (OLPC) which is being commanded by the government and NGOs. The aim of this project is to turn Rwanda into a knowledge-based economy like that of Singapore. It is part of the Vision 2020 under the leadership of President Paul Kagame. Turning Rwanda into a tech hub will not only find jobs for the Rwandese but also help them to live a better life.

The merits of technology in education sector are gigantic in such a way that education can be delivered at a cheap rate or free and fast. E-learning is contributing to the growth education sector in such way that it eliminates or reduces illiteracy levels.

African governments should invest a lot in technology. Take for instance the new pilot project which was just launched by Wikipedia and Airtel which will allow people to receive Wikipedia articles via SMS/Text. If successful, this project will enrich the minds of many Africans, thus helping to reduce illiteracy. Again, take the innovation of the internet, people who have access to the internet are able to do a lot of research at a cheaper rate and have access to all sort of information cheaply. Another example is the use of social media, which allows people to associate and communicate cheaply. Social media is connecting people from all walks of life. Social media is a social of news now for many Africans. Breaking news is on Twitter and Facebook. Social media are also changing the way African politics are conducted.

Another technology revolutionary is the introduction of mobile money. Although it has a dark side of it, it has helped to transform Africa’s banking industry especially the rural part which is unbankable. Mobile money has been able to extend banking services to areas where conventional banks are not able to reach. Apart from internet connectivity, it is becoming one of the utilized technological innovations in Sub-Saharan Africa. The noble part of mobile money is that it is faster, cheap and convenient. The recent research indicates that mobile transactions will reach 1 trillion by 2015. This simply demonstrates that the leverage of mobile technology and technology at large is colossal. Not only is mobile money creating jobs for the many locals in Africa but also helping to create sustainable and health living standards by reducing poverty. Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, South African and Zambia are some of the countries that are utilizing this service very much. Statistics also show that Africa has surpassed Latin America to be the second largest mobile market consumer after Asia. Giant mobile telecommunication companies such as MTN, Safaricom, Airtel, and Vodacom are the pioneers of this technological innovation. We are heading towards a cashless economy!!

Digitalizing African industries/firms via e-commerce is another way of propelling the economic expansion of Africa. With low rates and higher internet penetration, companies can be able to realize the full benefits that comes with e-commerce. E-commerce will enable African firms to have a wider reach. Companies can be able to market and sale their products cheaply. African companies such as retail, agriculture and entertainment industry can penetrate the market and have a global reach!! This is unleashed potential of revenue generation for Africa. IT start-ups can also focus on this area and create jobs!

Other innovative services that Africa can benefit from are telecommuting, where people are able to work away from their offices. Both the private sector and government can leverage technology to help improve the health care sector. Africa can harness the opportunities that are offered by technology in health sectors e.g. drug authentication technology called Mobile Product Authentication (MPA) – which is used to verify drug products against fake ones (Nigeria recently launched this). Also health smart-cards  Doctors can administer patients via video conferencing though the process called “Tele-pharmacy” or “tele-medicine”. Tele-medicine can help poor people in rural areas who have difficulties in seeking healthcare services. African countries can push ahead and draw up policies that support this e-health services. The market for this is ripe as such more jobs can be created and poverty stricken citizens in rural areas can have access to cheap and sustainable health care. Most competing health providers in African doesn't know use technology, thus, start-ups can come up and provide quality, affordable health care services for the middle and lower class.

In this information age we living in, there is need for Africa to invest a lot in technological infrastructure so as to eradicate poverty, remove illiteracy, provides jobs and contribute to the development of the continent. Of course the first step to actualize all these benefits can only start with massive investment in technological infrastructure. The digital divide has to be reduced drastically as well by making cheaper access to the internet. The global information society should also carter for Africa. African governments have the duty to digitalize the entire continent and transform it into a knowledge-based economy. Mind you, telecommunication is the fastest economy drivers in any country.

