Gosh, this is the type of question that one gets answered when being interviewed! The funny thing is, I saw a cartoon once that read “I’m trying to find the motivation to get motivated!” Many people find that problem, that they have no inspiration, motivation or muse to get them motivated about work, love and life in general.
Lucky for me, I have the most amazing mom and loving home environment – that’s what keeps me going and keeps me motivated.My mom has faced many trials and tribulations in her life, and despite it all she still walks around with her head held high, looks after our family and always has a smile on her face.
When the hardships of life get the better of me, I think about what my mom went through and realise that God will never give you a cross that is too heavy to bear; because once you overcome that obstacle, you come out a better person.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
What motivates me…
Gosh, this is the type of question that one gets answered when being interviewed! The funny thing is, I saw a cartoon once that read “I’m trying to find the motivation to get motivated!” Many people find that problem, that they have no inspiration, motivation or muse to get them motivated about work, love and life in general.
Lucky for me, I have the most amazing mom and loving home environment – that’s what keeps me going and keeps me motivated.My mom has faced many trials and tribulations in her life, and despite it all she still walks around with her head held high, looks after our family and always has a smile on her face.
When the hardships of life get the better of me, I think about what my mom went through and realise that God will never give you a cross that is too heavy to bear; because once you overcome that obstacle, you come out a better person.
Lucky for me, I have the most amazing mom and loving home environment – that’s what keeps me going and keeps me motivated.My mom has faced many trials and tribulations in her life, and despite it all she still walks around with her head held high, looks after our family and always has a smile on her face.
When the hardships of life get the better of me, I think about what my mom went through and realise that God will never give you a cross that is too heavy to bear; because once you overcome that obstacle, you come out a better person.
Personal Autonomy – How far does it extend?
“Personal Autonomy? What’s that?” was my initial thought when I saw this topic. So I checked with the most reliable source I’ve had over my past five years of studying, Google. I came across onelook.com which is an online dictionary and it provided me with the following definitions:- Immunity from arbitrary exercise of authority: political independence- Personal independence
Reading these definitions, the common word found is independence (and the first song that comes to mind is Independent Women by Destiny’s Child – and now you’re probably singing it in your head as well!).
I personally feel that in today’s society, it is vitally important to be independent, especially for women. It is important that you as an individual are able to stand on your own two feet and fend for yourself without the reliance of other people.
However, with that said, no man is an island. We all still rely on each other for one thing or another; be it a lift to work because your car broke down, a cup of sugar because you ran out and never noticed or it could be love, support, happiness.
Personal Autonomy plays a key role in defining who you are and how well you succeed in life, however it shouldn’t be to an extent where you shut yourself off from the rest of the world – how lonely and sad would that be?
Reading these definitions, the common word found is independence (and the first song that comes to mind is Independent Women by Destiny’s Child – and now you’re probably singing it in your head as well!).
I personally feel that in today’s society, it is vitally important to be independent, especially for women. It is important that you as an individual are able to stand on your own two feet and fend for yourself without the reliance of other people.
However, with that said, no man is an island. We all still rely on each other for one thing or another; be it a lift to work because your car broke down, a cup of sugar because you ran out and never noticed or it could be love, support, happiness.
Personal Autonomy plays a key role in defining who you are and how well you succeed in life, however it shouldn’t be to an extent where you shut yourself off from the rest of the world – how lonely and sad would that be?
Watch this space…
Life throws you so many curve balls; however it’s how you pick yourself up and dust yourself off that will determine the path you take in life.
These past three years I’ve been hit by one to many curve balls, some were throwing gently towards me, while others had no mercy and just whacked that ball against me with all its might!
However, after a few bumps and bruises, and a few scratches here and there, I’ve managed to pick myself up, dust myself off and keep walking my path. Yes, some curve balls have even left scars, but those are there to remind me of what not to do, where not to go or who not to befriend again.
I’m finally nearing the end of this chapter of my life. This chapter I’d like to call the lost and found. It’s been a chapter of finding myself, what my interests really are, who my friends really are, what career path I actually want to take and finding out how I want to see myself in five years time. Lost, because, I’ve lost my freedom from responsibility, my careless childhood days and my being able to fully depend on my parents (the good old days of tuckshop money!)
