HOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL

What it takes to be successful

When at first you don’t succeed; it is not the end of the world, try again. It is always necessary to always look back and see where you went wrong. You won’t always get it right but it’s up to you, to keep on pushing until you get it right. Most young people do not get it right at first because they do not really understand what the environment needs, they fail to adapt. Therefore, know the type of person you are. Are you a fish? Are you a lion or maybe an Engle? All these animals are strong in their habitats. Knowing yourself is key to success. When you know yourself, you will avoid anything which might hurt or harm you, but if you do not know yourself, you will put yourself in a difficult situation.

Know yourself

Do a self-SWOT-analysis, which will help you get an in-depth analysis of yourself, you will know your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Once you know that, it will become pretty easy to know what you should do in order to achieve whatever you want to achieve in life and be successful.  All that follows will be just life because in life nothing comes easy, you need to work hard to get whatever you desire. When it rains you will get wet, but when it rains and you have an umbrella you won’t get wet. You need to plan and be ready for anything in life, you need to take control of your life and start doing what you have always dreamed of being. I once saw a status on Facebook which read, ‘I choose to hustle non-stop than to watch other people hustle in front of me. Hustling is never easy, but it's worth it at the end of the day. We all have our daily hustles and my hustle is to work hard until I reach a point where I no longer apply for a job but to be begged to work for a particular company. My long time hustle is to have my own company.’’ Plan and do what you have to do.

Open doors for yourself and try new things

If I was Bill Gates I wouldn’t knock at your house and give you a million dollar. Instead, I would wait for you to come knock on my door, then maybe I might give it to you. Get up, and do what’s best for your future. Let me take you back to January 2014, it was early in the year I went to a camp, were one motivational speaker spoke to us and he said, “I will give anyone of you this money, only if you show me you really want it. So who wants this money, he asked?” to my surprise, everyone in that conference room raised their hands, even myself included, I raised my hand shouting, “I want that money”. At the end of the day, no one got the money, not because we did not want the money but because we did not convince the motivational speaker that we wanted the money. He then gave a reason why he did not give anyone the money, “I would have given this money to anyone but no one stood up and came to take it, if you really wanted it, you would have run down to the stage and took it yourself, without me having to select.” So I say to you who is reading this; Ask yourself these questions: What are you doing which is different to the next person? Are you also raising your hand when others are raising theirs? The problem about the youth of today, we sit and wait for things to happen. We tend to go for the same thing, yet there are a lot of opportunities out there. Be different, we are all different and unique! Never give up, never blame someone, never think you can’t make it in life, and most importantly seek for help if you must. No one is perfect, no one will ever be perfect but we can always improve from good to best.

I was reading a book by DJ SBU, the name of the book was; LEADERSHIP 2020, I came across a sentence which read, ‘be committed to work’’ then I thought to myself when you committed to anything it will blossom! If you are committed to your girlfriend or boyfriend, he/she will also be committed to you.so whatever you do, stay committed to things that will make your dreams come true. And I also came across an interesting passage which read as followed, “Do everything you can on your own before asking anyone for help.” People love to help those who have helped themselves. If you want someone to invest in you then you must first invest in yourself.’’ Invest in knowing yourself and that can only be done by using SWOT-analysis.

‘I BELIEVE IN MYSELF SO BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AS WELL’ wake up and start chasing your dream.

Pray For Paris

"Why are South Africans so angry?"

Friday the 13th, a day which is associated with bad luck, at least 120 innocent people in Paris lost their lives, and 320 people were wounded. It is so sad and heartbreaking to experience such a mascara. Our prayers are with the families and friends who lost their loved ones. We wish those families who have lost their loved ones, and those who have been wounded, a speedy recovery, we say to them that we as Africans stand united with them as they mourn the lives of their loved ones.

In Africa, hundreds of people are being killed every day. But no one is saying #PrayForAfrica, yet the western countries are saying #PrayForParis. The media is showing everything about what has happened In Paris on Friday the 13th, yet there are also people who are being killed in Africa every day- why don’t they show that. There is no support which is showed by western countries to help African countries, even when they do help African countries, it is not the same as they would when helping one another. Therefore, South African people are very angry by the gesture which the western countries are showing towards African countries.

A plea to the western countries: Let us not forget that Africans are still marked with deep scars of apartheid. They have been slaves for a long time, oppressed by the western countries. So whenever the western decides to help build a nation, do not be selective to whom matters the most, but try and help everyone equally. We all want peace, we are all humans, and we are all the same. #AllLivesMatter.

A message to all Africans who are supporting Paris.

