Blogging and Writing 101 Part 2: 14 Things You Can Do to Help You Write Better

Quote: Writing is the pen serenading paper, telling it endless stories of how they'll always be together; of how they were meant for each other and how they are going to shape the hearts and minds of men – Bonface Morris.

Blogging and Writing 101

Read the first part of this series of blogs on blogging and writing here.

Also, if you've been having a problem with consistency in writing and you’ve been getting stuck, read this article I wrote sometime back on writer's block.

In summary, this blog is about bettering your writing process and how to maintain your writing mojo.

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I wouldn't call 50% of today's cropping bloggers writers. I don’t think I am overstretching the truth by saying so because the reason people blog today is quite different from the intended purposes of writing. What most of us bloggers are doing today is actually doing writing a lot of disservice. A writer should see the world as a culmination of words put together to define and give meaning to life and not just a thing to use to pass time and gain fame. Everything in the world of a writer matters. It matters because it can be refined, defined and redefined by use of words. Everything can be compressed down into words, and those words should have both relevance and meaning to the reader. If anyone is not seeing writing in this way, and they are using it for other purposes other than what it is intended for, it deteriorates its meaning and purpose in society.

Having said that, I think the very first question every writer should ask themselves is not "How do I write?" or "What do I write about?" but "WHY am I writing?" It is this question that later defines the relevance of whatever anyone is writing and it also determines the zeal and approach one has towards writing. I may not be a great writer, but I honor this art well enough to know it matters in any given society.

Here are a few things to do to shape your writing (I’m still working on mine);

1.    Own a pen and a notebook or a good note-taking app on your phone.

This is writing, and you’ll either need a pen and a notebook or a phone/tablet with a good keyboard app (I use TouchPal keyboard – it has never let me down) or a laptop/desktop with a working keyboard. You need them everywhere you are.

I use GNotes app on Android (it autosyncs at www.gnotes.me on my PC once connected to the internet). GNotes is small, perfect, and it's free (unlike Evernote which has its own couple of clogs and limitations). It also has the ability to create folders, attach files into notes, search for words and phrases within the app, backup notes on SD card, create widgets, have a 'notes' shortcut on your status bar... Yes, GNotes is perfect. It ensures that I have all my notes and writings everywhere - whether I have my phone or not – so that I can always continue from where I left wherever I am. Please get it.

After owning a good place to begin your writing, start putting down ideas, quotes and words as they come. Write down titles to imaginary posts. Anything your mind thinks, your ears hear, your nose smells, your body feels and your eyes see is valuable material for something to write about. Put down random notes. Remember to save as you proceed. Don’t hesitate to wake up at night and write down stuff when it hits you in the middle of the night (yees, all writers are very crazy people when it comes to moments when inspiration floods in).

2.    Accumulate stories in your head and your heart - ones which you tell only to yourself and smile about.

As your writing begins to grow, you’ll realize that you can hold on to an idea and run around with it for days as “it accumulates flesh”. This keeps your writing momentum on a certain subject refreshed so that you can put across multiple views on an issue by seeing it from different angles. It helps kill writer’s block.

3.    Read. a. lot. Read and research on a whole lot of things.

Read everywhere. All the time. Everything meaningful. Read, then have fun playing with words and phrases. This helps you get conversant will the flow of a story. You also learn from others on how to pick up a story and build on it until you reach a good conclusion.

It will cause you to have a passion for words. It will help you know how to twist them, imbibe them, kill them, resurrect some and even become – so to say -  a god of words. The more you read and research and become informed, the more authoritative you become in your area of interest.

Writers who don’t read have a very limited perspective on issues in whatever culture they live in. I have also realized that watching movies assists in understanding how to create a compulsive plot and tell a good story. So, yes, watch TV shows and compelling movies: watch them with subtitles if possible.

4.    Put emotion to it. Become vulnerable.

Write something you can read. Write something you can still smile about in 10 years from now. Now you are moving... Write something that'll make you stand up and yell while slightly hitting yourself (just for fun). Write something epic. Write something that will cause you – yees, you as the writer – to cry, or to take a deep breath. Write something that will cause you to jump or walk around because it is soooo deep and profound. There is nothing greater than passion and emotion when it comes to using words to capture someone’s attention.

Also, remember that there can never be impeccable writing minus vulnerability. You need to be normal, not perfect. Personal stories and experiences make readers realize that you are a normal person with kawaida challenges but with a different approach to life.

