Being Marica

Attending a Convocation Ceremony was amazing. The pedigree of excellence in education and impact championed by various stakeholders - noting the perceived struggle to achieve - makes me gratefully an African. Yes, like the good words of our own former President Mbeki, I am an African. I will go on to say, I am gratefully an African. Everything about the soil of Africa invigorates me ( as I believe it has my family) and be it by advocacy, impact work, realities, sadness or pride, Africa is my heart and where my personal investment and work will always truly belong - first. Being an Entrepreneur is not easy. The fights to keep the lights on and to still transcend those challenges with deep rooted business beliefs makes it all overwhelming. Being a social entrepreneur and perhaps by most measures first, makes me understand just how important the need is for well intended funding to accelerate progress and equal prosperity for all. To add to my entrepreneurial challenges becaus

I believe that every single item you enjoy in any capacity today initially would have frightened the conservative or excited the early adopters when presented before its invention or at concept phase. And nothing much has changed in the human reception of pioneering  innovations.  Now the playfields are broadest and inclusive of super technologies and with developements based on notions ( and through absolutes established from data) of what people need and certainly of what we want. Design thinking, Industrial Design and bridging what's possible between nature and technologies makes current  innovations some of the greatest delivered to humans. To appease human nature, a bunch of add on's to core innovations have been factored in to engage the senses keeping you convinced and connected till innovation supersession does you part. I'm told that great tech and design connects with you easily and even before you  consider it. This is seen with psyche interpretatio

Every single one of my 41years I can say that I have given more than I've expected, more than I could have received..more than I should have taken! (& I'm no Mother Theresa). In my career, however simple or sophisticated the role or ask, it's always been willing and happy to over- commit on my part.  Extra hours, more responsibility than I signed up for, accepting the challenges.. surviving the 'attacks' on multiple & simultaneous levels too. It's been major sacrifices with often little support or so it seemed at the time. The satisfaction always means more than the money but money is the enabler. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise. My self therapy on my own living room couch most days is... Marica this is grooming you for the F list which you believe your work belongs on. And F-up list it's not! Through all major and minor vulnerabilities I am always able to say that I will be on the Forbes list. Yes you've heard me right.

For the longest time I felt I had to have my life planned in accordance with a certain set of self imposed outcomes. Marry, kids, sunsets, career, beautiful smiley eyed husband and with a manicured garden whose water sprinklers threw suns rays as rainbows. Things perceived to be normal by everyday standards. But with age and time, everyday proved a new set of realities to wise up to. I fast realised that I could eyegaze at myself in the mirror and be okay with my life, my choices ( however concious or not) and with honesty. Things don't go as we plan. And it's ok. I've come to view things, matters of life and more my own, as a private gallery made up of different exhibitions. A gallery where I am the curator and the observer. Mostly allowing life & people to show up showing me who they are and what they're capable of. These days I listen more carefully and don't always feel the need to comment or air my dislikes or disapproval of things even i

This kid is Exceptional! And that makes me wonder how brilliant kids turn out as adults by societies standards of termed 'disfunct'? Presuming it is already complex enough being an IQ abundant adult and from my own witness of the high in IQ,  the more there is, the more room too in being brilliantly misunderstood. Complicated by nature of intellect, I am led to believe that prodigy kids makes for perceivably 'highly complicated' adults to be experienced by others mildly or blatantly so. Genius persons can be complicated as a result of their own understanding of selves, first, through fact of over intellectual capacity and mental activities expressed dually and combined with multi talents. These all can be shared intensly and simultaneously as I have seen and - it all can be misunderstood, overwhelming and complicated to ones own understanding of their genius self. With no reference to the few actual geniuses I know and by MENSA Global IQ society standa

So. I've worked with a few notables. Some whose businesses I took as my own. I've worked bilaterally and multilaterally in a science, tech,  infrastructure capacity. Our commonality being -  we all have challenges.  And with this I am compelled to say that while systemic pandemics make the right and fight for business relevance more apparent to some than for others, business is indeed the battle of the fittest. I have never been drawn to easy afforded success and so when I meet Excellency to discuss our own - as an entirely diverse group who can relate to personal struggle & accolade,  I understand, & am aware of the need to safe guard legacy of  both my own and of others. I do not profess to know much. Far from what others have seen or done. But that's why they're at the table while noting my own value. Grow independent of much but certainly not of belief. Have a great week Entrepreneurs. 😊

It's Sunday. My best day of the week. I'm here for work in the Mother of all Cities. Cape Town. It's a great change in office scenery. I need to hit a bunch of pertinent emails which I've not been able to get to since meetings and commitments had me back to back in them. Decisions like the one below needs a friend to call ...just to soundboard. Or maybe a public poll..a consensus of sorts. Do I hit the town on this beautiful morning where Rugby Worldcup win and festivities still lingers & to see more pockets of scenic, quaint and absolute eye drawing beauty - and is this without or without laptop? This is the question. What would Bill Gates do? I'm told he's in SA too and like me, he too had a lunch reservation at the same spot but had cancelled it. Did he to rather be attending to pertinent emails instead? Work Work  Work with maybe some play just for today diaries  - Sunday satire by marica