Although the usage of computers have increased over the last decade, what is needed now is to develop and utilize the services that technology offer such as the internet, mobile money, digital marketing among others. Technology need to encompass all the areas: accounting and banking, agriculture, communications, health, mining, transportation, defence  medical, and research. Governments should also come up with policies and regulations that can enhance technological usage in these areas. If African governments embrace technology, there will be more FDI inflows, thus contributing to the economic growth of the continent. Skills trainings to be specialized in computing is a pre-requisite as well, e.g. programming, security, networking, telecommunications, information systems etc. We lack resource specialization in Africa. We need to educate more people in the discipline of technology. What Africa needs most is the ability to exploit existing products effectively, and this can only be achieved through education. Development is all about people, their needs and their potential, and not with the sophistication of technology. Training costs in sub-Saharan countries are too exorbitant and needs to be reduced drastically.

Technology is a tool for growth in Africa. Africa can achieve mammoth economic gains with the aid of science and technology. The benefits of science and technology are immense and this is a very innovative sector that will continue to create benefits for more years to come. With high mobile penetration, Africa can take advantage of technology and propel economic growth.

Lukonde L. Chaibela

8 ESSENTIAL LEADERSHIP QUALITIES

In every sphere of life rarely do we acknowledge that we are leading. Leadership is at the core of every stage in life; it could be in your family, community or at the work place (apart from management). In a broader term, leadership is used interchangeably with management, but one thing I need to emphasis is that leadership is absolutely different from management.  Leadership has nothing to do with a seniority position in an organisation. Leadership has nothing to do with titles as anyone can lead.

Therefore, what is leadership? This simple question has continued to vex a lot of people including scholars, consultants and academicians. There have been heated debate as to what defines the hallmark of leadership.

So then, what is leadership? Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal. Leadership coach John C. Maxwell laments: leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. A leader should be someone who influences others and help them to achieve their goals.

Now let me outline some of the characteristics that encompasses leadership domain.

QUALITY 1: INFLUENCE

The first and most important leadership attribute is influence. A leader is someone who is able to influence other people. A leader is someone who finds a solutions to the problems others are facing. Influence simply entails making bold decision and convince your fox that this is the right way to do it. A leader should be able to instill hope to influence the people s/he is leading. Influence is essential in leadership. History tells us that great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Kenneth Kaunda and Nelson Mandela were great influencers. A leader should be able to win the hearts of the people!! A leader should make positive impact in other people’s lives.

Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations. —Peter Drucker

The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority. —Kenneth Blanchard

QUALITY 2: VISIONARY

The next essential component of leadership is visionary. A leader should have a vision. According to Oxford Online dictionary, vision is defined as the ability to think or plan about the future with imagination or wisdom. Relatively speaking, a leader is someone who thinks: what is next? What is for tomorrow? Leaders should be able to look ahead and not remain stagnant. A good leader will see opportunities in future while a bad leader will not. Leaders should be able to formulate steps that will solve the followers’ problems. Creating a sustainable vision for the future will not only give you confidence as a leader but it will also inspire the mass that you are leading into believing in you and working towards achieving that vision. You can’t lead if you don’t have a vision. People who have built great business empires were able to visualize and communicate the vision to their staff. Any vision should be accompanied by an action because without action, the vision will be in futility. Vision is to move people to a new set of shared dreams.  One man had to say this about visionary leadership: Visionary leaders articulate where a group is going, but not how it will get there – setting people free to innovate, experiment, take calculated risks. A leader see light where the followers don’t see. Good leaders focus on where they are going, not where they came from.

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. —Warren Bennis

The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. It’s got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet. —Reverend Theodore Hesburgh

The bible warns us: Where there is no vision, the people perish. —Proverbs 29:18

QUALITY 3: POSITIVE ATTITUDE

The next important attribute of leadership is positive mindset. Leaders are always optimistic. Having a positive attitude is the engine to great leadership, because without this nothing can be achieved. Even when the problem persists, a leader should always be positive of finding a solution, no matter how long it takes. Henry Ford once said: If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.”  Another quote notes: the difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how we see them.  A great leader always look at the problem positively with a smile. A great leader knows that achievement and limitation all resides in the mind and they look to the positive side of every challenge.

Zig Ziglar said: “You cannot tailor-make the situations in life but you can tailor-make the attitudes to fit those situations.”

Optimism is the most important human trait, because it allows us to evolve our ideas, to improve our situation, and to hope for a better tomorrow.” ~ Seth Godin

Remember: there are no problems in life, only challenges.