I’ve officially entered into the big wide world of adults (or what I use to refer to them as a kid, “big people”).
So watch this space for the new chapter in my life, the chapter I’d like to call the future and me!
These past three years I’ve been hit by one to many curve balls, some were throwing gently towards me, while others had no mercy and just whacked that ball against me with all its might!
However, after a few bumps and bruises, and a few scratches here and there, I’ve managed to pick myself up, dust myself off and keep walking my path. Yes, some curve balls have even left scars, but those are there to remind me of what not to do, where not to go or who not to befriend again.
I’m finally nearing the end of this chapter of my life. This chapter I’d like to call the lost and found. It’s been a chapter of finding myself, what my interests really are, who my friends really are, what career path I actually want to take and finding out how I want to see myself in five years time. Lost, because, I’ve lost my freedom from responsibility, my careless childhood days and my being able to fully depend on my parents (the good old days of tuckshop money!)
I’ve officially entered into the big wide world of adults (or what I use to refer to them as a kid, “big people”).
So watch this space for the new chapter in my life, the chapter I’d like to call the future and me!
Conventional is a good fallback position.
So you have a bit of a conventional approach to a task you’ve being given at work, yet you’re too scared to run with it in fear of what others might say?Nonsense, what’s the worst that could happen – Someone may not agree with you? Well at least then you know that you have tried!
It’s always good to think out of the box and a bit different from the majority, after all that is what makes each and everyone one of us unique individuals is it not?
With that said, I do however agree to a certain extent with the above statement, but with a slight change – conventional should be an option, not a fallback.
In life, one should always have a Plan A, B and C in order to ensure that whatever decision needs to be made or task needs to be completed, you have thought it through to an extent where you have different plans on how you could possibly tackle it.
Thinking things through, as mentioned above, also gives you the opportunity to have the end result in mind which is a good way to start a task or make a decision. This is what drives you to complete whatever comes your way, knowing that you can take the take the safe route and if that doesn’t ‘wow the crowd’ you can always go for something conventional, and well, if that still doesn’t work, you’ve always got Plan C!
What should always be remembered is that each and every one of us are unique and will tackle a situation differently to the next person. What may seem ‘normal’ to one may be ‘conventional to the other, hence always have options!
It’s always good to think out of the box and a bit different from the majority, after all that is what makes each and everyone one of us unique individuals is it not?
With that said, I do however agree to a certain extent with the above statement, but with a slight change – conventional should be an option, not a fallback.
In life, one should always have a Plan A, B and C in order to ensure that whatever decision needs to be made or task needs to be completed, you have thought it through to an extent where you have different plans on how you could possibly tackle it.
Thinking things through, as mentioned above, also gives you the opportunity to have the end result in mind which is a good way to start a task or make a decision. This is what drives you to complete whatever comes your way, knowing that you can take the take the safe route and if that doesn’t ‘wow the crowd’ you can always go for something conventional, and well, if that still doesn’t work, you’ve always got Plan C!
What should always be remembered is that each and every one of us are unique and will tackle a situation differently to the next person. What may seem ‘normal’ to one may be ‘conventional to the other, hence always have options!
“Nothing is more dangerous than an idea, when you only have one idea” (Alain)
That statement is quite daunting because if you think about it, everything starts with an idea. Everything, good or bad began with one person saying “I have an idea!”
An idea has led to many historical events such as World War I and II, Apartheid, Klu Kluks Klan etc. Whoever came up with these ideas need to seriously start looking at Plan B and C ideas and not just go with their original one and only idea because, telling by the results of these events. Those ideas were not exactly the brightest!
As women, we are constantly taught to go with our “gut” or initial response as that is said to usually be the right idea, however one always needs to look a tad bitter to see the domino effect your one idea could have on future events.
When you think you may have the most amazing idea, just take a step back and think and rethink about it just to make sure you are 110% sure you are making the right decision, because not every idea is always a good one.
An idea has led to many historical events such as World War I and II, Apartheid, Klu Kluks Klan etc. Whoever came up with these ideas need to seriously start looking at Plan B and C ideas and not just go with their original one and only idea because, telling by the results of these events. Those ideas were not exactly the brightest!
As women, we are constantly taught to go with our “gut” or initial response as that is said to usually be the right idea, however one always needs to look a tad bitter to see the domino effect your one idea could have on future events.