5.    Consistency is key.

Like with every other art, writing requires discipline and consistency. You cannot survive as a writer or blogger writer by writing once a week or “once in a while”. You can’t. You may need to learn to force words out of you even when they do not want to come out. It is a sacrifice; it is some sort of war. It is a war that you need to be determined to win before it surfaces. A mature and unique writing style is a product of consistency.

6.    Come out wanting to have your own voice, not to copy others.

Don't come into blogging and writing while wanting to copy Bikozulu or C. S. Lewis or me (hehe). You'll flop badly. Everyone has their unique voice, identify and grow yours.

7.    Write for yourself, but also, write for your readers.

In order to escape the quest for vain glory, write mainly to excite yourself but with the intention to reach a specific audience. If your writing doesn't excite you, it won't excite anybody else. I always approach blogging this way: I'm writing for fun, yes, but if touches and changes a life, glory to God.

8.    Have a niche, an area you specialize in, and become an authority in that area.

People will read more whenever you write posts in that area. But also, in order to have more readers from other fields and to grow your readership and audience, develop interest in other areas and write about them too. You may have your specialty, but never limit yourself to it.

9.    Be your number one fan.

Write stuff that will thrill you; something you'll read over and over and over again. Write something you would love to read. But be careful not to make everything you’re writing all the time to be all about you. Write less about yourself and more about issues that affect all kinds of people. Also, do not get stuck in yesterday’s glory. Whatever you wrote yesterday that kept people hooked should encourage you - or mostly, even terrify you - into writing something better and more intriguing tomorrow.

10.  Blogging and writing are for the opinionated.

If you fear talking about, giving your views and sharing your opinion on issues and many other arising matters; if you are not excited at all when you share these views, then writing and blogging are not your thing. It is in the nature of a blogger/writer to have an opinion on almost everything. If you don't have an opinion on anything, stop writing and stop blogging altogether. Also, if you expect everyone to agree with you on any given matter, you are in the wrong place. Writing seeks to pull people into our world views but it iis not guaranteed that they will all agree with what we are saying. No. Whatever we say will remain around for long periods of time to shape so many thoughts, desires and lives; therefore, if our opinions are God-shaped, nothing will limit us from helping change the world! And, anyway, everyone doesn’t agree with God on many issues so they shouldn’t agree with you either.

11. Don't plagiariz.

Don't copy-paste someone's written work and fail to credit it to them. Don't be a fake who survives on other people's work. The internet, to most of us, is such a small place. We'll always know copied stuff.

12. Develop these good writing habits;

a)    Paragraphs are important. Learn to hit ENTER every so often.

b)    Give main points in bold. It makes reading easier.

c)    Check for spelling and grammar mistakes before posting. Use an app/extension like Grammarly in Google Chrome or in Office Word to help you correct spelling and grammar mistakes. It is very efficient in checking all kinds of writing errors.

d)    Think and read through your writing over and over again before posting it. Remember that there is always stuff that you may never post although it is really good for reading or learning.
e)   Always (or when time, convenience and ability allows) have someone read through your posts to correct simple grammar and spelling mistakes. It may not end up perfect, but at least it won't be shoddy. I use my girlfriend for this (yes, she's my number one underground fan). Like she once read through and told me that she never understood what this post "Concoctions" was all about. My bad. Pride made me leave it as it was (yes, every writer has such pride.). All in all, she has really been helpful in my writing as an editor and a "proofreader". 

13. Always have a good dictionary with you.

The most basic dictionary that is free for both Windows PC and Android is WordWeb Dictionary. Very basic, but quite useful. I have recently realized that Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary for both Android and PC is way up there in its game too. Having a dictionary will ensure that you don’t keep repeating the same words and phrases over and over again. Monotony kills interest. (And if you write directly from MS Office Word, right clicking on a word will always give you quite a score of synonyms.)

14. Be attentive to grasp stories from various sources.

Sometimes people will suggest (directly or indirectly) what they need you to write about. Make it a priority to write about such things/topics. It will act as a source of devoted readers. Sometimes an issue in your society may arise that captures your attention. Note down things about it and build on it with time (you can actually work on one post for a whole year, if you choose to.) Just be keen enough to know that anything can inspire you into writing. Anything.

Remember: Anyone who has been great either wrote something worth reading or did things worth writing about.