I want to thank you, they will call you names and say you are a Negro if you black and if you are white they will say you are a racist for supporting Paris. But I say to you, you are truly an African, you have a heart full of love. Let us not stop supporting those who need our help, let us be a better nation and stand as one in giving our prayers to Paris. Let us not forget our brothers and sisters in Africa who are killed, raped and kidnapped by The Islamic State of Iraq

South Africa is for everyone who lives in it.

Let’s us bury the past, let us forgive and move forward! For the past holds no promise for the future. We need to stop going back and digging useless information. Instead, let us learn and equip ourselves with the necessary knowledge to help build our nation to be a better place for all. I believe if we start holding hands, we will definitely go far. Let us honour our heroes, the late Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko, and others who fought and died so that South Africa can be free from the oppressors. These people had a dream and all they wanted was for all people in Africa and across the world to love one another and have peace.

So I challenge all Africans to tweet; using the #ThingsToBeLeftIn2015

WHAT IS PERSONAL BRANDING

“Personal branding is the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands”

What is a branding?

Every time I saw a rabbit and nude beautiful women, the only thing which would come to mind was Playboy. Without even have to read the magazine article, I associated a rabbit or nude beautiful women with Playboy- that is branding.

A brand can be anything (symbol, name, design, reputation, emotion, sound and tone) which separates one thing from another. In the case of Playboy, the nude women and rabbit became part of the brand. The nude beautiful women separated its brand from other magazines. Personal branding has become one of the important factors on a personal level. One needs to be branded in order to adapt and survive.

Benefits of Personal Branding

·         You will be able to open professional opportunities.

·         You will get a good job (a job you dream to have).

·         You will meet amazing people.

·         You will get the respect you deserve never mind your background.

·         You will be associated with the best names.

·         You will be a mentor, people will look up to you.

What are you being associated with? Google will make you famous

Nowadays, we find a lot of the youth abusing social media, posting naked pictures. Select the pictures you want to upload, select the status or tweets you want to send on your social media platforms. Most people do not get hired not because they are not fit for the Job, but because of the things they associate their names with. If you are a student, make it a point your name is associated with students, not just students but good students. Type in your name on google and see which photos of yourself pop up! Are they good? Are they bad? You will decide.Personal branding is a formula which helps one to have a direction in life. 

We are unique and special in our own different ways. You are special, you can be anything you want to be. That is one of the most interesting parts in life; it all depends on yourself, how you want to brand yourself. It all start with the mind, change your mindset and be the best you can be. Once you change your mindset and have a positive attitude towards life it all starts to work in your favour for the best.

We all know by now, that if you want to achieve in life (get that degree) you need to dig the right places. But to dig the right places you need to be informed and have the knowledge needed. Social media has played a big role in our lives. It has changed the traditional ways of doing things. While growing up in the townships of Soweto I had to wait for the 7:30 pm news, not knowing I was preparing myself for the real world. Gone are those days when I waited. Gone are those days you will say I can’t find a Job. “YOU CANT FIND A JOB BECAUSE YOU LOOKING IN THE WRONG PLACES” you cannot dig for Gold in The UK, but you can dig for Gold in JOHANNESBURG. Bosses, C.E.O and Mangers are on twitter, LinkedIn etc. they are an email away, all you need to do is change your mindset and start building a name for yourself. Things won’t come to you, but you need to wake up and smell the coffee. Just like I did, “I waited for the 7:30 pm news every day” just to be informed.

Social Media is not the only way to brand yourself

It all start with respecting your parents, yourself and everyone else around you. When you start to have respect for everyone, you start to build relationships with the people that matter. You will learn how to treat people, you will learn how to communicate with people. Most importantly you will able to dress up appropriately. Imagine you are called up for an interview and you never knew how to dress appropriately. Do you think you will get the Job? Do you think people will take you seriously? Think again, life is too short to be ignorant. YouTube has everything if you want to learn something then visit YouTube and learn it.

Wake up, Personal Branding goes a long way. Even a boy from a village can brand himself to be someone one day. Remember to associate yourself with the right people, right words and the right pictures.

A message to Graduates and Tertiary students

Be humble, Nelson Mandela was humble. Take a look at the best leaders. “Are they not humble?” What is keeping you from being humble? A simple smile can change everything, a simple hello can change everything.

Personal Branding does not happen overnight, it start at an early stage. And an early stage for me is NOW. Behave in a way that other kids would wish to be you, and remember you. Give back to the community. Take just one kid and build him. Give her the advice you never got the chance to get. I used to see people succeed in life, and I would ask myself, "How they do it?"

