Brave Lotus Flower Rides The Dragon


Book Description

Why walk when you can soar... These are the opening words on Tracy Todd's website and they are a powerful affirmation of the person Tracy is today - a sought-after inspirational speaker whose uplifting presentations have inspired and given hope to many people. But it is difficult to imagine what she has overcome in a tough and often lonely journey. At the age of twenty-eight her life was turned upside down when a horrific road accident left her a quadriplegic, paralysed from the neck down. Her life as an athletic, marathon-running young mother and teacher was abruptly shattered. Despite months of rehabilitation, Tracy often found herself wondering if her life was worth living. Everything she had taken for granted was now beyond her reach and frustration at her helplessness threatened to overwhelm her. Against the odds, Tracy chose to live. Her strength of character and determination prevailed and, sustained by the support of her son, family and friends, her care assistants, and an unbelievably caring community, she set about gaining the independence to rebuild her life and reclaim her identity - which she has done, with dignity and grace. Brave Lotus Flower Rides The Dragon is an honest, inspiring and engaging memoir in which Tracy's natural warmth and humour are tangible and, most importantly, she embodies what the human spirit can achieve.







Pause


Book Description

When we learn from each other, that's when we learn more about ourselves. With a radio career spanning more than three decades, Thabo T-Bose Mokwele brings topics to the airwaves that challenge and invoke human introspection and dialogue with his audience. And through this he has learned a lot about life and its nuances. Pause is a collection of Thabo's observations, reflections and learnings about what life is about. Simply put, this is the book he wishes he had read before starting his adult life journey. Pause is a compilation of Thabo's pearls of wisdom and lessons about life, God, money, relationships, parenting and, most importantly, self-mastery. His knowledge has been acquired by reading other philosophers' views on life and love, from interviewing entrepreneurs and entertainers about self-sufficiency, and preachers and teachers about self-mastery. This, you may say, is his 'bible', to drive his life, and a lens through which he views his existence. Thabo shares what he knows, what he practises and what still challenges him. It's a book that everyone, from teens to adults, should read for a glimpse, and as a guide, to living a life that is meaningful. We learn from our mistakes, but some mistakes are costly and should never be repeated. And if reading a short chapter on a particular topic can help mould a young person's life, or assist an adult to self-correct, then Pause is a must-read. Thabo says: We all need to learn, unlearn and relearn many things in order to fully realise who we are meant to be.




Do. Fail. Learn. Repeat.


Book Description

Are you bored and baffled by spin doctors telling you how to succeed, how to make $1 000 000 or how to build the best business in just 30 days? Everyone claims to have the next best short cut or hack to help you along the path of entrepreneurship. It's all bullshit. In his business autobiography Do. Fail. Learn. Repeat. Nicholas Haralambous discusses the truth about the last 15 years of his entrepreneurial journey. ANYONE CAN START SOMETHING. Nic openly discusses his failures and sacrifices over the past decade and a half spent building businesses. There is advice all over the place about the rules to follow if you want to succeed, the do's and don'ts of running a company, the how-to of how-to do this, that or the next thing. There are also many personalities out there telling young entrepreneurs to hustle non-stop, risk everything and never sleep if they want success. YOUR CHANCE OF FAILURE IS ALMOST GUARANTEED. No one talks about how hard it is, how lonely it is and how difficult it is to build a business. No one is willing to forgo their ego and be honest. If nothing else, Nic Haralambous is honest about his journey. MOST PEOPLE WON'T LEARN. Nic has lived the hustle; he has pushed through physical pain, mental suffering, business failures, personal torment and relationship strife all in the name of building businesses. ALMOST NO ONE DOES IT AGAIN. Nic decided to write a big book of his failures so that entrepreneurs around the world can begin to understand that it is not always glamorous, easy or fun to build a business. If entrepreneurship is calling you then you absolutely cannot miss out on the truth, behind the business, written by Nic Haralambous.




Pleasures of the Harbour


Book Description

Adam Askew, a young man in a hurry, always wanted to be financially independent. Armed with guts, determination and a cocky self-assurance, he sets up a shipping company with a view to take on the world, one ton of cargo at a time. Fed up with the cliquey set-up in Durban, he takes a gutsy gamble, the biggest risk of his life, one that will ultimately make or break him. He heads for the big city lights of swanky 80s Joburg and is soon wining and dining at the Top of the Carlton, sipping the best champagne in London and making some enemies along the way. Set in the closing decades of the 20th century in sanction-wracked South Africa, Pleasures of the Harbour navigates a world of dodgy business partners, dubious deals and a few failed attempts at love before Adam can finally, and honestly, say he's made it. Part adventure, part action, and lots of wheeling and dealing means readers are in for a rollicking ride in this highly entertaining novel that traverses the high seas and low roads of Southern Africa, while opening boardroom and a few bedroom doors along the way. Adam Kethro, the author, saw his school years fly by in Welkom, Brakpan and Durban. After two attempts at matric, a short dip as a stoker on the Railways, and a stint in the army's horse division, he began his career in the shipping industry.




Flat Out and Fearless


Book Description

With a racing career spanning more than four decades, coming second is never an option for Peter Lindenberg. Troubled by a lack of self-confidence, Peter's 'average' childhood saw a bitter parent who doubted his abilities, a demanding school system that forced him to fit the mould, a younger brother who was better at everything, and brutal, undeserved beatings with a sjambok. But when Peter tasted the buzz of barefoot water-skiing he found it impossible to resist, and went on to break records, earn numerous Springbok Colours, and win many world championships. This, however, was just the start. Little did Peter know the sporting magic that would follow in his life – first as a powerboat racer and then as a race car driver. Despite counting on pins and metal to hold his battered body intact, being arrested unjustly, a serious motor racing accident with his car going up in flames, and a brain haemorrhage, Peter keeps going flat out and quickly ranks on the international championship charts, cheats death twice, and presses the reset button to positively influence a failed marriage. Flat Out and Fearless is Peter's cut-to-the-chase life journey that has rendered him one bionic man who is proud of his blatant honesty and his courageous quest to uplift and transform the lives of the downtrodden.