Further reading notes:

1. 7 Reasons to Keep a Journal

2. 40 Timeless Quotes About Writing

3. Seth Godin's Simple Questions for Writers

Bonface Morris.

Blogging and Writing 101 Part 1: 15 Things That Will Help You Blog Better

Blogging better

Quote: A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest. - C. S. Lewis 

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"When last did you write anything?" asked the elderly man to the millennial whose eyes were fixed on the screen of his phone. 

"Just a few seconds ago."

"What did you write?" 

"I complained about the heat and posted a photo of me in this vest."

"Do you intend that to help anyone?"

"Not really. It's what we do all the time. Does it have to help someone for it to make sense?" 

"I wasn't saying that. When was the last time you wrote something that helped anyone?" the old man asked again. 

"Mmmmhhh, I can't remember", the lad replied. 

The old man sulked. 

"That's how a generation dies: when either everyone is saying everything that is wrong or when nobody is saying anything that is right."

The lad ignored him. 

*******

I agree with the old man and I bet you me that this generation has innumerable people who talk about everything, but very few who talk about what is meaningful. 

This is the 21st Century, and writing has become bleaker. 

This generation has quite a number of people like me. Bloggers. Writers. Attention freaks. Naysayers. Ranters. Braggarts. Naggers. Stereotypes. We have quite a number of us cajoling this unique art. And mostly, we crop up thanks to a crooked motivation and a learned mind; then we keep writing the wrong stuff. That's why finding someone to mentor you in writing is tough game. (But, again, never ask someone to be your mentor. Don't. It complicates everything. It used to work sometime back, but not anymore. I'd rather you follow them silently while asking questions and direction along the way. Get a mentor and intentionaly be taught by them. Just refuse to let them know it.)

As an ardent lover of the pen, and because you are different and you don't take this for granted, you understand that there is this thing about writing that makes it more than just a unique art: the embroidering of words, of emotions, of feelings, of paths and the intertwining of the mind, the eye, the ear, the heart and the soul; just within its realm, there can only be found one other art - music. Writing is unique. And this is what excites most writers. We love it when words seem to just fall into each other, when they seem to embrace the mind, when they seem to give birth...  

No, I'm not an expert on this topic. But I think I can offer my views on the same. I am sure it will help a few. 

In this first post on blogging and writing, and in celebrating what it has become to the millennial, I will share with you what nobody ever told me before I started blogging, and what I've come to understand along the way. I'll address the blog and blogging itself, then I'll talk about mastering the process of writing in part two. 

Note: I agree with Pastor John Piper that as we continue to write, revelation keeps pouring in and it forces us to think beyond where we begun. I begun by wanting to share this in one post but the information I have is far much more than one post can accommodate. So I'll have to do another blog to finish it off. 

Here goes...

If you are thinking of owning a blog (free blogs can be gotten from Tumblr, Google/Blogger or WordPress) or you already have one, 

1. Start by changing your blog domain to something everyone won't have to think a lot about before getting there. 

Don't call your blog stupid High School names (unless you're in High School and you intend to remain there forever.) Don't call it something flaky. Don't make people Google seven times before they get to your blog. (By the third time, they'd have given up.) If you want us to take you seriously by what you're writing, let's see it in what you call your blog. Make it simple. Use your name/s. Think long term. Use your area of specialty. If you want to be writing via the same platform years from now, think about a blog name that you would still be proud of years from now. Writing, in itself, is graduation from the mediocre, so don't do it a disservice. 

2. Write, post and share often. 
Post to all your social media feeds. Feed people with the reality that you now own a blog and that you post often. Consistency in writing and posting implies that you take blogging seriously and that you are passionate about what you are doing.

3. Interact with readers whenever they comment on your posts on social media. 
It makes them know you care that they read and that you are a real person. And that you are not a robot. And that it's you (the person they know) who writes and posts those blogs; that they are not scheduled and computer-moderated posts. Actually, writing and blogging is more about your readers than it is about you. 

4. Make the blogs sharable. 

Get a blog template (the appearance and look of your blog) that will make it possible to share your blogs to different platforms (social media, email e.t.c.). There are a couple of free site-sharing extensions for both Google Chrome and Firefox if your blog template doesn't have a sharing widget. AddThis is one of them. Also, leave room for comments.