When you think you may have the most amazing idea, just take a step back and think and rethink about it just to make sure you are 110% sure you are making the right decision, because not every idea is always a good one.
Andy Warhol said “In the future everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes” – You can’t choose the 15 minutes but why would you be world famou
Everyone gets a chance to be world famous for a whole fifteen minutes? Gosh, won’t it eventually get to a point where we would start forgetting who’s famous for what?
I mean, reading Heat and People magazine, watching E! Entertainment and listening to the “gossip columns” on the various radio stations is already like information overload! I think I’ve gotten to a point where I’m starting to wonder what Britney Spears is famous for – Mickey Mouse Club, Hit me baby one more time, drug abuse or losing so much weight in so little time?Ok, maybe it’s not that extreme, but listening to what the media has to say about tons of people can get a bit much after a while that one tends to loose track along the way, if that makes any sense?
I’m not too sure that’s what I want though – to be world famous, even if it is for a measly 15 minutes. Just imagine always having someone interested in what you’re doing, how you’re doing it and who you doing it with! Not for me. Thanks, but no thanks!
I’m pretty much of a private person. Yes I like to do adventurous, spontaneous things, but nothing to the extreme of allowing me to cash in on my so called “15 minutes of fame!”
I guess some of us are born to be in the spotlight, and others, like me, are best kept behind the scenes.
If everyone is supposed to have their 15 minutes of fame, I’ll be keeping low till the spotlight passes my area!
I mean, reading Heat and People magazine, watching E! Entertainment and listening to the “gossip columns” on the various radio stations is already like information overload! I think I’ve gotten to a point where I’m starting to wonder what Britney Spears is famous for – Mickey Mouse Club, Hit me baby one more time, drug abuse or losing so much weight in so little time?Ok, maybe it’s not that extreme, but listening to what the media has to say about tons of people can get a bit much after a while that one tends to loose track along the way, if that makes any sense?
I’m not too sure that’s what I want though – to be world famous, even if it is for a measly 15 minutes. Just imagine always having someone interested in what you’re doing, how you’re doing it and who you doing it with! Not for me. Thanks, but no thanks!
I’m pretty much of a private person. Yes I like to do adventurous, spontaneous things, but nothing to the extreme of allowing me to cash in on my so called “15 minutes of fame!”
I guess some of us are born to be in the spotlight, and others, like me, are best kept behind the scenes.
If everyone is supposed to have their 15 minutes of fame, I’ll be keeping low till the spotlight passes my area!
Monday, April 20, 2009
We are what we do
So true! As they say “Birds of a feather flock together”, the same applies to “We are what we do”.The people you surround yourself with tend to “rub-off” on you in one way or another. Think about the friends you spend the most time with – you spend so much time together because you have similar interests and therefore enjoy doing the same things, hence you spend so much time together.
Now the same applies to you are what you do. The reason you are doing what you are is because it is a part of your character. I am in communications because communicating (a lot) is part of who Taryn Blows is. As a child my mom used to play the “silent game” with me. The game was that whoever kept quiet the longest would win a prize! I loved this game (only because I love winning prizes!) however I never ever won because I was such a chatter-box. Today, I’m in the field of communications – coincidence? No, I’m here because this is who I am. It is part of my character.
I’m sure reading this there are many people you can think of that represent the job that they find themselves in.
I think of friends of mine that went into the teaching profession. They were the type that loved helping others and always had all the patience in the world; these characteristics are key in a teaching profession.
I know of many strong-headed, opinionated people that now find themselves in the law industry, why? Because it is part of what their character stands for.
We definitely are what we do otherwise we wouldn’t be doing it I’m sure!
Now the same applies to you are what you do. The reason you are doing what you are is because it is a part of your character. I am in communications because communicating (a lot) is part of who Taryn Blows is. As a child my mom used to play the “silent game” with me. The game was that whoever kept quiet the longest would win a prize! I loved this game (only because I love winning prizes!) however I never ever won because I was such a chatter-box. Today, I’m in the field of communications – coincidence? No, I’m here because this is who I am. It is part of my character.
I’m sure reading this there are many people you can think of that represent the job that they find themselves in.