QUALITY 4: COMMUNICATE

Great leaders communicate to the followers. Leaders clearly communicate what their vision is and what explicitly they want to achieve. Great leaders recognize the value of communication. Leading people requires that you communicate effectively what the task at hand is, what you want to achieve, and what level of commitment you require from them and the value of the outcome. By communicating all these, you build confidence in the minds of the people. Effective communication if very essential in every undertaking as a leader. Effective leadership is about effective communication.

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. —General George Patton

QUALITY 5: HUMILITY

Humility is described as the quality of having low or modest view of one’s importance. Great leaders possess humility. A leader who is able to lead people should possess humility. You can’t be a great leader if you are too arrogant. Humility defines great leadership. It is the basis on which leadership is founded. We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility. "Our ego hinders our ability to influence more than anything else under our control.” So said Michael McKinney.

We can only achieve more when are willing to humble ourselves.

A great leader needs to love and respect people, and he needs to be comfortable with himself and with the world. He also needs to be able to forgive himself and others. In other words, a leader needs grace.” — Leo Hindery Jr.

QUALITY 6: CLARITY

Clarity is defined as the quality of being clear and definite. It equates to the simplification of what ones wants to attain. Clarity is explicit of purpose or vision. A good leader knows exactly what s/he wants to achieve at the end of the day. Good leaders have visions, and formulate the strategy of how to achieve the vision. In short, great leaders have the end in mind!! A leader should be able to outline the vision clearly, knows the skills that are required, and the time frame. Clarity is the leader’s best friend. All the marks of an exceptional leader—authenticity, initiative, trust, courage, insight—stem from clarity. Being clear with yourself about your purpose and core values enables you to answer tough questions, make quick decisions and act with confidence. Being clear with others engenders trust and guards against misunderstanding, thus reducing friction and frustration.

Great leaders are not defined by the absence of weakness, but rather by the presence of clear strengths. —John Zenger

QUALITY 7: INSPIRATIONAL

Great leaders inspire others to emulate them. You can’t lead without inspiring people. Great leaders should be able to inspire the followers. Followers should be able to emulate your visionary leadership, clarity about the vision, the optimistic that you have in solving the problems at hand, the way you communicate to them and the humility you possess. Leadership is about inspiring others to become leaders. Great leaders ignite enthusiasm, navigate a course of action, reinforce optimism and encourage potential.

QUALITY 7: DELEGATION

Delegation is the process of the task or responsibility at hand to the lower level. This is the essential components of leadership. Delegating empowers the juniors to know how to do things and to take calculated risks. When you delegate a task, it means you are empowering someone. Delegation improves morale, confidence and productivity of the subordinates. It also saves you time. When delegating the following should be taken into account:

·         Pick the best people who have the skills

·         Delegate in such a way that a person is able to accept a task

·         Have consistent standards

·         Give ample time to the subordinate

·         Follow up

·         Share the rewards and give credit and praises

Delegation is the yardstick of leadership!!

A great person attracts great people and knows how to hold them together. —Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. —Jack Welch

Thanks for reading.

Lukonde L. Chaibela

#Positive Motivations 101 #Kingdom Leadership

15 PRINCIPLES OF SUCCESS

1 – Prepare

The first success principle is preparation. It’s the foundation of success. With preparation you create your own opportunities. Once you have all the different elements lined up, it only takes a small opening to realize your goal. At the same time, taking advantage of big opportunities without enough preparation means risking your success, as you’re building without a well-laid foundation.

2 – Do something you love

You have to work very hard whatever it is you choose to do. Your work or your project will dominate much of your time and your life. Therefore, find something that you enjoy doing and do that.

3 – Get started

You have to start somewhere. Today is as good a day as any to start. Get into action today and start moving in the direction you want. Putting it off can only lead to failure, whereas if you start and see an early setback, at least you conquered that setback early on.

4 – Move in the right direction

Keep everything moving in the direction you want. It doesn’t matter if things go slowly initially. As long as the overall direction is favorable, you’ll get where you want to go eventually.

5 – Use the power of dreams and your imagination

What you dream and visualize today will become true tomorrow. You just have to work on turning it into reality. Just as your dreams can only influence your life if you let them, the cities you build in your imagination can only become real if you build them.

