#OnTheTrain – Vision Development

Bless The Lord, Oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name! (Psalm 103:1)

It is Glorious to know that He still loves us and has a plan for our lives!

Ok, here we go!

We are on the train now, having shut the mouth of Mr (Ms) What, we need to get going with our vision.

Remember by now we already have a vision written down and know where we are headed. We therefore need to bring the dimension of development into the mix.

Ketlametswe is a beautiful lady who will help us understand this part of the journey quite well. We met at a business convention back in 2016 and we have since become good friends. She wasn’t quite sure of what she wanted to do at the time and by the end of the 3 day gathering, something hit home.

I called her a few weeks ago to find out how she was doing;

Ketlametswe, “Hey Mr Mothobi, it’s lovely to hear from you.”

Me, “Yes Ausi, I’m happy to hear your voice. How is it going that side?”

Ketlametswe, “It’s been a roller coaster ride that I have enjoyed being on sir. Wow, I tell you Ntate Mothobi, the resilience that I’ve had to cultivate and implement, has been extraordinary.”

Me, “Awesome news! Do tell, my sister.”

Ketlametswe, “The key for me was penning down my idea. Do you remember when we were listening to, uhm, that lady who sells things via dropshipping…uhm…”

Me, “Alicia?”

Ketlametswe, “Yes, thank you, Alicia Lyttle. Something about when she spoke made me think of Habakkuk chapter 2:2.”

Me, “Hm, I hear you. Write the vision down…”

Ketlametswe, “Yes Moruti, absolutely. Writing down the vision when I finally decided to go into marketing, locally made ornaments and clothing, was incredibly important. Something happened as I did it because the original thought was to market big name brands as an affiliate.”

Me, “Oh really? There is quite a difference between the two, although there are some similarities.”

Ketlametswe, “For that very reason sir, writing the vision and developing it, are different though similar.”

Me, “This is true. Please tell me more about these experiences.”

There it is. Having a vision is a pivotal step in reaching your goals in life, but we need to remember that developing it does something even more.

Ketlametswe continues on the next installment.

Next Up…

#OnTheTrain – Vision Development Part 2

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Jehovah Rocks!
The Messenger

#CatchingTheTrain – SOTT – Dealing With Mr What – Conclusion

May the showers of His Glory fall upon you this day! 

Hello my dear brother and sister! It is that time again to share.

In the series, ‘Start to Finish’ we are at the stage where we are on the train, having discovered where our purpose is leading us. I hope you’ve been following the series as this would be very clear to you.

We are also dealing with Ms What who is an agent of absolute doubt in your abilities to do what you believe you can. Obstacles are many and come in varied forms, but the common denominator is the fact that they are quick to make you answer the question, “What makes you think you can make it on this journey?”

We all go through that and I would like you to know that your God given dream, ambition and plans can become a reality. Love is paramount in all this.

You need to love what you want to do and learn that you will therefore have to sacrifice something for it. Before we get there though, we must start with you. It was quite amazing for me to realize yet another thing that is important, and overlooked many times.

I want to know, “Do you love yourself?” It could be surprising to you that I ask such a question but you would be greatly surprised to find that a lot of people actually don’t. They tolerate themselves because they have grown a certain resentment to themselves based on bad decisions and other things. It’s amazing how people I have met have actually given up on themselves and are just pushing along with whatever may come, hoping to somehow find success.

I’m sure you’ve heard of this one, ‘Hope for the best, but expect the worst.’ It can be a realistic view of life, but it can also be a very strong trap for people who end up losing this hope for the best and living more in more in the worst of things.

Love yourself, focus on yourself, your gifts and dreams that you have forgotten in your more innocent years of life, remember how hopeful you were at some point, and believe in yourself again. If you are still breathing, you have a chance to live the best days of your life! I am living proof of such a decision helping to turn ones life around.

Then allow absolutely no one and nothing to stand in the way of your dream! As we continue to find and/or create ways to do this on this blog! Do we have an agreement? (Comment below, let’s interact)

Stick around, the journey continues…

Next Up…

#OnTheTrain – Vision Development

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Jehovah Rocks!
The Messenger

#CatchingTheTrain – SOTT – Dealing With Mr What Part 5

The sun has risen again and what a wonderful day it is! 

Thank God I’m still alive and so are you!

I hope you’ve been following this awesome story that is, to a large degree, eye opening. This is according to some of the wonderful readers of this blog. Please don’t forget that there are people around you who may benefit from this teaching. So go ahead and share it with a friend and let’s all make a difference. Ok, let’s get right to it.

Leroy, “So I get to the table and greet that customer again. I gather that his name is Philani as Choki introduces me. I noticed that she was a little downcast and she looked despondent as she sat down. I thought it was because she was not well as she said, but soon I realized that it was about this meeting.  It looked like Philani had just walked in and she wasn’t expecting him at all that day. She clearly had other plans for me.”

Shanelle now has a smile on her face and interrupts Leroy, “Honey, let me take it from there please.” Leroy nods his head and she does just that, with a bit more enthusiasm now.

Shanelle, “So Philani basically explains to the love of my heart here that his advice on the wedding itself was innovative and saved them a lot of money. The arrangements are coming along much better and he was thankful for his help. He said he remembered that my baby told him that he is one of Choki’s designers and would need her permission for any work he is to do for or with him. So he had come to ask for her permission to make him the project manager of the entire wedding day! Not only would he be in charge of the designs of the dresses and stuff, but organize the whole thing! With only 3 months to do it all, they needed someone of his talent to head it up.”

Leroy, “The look on her face Gabe!!! You could almost hear her cursing me from head to toe in her silence. I was shocked and just looked at her. So Philani asks me, ‘Would that be something that would interest you?’ I tell him that it would be awesome but only if Choki agreed. The problem with Philani is that he was one of Choki’s biggest clients and had given her a lot of work of the years.”

Shanelle, “She calmly asks him, ‘Will you be able to do that and your responsibilities here Leroy?’”