I think of friends of mine that went into the teaching profession. They were the type that loved helping others and always had all the patience in the world; these characteristics are key in a teaching profession.
I know of many strong-headed, opinionated people that now find themselves in the law industry, why? Because it is part of what their character stands for.
We definitely are what we do otherwise we wouldn’t be doing it I’m sure!
We are afraid of the wrong things
This statement takes my thinking back to the days when we were toddlers, so innocent and naïve to what was happening in the big big world around us, yet quite content and happy with ourselves!
Watching my younger cousins I see how carefree and fearless they were when they were toddlers. They did things that we would not dare to do the older we became because we are too afraid!
They will play with any kid that comes their way – as long as the friend is willing and able, it’s game on! The older we get the wearier we become of people; you see a rough looking bloke walking towards you and immediately you shift your handbag tighter under your arm and you increase your pace.
Kids love to share! It’s very rare that you will find a kid that doesn’t like to give of her sweets (but only to her best friend of cause!). The older we become, it becomes more difficult to give something away so easily.
Stopping at a robot, you’re so sceptical to give the beggar a measly R5 because you’re so scared that he might buy some cheap bottle of wine instead of a loaf of bread!
With that also comes the fact that kids will not say no when it comes to yummy treats (as much as we teach them to not take things from strangers, they always seem to manage to slip-up once in a while when the craving has spoken!). I think of that at my age; when being offered a drink in a club, I am always afraid about who’s buying it and who’s pouring it and my eyes are on my glass until the last sip!
So are we afraid of the wrong things? I don’t think so hey. Unfortunately the older we become the more we realise that we cannot live in our little happy bubble as the world is not that safe happy place it was when we were playing with our friends in the pre-school playground.
Watching my younger cousins I see how carefree and fearless they were when they were toddlers. They did things that we would not dare to do the older we became because we are too afraid!
They will play with any kid that comes their way – as long as the friend is willing and able, it’s game on! The older we get the wearier we become of people; you see a rough looking bloke walking towards you and immediately you shift your handbag tighter under your arm and you increase your pace.
Kids love to share! It’s very rare that you will find a kid that doesn’t like to give of her sweets (but only to her best friend of cause!). The older we become, it becomes more difficult to give something away so easily.
Stopping at a robot, you’re so sceptical to give the beggar a measly R5 because you’re so scared that he might buy some cheap bottle of wine instead of a loaf of bread!
With that also comes the fact that kids will not say no when it comes to yummy treats (as much as we teach them to not take things from strangers, they always seem to manage to slip-up once in a while when the craving has spoken!). I think of that at my age; when being offered a drink in a club, I am always afraid about who’s buying it and who’s pouring it and my eyes are on my glass until the last sip!
So are we afraid of the wrong things? I don’t think so hey. Unfortunately the older we become the more we realise that we cannot live in our little happy bubble as the world is not that safe happy place it was when we were playing with our friends in the pre-school playground.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
What is the Colour of the Wind?
I immediately think of songs like that Pocahontas song, “Colours of the Wind” or the old time Boys to Men classic “Colours of Love” – both the wind and love are things that cannot be seen, but felt.
Both wind and love can be seen more, depending on the intensity of it. By this I mean if it really windy, as in a South Easter galore happening, you are bound to see some poor lady hanging for her life on some lamp post in the heart of the CBD with all her belongings flying across the streets of Cape Town. When someone is in love or is being loved very deeply by someone else, it is something that immediately shows (I’m sure reading this last sentence is taking you back to those days where you had just met your first love and what an amazing feeling it was to be so in love without a care in the world and you absolutely loved it when someone said to you “I can see you’re in love!”).
It is so easy to put colours to certain “intangible” things. I asked around the office what they think certain colours mean and majority came up with the same answers:Red – danger/stopYellow – friendshipGreen – goPink – queer/happyGold – wealthYet when I asked about the colour of wind I got a bit of a blank stare with unsure responses like:“I think white…ja, not sure…” and then a look into the distance as if a colour was about to appear of the breeze coming in.“What is the colour of the wind? See-through of cause!” and then back to work, quite chuffed with the answer she had given me.