A Country of Two Agricultures


Book Description

Nearly three decades after the dawn of democracy, South Africa has remained a country of 'two agricultures'. On the one hand we have a subsistence, primarily non-commercial, black farming segment. On the other hand, however, we have a predominantly commercial and white farming sector that is well-resourced and has access to domestic and international trade networks. These disparities can be traced back to South Africa's painful history where, for decades, black farmers were on the margins of government support and also experienced land dispossession and livestock plunder. A Country of Two Agricultures focuses less on history and more on the present and the future, explaining why these disparities have persisted in the democratic era, and what it will take to overcome them. It aims to contribute to a better understanding of the variety of agricultural forces, taking into account both questions of domestic political economy and external factors, as well as to bring to light new risks and opportunities. Wandile Sihlobo offers insights into the role of agriculture in the South African economy from an agricultural economy perspective, and provides political economy insights that are rooted in the experiences of farming communities on the ground and right through the value chain. Beyond insights on the realities this book offers the government, the private sector, and anyone interested in the betterment of the South African economy, tools to grapple with this duality, and proposes a framework for bolstering the black farming segment for growth and competitiveness – and ultimately food security. Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and the author of Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity and Agriculture.




7 Steps to Finding Flow


Book Description

Exhausted? Strung out? Shackled in your own invisible straitjacket of stress? Seventy per cent of us spend most of our day in a state of stress, with our nervous systems in a position of fight, flight or freeze. Modern day stress has become pervasive in all aspects of our lives through constant pressure, the weight of perceived expectations and the drive to be always on. Many live with an energy and nervous system that feels like a tightly clenched fist, rather than an easeful, gently unfurling hand. Staying shackled in a state of overwhelm and stress has far-reaching consequences on our health. We often only pay attention when illness strikes, having tuned out to all the messages our bodies were sending us along the way. Health whispers until one day it screams. Let's not wait for the scream. But how do we do this? By having a nervous system in flow. Everything we do transforms energy in our bodies into something supportive or destructive to us, emotionally or physically. What we need is a more easeful, beneficial energy in our lives. In this book you will learn: What's truly behind your stress, how stress impacts your energy, hormones and nervous system, how to move your nervous system into a state of flow, and how to make choices that support your energy, by living in harmony with your body. Full of practical solutions, wisdom and strategies, 7 Steps to Finding Flow is your guide to lighten the load that stress places on us, and how to move through it with ease when it lands. We can't avoid stress, but we can deal with it differently and access better health, energy and balance. Nicky Rowbotham's 7 Steps to Finding Flow will help you move from being overwhelmed and locked in by stress to a more easeful, resilient and aligned life. Let's flip the script on stress.




My Lion's Heart


Book Description

Environmentalist, independent researcher and author, Gareth Patterson has spent his entire adult life working tirelessly for the greater protection of African wildlife and, more particularly, for that of the lion. Born in England in 1963, Gareth grew up in Nigeria and Malawi. From an early age he knew where his life's path would take him - it would be in Africa, and his life's work would be for the cause of the African wilderness and its wild inhabitants. His is an all-encompassing African story. From his childhood in West and East Africa to his study of a threatened lion population in a private reserve in Botswana to his work with George Adamson, celebrated as the 'Lion Man' of Africa, we witness Gareth's growing commitment to his life's mission. This is nowhere more evident than in his account of his life as a human member of a lion pride, experiencing life and death through its eyes, as he successfully rehabilitated three famous orphaned lion cubs back into a life in the wilds. At considerable risk to his own personal safety, he exposed the sordid canned lion 'industry' in South Africa, bringing this shameful practice to international attention. After moving to the Western Cape he took up the fight for the African elephant, notably the unique endangered Knysna population, and published his astonishing findings in his 2009 book The Secret Elephants. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the stressful nature of his work, Gareth suffered a massive physical and mental breakdown in his forties, which he discusses here for the first time with an openness that underlines his courage. Lesser men might have been broken, but his 'lion's heart' fought back and he ultimately overcame his illness. Gareth Patterson's long-awaited autobiography is a moving account of one man's single-minded dedication to the preservation of Africa's wildlife. It is also a stark reminder that if the human race does not want to lose Africa's priceless wild heritage, there is no time to waste. 'The lion is my totem animal, and this is the story of my life in Africa, for the lion.'




Don't Believe Everything You Think


Book Description

When it comes to making great decisions, the way you think about things is usually a lot more influential than what you actually think. If you ever hired a person who 'looks the part', dated someone who 'gives you a good feeling', voted for the party that 'speaks the most sense' or got into an investment that 'cannot be missed', only to realise you made a horrible mistake, you might have wondered how you ever talked yourself into it. Yet, still bearing the bruises, you're likely to make exactly the same decision the next time. The beliefs that guide your ideas and the instincts that drive your actions, are all informed by your unconscious biases, and literally every single one of us has them, which irrationally tell us one thing is good and another is bad, one thing is absolutely true and another is utterly false, and make you act less smartly than you should. But the good news is that you can learn to see them, to manage them and ultimately overcome them. In Don't Believe Everything You Think, Colin J Browne shows you how biases work, why they matter, and how to reframe your thinking to make well-founded decisions about life and work, relationships and investing, and much else in between, to vastly improve your chances of success.