Leroy, “The funny thing is that the responsibilities that she was referring to are adhoc and are completely controlled by her. So I didn’t even know what to say to her. As I was thinking of an answer that would not be disrespectful to her, Philani says, ‘Have you given him a job here?’ I tell him that I am volunteering to gain more experience to be a fashion designer, particularly in-house furniture.”

Shanelle, “Philani looks at Leroy in amazement and says, ‘Well Choki, let me take him off your hands for the next three months and I will pay him and you for it. I am willing to pay for his time away. What will it cost me for your volunteer to work for me?’ Haha! How do you even answer that?! The long story short, that was the last time my Leroy was in that store. He did such an amazing job Gabe that the people there wanted to know who the organizer was.”

Leroy, “God has been faithful man and it’s just been a journey to remember.”

Well, the case of Leroy in dealing with his Ms What can be summed up in two words, ‘Humility’ and ‘Patience’. 

Both these qualities are very hard to cultivate for many people, me included at one time. 

However, even more important is commitment to your dream. When (not if) you get knocked down in the ring, it takes true commitment to get back in again and grow stronger until you win.

More on this when we meet again, right here on The Writings of Gabriel!

Next Up…

#CatchingTheTrain – SOTT – Dealing With Mr What Conclusion

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Jehovah Rocks!
The Messenger

#CatchingTheTrain – SOTT – Dealing With Mr What Part 4

Zdravo! 

Let me greet you today with overflowing love in my heart! 

This is yet another day I have been allowed by The Master to awaken. I’m ever thankful.

Let me quote the great Franklin D. Roosevelt. He said, ‘Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.’ Let me be very clear to you as I alluded to this in our last post, ‘If you can’t find a way, CREATE ONE!’

Let’s get back to Leroy and his wife-to-be, Shanelle as they continue their story of dealing with Ms What.

Leroy, “So she calls me on Tuesday morning to come in that afternoon after work because she wasn’t feeling well and wanted me to help her finish a project that she was working on. I agreed, even when my beautiful wifey here said I shouldn’t. You could see she was still very angry with Choki. I was at peace though and I just don’t understand it. I actually felt more pity for her than anger. On my way there, I was on the taxi and behind me I could overhear two ladies talking about a design. I understood from their conversation that they were preparing for a wedding, and one of them was the bride. She just couldn’t make up her mind about what she wanted because every design she saw was always missing something.”

Me, “Interesting.”

Shanelle, “If there is one thing about my hubby you should note, is that he is very observant and my goodness, is her a good listener.”

Me, “I see.”

Leroy, “Thanks my diamond. So I turn around for a second and tell them that I would like to help. They look at me funny like, ‘Who the heck am I and why am I listening to them in the first place.’ I ask to look at the designs she was trying to choose from and after glancing at them on her tablet, I ask her a few questions to try get to know real quick. Still amazed, she answers them and I pick out one of the designs and tell her that her designer should make specific amendments them.”

Me, “Are you for real right now?! Eh, just like that?!”

Leroy, “Yeah, I mean I realised that what she was looking for was something that would bring out her personality out of the dress as well. She asked me to message her these amendments that I was suggesting and gave me her number.”

Shanelle, “U huh…”

Leroy, “You know I only got eyes for you my diamond of elegance. I did that and that was it. Then after doing that, next to me was an old lady who asked me to help her as well. There was something powerful about her though. Like there was a lot of authority in her voice you know. She tells me that her daughter wants a design for her matric farewell dress. She shows me a number of different dresses that her daughter saw on the internet and send her as examples of what she would like. They were like 10 different dresses and the daughter wasn’t sure what she wanted as well. I asked her to show me a full body image of her daughter and to tell me a little about her. I asked if she would give me her number as well so that I can send her what I think might work.”

Shanelle, “Yeah, then he got off the taxi and went to see Choki. She gets there and that customer that he gave advice to who Choki was pissed off about was there. He greets them both and goes to the back to wait for Choki to come and tell him what to do. Then next thing she comes to the back and calls her out to the table where they are sitting and that customer wants to talk to him.”

Me, “Oh boy. So she wanted to embarrass you again…”

Leroy’s story continues on the next post as he somehow finds the strength to face his Ms What who seems hell bent on destroying his dreams.

Next Up…

#CatchingTheTrain – SOTT – Dealing With Mr What Part 5

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Jehovah Rocks!
The Messenger

#CatchingTheTrain – SOTT – Dealing With Mr What Part 3

Lumelang Lelapa la heso Moreneng! Le kae hle?! 

I hope joy everlasting is in your heart this day in Jesus’ Name!

This day I declare, ‘The sun shall not smite thee by day nor the moon by night’ (Psalm 121:6)

Now, we have been exploring a situation here with my friends, Leroy and Shanelle dealing with Mr What. In this case it is Ms What that is taking centre stage. In their case, we will continue with her.

I have indeed come across such an entity, one who feels that what you are trying to achieve, you are not cut out for.

They show an incredible amount of pride as they have realised, at least part of, their dream. They don’t believe that you should even pursue this path that you are on. There are obviously many reasons why they would do this and at some point we will check out what is going on with Choki.

Ms What decided to make life quite difficult for young Leroy, embarrassing him pretty badly in front of her fashion designer friends. Have you experienced embarrassment in trying to reach a goal? Have you ever asked someone who you look up to for help and they looked at you like you are such a disturbance to them? Have you ever thought of giving up because those who are around you just don’t see any potential in what you want to do?

I have experienced this a lot in my life and I actually did give up, many times. I stalled my own progress due to this pain and subjected myself to jobs that made sense to my family and even friends. 

This is especially the case when you are trying to break into something no one in your family has done.

Sometimes, your Mr or Ms What is not even the person who is living your dream, they could be the very people you love the most, the people at the bank where you are trying to apply for a loan, and even your best friends. You can feel so alone while you are among people.

May I humbly suggest that trying to fit in and settling for what would be comfortable for them, will leave you frustrated most of, if not all, the time. So please don’t think you are going to be ok. YOU ARE NOT! 