ADVICE: Keep in mind, you can’t do everything at once. You need to prioritize and start with the most important things. Have goals! Dream big and all things will work out for you.

Let’s build relationshipsJ Follow me on twitter: @n_kwanele 

WHAT TO STUDY

        Public Relations is anything you want it to be

Time does fly especially if you having fun, just a few years ago around this time (October) I was preparing for my exam, my grade 12 exams. The only vision or dream I had was to pass my grade 12, with good grades-obviously. The only problem is that I did not know what to study. My parents wanted something they were familiar with; that is to study Medicine or any overrated courses which are well known. My marks were not so good to qualify me to study Medicine. Therefore, I went to upgrade my marks at star school for one year. During that year I had too much time on my hands, I was researching on what I can study the year after when I am done upgrading my marks. I first had to do introspection and get to know myself. The nice thing about myself is that I was already an obsessive user of the internet. I loved social media and I knew just how to get around it. I would google and search for things related to the things I love. One random day I came across a profession called Public Relation (my life changed). I did more research. Then my mind was made up, I decided to apply at the University of Johannesburg, to my surprise I was accepted. "The storm was coming, questions after another from my parents were asked and I did not have the right answers because (I am the first generation in my family to go at a higher institution) Public Relation is such a broad Profession and how can you really explain it to someone who has never even heard about PR.

What is Public Relations?

Public Relation is about your story and the chance to tell it. It’s about relationships with real people, your customers who would embrace your story if it’s made for them. It’s about building the brand of an organisation. It is about making sure that you fix whatever that is broken. Why not watch the series "Scandal" and you will know what I am talking about. Most brands (people or companies) start to understand PR when their reputation is at risk. When your company is at risk, you can’t compete. You can’t sell and you can’t pay your bills. That is where you will need a PR strategy to help solve the problem, by communicating with the stakeholders and through advertising. Once a company is credible in the eyes of the public nothing can go wrong.

What are the practical’s done in public relations

Firstly one should know that there are 5 modules a student chooses to take when he or she wants to study Public Relations at the University of Johannesburg. Their modules are as follows: media, public relations, communication, writing for public relations and Contextual studies. But your major subjects are only 3, which are: Public Relations, Communication and Media. Therefore, I will try and explain module by module. Firstly, PR Module for your practical’s you are given an assignment where one needs to carry out a PR crisis management plan; PRP solves problems in any organisation. Secondly, Communication. Every organisation needs some type of communication to be productive, imagine you are an employee in a big organisation of 5000 workers, a public relations practitioner will then act as the bridge between employees and employers. They take whatever information is given from the high top management to channel it to the low level to the employees. As a public Relations Practitioner, you need to know different types of mediums in order to be able to deliver the message to the right target audience. Lastly but not least, Media. Media is one of my favourite Module and have to commend my lecture for the amazing work she does. Follow her on twitter @CatwomanZA. A lot is being done in media. We live in a digital world and we only spend lesser time reading online. Therefore, I will be brief as possible to explain. In Media practical’s you learn to create your own blog, you learn Search Engine Optimization, digital marketing, how to write press releases, backgrounders the list goes on and on.

Where can you work?

“Public Relation” is curious to know how every public is responding to an organisation. It is always wise to keep track of what is said about the company you represent as a public relations practitioner; It is your job to help build the reputation of the organisation by continuously be on top of your game, that is having a two-way communication with your stakeholders if anything bad or god via social networks happens you are required to reply as soon as possible and control the situation. You need to be presentable at all times because you are representing someone or an organisation. Everyone needs a Public Relations Practitioner. Most of the best companies have a PR departments because it is essential to have.

Public relations jobs: Ambassador, PR Manger, Social Media Manger, Public Relations Practitioner, Event coordinator, Marketing Coordinator and Marketing assistant. the list goes on and on. it is said that from 2012 to 2020 PR job opportunity will increase. Therefore, why not start now and take advantage of PR.

List of some of best Public Relations agencies in South Africa

·         FleishmanHillard

·         PR Worx

·         Epic Communications 

·         Livewired Public 

·         Meropa Communications

·         Ogilvy Public Relations

Follow me on twitter; @N_Kwanele

KFC CHICKEN SCANDAL

PLACES TO EAT IN JOHANNESBURG; DEFINITELY NOT KFC  

In Braamfontein, there are a lot of shops one can go to, depending on what you want to eat. lately they have been rumors or should I say a grapevine which has been spreading throughout the country; that KFC is not the same anymore, people have posted disturbing pictures and videos of how food is handled and how it is cooked! and what it is cooked........ 

most people are not happy and not pleased about the incidents which have been happening over the past months and they have been sharing their experiences on social media 

Twitter review 

Call me Advocate ‏@Adv_Makhanya  Jun 14 Marketing#49k

I thought I'd only stop eating at Braam KFC but now its all KFC's.

