Sometimes, there are curve balls, lemons, stones and all their relatives – thrown at you. That was 2025 for me. Let’s continue with my jewels.. by the way, I hope parts 1 and 2 were worth your time?

7. Your Personal Board of Directors

I am a firm believer that you need a personal Board of Directors. Especially if, like me, you have entertained the Negative Committee in your head space for very long and after a lot of hard work, you have finally fired the whole lot. And for the record, please know, some members are very stubborn and will keep looking for space at that same table again and again! Just remind them to keep walking – they are not welcome. My dear, I have worked too hard to reinvent that table to let anything take me back to the trenches. So, when I decided to get rid of the Nay-sayer, the Nasty DJ Wahala (who plays your failures in a loop) and Fear from my head, I set out to replace them with the following permanent members:

a. The Challenger – this one asks those questions that sometimes make you want to scream and stomp! Arrggghhh – you know the “Wh-” questions? Of What, Why, Which etc? Yes! By the way their assignment is simple – to question my assumptions, call out my blind spots, tell me the hard truths and push my boundaries. I have a few people who play this role depending on the context. And I love them for it!

b. The Encourager – Ahh – God knows there were days I crawled, days I walked with tears in my eyes, days I sighed so deeply my soul cringed, days I wanted to disappear to a remote island and not return. But for every one of those days, there was someone who had a word of encouragement that uplifted my spirit, or a with a prayer or a verse to reassure me of God’s faithfulness. And then God also showed out – through the silent nods, the online responses during our broadcasts and smiles of acknowledgement that reminded me that the efforts were not only seen, but also heard. There were also the soft nudges that kept me walking – one step at a time. God sent me something every single day, without fail. Look around you and ignore the nay sayers- just behind them is someone with a huge thumbs up in your direction. Get you some encouragers! You need them!

c. The Dream Holder – Eisssshhh – this one must replace several people at that table. Let me tell you something, eh? You need someone to remind you what you dreamt, envisioned and are chasing. This one keeps you fixed on the vision and reminds you to keep it alive. I keep saying the Bible is the original vision board – lakini you don’t believe me. Nothing and i mean nothing, beats the resoluteness with which your Dream Holder will brings to the table. And just to be clear, you need this one on both good and bad days. Because success can also kill a dream – especially when you are living the “high” of achievement. Stay grounded, stay focused – that fellow at the end of the table will occasionally bring out your dream book – and keep you on track.

So, can you sit in your corner and list who you must on board immediately? Please and thank you.

8. Launch Ahead – Always Ahead

Last year, I mean 2024 – we had a Shusha Nyavu wave. You remember? Ok. Shusha Nyavu is Kiswahili for “Cast your nets” and it is a popular song based on this story – ahem, please read the whole passage?

After toiling at something for a very long time and failing royally at it, we will battle many emotions, the least of which is the desire to try again. Infact, I dare say that I can relate with Simon Peter’s response here – “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing…”- wait! Before you quote the next part.

Have you watched a toddler try to “make” a toy do what s/he wants? Mann the tantrum that follows? Yes! That is exactly how Simon Peter was stomping internally at this point. “Please Sir! We have not slept! We have done all we know how to, plus, we are the experts, and you are not! So, excuse us please! We have toiled and caught nothing! We really want to go home to a hot meal and a warm bed and then maybe, just maybe, we can try again tomorrow”. Sound familiar? But Peter must have seen something that made him finish off his tantrum with a declaration of obedience – “…at your word…” we shall try again.

2025 – I learnt to appreciate the taste of that frustration – but still – launch out again, and again, and again! It failed – we tried again! The nets broke – but we repaired and launched out again! We were misunderstood – but we keep throwing those nets back into the water. And with time, a few things happened – our inner muscles toughened, resilience and resolve streaked our brows, we cracked a nail or two in the process, but finally – the fish obeyed! Our nets were bursting. So – errrm – keep launching ahead – always ahead. And refuse to ground your vessel because of a failed night!

9. The Seen – Moved by the Unseen

Have you ever wondered what’s behind the veil? Not the one for a bride please. No. The one that separates the seen from the unseen? I have!

A while back I happened upon a certain ventriloquist with some mad skills. How this man does it is something else. One day as I was cracking my ribs at his jokes, I actually had an aha moment. Do you know that we are all just tools in the hands of God? Imagine the big difference between you and that handheld puppet is that you have the choice to walk away from the puppet master and put up your own act – but in the process, you will miss out on the punch lines the puppet master would have delivered had you allowed him to run the show! Now, surely, which option is better!??

I understand now what it means here that the peace of God will guard your heart and mind, and here – that all things work together for my good. So if I have One who’s promise is to keep me in perfect peace, and to turn all things and cause them to work for my good – isn’t it a no brainer to remain in His hands to so that His Unseen Hand can move the Seen?? Makes sense yes?

So just tell me – why are you running and fighting to prove that point, and steer your life, or even make sense of it. Leave it to God – He has the punchline, He will land it!

Let me look for some coffee I come for the last instalment.

Please leave a comment? I will smile – I promise.