You are not them, you are an individual that God placed a pioneering spirit in, gift and talents in tow, and you need to find a way to bring this out. If you can’t find a way out, create one! 

It’s in you and you are not alone. God is with you! Wherever you find your strength to get up when Mr and Ms What is pushing or pulling you down, dig deep!

If no one does, then know that I believe in you! Yes I believe in YOU and I know that The One Who took me from failure into daily joy that I find in Him, will also pick you up from internal despair into unstoppable strength.

Leroy left the matter to God as he articulated in the last post. Let’s see what happened to him on that Tuesday when his Ms What called again.

Next Up…

#CatchingTheTrain – SOTT – Dealing With Mr What Part 4

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Jehovah Rocks!
The Messenger

#CatchingTheTrain – SOTT – Dealing With Mr What Part 2

Glory be to God for you! Hello there!

I hope you are awesome today my dear family member.

I bless The Lord for you as you read these blog posts. I am so humbled as I continue to meet wonderful people who tell me that these posts are helping them with their lives. It’s incredible to see what Jehovah is doing with these messages.

I will be mentioning some of these incredible people very soon. Let me talk to them first… Lol.

Alright, Leroy and Shanelle have more to tell us. Let’s do this.

Shanelle, “So on Friday night, at like 22:30, she calls my hubby and tells him to come through to help her out that Saturday because she would have a lot of work, all of a sudden. It was raining and I was quite upset because he had already worked his two weekends as per agreement with her, and we had planned a date for the day.”
Me, “Eish, she could call you that late?!”

Leroy, “She had never done that before, and that was after we spoke just two hours before, confirming that I would not be coming in. I was so pissed off, you don’t understand. I was tired because of work as well.”
Shanelle, “I was starting to learn more about my levels of anger that I never knew I had. Not to mention the incredible restraint I had to grow within me. Hai maan, she was rude and far too unreasonable. The rain pours down that morning as well, and he gets there at 08:30 as always. I know because I called him A LOT that day!”

Leroy nods his head in humble agreement.

Me, “Jah neh.”
Shanelle, “That woman rocks up there at 10:15 while we were busy whatsapping and greets him like nothing happened. Then she orders him to create a design with a few unbelievably vague instructions from a customer of hers. She doesn’t answer his questions about the specifics and she sommer invites her four designer friends to chill with her!!! She didn’t have a single client that day! She made him do this design in an hour on paper. She told her friends that she had given him a whole week to come up with that design!”

Me, “Ekse! Serious?! What did you do bro?!”
Leroy, “Nothing.”
Shanelle, “I mean I’m glad hubby only told me like a whole day afterwards because nje…”
Leroy, “I know her. She embarrassed me so much that day. She told them that I had a dream to become a designer and I can’t even survive simple tasks under her tutelage. They laughed at me and then she says to me, ‘Dude, you can’t make it in this kind of industry. It’s cut throat and tough and you don’t have the balls for it. I will give you just one more chance next week, and maybe I may keep you under my wing. Mara hai, a ke bone. Shame, you can go home now.”

I could see Shanelle was heaving with fury so I asked her this, “Tell me Shanelle, what do you think of the way he handled the situation?”

Shanelle, “This woman showed so much pride, as if she hadn’t started from the ground up and my baby just calmly walked out and kept mum about it. He went home and prayed about it, asking God to hold him tight because he believes in his dream and knows what He has planned for him. He is a wise man Gabriel and I truly respect him for that.” Me, “Nice one Leroy. I hear you Shanelle and I fully agree with you. Did you ever see her again though?”
Leroy, “Oh yes I did sir! She called on the Tuesday following that weekend.”
Me, “Really?!”

Let’s take a quick pause here and talk a little bit about Leroy’s Mr (Ms) What on the next post. 

Stick around…

Next Up…

#CatchingTheTrain – SOTT – Dealing With Mr What Part 3

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Jehovah Rocks!

The Messenger

#CatchingTheTrain – SOTT – Dealing With Mr What Part 1

Blessed Family! Heita Daarso! Howzit ekse?! 

I hope you guys are fantastic! Please feel free to connect with me, leave a comment below and subscribe so that you don’t miss a single post!

Let’s get on with it.

In our last post, we got onto the train of our choice and came across Mr What. We had hardly warmed up the seat upon our arrival and he was already asking us deep questions. Read them again to refresh your memory.

As this is experienced by all of us when we try to bring dreams and purpose to reality, I decided to ask Leroy if he remembers dealing with Mr What.

On this follow up interview, he decided to bring along his woman, and man oh man, was he right! The girl is HOT!

Me, “Hey guys, how are you doing today?”

Leroy just burst out laughing when he saw what was happening to me when I saw her.

Leroy, “Sup Gabe, I’m glad I can once again prove my point to her. She is freak’n hot neh?! Her name is Shanelle. Shanelle, this is my friend, mentor and coach, Gabriel. He is also a motivational speaker and writer and a lot of other things.”

Shanelle from behind her blushes says, “Hello Mr Gabriel, we finally meet. Hubby here has told me a lot about you.”

Me, “The honor is all mine Ms Shanelle. So much that he has told me about you is spot on. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.”

Leroy, “You got it bro! Anytime. What’s on the agenda today?”

Me, “Well, I want to take you back to when you decided to start with the curtain designing business when you had registered your company and all that stuff. I would like to know what kind of obstacles you came across those days and maybe what you are still dealing with today.”

Leroy takes a deep breath as he looks at Shanelle and as he is about to start speaking, she stops him by engaging.

Shanelle, “When my baby started out, he told me about what happened at that local designer that he volunteered his time at. He told me about how Choki was excited to have him there in the first week, helping her out with the business. I mean he was free labour right?” she continues with a giggle.

Me, “Oh yes of course. Why not huh?”