 Nandi Tshabalala ‏@Red_Nandi  Jun 18

Every time I try to make chicken, I think of that KFC Braam situation.

Azola Malta ‏@mlota_azola  8h8 hours ago

People make things a big issue wit no rest,because KFC had few flaws now people photoshop its meat, putting a rat saying KFC has done it again

Social media is a very powerful tool now, playing a really important roles in our lives. I pass KFCBraam everyday, before the KFC scandal I have to say KFC used to be packed with students lining up to get that nice crispy chicken, but now the KFCBraam has lesser numbers of people buying than before. This shows you that people really take things serious when you post them on social media.

nevertheless, KFC has apologized and also has taken steps to improve their service and products. next time you pass KFC makes it a point you get in and buy yourself a zinger wing for only R16 :)

Public Relations vs Journalism

Are public relations practitioners dependent on journalists?

Maybe 10 years ago, we would say Public Relations Practitioners are dependent on journalists. Now we live in a digital world where everything is connected or linked together. Years ago, when you wanted publicity you had to build a relationship with a journalist or even pay him so that your story could be published. PRP's needed to write long Press Releases (they still do) to send to Journalists. But journalists have a lot on their plate. They should keep up with the latest trends to keep information going and interesting. Therefore, they do not have time to go through hundreds of press releases, so what they do is put your press release aside and focus on other important things to them. Times have changed, with the power of social media we are now able to reach our target audience for free with a click of a bottom. PRP are now able to generate publicity for free using controlled and uncontrolled media.

Let’s have a look at what is PR

PR has to do with branding, that is to keep a positive image of the Organisation. It's building relationships through communication, internally and externally.

Public Relation in my own explanation is like a mother, someone who is always there and will never leave you in hard times. PR deals with crisis management, whenever your company or brand is going through a crisis, the mother is always there to stand by your organisation and fight for you. PR scans the environment. For instance, you cannot build in a dry place without water, you need to build your organisation where you know the public is there to support you and use your product.

Externally, PR deals with the public what PR does is give information to the public via controlled and uncontrolled media. It is all about communicating with the public, having campaigns build awareness etc. Internally, PR is the bridge between employees and employers. What he does is to communicate to the top management what the employees are voicing out and to take the message from the top management to the lower level which are the employees through controlled media (emails and newsletters.)

What is Journalism?

Journalism is the act to give or provide useful information to the citizens so that they can make a better decision about their lives, societies, communities and mostly importantly their government.

Going back in time, when no one used social media. It was hard for a PRP or another person to generate publicity for himself or for the company without the help of a journalist. When a PRP wanted publicity for the company you had to build a relationship with a journalist so he can feature your content in the newspapers or magazines.

Everything has because of social media, one is able to generate publicity.

It’s a waste of time busy writing content which no one will read. One may say, "You cannot bombard information to a journalist or even do a follow up on the stories you send him or her" Therefore, the best way to have control is by generating your own publicity, by taking the advantages of media.

Advice; the world has changed. Take advantage of social media.

Follow me on twitter; @n_kwanele 

The Powers Of Knowing Your Social Media Tools

‘Word of mouth is not enough, but word of mouse is’’

Honestly, I have a lot of questions about this so-called Ebola virus 

Is it not amazing though?  With just one touch of a button you can share information to a million people and reach them in seconds, you can comment and have your say. Life has changed because of the web 2,0; one is always able to get information anywhere; never mind the place and time;

Honestly, I have a lot of questions about this so-called Ebola virus, why is it only found in Africa? why are only blacks the majority who are dying of this deadly thing?

if you may recall Chris Brown once had an ugly comment about this Ebola virus which he said, 'it was a form of population control' meaning the black people are the ones who should suffer in this world because of the high population.

Image; Liberian doctors carrying a kid infected with Ebola

 as if they carrying an animal. 

The social media has gone buzzing because of how the virus spread; and the fact that 90% of people who get infected of it die. the topic went viral on social media, almost everyone was talking about it!. The social media has played a very important role, we were able to be informed about the virus  symptoms and the countries which are affected by Ebola.

But the most important thing about media is getting information very fast and able to get free publicity

I would advise all companies to learn from world health organization @WHO to take part in using social media to reach the intended target audience and promote whatever one stands for.

without social media we would be depending on what the journalists tells us about  the Ebola, but now we don't need the government or heath care personnel to tell us abut Ebola; with social media we are able to be informed and share information to the public.