5. Register your blog to a permanent website domain because that's the only way Google and ad sellers can get you cash. 

Yes, most of us join the blogging community in order to earn cash. That's a good thought, but it works best for registered domains/websites and only when your blog traffic is noticeably good. You cannot make blogging profitable overnight. This is not gambling. If you need quick money you haven't worked for, tafuta watu wa SportPesa na Lotto. 

6. If you already have a blog, know quite well that there won't be comments on your blog for a while. Maybe for months. Even years. It's normal even when statistics and blog traffic tell you that we're visiting and that we are reading.

This is a litmus test for you, because if the reason for your blogging is something less than your love for writing, you may quit rather fast. So now, closely look at your blog traffic (this is mostly "the dashboard") and allow it to be some sort of encouragement and motivator.

7. While looking at your blog's traffic, recognize the best times to post and share your blogs to your social media feeds and/or emails. 

Don't just post. Post with the intention of reaching a specific cluster of people at that time. Then get used to resharing your posts. They are YOUR posts, man. You can do with them whatever you want. 

8. Within your blog, once in a while, offer free stuff that you know 80% of your target audience is interested in. 

People will always come back to a site that offers free stuff with no strings attached. Free stuff is such a motivator for most internet visitors towards them coming back again. 

Also, have a widget that offers a free email subscription, and probably one that offers translation to other languages. This will expand your audience a great deal. 

9. Post links to your previous posts within your new blogs. 

This means two things for/to your readers: (a) that you track your posts and know what you're posting about and (b) that you understand the rule of interconnecting concepts and idea-continuity in writing. It also ensures that people stick around for long and read more.  

10. Do what I am doing with this post. (Hehe) 

Here is what I am doing: I am dividing one long blog post into two parts, then I'll connect them in the long run. Why? Because 90% of my audience are young people who love TV Shows/series. This audience has a short attention span. (It's a culture thing, by the way.) Breaking posts into parts ensures two things: (a) that I don't overshare in one post and risk people not reading the entire post and (b) that I get everyone who benefitted from the first part of the post to come back a second time (and probably a third time because they'll then find that I've already written more.) 

11. If you want fame in six months, quit blogging. Or become controversial.
Controversy, like we witness on many secular blogs and websites, breeds contempt. And contempt is good for them because it results into increased site traffic.

But like everything else that is positive and that lasts in its good impact, blogging requires patience. I am Christian blogger. Controversy is the last thing on my mind, especially if I intend to use it for fame. Fame is cheap. My eternal being is not worth such a lame step.

12. The more you post, the more likely your SEO (search engine optimization) will go up, and your audience will expand.

We don't get more visitors by posting "once in a while". To get people's attention and redirect them to your blog, you need to keep blogging and posting very very very often. Also, we do so by giving our blogs appropriate and straight forward titles. But don't risk overposting or giving your posts inappropriate or misleading headings. This will definitely pull down your writing game and you'll lose readers due to being a fake.

13. It takes both time and dedication to maintain a blog and keep it active. 

If you are not ready to sacrifice a few pleasures in order to keep your blog running, you may need to quit before you're overwhelmed. Also, remember that there is no "appropriate" time for you to start blogging. Just start it now. 

14. Put some images in your blogs. Embed audio or videos if possible. 

They help with the reading. They help calm the mind. They help in breaking prose. Images, audio or videos sometimes have a greater and more compelling power on the mind than words. They happen to help the message stick longer. 

15. Not once should your blog or what you post or what guest writers post (by the way guest writers are good for your blog because they help in breaking monotony) compromise what you stand for. 

If you are a Christian, and saved for that matter, let it be seen in what you post. Don't waver between opinions. Your unwavering voice as a blogger really matters in bringing clarity and sense into this imbalanced world. 

That's all for now. 

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In part two, I'll show you how my writing process happens, what inspires me, how to maintain your writing mojo, how to work on multiple blog posts and why it is important not to rush posting stuff before you've made it"mature". Read Part Two here.



Bonface Morris.  

Is Singing A Lesser Gift?

If there is a question that comes with arguments and controversy in Christian circles - and especially among those concerned with singing and worship service in the church - it is this one.

It punches worship leaders in the face.

I have even heard that it punches some so heavily to the extent that they are convinced to altogether forsake singing in church in exchange for "the pursuit of a greater and more influential gift...;" because (seemingly) it has been "revealed" to them that music, as a service, is not worthy a crown of glory when we meet Christ on the last day.

What is it all about anyway? What is this pursuit for a greater gift all about?

