Wisdom Personified - Conversations with Dudu Msomi Wisdom Personified - Conversations with Dudu Msomi

This is one of my most heart-warming and yet candid conversations yet.

Natasia becomes teary when her daughter Syke shares what she admires about her as a mother. Inspired by a quote by Jane Flax, a psychoanalyst, Skye says, “Mothers and daughters existing as wretched mirrors of each other. I am all you could have been, and you are all I might be”.

In this inter-generational conversation, I am speaking to Natasia and Skye Mc Mahon. I have chosen to explore the Coloured identity in this relationship including the unique bond between the mothers and daughters. The theme of the impact of divorce, not on just the children, but on the extended family members is briefly lurks in the background.

Skye attended Roedean School for Girls from the time she was 5 years old. All the way to Matric. Her parents ensured she was exposed to sports, culture, music and academics. She played piano from the age of 5, completed the Royal Schools Exams and even joined a Jazz Band. Skye has a passion for social justice, reading and helping people. Making her choice to study law an easy one. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and is now studying LLB at Wits.

Natasia is a seasoned, highly motivated and accomplished Executive Consultant at Cornelder Holding, which is a renowned one- stop shop that serves clients’ maritime and logistic needs based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. She holds an Honours Degree in Finance and a Postgraduate certificate in Public Private Partnership Finance.

This conversation is a perfect episode for June month during which we celebrate Youth Month in South Africa because of the 16th of June, Soweto Uprising of the 1976.

I hope Mothers and Daughters and Fathers and Sons watch this conversation together and use it to spark conversations and navigate inter-generational relationships that will build positive memories that will nourish you throughout your lifetime. This is a poignant conversation that will also teach you never to get comfortable with being angry and to never stop talking to your family and the people that you #love. Because tomorrow is never promised. To any of us.

#DuduMsomi #Wisdom #WisdomPersonified #YouthMonth #June16 #SouthAfrica #mothersanddaughters #mchamon #Coloured #Colored #African #identity #mentalhealth

#Networking is an #investment in your #business. It takes time and when done correctly can yield great results for years to come, says Diane Helbig

This sentiment embodies the journey that Helen Nicholson has travelled and the lesson that has made her part of the zeitgeist of Corporate South #Africa.
Helen is called the Networking Queen. She began her career as an accountant. She has evolved into the Founder and Chief Excitement Officer of The Networking Company which specialises in training professionals on ‘soft skills’ such as Personal Branding, Networking and #Mindfulness which are essential power skills to advance people’s careers.
Wisdom is a byproduct of living. We can learn many wisdoms from individuals beyond what they become known for as their areas of expertise. Human beings are more complex and expansive than the boxes we keep people in. When we put people in boxes, we deprive ourselves of the rich perspectives they have on a myriad of other topics.
Hope you find nuggets of reflection and growth in this episode of Wisdom Personified Conversations with Dudu Msomi. I certainly have.

#wisdom #wisdompersonified #helennicholson #dudumsomi #leadershipdevelopment #EO #leadership #executives #womeninleadership

I love genuine, vulnerable, passionate, compassionate, insightful, intelligent and wise Humans. Those are truly powerful individuals. Pepe is all of these. And more.

Pepe Marais is the Founding Partner and Group Chief Creative Officer of the #brand and #communications group Joe Public United, ranked as one of the top independent and fastest growing South African #advertising groups. He has been the recipient of numerous local and international industry awards. Pepe is the author of Growing Greatness and 20 Habits that break habits. He describes himself as a purpose-driven individual who is passionate about human potential and the growth and development of people, including his own. Alvin Toffler said, “The illiterate of the future are not those who can’t read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn”. It is truly fascinating to meet a human being who embraces remaking himself every time he knows better. He strives to do better.

To use his own words from his book, ‘Growing Greatness: A Journey towards personal and business mastery’, Pepe says, “I may not be greater than Steve Jobs, but equally, I see myself as nothing less. I am Pepe Marais and my name resides comfortably within the word ‘peOpLe’. Because I care about myself as a person. And I care for others. Deeply. I exist for growth. I exist for those around me to be the best that they can possibly be”.