I guess all interpretations are dependent on how far you allow your imagination to run with you. For me the colour of the wind differs according to how it feels, if it’s an icy cold wind then I think of and icy blue colour, if it’s a hot summer’s breeze, I see light shades of yellow, orange and red. The South Easter however is like a whole mixture of mismatched colours!
Both wind and love can be seen more, depending on the intensity of it. By this I mean if it really windy, as in a South Easter galore happening, you are bound to see some poor lady hanging for her life on some lamp post in the heart of the CBD with all her belongings flying across the streets of Cape Town. When someone is in love or is being loved very deeply by someone else, it is something that immediately shows (I’m sure reading this last sentence is taking you back to those days where you had just met your first love and what an amazing feeling it was to be so in love without a care in the world and you absolutely loved it when someone said to you “I can see you’re in love!”).
It is so easy to put colours to certain “intangible” things. I asked around the office what they think certain colours mean and majority came up with the same answers:Red – danger/stopYellow – friendshipGreen – goPink – queer/happyGold – wealthYet when I asked about the colour of wind I got a bit of a blank stare with unsure responses like:“I think white…ja, not sure…” and then a look into the distance as if a colour was about to appear of the breeze coming in.“What is the colour of the wind? See-through of cause!” and then back to work, quite chuffed with the answer she had given me.
I guess all interpretations are dependent on how far you allow your imagination to run with you. For me the colour of the wind differs according to how it feels, if it’s an icy cold wind then I think of and icy blue colour, if it’s a hot summer’s breeze, I see light shades of yellow, orange and red. The South Easter however is like a whole mixture of mismatched colours!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
If i were the boss...
The thought of being the boss gives me the most amazing feeling of freedom, like Nelson Mandela felt when he was released from Robben Island (yes, I meant to compare my place of work to Robben Island!). However that thought only lasts for a few seconds before the reality of that wish actually sets in and I realised the amount of work that comes along with being the queen bee amongst the lot!
If however the day came that I would be sitting in the top chair, there are a few things I would like to implement, namely weekends being three days long, team building activities occurring once a week, free meals three times a day and of course all-expenses paid end of year trip each year for all staff – and there my bubble pops! Ok, maybe it is a bit over the top, but we all have to have dreams right?
If, realistically, I was the boss I would want to be fair and ethical in all my practices. I would want there to be an open-door policy amongst all staff and have sufficient resources available to enable them to do their job efficiently and effectively.
Training will be a key focus within the business as it is important to keep your staff up to date with new technology and methods available to make your business more effective. Our working environment should be a place where there is mutual respect for one another.
Weekly meetings with all department heads should occur to ensure that everyone is constantly kept updated with the ongoings of the business.
Well with that being said, it still seems like a dream because these days finding one company that has all these attributes is like looking for a needle in a haystack! So best I stick to my original dream because both have the same amount of ammunition to become a reality!
If however the day came that I would be sitting in the top chair, there are a few things I would like to implement, namely weekends being three days long, team building activities occurring once a week, free meals three times a day and of course all-expenses paid end of year trip each year for all staff – and there my bubble pops! Ok, maybe it is a bit over the top, but we all have to have dreams right?
If, realistically, I was the boss I would want to be fair and ethical in all my practices. I would want there to be an open-door policy amongst all staff and have sufficient resources available to enable them to do their job efficiently and effectively.
Training will be a key focus within the business as it is important to keep your staff up to date with new technology and methods available to make your business more effective. Our working environment should be a place where there is mutual respect for one another.
Weekly meetings with all department heads should occur to ensure that everyone is constantly kept updated with the ongoings of the business.
Well with that being said, it still seems like a dream because these days finding one company that has all these attributes is like looking for a needle in a haystack! So best I stick to my original dream because both have the same amount of ammunition to become a reality!
SA Bands suck?
Why is it that we are so surprised when we hear a good song on the radio and someone says "You know that is a South African artist singing?”
It seems we live in a society where being Proudly South African is only acceptable in certain aspects or it is just a myth to some. When I was younger, the only South African music I knew about, or was exposed to through the media, were Afrikaans "sokkie", traditional African music and Kwaito. R&B, Hip Hop, Jazz and Rock were not well-known genres of South African music back then. Yet, it is amazing to see how the South African music industry has evolved over the past two decades. The talent in South Africa has begun to shine more and more every single year. The sad thing though is that the industry is not receiving the recognition they deserve.