Shanelle, “He told me how one day as he was about to get into the shop, that a customers of Choki’s asked him for some advice on a wedding that was coming up. I mean, it took my love like 5 minutes to give an idea to this person that got them so excited that they insisted on him giving them his number. By the way, none of the stuff he said was advised by Choki who saw the number giving exchange happening. That customer had come to see Choki three days prior to this. So you can imagine how that looked to her.”

Leroy, “Yoh! She was livid bru! She was like, ‘Who do you think you are talking to my customers and giving them your numbers?! I worked hard to build my customer base and you are NOT going to mess with that!!! Do you hear me?!!! I told her that I advised the people that I was one of your designers and that you would have to give permission for me to work with them; precisely because they are your customers. The look on her face was priceless, but she was still adamant I shouldn’t speak to them.”

Shanelle, “The very following Saturday, Choki shocked us both with what she did and said when her friends came to visit her shop, while my baby was there, listening to them.”

To be continued…

Stick Around…

Next Up…

#CatchingTheTrain – SOTT – Dealing With Mr What Part 2

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Jehovah Rocks!
The Messenger

#CatchingTheTrain – Settling On The Train (SOTT)

Hello there everybody! I hope you are blessed and highly favored!

I hope this series is assisting you to enhance yourself every day. Let’s continue shall we?

By now, you should be a bit more confident about what you should be doing, which train you should be on. In this post, we assume you are now on the right train for you and now need to settle in.

I need you to understand something very important. Whatever you want to do, you are always going to come face to face with obstacles on the way, or in the train according to our journey. So these obstacles will be represented by a few guys that you will come across. Stay with me.

The first guy I want to introduce you to is, ‘Mr What’. As soon as you find your purpose, passion or activity of great fulfillment where you come alive, this guy comes at you first. He is the guy who asks;

 “What are you doing here?”
“What makes you think you can roll with us?”
“What about you makes you believe you can survive the mountains ahead?"

"Do you have any idea what kind of people make it in this trade?”

“What’s wrong with you? Go back to what you were doing and just let this be. It’s not for you!”

Mr What asks you piercing questions and you should note his dress code. He usually looks absolutely awesome. It’s much like going out of the mall and going through the parking lot to get to the taxi rank. As you do so, you see a Rolls Royce go into one of the parking bays and you see this incredibly well dressed couple step out of it looking so glamorous that it makes you stare. They already look the way you would like to look one day.

This guy on the train is like that. You’ve just started and you don’t know what lies ahead, or whether you are equipped enough to handle all of this. So if you do happen to answer Mr What back, it will be based on faith more than it will be on experience. That is where he will probably hit even more because he is speaking from the dimension of the unknown to you.

Many end up alighting at the next station having been scared off by him. Please don’t!

Why must you stay on? How do you overcome Mr What? Stick around as I invite Leroy back to the conversation.

Next Up…

#CatchingTheTrain – SOTT – Dealing With Mr What Part 1

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Jehovah Rocks!
The Messenger

#CatchingTheTrain – Which One – Research Part 4

Hey there Brother and Sister! 

Today I pray that The Lord will bless you indeed, and enlarge your territory, and may His Hand be with you, and may He keep you from evil, that it may not grieve you! (1 Chronicles 4:9) I pray this over you today and may it supersede whatever situation you are in! Amen!

In our last few posts, we were going through what Leroy experienced as he was discovering which train he should be on for true success. Incidentally, he is now fulfilled every single day he wakes up.

You may still be in a place where you are getting by, whether good at what you do or not, and missing the part where you are developing daily! When you are in your purpose, you get into a mind-set where you are always evolving and your creativity is forever challenged to get better and better, followed by complete fulfillment.

So which one do I choose Gabriel?

I hear you. Well, if you have been following the blog, you would remember back at #IdeasStation we were given the task to search out what frustrates us the most, as well as what we truly delight in. These two beacons will help you choose which train you should get on.

In my book, “Pursuit of Purpose – Distraction” I articulate even more on how to use what distracts you the most, to help you with your self-discovery endeavors. Fred and Tinyiko’s story is there. A wonderful couple I tell you. This e-book will soon be available on my website which will officially launch, not too long from now. I will announce it when the time comes.

The research part of finding out which train to catch starts within. It’s all about taking out your portable mirror, and repeat the exercise we did at the station. Look at yourself, take the notes you have on yourself already from the previous posts, and go deeper into it. Like Leroy, you will soon notice whether you are on the wrong train or not.

If you are on the right one, but don’t seem to be making proper head way, you will not want to miss the next post!

Next Up…

#CatchingTheTrain – Settling On The Train

Don’t Miss It!

Jehovah Rocks!
The Messenger

#CatchingTheTrain – Which One – Research Part 3

All over the world, wassup! 

Yep, I’m feeling dandy today. How are you doing? 

Leave a comment below and let me hear what you have to say. 

It would be awesome to hear from you.

Alright, let’s see where Leroy ends up.

Me, “Well, what did you tell the woman?”
Leroy, “I told her that the interior elements of this office bother me because they just don’t go together for me. I told her that the lighting wasn’t working as it should for the different offices as opposed to the reception area. I explained to her that everything from the sofas to the curtains were out of place in my view.

Me, “Wow, it bothered you that much?”
Leroy, “That’s the thing Gabe. It didn’t bother me so much that I wanted to deal with it before I spoke to her. However, as I was talking to her, she kept asking me which sofas would work, which coffee table would be better for the different rooms, and so forth. We googled together and I kept getting even more ideas as we spoke. Gabriel, she was taking notes as I talked and literally continued to push me.”

Me, “My goodness, I can see what she was looking for. Look at you! You are so upbeat even as you speak right now.”
Leroy, “Yeah bro. She stopped me about 5 minutes before her break ended and said, 'You told me what you were planning to do earlier on with logistics and although you are good at it brother man, your true passion lies right here. You’ve got interior designing talent in you and it seems that you want to create some of these elements, particularly curtains, because you aren’t fully satisfied with anything you find.'”

