Podcasts and thinking. Just being out there.
August 4, 2019

Podcasts: this is Africa and it’s full of opportunities

The success of opportunities is largely what we make of them…

It’s been an interesting weekend, one which took me away from the hustle and bustle of Johannesburg and into the heart of the African bush. Having experiences like this reminds me of the bigger picture and of the importance of changing your view once in a while to ensure that you remember to keep perspective.

I am wrote this blog in the back of the car on the way back from the Kruger National Park. A couple of mates and I ran the Skakuza Half Marathon, a run that winds its way through the Kruger Park – no fences, the big five on the prowl, and a fair bit of risk as you can’t be sure what lies around the next corner. I truly recommend adding this run to your bucket list, the experience is unique.

Running through the bush, my mind drifted to thinking about South Africa, some of the news that was released over the last week and the opportunities that we have. While there are challenges (I think there always be will), is complaining necessarily going to make a difference? While we do need a plan to move into the future, we have an opportunity to stand up and be part of the difference.

Africa is a beautiful country and we can play a role in its future, which I find exciting. Just like running through the Kruger, I couldn’t control everything and had to be comfortable with that. I controlled the things that I could, like not running too quickly having just recovered from a knee operation (this took massive self-restraint).

We have an opportunity to contribute to something bigger than ourselves, to help solve problems and make a real difference. We can learn from others and history, but we must also be conscious that what lies ahead in our future will be different to what has occurred in the past.

A few interesting podcasts

This week I have just selected two podcasts to share with you. The first one contains lessons about why it is important to fully understand a new type of media platform, you can’t just jump on a new trend and expect everything to fall into place. The second podcast features an interview with Ed Zschau. Ed share’s why “entrepreneurship isn’t about starting companies. Entrepreneurship is an approach to life”

An interesting article

We have more data than ever before at our finger tips and it provides us with a phenomenal insight on multiple different things/levels. However, is the way that we are storing data sustainable? Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have physical data centers in multiple locations around the globe. These centers draw a lot of electricity and it’s expected to increase as we further develop our data needs. Data may not appear as a direct concern to climate change, but it is and we need to ensure that we are building things sustainably.

Is AI the next big climate-change threat? We haven’t a clue.

In wrapping up this week’s blog, here is a quote from Ed Zschau to consider. Have an epic week!

“Failing to plan is planning to fail”

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