A pastor teaching a worship team on the importance of the music ministry in the Church

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It may be true that we place less emphasis on the importance and difference of/between gifts and services in the church or that we choose to play middle ground when addressing this matter. The latter is due to avoiding strife on doctrinal matters and therefore covering up our fear with negligence and abandoning the course of teachings on such matters.

Somewhere, you may hear one or two (or several) pastors (music pastors or pastors in general) bellowing: "this or that gift is superior to this or that gift" and so forth and so on, while trying to convince their congregation about gifts and services. 

Elsewhere, another couple of men of God will be heard exalting the significance of the Holy Spirit in empowering Christians in service; and that any one with a gift or a service can be effectively used to bring glory to God in one or many other ways.

There is a third group though. This one denies that singing (or as we love calling it, worship) is not a gift and it therefore has no room among the "major gifts" in the Church. This, they support with a Scripture we all know quite well: Ephesians 4:11-12 (NKJV) "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ..."

Although it does not descriptively and categorically mention that these mentioned above (apostleship, prophesy, evangelism, pastoral work and teaching) are the so-called "five major gifts" in the Church, this group jumps up with this Scripture in defense of their aptness in such matters. It is therefore a dogma among its members that music (or any other gift or service whatsoever) holds no seat amongst the "big five gifts."

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In trying to defend the language with which Christ through His Spirit speaks in many places, and while in some other way attempting to solve this mix-up, I can give us one example which is very practical: in Acts Chapter 10, the apostle Peter is hungry one afternoon and is caught in a trance which leads to the following conversation between him and the Lord (Acts 10:13-15) "And a voice came to him, 'Rise, Peter; kill and eat.' But Peter said, 'Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.' And a voice spoke to him again the second time, 'What God has cleansed you must not call common...'"

Why am I bringing up this story? Consider this...

Christ and Peter could look at the same thing (food) and funny enough, both agree and disagree on what it stood for. According to Peter, the food that was being presented him was unclean. And he was right: God had initially proclaimed the food unclean (Leviticus 11); but now, in this very encounter, the Lord declares the food clean. Was God contradicting Himself? No, I don't think so. Why then was it both "clean" and "unclean" at the same time? It fights logic, right?

Okay, I think it was because the Lord wanted Peter to become flexible to His voice and understand deeply why at all the food could be both clean and unclean. That His voice mattered more than the food. That the issue of clean-ness  and unclean-ness was less important as compared to the ultimate goal that was being sought after. 

...His voice matters more than the food...

This sounds paradoxical yeah, but it is the truth.

When we keenly consider the above conversation, we can, to a considerable extent, draw a conclusion and say that they are both wrong and right all who say, "singing is a lesser gift" and that "singing is not a lesser gift..." Because just as food (in its being clean or unclean) does not really matter in Peter's case but the One who created and serves it to him that afternoon, so does the "less-ness" or "greatness" of music as a service or gift matter to the One who gives it to us for His own glory!

It doesn't matter whether the gifts/services being used in the Church are "major" or "minor"; what matters is whether they are being used effectively for the purpose for which they are/were intended. 

It doesn't matter how many talents the servant was given in Jesus' parable below. What matters is whether the talents were put to work or not!!

Matthew 25:14-15, 19-20, 22, 24-26: "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.

And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.

After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.'

He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.'

Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.

And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.'

But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed."

In another example, the apostle Paul notes the following to the Corinthian church to show them that every gift (whether important or less important) mattered in the house of God, and that the weaker/lesser gifts (as the Corinthian church was convinced to see them) were being used by God for a greater purpose and to fulfill the unity of the Church...:-

1 Corinthians 12:21-25: "The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I do not need you,' nor in turn can the head say to the foot, 'I do not need you.' On the contrary, those members that seem to be weaker are essential, and those members we consider less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our unpresentable members are clothed with dignity, but our presentable members do not need this. Instead, God has blended together the body, giving greater honor to the lesser member, so that there may be no division in the body, but the members may have mutual concern for one another."

...God has blended together the body, giving greater honor to the lesser member, so that there may be no division in the body, but the members may have mutual concern for one another...

Whether our enthusiasm in service through singing is in any case killed or promoted due to our doctrinal standings, it is all upto us. We may choose to mumble and fumble in indecision with which side to take, but it's all irrelevant to Christ. We may choose to take no stand at all - it really doesn't matter to Him. What matters is how well our ears are inclined to the voice of the Spirit of God as He attempts to align our tiny theological standings on the part music plays in the Church to His own, for the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is greater than men (1 Corinthians 1:25.)