Me, “You probably didn’t even notice the time when you went on and on, neh?”
Leroy, “Exactly! After thinking all day and night about what she said, I decided to do some courses of designing on the side and went to a local designer to ask for some advice on designing curtains. So on weekends I went to volunteer there as well. When I did, I found that I wasn’t just good at it, I became more and more creative there. I mean, I truly came alive and to make the long story short, that’s when I came to you to ask about how to register my own company and all that stuff to get moving.”

Me, “I get you Leroy.”
Leroy, “Yeah, and it changed my life. She changed my life. I went back to tell her about it and she looked me in the eye and said, ‘Now, I want to be your girlfriend and hopefully one day you will want to marry me because there is nothing more secure than a God-fearing man who knows what his purpose is, and does it every day.’”

Me, “Goodness me, this woman dude!”
Leroy, “I proposed to her and we are getting married in September. You better honor my invitation Gabe and you better say good stuff about me.”

I can relate quite a bit with Leroy in the time that he was busy with logistics and sometimes we can be trapped in it just because we are good at it. He chose the Curtain designing Train after getting on the logistics train.

Which one should you be on? Are you on the wrong one now? Are you on the right one but struggling to succeed? Stick Around…

Next Up…

#CatchingTheTrain – Which One – Research Part 4

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Jehovah Rocks!
The Messenger

#CatchingTheTrain – Which One – Research Part 2

Hello there Fam! How are ya’ll doin’?

I hope you are doing fantastically!

The series continues.

Leroy has been giving us his account of getting to the point of being an entrepreneur. He continues below.

Leroy, “Greeting her was difficult that day and I could hardly put one foot in front of the other. Luister Gabriel, she is HOT! And that day, she was on another level! She noticed this and I think she liked it. Anyway, I eventually greeted and struck up a convo with her.”

Me, “Ok, well done. Did you even work that day?”
Leroy, “Jah meneer. Thankfully my office was far from where I could see her.”
Me, “I see.”
Leroy, “Nah bro, you ain’t seen nothing yet. She shocks me on the following Monday and brings me lunch. 

Oh, the look on your face. Ha ha! Mine was worse. She was on her lunch break and brought the warmed up food to my office, sat down, told me she cooked for me, and then asks me what my plans for my life are.”
Me, “Reminds me of Steve Harvey’s Think Like A Man, Act Like A Lady.”
Leroy, “You know?! So I told her about my plans in logistics and how I want to grow in it. Gabe, after all my talking, she says to me, ‘Leroy, I’m missing something in your eyes’. Then she asks, ‘What frustrates you the most about this place where you want to work?’"
Me, “You had known her for like a weekend and she was asking you this?!”
Leroy, “Gabe, I thought she was joking. You could see she was listening to every word I was saying and when she gave me those questions, I sort of froze for a second, even though I already had the answer for her. As I’m busy going through my mental roller coaster, she says to me, ‘Time is a very essential commodity sir, please answer me’"
Me, “Yoh! She is bold”
Leroy, “That statement snapped me out of it and I felt this sense of energy building up as I finally replied.”

My friend found himself face to face with a question that made him think carefully about what he wants to do with his life. His story concludes on the next post.

Next Up…

#CatchingTheTrain – Which One – Research Part 3

Don’t Miss It!

Jehovah Rocks!
The Messenger

#CatchingTheTrain – Which One? – Research Part 1

Good Day Family! 

A new day has come and with it, new energy to push on through 2018 constructively and progressively!

We continue engaging this life-changing series with the next installment as titled above. As you know, we are now at the point of identifying the correct train to get on to; but get on to one, we must!

My good friend Leroy is a great example of what we need to learn in terms of moving forward. Leroy is a retailer, who only deals with designing and selling of curtains.

It wasn’t always this way though. So I will let you in on our conversation when I interviewed him some time ago.

Me, “So Leroy, tell me about when you started your business?”
Leroy, “Well Gabe, my business started long before it actually got established. See, I was studying towards my logistics degree because my uncle told me that there is good money in it. He lived in a beautiful house in Woodhill bro, and let’s not even talk about his beamer. So I registered at UNISA and even volunteered to work with him just to gain experience.”
Me, “Wait, so you chose not to get paid so that you can get experience? You weren’t getting a salary, so how would this help you in proving this experience when you started?”
Leroy, “Good question. Do you remember when you worked with the Department of Health a few years ago, when they had a strike?”
Me, “Oh yes, I do. I can hardly believe you do!”
Leroy, “Look bra… you know what, I just do. They wrote a letter for you to say that you worked with them. That helps a great deal if you are going to prove any experience, if you can’t find an internship and all that.”
Me, “Right”
Leroy, “Yeah man. So as I got on with my first year, whenever I went to his offices, I kept getting bothered by the furniture, and the way the office looked net. Seriously, it became a big problem because I could hardly concentrate and when I passed by Marabastad, I noticed the kind of furniture and stuff that would work better.”
Me, “Meneer, you were there for logistics mos.”
Leroy, “Dis reg, bra. I was, and believe me, I was also getting good at it. I was mos practicing what I was studying and Uncle Larry was so supportive. Then one Friday I walked into the office and they had just hired a new receptionist. The unbelievably gorgeous and distracting force of nature that she is. Gabriel! She is a crazily mesmerizing work of art. That woman dude….”
Me, “Leroy, concentrate. What does she have to do with all this?”

Leroy continues his tale on the next post to help us understand what happened to him to bring him to his current circumstance. 

Next Up…

#CatchingTheTrain – Which One – Research Part 2

Don’t Miss It!

Jehovah Rocks!
The Messenger

#CatchingTheTrain – Which One – Direction

Lumelang Everybody! 

Molo Molo Ni Na Nonke! 

This is the day that The Lord has made, Let Us Rejoice!!!

Oh yes, I’m just loving this series and I truly hope it’s helping you as well.

Shall we? Cool. So in the last post we explored the necessity of faith and the importance of ‘faith talking’ yourself out of doubt, taking a step forward and getting things done. We took on some examples of what you can say until it is all that you think about and making it your own, of course.