6 – Think big

If you set your aim a bit too high you might fall short. If you set your aim too low you might achieve your goal… and miss out on the other opportunities. By thinking bigger, the only limit is what is possible. You’re no longer limited by what you think is possible.

7 – Focus on growth

Seemingly impossible challenges are just cleverly disguised opportunities for growth. If you take those challenges and, in solving them, improve yourself, you’ll find yourself continually moving in the right direction.

8 – Maintain your determination

With enough determination, you can succeed through almost any odds. Enough determination means you’ll find a way no matter the situation.

9 – Set a clear vision

Think through where you’ll want to go. Develop a clear sense of what your final goal is, and keep this with you. By knowing the destination you want to reach, you can continually look at your current path and decide if it’s a route that will help you get where you want to go.

10 – Set goals along the way

A final goal isn’t enough. You need intermediate goals that set the path. These goals should be specific, measurable, realistic, attainable, and timely. These intermediate goals define the steps that you need to take to get to the final one.

11 - Work out plans of action for your work

For each goal, it helps to have plans to reach them. Your plan describes how you can reach each step from where you are, or where you will be. Keep in mind that the future is never certain. Things rarely work out exactly how you plan. Therefore, see these plans as showing one or more possible routes, not necessarily the route you’ll end up taking.
Still, knowing the plan means you can avoid long detours that might compromise your chances of reaching a goal on time — or at all.

12 - Commit to taking action

Once you start going, keep going. Never, never, never give up. If you find an obstacle in your way, chip away at it or go around it. The only way to really fail is to give up. If you keep going you’ll succeed. If you hit the limits of what’s possible, you can regroup and find another way.

13 - Use affirmations

Affirmations are just short, positive, and above all direct phrases in present tense. Things like “I’m getting more and more successful.” The idea is that they reinforce a positive world view. With affirmations, you are defining your own reality. By transmitting a positive world view to your mind, it adopts this view. As your mind adopts this view, it helps shape the world around you to fit it, which means it helps make the world around you one that reflects a reality of you getting more successful every day.

14 - Get rid of negative influences

Avoid harmful influences around you that might shake you from your goal. Keep people and ideas around you that support your success and your belief in yourself.

15 - Be grateful and appreciate what you have

The final success principle is to appreciate what you have already. Realize that — by sheer virtue of the fact that you can be reasonably certain you’ll live from one day to the next — you already have enough. Enjoy it! Appreciate what you’ve achieved so far, and see that what you want, where you’re going, is not what you need or what you must do. Rather, these are things and actions that will make your situation even better.

By Lukonde L. Chaibela

10 Categories Of Security Services Offered Over The Cloud

  10 Categories Of Security Services Offered Over The Cloud

Security is often a major concern for companies who have adopted cloud services. However, an association of cloud vendors and users believe that it provides security services for your information on the cloud. They have defined 10 categories for the security services provided that are offered for information over the cloud. Understanding these categories will help cloud users and vendors to easily adopt cloud services and limiting the cost behind security services. Discussed below are the 10 categories of security services provided for information over the cloud:

1. Identity and access

You are provided with control for secured management of identities and access. It includes people, processes and systems used for managing access to your enterprise resources. It is managed by making sure that the identity of the user is verified and the access rights are provided at the correct level.

2. Data loss prevention

This service offers protection of data by providing you with pre-installed data loss prevention software, along with a set of rules deployed.

3. Web security

Web security is provided as an additional protection against malware from entering the enterprise through web browsing and other such activities. This cloud service is provided either by installing a software or an appliance or through the cloud by redirecting your web traffic over to the cloud provider.

4. E-mail security

It provides control over the in-bound and out-bound e-mails to protect your organization from malicious attachments and phishing. This cloud service helps enforce corporate policies such as acceptable use, spam and in providing business continuity options. One of the solution adopted by many cloud e-mail security services is digital signatures, which allows identification and non-repudiation.

5. Security assessment

There are various tools implemented for the users of the SaaS delivery model, such as variant elasticity, low administration overhead, negligible setup time and pay-per use with low investment in the initial stage.

6. Intrusion management

It is the process that uses pattern recognition for detection and reaction to events that are statistically unusual and unexpected.
It may also require reconfiguration of your system components in real time so as to prevent an intrusion.