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The other few things that are good to understand and put mind as we follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit concerning music in the church are the questions answered below:-

1. What is a gift (or a spiritual gift)?

A gift, in Christian service, refers to the ability given to a Christian by the Holy Spirit towards serving the body of Christ. Also, according to this post and this one I wrote earlier on on discovering your abilities, gifts and talents, talents can compliment or grow into gifts.

References: Romans 1:11,  Romans: 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 7:7, 1 Corinthians Chapter 12, 1 Corinthians Chapter14.

2. What are services?

A service is work done by a Christian (as one person or group) that benefits another person, group and/or God.

References: Romans 12:1, 2 Corinthians 9:12, Ephesians 6:7, Revelation2:9.

3. Who gives gifts and services?

Christ/God through the Holy Spirit.

Reference: Refer to the Scriptures above.

4. Why are gifts and services given to the Church?

(a) For edification (uplifting, encouragement and enlightenment) of the church (1 Corinthians 12:7)

(b) Declaration of both God's goodness and commands (1 Timothy 4:13)

(c) For the betterment of our relationship with God - Him talking and walking with us, and us doing the same (Romans12:1 and Hebrews 13:15-16.)

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As I finish off, here is what C S Lewis had to say one day:

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

So it is whenever God uses our gifts and services in His presence: it is all for His glory.

Note: Most Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

End note: If you have ever tried to think that singing/ministering in music is a lesser gift, try telling that to the 24 elders and angels in Heaven.

Bonface Morris.

Grow Your Niche: Discovering Your Abilities, Talents and Gifts Pt. 2

Continued from Part 1…

The last thing I addressed on talents and gifts last week was growth, and I insisted that we can never undermine the role growth plays on talent: “unless a talent is grown, it will soon fade away.”

Today, we continue with the third part of the four main points I was discussing which will help us grow our niche through identifying our abilities, talents and gifts;

3.     Our Passion

Quote: Passion is an aggressive approach towards talents/gifts.

I met a certain young person sometime back with an interest in building and creating mobile apps and a probable OS (yeah, that was his dream, and yes, it is right here in Kakamega – note: we’re awesome like that. Hah.) But the problem was that the boy is forever complaining about capital. Capital? Yes, capital. So I was like, “Capital my foot!!”

After hearing him rant about lack of capital, I decided to grill him. I asked him how many developers he knew that make apps that are similar to what he was going to make. Nada, he didn’t know any. Then I asked him what he wanted to call his app. No, he had no idea about that either. (Okay, he wanted to call it a name that was already existing but he knew nothing about it…) I asked him if he knew coding. No, he didn’t. Then I asked him a final grilly one: “So what do you want to make and how do you want to make it if you don’t even know it and you have no idea of your competitors?”

We reached a conclusion that he lacked passion. He lacked a deep interest in what he wanted or as aspiring to do.

We see it a lot: “I wanna be this, I wanna be that… I wanna build this, I wanna build that… bla bla bla, but these kids (anyway, even old people do this) don’t even know what they are saying.

You see, if you claim that your abilities and interest(s) are in science and that science is your stuff; or that music is your thing and you are a musician, you need to know that s*** really well. Yes, you need to know it like you always know you are hungry. Do you consult anyone – say, a doctor - to know you are hungry? No. Alright, do you consult your dad or mom to know that you need to visit the washrooms? No? Yeah, then you need to know what you are doing or what you are engaging in reaaaaaalllly well.

Let us be realistic. Without passion in your area of specialization, you are doing useless work and you are neither building your niche nor creating a brand, yet that is all this is about.

Passion is when YOU KNOW what you are doing (when you know your abilities, talents or gifts) and you are now developing them with enthusiasm (a.k.a. zeal) and enjoyment. It is when once woken up in the middle of the night and you are asked a question concerning your talent/gift, you’ll reply without hesitation or blinking, right in your sleep, and give a fascinating answer! Passion is when you stand out in the crowd because you know a little more than everyone else and your perfection in doing whatever you do is higher than everyone else. Passion resists the urge to only start a business when there is “enough” capital (like my friend above). It denies you the pleasure of being normal.