Now that we’ve got our mind in the right place and are busy developing the necessary faith to propel us forward, we need to discuss the matter of which train to catch now.

In a recent series that can be found on my blog, “In Pursuit of Purpose”, we discussed a great deal about the steps to discovering your own gifts and talents, how to appropriate them and put them to work for your benefit, and for those of us who need you. Yes, your gifts aren’t all about you, they are entrusted to you by your Creator to serve humanity.

It would benefit you to go back and read through it, it’s very helpful. The synopsis of it is that you need to identify your gifts, your desires and studying yourself to see where and when you perform best.

It is in those activities and necessary environment where you will begin to flourish as your destiny begins to unfold to you. Personally, apart from the practical steps given in the TPOP series, I also took to prayer to ask The One Who created me, what He made me for.

However you discover or rediscover it, get it done. It is in finding this direction that you will cover the key to knowing which train you need to catch!

Not doing this, will be like someone who goes to the taxi rank and just finds a seat in one of the minibus vehicles without knowing where it is going? I doubt you would do such a thing! We generally ascertain where we are going before we choose which transport is going to get us there. 

Otherwise, how else will you know when you have arrived?

You would be shocked, however, at how much we do that, in our life’s decisions. So take some time and identify your talents, write them down and we will move to the next step.

Wanna know what it is? Stick Around.

Next Up…

#CatchingTheTrain – Which One – Research Part 1

Don’t Miss It!

Jehovah Rocks!
The Messenger

#CatchingTheTrain – Say With Me...

Glorious Salutations to you my dear reader! 

I hope you are doing very well.

Let’s get moving. We are at the stage where we are trying to catch the train and dealing with things that may be holding us back from achieving this in our lives. Remember that #CatchingTheTrain is synonymous with taking a positive step forward in bringing a dream to life.

In the previous post we were busy in the boxing ring, taking it to doubt, by choosing to entertain positive thoughts about our ability to do what we envision. One critical key that we picked up was not allowing ourselves to be immersed in a negative atmosphere, friends and media influences.

We were also advised to right down some faith declarations and speak them out until they build the kind of belief in us, that we can do nothing else but CATCH THAT TRAIN!

So how do we do this? Here are a few examples: Say With Me…

“I am well able to achieve my dreams!”
“I can overcome every single obstacle that comes my way!”
“I contribute positively to the success of my relationship!”
“I choose to stand fast to my goals in times of adversity!”
“I commit to the progressive development of my skills and through hard work, I will never give up!” “As I wake up every morning, I declare fresh new ideas for my current projects and I will make it happen!”
“I will add value to someone’s life everyday!”
“I am healed of this sickness and I will live and declare the Works of The Lord!”
“I am loved by God and I have love in my heart for Him and others!”

Whatever your conviction, whatever you want to achieve that will be constructive and developmental to those around you and your community, right it down! Personalize the confessions and contextualize them to your desires and ambitions. Even if it seems daunting and too high to reach for you, right the vision down, believe yourself out of doubt through faith talk!

YES YOU CAN!!! Once you do this as much as possible in a day, every day, then you will start to meditate more and more on it. The result is growing belief in the gift/s that God has given you and bringing it out for us to experience.

That change in your mindset and outlook will play an enormous role in helping you to Catch The Train!

Next Up…

#CatchingTheTrain – Which One?

Don’t Miss It!

Jehovah Rocks!
The Messenger

#CatchingTheTrain – The Necessity of Faith

Kgotso Ya Molimo Ha E Be Le Lona!

How’s life on your part of the world everybody? It would be nice to hear from you, so please leave a comment below.

Ok, let’s do this. We are busy kicking the crap out of doubt right now, as it still remains one big obstacle that keeps us from our intended achievements. It only makes sense to develop a strategy against it that will work every time it comes up, yeah?

In the previous post we read that we need to feed on Faith in order to starve this doubt. The question we had was, ‘How?’ Let’s answer it.

You see, the breeding ground of doubt or faith for that matter, is persistent meditation thereon. What you keep thinking about, eventually becomes what you believe. Now let’s look at the other elements that form part of the system.

We live in a world that is run by many different communication tools, and it is easier and easier to get in touch with people around the globe. What you read, listen to, and speak out of your own mouth, feeds what you think about. Yes, your mind is like good soil that absorbs any information or seeds that you allow to be planted there. You water this seed or these seeds by pondering on them regularly. The more you do that, the bigger that tree in your mind grows. Sooner or later, it will be all you think about.

Faith is allowing only positive thoughts to come through your mind about your impending success and how you are going to thrive. STOP listening to people around you who are negative and condemn all the ideas that they and you come up with. Move away from negative media influence that makes you feel inadequate to achieve your goals.

Right down declarations of Faith that will propel you forward and utter them so much that they become great big trees in your mind. And sure enough, doubt will loosen its grip on you, more and more, regardless of the challenges that will indeed come.

Don’t forget that Faith is an absolute necessity to combat doubt and help you push ahead!

Not sure how to do these declarations? Worry not! In the next post, I will give you some examples. 

Stick Around.

Next Up…

#CatchingTheTrain – Say With Me…

Don’t Miss It!

Jehovah Rocks!
The Messenger

#CatchingTheTrain – Overcoming Doubt, Regardless

Avuxeni!

A Blessed Day To You, Fellow Blessed One of The Almighty!

This Series is certainly helping people all around to change their lives for the better, and I hope that is the case with you as well.

We are busy trying to catch the train in this part of the series and dealing with some of the challenges that come with making such a great decision.

In the previous post we explored the incredible hindrance of Indecision, in terms of moving forward and the fact that it leaves us somewhat paralyzed if allowed to dominate us.

We were admonished to encourage, push and develop ourselves, not to give up, to make that decision and simply move. For many, much like what happened with me, it is much easier said than done. The awesome thing about it is that it was never meant to be easy, but rather simple. There is a big difference between these two.