7. Security information and managing events

Your system gathers information related to log and events. This information is used in correlating and analyzing, to provide you with real time reporting and alerts on events that require intervention.

8. Encryption

There are typical algorithms that are computationally difficult or nearly impossible to break.

9. Disaster management

This cloud service helps in continuing your business and managing disasters by providing flexibility and reliable failover for services that are required in case of service interruptions.

10. Network security

The network security services provides you with address security controls, which in a cloud environment is generally provided through virtual devices.

Disclaimer: This is article was originally written by:http://www.rishabhsoft.com

20 Principles of Success Not Taught in School

20 Principles of Success Not Taught in School

No matter what you do for a living, no matter how old you are, and regardless of where you grew up, we all share something in common—a desire to be successful. True success should be defined by you, specific to you and your goals. What success means to one, can be very different for another. Success to some may mean fancy cars and homes. Success to others may mean being a good parent, spouse, or friend. For others, it may be simply to be happy. Or it can be all of the above.

I believe true success begins with this core principle:

Your success, happiness—anything you truly want for your life—has to begin with unwavering, non-negotiable desire, commitment, and persistence. Without it, you cannot withstand and overcome the tests that will be put in your way, to not only see how badly you really want it, but to help you appreciate what you have once you get it. Because it is through the tests, that you discover yourself and your purpose, which is what you were really looking for to begin with.

Through my journey, and as I continue to write my own “story of success,” I have faced many obstacles and made many mistakes. The gift from those obstacles and mistakes are these principles, which I use as my guidelines—or should I say my way of life—to keep building my foundation stronger, and reaching higher to live to my fullest potential.

1.     The only thing in life you have control over is your perspective. No matter what happens, YOU control what the meaning is, and what to do with the meaning you give to the circumstance.

2.     Have more fear of regret than failure.

3.     Failure is only part of the journey to success. There is not one success story out there that hasn’t experienced failure. The reason you are hearing about it as a success story is because those people saw failure as a tool to get it right.

4.     It’s not about what you want to do for a living, it’s about you who want to be. What is your purpose and legacy?  I believe the age-old question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” is wrong. We need to be asking, “Who do you want to be? What footprint do you want to leave in this world?” From there, you will have your answer as to what you should “do.”

5.     Stay focused on your race within. When you are too busy looking behind and around you, people are passing you by.

6.     True leadership comes from good energy. Worry more about what your energy is like than the firmness your handshake.

7.     Life will give you the same challenges/problems over and over again until you learn your lesson.

8.     Until you jump over your inner roadblocks, your outer ones will stay firmly in place. We spend so much time focused on all the exterior obstacles around us, letting them be our excuses. But the more clear and aware we are of our internal roadblocks, and dissolve them, the external roadblocks will begin to disappear, too.

9.     The most successful people are the ones that work on themselves first.

10.  Do not judge—be inspired. If you are too busy judging everyone and everything around you, you are not remaining open to find inspiration in everyone and everything around you.

11.  You are not allowed to complain about something unless you are going to do something about it.

12.  Surround yourself with people you want to be like.

13.  Learn to become comfortable with being uncomfortable. The more fears you face, the more you will grow.

14.  Always ask, “What if?” and, “Why Not?” Instead of thinking, “What if I fail?” ask, “What if I succeed?”

15.  Creativity is your unlimited capital. Understand and harness its power.

16.  “I only have good days.” If you start off everyday with this mindset, even when challenges emerge, your positive mindset will help you overcome them more readily.

17.  Create your own footprint. You do not need to do what others have done before you.

18.  Hit the “mental reset button.” When you are thinking negative thoughts, envision hitting the “delete” button in your mind and begin to rewrite a better story.

19.  Abundance is everywhere. You must choose to see it and believe it in order to fully experience it.

20.  There is a lesson in everything that happens to us—wisdom to be gained and gratitude to be given. Begin with gratitude and everything else will reveal itself.

The beauty of success is that it can have many layers. Success doesn’t need to be limited to one aspect of life—but as many aspects as we desire to succeed in. The critical part of being successful is to be aware of what you want. Define it, write it down, and reflect, every day, on which steps are necessary to write your own story of success.

By Jen Groover