I will give you a few examples: a singer who can’t freestyle is yet to be passionate. (It’s like joining that Jaza Mistari show on @KTNKenya yet you don’t even know the lyrics of a single song… *sigh!*). A poet or a writer who needs hours in order to create a post is yet to develop passion in/for what they are doing. A dancer who needs to practice forever in order to give forth something of worth is still underdeveloped in their passion. It is passion that differentiates a good scientist/artist form a great scientist/artist. It is passion that makes your schoolmate get employed before you do, because they are awesome at what they do. Passion is a mark of awesomeness. Yeah, you need to get me really good: passion is a mark of awesomeness!!

a) Master your talent/gift

Quote: If you are able to master and enjoy every fine detail of whatever you do, then you can nurture it, grow it and create a brand out of it.

In an article Strive Masiyiwa wrote last week titled “Be Consummate About What You Do!”, there is one point he reiterates: to become consummate in area of specialization, you need to master and enjoy doing whatever you do. Here is the whole article;

“Last week, I attended an international conference, where I was a keynote speaker on the subject of Mobile Money Transfer services. The audience, wanted to know how our company had built one of the most successful services of its kind known as, Ecocash. One of the first things I did was to show them a slide, showing, 'key performance indicators', based on a comparison with similar services, in other parts of the world, such as Kenya's M-PESA (the best such service in the world). This is 'benchmarking': how you are doing against the best, in your game.

I told them, that we did not 'invent' Mobile Money Transfer service, but we studied carefully what others had done all over the world. Our teams, went on field visits, to countries, like Kenya, and the Philippines. Our people also did 'focus group' studies with customers, to try and evaluate their needs. Then we ran a pilot service, for many months, which we used to evaluate customer responses, and redesign the product.

When you are in a business, you must join associations, (both local and international), so that you can exchange ideas, with people from the same industry, including your competitors. This is how you 'benchmark'. Before you dash off to implement something, try and find out what others have done, or not done... This is really how you should be using tools like the Internet.

Do you want to raise chicken? That's good, but now go out, and become a member of that industry... go down deep. Yes, learn about the industry... make yourself, a 'chicken guru', eat, sleep and talk chicken! If someone asks you about chicken, talk about the Chinese and American industry, tell them who is the biggest player in Nigeria...what type of chicken are preferred in Brazil... It’s your game!

My game is telecoms: the other day someone asked me, over dinner about the history of 'prepaid service', I gave them a lecture, tracing its history, all the way to the first lab tests, in Israel! When I open a newspaper or a magazine, I flip through looking for articles, first on telecoms.

Anything related to communications... I just devour it! It’s my game! So you think, there is nothing about pigs, or rabbits? When you finish reading this, do a search on the internet about the global 'pig industry', or the 'rabbit industry'...

Even if you are working in an organization, as a professional, it is important to remain current, about the job you do, and also about the industry you are in. Be proud of what you do. There is no better way of doing this than subscribing for professional and industry publications. What you are reading locates, you... it’s your game! What are you reading?”

That's why the likes of Paul carried and read books wherever he went: for the sake of mastering what they did! I need not say more about this.

b) Persistently aspire to change your world  

Quote: passion is about creating opportunities for yourself and making others want to copy you.

If we have a strong urge and desire to positively change our world, we need to aspire to learn, on a daily basis, something new about our talents and how to use them to make things easier and better. We need to learn how to create opportunities for ourselves and to better other people’s lives.

Passion is not about rising to fame overnight. No. It is not about creating a name for ourselves out of our “awesomeness”. No. Passion is about building a system THAT WORKS. A system that has been proven to work. A system that changes how things work by simplifying them. Through growth and practice, passion proves that a certain method can be optimized until a formula, protocol or method is achieved. This is how mathematicians came to making and proving mathematical formulas. This is how researchers come up with new technologies. It is passion that concluded that the piano can only be played in a number of ways within a certain number and bracket of keys. All these inventors sought to change their worlds and they therefore passionately found a way to make things easier for whoever will live after them. They never stopped until results were achieved. (You’ll understand this better if you’ve read The Art of War by Giles Lionel Sunzi.)

They worked and used their abilities and talents with the future in mind. They did it progressively without being selfish about the outcome. They saw the end-product in the whole process rather than the means and the fame. They were resilient and focused.

That is what we need to do if we can ever change our present world though the use of our abilities, talents and gifts.