SA bands and individual artists of all genres are gracing the world’s most renowned stages with their amazing talent. They are respected and admired the world over – My thoughts immediately go to Ladysmith Black Mambazo who continuously do our nation pride each year at the Grammy Awards ceremony. Loyiso and Danny K have showcased their talent at many prestigious events world wide and let’s not forget the amazing talent within our Rock genres namely Seether and The Parlotones. But the talent has not only emerged now, it’s been around for decades and respected by the world – Miriam Makeba, Brenda Fassie, The Rockets and the Soweto String Quartet – these are the people who layed the stepping stones for all SA’s future artists.
South Africa has definitely got talent right?
With all that being said, how is it possible to even utter the words “SA bands suck!” or hear a good tune on the radio and be shocked to know that it was a South African performing that song?
We need to start giving our artists the respect and appreciation they deserve, wouldn’t you agree? Come one come all music lovers and let’s put on our dancing shoes to some SA beats!
It seems we live in a society where being Proudly South African is only acceptable in certain aspects or it is just a myth to some. When I was younger, the only South African music I knew about, or was exposed to through the media, were Afrikaans "sokkie", traditional African music and Kwaito. R&B, Hip Hop, Jazz and Rock were not well-known genres of South African music back then. Yet, it is amazing to see how the South African music industry has evolved over the past two decades. The talent in South Africa has begun to shine more and more every single year. The sad thing though is that the industry is not receiving the recognition they deserve.
SA bands and individual artists of all genres are gracing the world’s most renowned stages with their amazing talent. They are respected and admired the world over – My thoughts immediately go to Ladysmith Black Mambazo who continuously do our nation pride each year at the Grammy Awards ceremony. Loyiso and Danny K have showcased their talent at many prestigious events world wide and let’s not forget the amazing talent within our Rock genres namely Seether and The Parlotones. But the talent has not only emerged now, it’s been around for decades and respected by the world – Miriam Makeba, Brenda Fassie, The Rockets and the Soweto String Quartet – these are the people who layed the stepping stones for all SA’s future artists.
South Africa has definitely got talent right?
With all that being said, how is it possible to even utter the words “SA bands suck!” or hear a good tune on the radio and be shocked to know that it was a South African performing that song?
We need to start giving our artists the respect and appreciation they deserve, wouldn’t you agree? Come one come all music lovers and let’s put on our dancing shoes to some SA beats!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
"Designer PR"
Sitting in a PR Btech lecture last year, we received the “breaking” news that the Public Relations Faculty of the CPUT was moving from the Business Faculty to the Informatics and Design Faculty. As expected, this shocked many as for all the years of studying PR, we learnt about the strategic aspect PR brings into businesses and how essential it is for us to be a part of top management (I hear my Communication Science lecturer’s voice drilling that into our heads every lecture).
Suddenly the tables turn and we are thought to fit best into Informatics and Design Facutly – quite contradictory don’t you think?
I am all for moving into the next generation of communication, incorporating web 2.0, web 3.0, mobile and all the other fancy things that are being established as “normal” business tools these days, however, shouldn’t the entire Business Faculty be moving this way too and not just the PR department?
The PR industry have worked many years to not be associated with the connotation “PR Poppie” and “Events planner”, yet moving to the Faculty of Informatics and Design can be the start of history repeating itself again.
Yes, we know we are ahead of times by being involved with technology to the level that we are, however, do big corporate companies know this? How are we going to establish ourselves as “top management material” if we are not seen as “fit” for the Business Faculty?
Suddenly the tables turn and we are thought to fit best into Informatics and Design Facutly – quite contradictory don’t you think?
I am all for moving into the next generation of communication, incorporating web 2.0, web 3.0, mobile and all the other fancy things that are being established as “normal” business tools these days, however, shouldn’t the entire Business Faculty be moving this way too and not just the PR department?
The PR industry have worked many years to not be associated with the connotation “PR Poppie” and “Events planner”, yet moving to the Faculty of Informatics and Design can be the start of history repeating itself again.
Yes, we know we are ahead of times by being involved with technology to the level that we are, however, do big corporate companies know this? How are we going to establish ourselves as “top management material” if we are not seen as “fit” for the Business Faculty?
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