sneak-a-peek again: more #Entrepreneur #stories

women sharing real love  

and 
africans keeping it real 

💯

 

Make sure you subscribe! 
Follow all my blogs on one twitter.  
Follow on facebook.
Order Big Girl and Big Boy.

Apply Now. Now.

Grooming For Greatness aims

• To assist Fellows in mapping their own life-specific goals and ambitions.
• To provide access to learning resources, leadership grooming, and top-notch mentoring 
• To meet the demand across Africa for greater, meaningful interaction between leaders of industry and those who wish to follow in their footsteps.

Just click and apply (minimum age 25, deadline extended by one week) 
Trust me.

SIGN UP for email updates from UpNaira

What's it like on Mara Mentor?

Over 100,000 facebook likes, and it offically launched just last week.

Mara Mentor is an application you can use to connect with a mentor in business.  That is, you can easily volunteer to be a mentor, or sign up to be mentored by other people that you look up to.

It seems like a really cool idea.  I just want to know if you've tried it yet.  Thanks.

More from the mara-foundation.org website:
Mara Mentor is an online community that connects ambitious entrepreneurs with experienced and inspiring business leaders. The initiative encourages idea and knowledge sharing among Africa’s most promising young entrepreneurs, inspiring a collaborative approach to business start-up and growth. Mara Mentor has been created to empower Africa’s youth in their business endeavours, in recognition that they are the driving force behind the continent’s growth and future prosperity.
Mentees are encouraged to interact with the online community by:

• Raising a question
• Kick-starting a discussion
• Reaching out for personalised advice

Mentees can use the platform to showcase their business ideas and seek out like-minded individuals to identify new business opportunities. Over the next few months, Mara Mentor will be developing a full range of online training materials, including free guides and tools for start-up businesses, along with a series of inspiring videos and articles from Mara’s Mentors.
Mara Mentor gives successful and experienced business leaders an opportunity to give back to Africa’s next generation of entrepreneurs and play a part in the development of the African continent. Mentors are encouraged to share general business tips and resources, get involved in discussions and offer one-on-one advice to those that need it. Whether they log in every day or dedicate an afternoon once a month, Mentors will be inspired by the great minds of Africa’s entrepreneurs – they are, after all, the future of Africa.
Mara Mentor can be accessed via the website and an app available on iPhones, Blackberry, Android and many Nokia smart phones. Simply download from iTunes, Blackberry, Google Play, Samsung Apps or Nokia Ovi.
In addition to the online mentorship, Mara Foundation offers One-on-One mentorship in Kampala (Uganda) and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). For more information regarding these programmes please follow this link.

Also see a history; more from the 2012 preview: Young African Millionaire Launches Mara.com, Africa's First Online Mentorship Network, by Mfonobong Nsehe for forbes.com

What Bobby Jones Taught Me

Unashamedly, I like movies. Infact I really enjoy watching movies, first for the entertainment derived and also the new things learnt. Apart from the effects that are achieved post production of some, I'm particularly thrilled by the creativity put into them - the plots, the quotes, the make up, props and costume. 

Like music and books I do stay away from certain genres. I know very well to guard my heart by watching the things I expose my eyes and ears to. Sometimes though, I struggle to watch some movies, consciously pushing out the 'behind the scenes' like locations of lighting, cameras, director, producers et al. This wasn't quite the case with Bobby Jones - Strike of a Genius. 

Ok, I don't play golf yet (I will definitely someday, outside of wii) and don't even know all the rules but I do like the little I know already. Probably this and the movie - The Legend of Bagger Vance, which I watched a while back motivated me not to change the dial. I'm glad I did not. Inspite of the not so encouraging reviews some have written about it, I still feel very positive about it. I learnt a number of things, but I'll pick my top two to share in this post. 

The early days of Bobby show him tagging along with his dad on golf courses (despite grandpa's disapproval). Watching and learning without paying a fee. What better way is there to stir up an interest in a person than starting casually, without cohesion, without duress, especially a young mind? Also, do the young ones around you know what you're passionate about? Are they opportune to watch, to study even leisurely? If yes, you might be raising a protégée without even knowing it. If no, you may want to create opportunities even deliberately to stir. 

Another learning point was while he (still so young) was at a tournament where the masters were competing. He knew them. He brought out a book (probably from his dad) and was pointing them out, and the peculiarities he knew about them to his friend. It got me thinking. Is it possible to be passionate about a cause or a field of endeavour and not know those topping the charts. Is it possible not to have heard of the works of the experts who have blazed the trail, the professionals who have broken records, the gurus who have left footprints in the sands of time in that area?In as much as one can't model one's life totally after any, their strengths (even weaknesses) and teachings are great learning points. Is it possible to say then, if you don't know or can't say anythng about anyone in this regard, perhaps, you're completely in a new terrain, or perhaps you haven't discovered what you're really interested in? And you may want to make an effort to discover and learn from them, or keep records of your learnings for others. 

To be contd...