One example I use is that I always tell people that I may not be that into technology but I’ll always dream of a day when my dad can search for specific words in his paper Bible without using sophisticated means, without needing a gadget and without need for the internet. I dream of my grandmother being able to read without actually knowing how to read. (Yeah, stop and think about it. It may be crazy, but it is possible.) In my scientific world, I always think of a day when cancer can be simply cured through the introduction of tumor-killing artificial microbes which can actually eat away any type of tumor… I think of things unimaginable in my world, but I think about them anyway. Dreaming is great. Dreams are ideas in a sleep-stage and it never actually means that they won’t wake up - because they surely will! Dreams always wake up and become a reality when we work on them passionately…

4.     Our profession and career

There are those amongst us who are blessed in a way that their abilities, talents, gifts and passion marry their profession. A few of us have split these into two parts of our existence, while others don’t even know what they’re doing. Well, it may be okay, but let’s address a few things here…

I am always against the notion that being great at school translates to being great in life or being great at your career. Well, prove me wrong by taking statistics of people who made it in life only because they had a First Class Honors in university; prove it to me that a whole 100% of such people have made it in life. Yes, please do it. Getting a First Class Honors is good, but unless one has something to add onto it, it is futile and useless. And if it is the only thing that drives our lives, what becomes of us after school and we are not immediately employed? Huh?

Oh well…

Some people study something else and become something else in life. Others don’t even study at all, yet they end up employing all those creepy bookwarms… Hah… The endpoint should be, after school, are you able to enjoy what you are doing? Do you feel excited when at work doing what you do to earn whatever you earn? Is your profession giving you a stir of passion and satisfaction when you are at it? If not, think twice about it.

A good percentage of people who go for a second or third degree are those who are trying “to diversify” their career or profession. The interesting thing about hearing the word “diversity” when dealing with career is that I always translate it and make it synonymous with the word “randomness”. This means that it always rings in my ears that these people may not even be sure of what profession they are made for. To curb this (the lack of knowledge on what you are made for career-wise), I recommend one to genuinely answer the following questions:

• Do you enjoy it?
• Can you do it for the rest of your life?
• Do you feel excited to report to work (especially) on Monday morning?
• Do you work for the money or for the love of the work itself?
• Would you work under minimum supervision and achieve the same results as when you are working under supervision?
• Do you aspire to grow in your area of work?

If above 70% of your answers for the questions above were “no”, you are in the wrong place. You may need to make your decisions really fast and change what you are doing before it is too late.

When it comes to choosing career, some people may choose it with reference to their abilities, talents and gifts, while others may not. It really doesn’t matter so long as you can pass the above test (the questions I posed above) by scoring above 70%.

As I finish up, the few things you need to know about career and growing/building your niche are listed below;

a)    They say that any skill can be learned in 21 days flat. This is good news to anyone who desires to learn any new skill. Grasp the opportunity and learn it. Stop wishing you had known something you can learn in 3 weeks!!

b)    God does not bless lazy people. Only lazy people use those useless "confess and possess" quotes because they think God is a robber: robbing people's blessings to hand them over to them. Haven’t you ever read in Exodus 23:29 where He says, "I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate… little by little I will drive them out before you until you have increased and possess the land…”? Do you think God was talking to a lazy people? No? Okay, so work hard to get what is rightfully yours in Him!

c)     To some people, once school is over, their lives are done. But those guys who use at least 30% of their time in improving their social skills and talents have less hard time adapting to the new environment after school. Think about it. Apply it.

d)    Eventually, you’ll realize that a man's fulfillment is not in the accumulation of wealth, things or education but in servant-hood. It will do you more good to improve your social skills and talents than to know more mathematical formulas that are useless in real life. People will save you after failure, but that education you are seeking so brutally won’t give a damn when you are suffering out here. So care more about people, then go on and cram/learn your formulas. It is called balancing your life.

e)     If you sit down waiting for employment, it is likely that you're gonna wait forever, but if you keep yourself busy by utilizing your talents and abilities well, opportunities and favor can arise from any side and overtake you.

f)     In anything you do, seek to stand out and create a brand out of yourself.

g)    Believe in possibilities. Believe in God. Believe in the power of God to make you into anything great. Believe that you can become anything you put your eyes on. Then drive all you have towards achieving it. After all has been said and done, tell a testimony of how you became what you are through God’s faithfulness.

Till next time,

God bless.

Bonface Morris.