I would venture to say that from this conversation, what will be true of its impact on your life is captured in this #wisdom: “Though you can easily count the seeds in an apple; it’s impossible to count the apples in a seed”. The ripple effect of the pearls of wisdom shared, will have an influence and effect, subconsciously, beyond what you could imagine. You will ponder over the wisdom shared for months. Unexpectedly. And you will find yourself more conscious of what you do and how you do it. Most importantly, how you make people around you. Feel.

Enjoy this episode of Wisdom Personified Conversations with Dudu Msomi. But don’t just watch. Send the conversation on. Ensure that you subscribe, and help us to grow this channel so we can spread wisdom that builds and nourishes, mind and spirit, far and wide.
#dudumsomi #pepe #pepemarais #wisdompersonified #leadership #JoePublic

Annina Van Neel is the founder and CEO of The Tiekie Box Project which is a black cultural #heritage organisation working to decolonise Black history and #archaeology and to make this heritage accessible to the African #Diaspora and descendant communities.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental, and Geographical Science and Archaeology from the University of Cape Town. When Annina emigrated to the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena Island in 2012 to work as the environmental officer for an airport construction project, she encountered the neglected, but most significant physical trace of the Trans-Atlantic #Slave Trade, The African Burial Grounds. Her journey is featured in the #documentary, 'A Story of Bones.'

Annina is now living in her country-of-origin #Namibia, to learn about her own colonial history and the #genocide of the #Nama and the #Herero under #German rule.

George Orwell said, 'The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history. Annina is an individual ensuring that #Africans are not only remembered by history, but their dignity is preserved even in death.

Knowing #history provides us a context for understanding the present. Most importantly, understanding the history of the marginalised in our world, helps us to develop our critical thinking, to cultivate our compassion and an opportunity for you to do better and be a better human being.

I hope this wise conversation deepens your compassion for humanity. For the perpetrators and those they strive to dehumanise and destroy. Unsuccessfully. Most of all. I hope you are touched to be a better human being today, than you were yesterday.

#dudumsomi #wisdom #wisdompersonified #anninavanneel #storyofbones #sthelenaisland #NamibianGenocide #UCT

Anne Pratt says one of the gifts of living through Stage 3 Gastric cancer is that you truly live each day as though it is the last. Not just words. One of the unforgettable wisdoms that she still lives by today that she learnt from her mother. Is that when we have passed on. We will not be remembered for our balance sheet or what we have in the bank. But the lives we touch. And the difference we make whilst we are here on Planet Earth that will define the meaning of our lives and the impact of our legacy.

Anne Pratt is originally from South Africa now based in the United States as a Harvard fellow. She is a multi-award-winning businesswoman who ran one of South Africa’s top, internationally aligned, executive search companies. Anne co-founded a Global Leadership Movement for Change with international, diverse, bold disruptors, to “Transform the Leadership Crisis Worldwide.” She is an Author, Vodcast Host, Transformation Consultant, and Executive Coach. Anne completed degrees in Economics, a post-graduate degree in Psychology MBA and Board Certification in Governance.

For this Love Month. February. Also, my Birth Month. Anne’s conversation captures the spirit of Ubuntu. Kindness, compassion, and the love for our fellow human beings. The journey that she is on exudes the vision that I live my life by. ‘To live my life with passion, integrity and in ecstasy so that every day can be the last with no regrets and no fear.’

Hope this episode of Wisdom Personified Conversations with Dudu Msomi rekindles your Soul’s mission for embarking on this Earth journey which I know at its core. It’s about Love. In spite and despite every difficulty, pain, trauma, and sorrow we encounter in this life. Love is what binds us as humanity and what will guide us through our Fear – of each other and the unknown.

#Mandela #SouthAfrica #Harvard #cancer #mentalhealth #wellness #love #AnnePratt #DuduMsomi #Wisdom #Wisdompersonified #Africanwomen

My guest for this episode of Wisdom Personified Conversations with Dudu Msomi is Professor Christa Bonnet. Christa is the CEO at The Difference Makers NGO. Her experience cuts across various disciplines. She holds multiple qualifications and professional memberships, a master’s degree (M. Com) in Financial Management, an MBA and a PhD in Organizational leadership…Professor Christa is currently doing her Doctorate in Ministry and Spiritual Formation.
#ChristaBonnet #DuduMsomi #TheDifferencemakers #Leadership #Wisdom