It is simple to understand that you need to pass the end of year exams in order to progress to the next grade or institution of learning, yet it is not an easy thing to do. So, although it may not be easy, it needs to be logical that without taking a step in the direction of your realized dream and/or vision, you are just stuck!

Doubt is one of the leading mountains that stand in-between us and our destinies. We therefore need a lasting remedy to it as it has the habit of coming up at many levels of life. Let this not be such a huge deal to you. Let’s make it simple. The opposite of Doubt is Faith, right? Well then, consider this: Whichever of these two you feed on, will determine which governs you.

Starve doubt by feeding on Faith, and you will see that regardless of what doubt is telling you, you will overcome it every time!

How? 

Read the next post, and find out.

Next Up…

#CatchingTheTrain – The Necessity of Faith

Don’t Miss It!

Jehovah Rocks!
The Messenger

#CatchingTheTrain - Dangers Of Indecision

Lumelang Kaofela!

How are you all doing today?!

On my side of the world, it's all about Self-Development, something I hope you are all doing wherever you are.

Right then, let's move right along. We are still in the Series, 'Start-To-Finish' and we are now on the platform deciding to take a/the train. If you've been following along, we are now dealing with the 'Dangers of Indecision'.

Now that we are on the platform, we have come across the stage where we need to take a step forward. We have learnt how to deal with our thoughts and ideas in previous posts and bringing them to life is the next step.

I have had many instances when I have had the opportunity to act on an idea and make a move that will make the theory part of it all, very practical. However, for different reasons, I stalled in taking the necessary measures of making my dreams a reality.

I became hesistant due to not knowing whether I will succeed or not, worrying about what people may say if I was to fail. Worse than this, was the stress of my own capacity vs the capacity needed to make a success of my endeavor. I felt so inadequate that I basically decided that I would wait until I was absolutely sure that I will make it.

Something in me kept pushing me though, I continued to think about it over and over again and I literally worried myself into paralysis.

Then one day, I remembered back in high school when I used to do athletics, that the only way I got faster in the 100 meter race, was to get on to the track and actually run. It is in the running that I started to realize what I needed to work on if I was to get better. This will never happen by just watching from the outside.

It's no different here. You are never going to become a better person by sitting on the platform, watching every train go by, wishing you could get onto one, and just being lukewarm about it! Indecision is painfully constricting and you have to push passed your fear of the unknown and ask questions like, 'What if I succeed beyond my wildest imaginations and change my world as I do it?'.

Encourage yourself! Push yourself! Develop yourself! Don't give up! Make that decision and MOVE!

Next up...

#CatchingTheTrain - Overcoming Doubt Regardless

Don't Miss It!

Jehovah Rocks
The Messenger

#CatchingTheTrain - Decide To Move

Hola Everybody!

I hope you are all doing excellently!!!

The mission must continue. Well, I hope you've been getting something out of this series and doing constructive things for yourself.

We have been in #IdeasStation for quite some time now, dealing with how one has to deal with thoughts-turned-ideas. Let's move out of the station now to #CatchTheTrain.

Now that we are on the platform, let's observe something quickly. I took a trip from Tshwane to Johannesburg on the Gautrain, not too long ago, and I realized that regardless of which ride I chose to use, they kept moving.

So, if I miss the 12:05 one for example, it will leave with those who choose to take it and I will have to wait to another one. The point here is that many people come onto the platform and just never choose a train, leaving them fruitless in any endeavor.

The train rides that I'm referring to are called, 'Opportunities'. If you are reading this blog post right now, you have an opportunity to change your life. The thing is that you HAVE to choose a ride that is going in the direction that you would like to go. Standing there and watching them go by is called, 'Stagnation'. Many have mental stagnation where they don't move forward in their lives and this must be dealt with.

Listen, you need to make the decision to get onto the train and move. It may seem quite cliche to say this, but you will be surprised how many of your own ideas you have discarded and never brought to fruition. That's missing a train.

At this point, you MUST decide to move and actively change your life! We'll talk more about the challenges that can be faced when you are in this position and how to overcome them.

Stick Around.

Next Up...

#CatchingTheTrain - Dangers Of Indecision

Don't Miss It!

Jehovah Rocks!
The Messenger

Make It Your Own

South Africa Is Yours As Well

Greetings my beloved family!

The President’s SONA

‘I want to be there when the people start to turn it around,
 When they triumph over poverty,
 I wanna be there when the people win the battle against AIDS,
 I wanna lend a hand,
 I wanna be there for the alcoholic,
 I wanna be there for the drug addict,
 I wanna be there for the victims of violence and abuse,
 I wanna lend a hand, send me’

A quote from the great Hugh Masekela’s ‘Thuma Mina’ by our New President, The Honorable, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, wherein his maiden SONA he included in his closing remarks;

“Now is the time, where all of us should lend a hand,
 Now is the time, for each one of us to say, ‘South Africa, send me’
 Now is the time, for all of us to work together…”

Like millions of South Africans, I would like to echoe deep appreciation for the heart of the new Commander in Chief, which he articulated in the SONA. The renewed hope that it has brought, is truly tangible throughout the nation.

What Is My Role?

After listening to our leader and the debates that followed, I had this question in my mind, “When he said, ‘Now is the time, where all of us should lend a hand’, who was he referring to?” Ever so often we look at such events as declarations of what the leadership of the country is going to do for us, and it seems our only occupation is to make sure that they do it.

I have no doubt that the government of the republic has an incredibly massive role in helping our country move forward in a positive light, as they were voted into this office by the people after all. Also, it is indeed our duty as a nation to hold them accountable to what they say they will do. However, how many of us, on the ground, actually ask the question, “What is my role in this positive change?”

I am not a politician, but simply a member of the South African family who would like to raise a call to action. News reporters tell us that the president will need a very good team to carry his mandate forward and as long as we see it as ‘His’ mandate, we will just hold back and watch if he comes through. I motion a change of mentality.

A better Mzantsi is about all of us and when I listened to the delivery of the SONA, I decided I want to take up my role in making it come to fruition, in my own family and in my own community. So what is your role in us moving forward as a nation?

Team South Africa

Imagine, if you will, what would happen if every one of us, in our own part of the country, find out what we can do to share the vision laid out by our Commander in Chief. Regardless of the team that he might have in government, there is no way these life-changing objectives will be reached at the level that it can, without our individual and collective participation. With just under 3 million public servants trying to serve over 57 million people, you can easily see how much more effective we can be if we all played our part.

How about we joined his team, ‘Team South Africa’ and we all made it our personal mission to combat Unemployment, Women and Child Abuse, Gender Based Violence, Land Expropriation, Investor Confidence Rising, Educational Challenges, etc? How about we check our own skill set and use it in our part of the nation to help whoever we can right there in our communities? Let this be clear, ‘If there is something you don’t yet have, it’s because of something you don’t yet know’

Therefore, let’s be part of Team South Africa, under the leadership of the president, and let us all be responsible to hold each other accountable for advancing our country forward.

make it your own

President Ramaphosa made mention of the celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the birth of Former Statesman, Nelson Mandela. The legendary president said these words, ‘We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference’. You see, once we can make the State of 

The Nation, our own, then I foresee a far greater impact on our country’s sustainable and evolving success, and instead of pointing fingers at anyone else, let’s begin with the mirror. Let’s make it our own!

Now is the time where all of us should lend a hand. Now is the time for each one of us to say, “South Africa, send me.”

Gabriel Mothobi

The Messenger

Start To Finish - #IdeasStation5

Molweni iFamily Yami E Ntle!

Greetings from Tshwane on yet another blazing hot day! The heat is really coming down these days here and it is something to behold.

I pray that you are awesome where you are and growing with me as we continue this fantastic series.

In the last post, we were introduced to yet another important ingredient to add to our mix of success, being 'Delight'. 

We also discussed that the lack thereof in oneself is really unfruitful and won't yield the kind of results we should attain.

Let's go a little deeper into this and then move out onto the deck to catch our train.

The ever-present google search engine gives these results for the definition of 'Delight"

'Please (someone) greatly', when seeing it in the perspective of a verb; and
'Great Pleasure', as a noun. The noun is the one we are talking about here.
'Pleasure' in its own definition is, 'A feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment'

It is rather hard to genuinely commit to a cause that does not delight you in any way. In fact, frustration becomes a constant state of mind and daily activity includes the search for something else.

Now, remember the theme we are dealing with here. Turning thoughts and ideas into channels of prosperity and fulfillment. Where we are now is called #IdeasStation and we are exploring how to bring them to life. For more on this, go ahead and read the previous posts in the series, "Start To Finish"

As you wake up every day to an influx of thoughts and ideas, remember that you are a human being and there are things that delight you and others that you do but they don't bring a smile to your face and fulfillment to your heart. Identifying those that delight you is going to be very important as we continue.

Don't forget about it as we now move out of #IdeasStation onto the train.

What are your thoughts? Join the conversation and leave a comment below.

Next up...

#CatchingTheTrain - Decide To Move

Don't Miss It!

Jehovah Rocks
The Messenger

Start To Finish - #IdeaStation4

My Beloved Fam!

Greetings to you on this rather hot day in Pretoria.

I thank God for yet another day to share with you as every day passes by.

We have a series to push forward as I hope you remember, and we need to keep at it.

On this train ride, we are still at #IdeasStation and we are getting ready to make our way out onto the train. In the last post in the series, we spoke about the pivotal importance of 'Commitment' to the fruition of our ideas. Without it, there will be no success in getting things done.

Now then, let's add another ingredient that I believe is so key to fueling our commitment to the cause of bringing our ideas to life.

I know many people who go to work, seminars, even visit certain friends and do it because of nothing more than 'Duty'. I have heard some of these phrases a great deal, "I hate my job but I have to pay the bills" or "I would rather be at home watching soccer than to go to this seminar, but if I don't, I will lose my job" or even, "Well, this guy is a pain to be around, but he has a lot of money and I need him to invest in my business"

Although commitment exists in the above examples, it will be pretty short-lived once something else comes along and can provide an alternative to them. Therefore we need to have the addition of "Delight" to our mix.

If you don't 'Delight' in yourself, then committing to anything that comes out of you will be difficult to impossible.

You must find Joy in yourself and therefore in your application to Ideas becoming something more. 

What do you think? Join the conversation and leave a comment below. Let's talk about this?

Next up...

#IdeasStaton - From Direction To Action Conclusion

Don't Miss It!

Jehovah Rocks
The Messenger

#Progression

A Blessed Day To You My Beloved Family And A Glorious New Year!

2018 has come upon us and as is custom with many people around the world, taking stock of the victories and losses of last year need to inform necessary progression for the this new one.

I continue to come across more and more people who shun the notion of “New Year’s Resolution/s” and are increasingly conforming to another, “Whatever Comes, Comes”.

The general reason for this change in ideology is the protection of oneself from dissatisfaction and possible despair from a dashed expectation. Others look at the matter of aiming for the moon and even if missed, they could land among the stars, with a more negative outlook. Instead, what is said today is along the lines of, "Aim wherever you can reach and leave enough room for disappointment".

One can blame this on an ever changing social status quo and the ills that we are facing as a country, or even the families that we come from or our own physical challenges.

The truth is that we can NEVER go beyond our own unique ability to cage ourselves inside of our own perception of ourselves. There are far too many stories of people who overcame their dire circumstances and gained life-altering victories to change their lives, to deny this fact. For this reason, I challenge you my dear fellow human being to take stock of your own perception and opinion of yourself and work out what limitations YOU have placed on YOURSELF that keep you from one of life’s most rewarding state of being, PROGRESSION.

Then take action and remove these from yourself!!!

To God Be The Glory!

The Messenger

#DiligenceIsTheWay