16. Use the magic words- please, sorry and thank you

They always go a long way! Politeness and gratitude are marks of refinement and will make it much easier to get along with everybody. Not much explanation needed there...

15. Don't expect too much from politicians

Politicians! We love to hate them don't we? Overpaid, under worked, liars, etc... If there's one thing Kenyans love talking about is politics. Even the news bulletins have a good amount of time dedicated to their shenanigans and 'misquoted' statements. Many have moaned about them in the Blogosphere and this is not another rant just a reality check. Every 5 years they do the same thing- come to us with promises of utopia then once they get to business they forget the masses who brought them in and dwell on their own stomachs. Sadly during the last elections some lost their lives in support of these guys.

Granted there are a few good apples in the basket the truth is there's a difference between good politicians and good leaders. The visionaries are few and far between while the tribal chieftains and demagogues are a plenty. Sometimes I think we put so much faith in them to take us forward yet it is the businessmen, entrepreneurs and thinkers who takes us forward. This looking for messiahs  in politicians is sad because we get sidetracked by smooth words and don't realise the hands that have been stuck in our pockets and the broken promises.

Basically we as the individual citizens have the power to determine our destiny through our hard work and votes. Let's give credit to the hard workers and shun the empty cans which make a lot of noise. Our future lies in our hands those guys riding in big cars and sitting in expensive chairs are not the answer to all our problems

14. No is a perfectly good answer- to give and receive

In the movie Yes Man Jim Carrey says yes to everything after attending a motivational seminar. At first it releases him but later on he discovers you can't say yes to everybody, you have to draw the line somewhere lest you spread yourself too thin or wear yourself out. Common wisdom that, as much as you would like to be the 'nice guy' at some point you have to realise your limitations and just say no without feeling guilty about it. You can't please everybody so at some point you have to say no to people who are well meaning for all intents and purposes.

Conversely I've come to realise that you also have to be prepared to hear no too. It could be in the form of a job that you thought was yours- been there or a relationship that didn't quite go the way you wanted. Some doors have to be shut for others to open and you see that everything doesn't go your way all the time. Rejection matures you and reminds you that you are not infallible or invincible and that these things do happen but dust yourself up and try again.

13. Beware of anger

Anger is a powerful emotion and we all at one time get angry, pretty much unavoidable as they are annoyances all over especially if you drive on Kenyan roads but that's not my topic for today. As much as it's unavoidable how we deal with it is a totally different matter. It is so easy to do and say stupid things when in a fit of rage and I can attest to that myself and one of the hings I've learnt is that managing it is very important and one of the hallmarks of wisdom.

The bible says"A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,  but he who is slow to anger quiets contention." Proverbs 15:18 and also says "Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly." Proverbs 14:29 Here we see the wisdom of being slow to anger, can be simply taking a breath before blowing your top but it helps. Sometimes we may thing we're "keeping it real" when we get all pissed and drop f- bombs and such but when you've calmed down you realise perhaps there was a better way to deal with it.

A good example is what we see on the football pitch for instance Wayne Rooney is a talented football player but every now and then the 'red mist' gets the better of him and he pays the price through red cards and suspensions. Who can forget Zinedine Zidane one of the greatest footballers of our era who took his final bow with a red card thanks to a head butt resulting from anger.

The list goes on and on... In conclusion- we'll get angry but what happens next is up to us. Peace!

12. Learn continuously

The day you stop learning is the day that you die. I'm in an industry whereby continuous learning and training is the order of the day. You can never be complacent and say you've arrived. This is particularly true in the world of today where technology is moving at a break neck pace. For instance 2 years ago nobody knew what an ipad is but it is now ubiquitous. So it is in life you've got to keep on improving, keep learning new ways, new tricks and techniques to survive.

If we continue leaning on what we've learnt before we could render ourselves obsolete. If you look at the business world there are countless companies that fell by the wayside due to their reluctance to adapt e.g the once mighty Kodak is teetering on the brink of collapse. The ones who survive are the ones who are able to read trends and react to them constantly on the look out and constantly improving. There's something I was taught in a talk given by Titus Naikuni when I was still in uni- expect 3 things change, complexity and competition.

So don't get complacent keep learning and not just academically but from the world at large. That way you'll keep yourself relevant.

11. Human beings are not linear time invariant systems...

human behaviour is hard to predict and you really can't tell how people will react in different circumstances. We are not like machines where you just flip a switch and voila you get what you want. Human behaviour borders on chaos. Expect the unexpected

10. Stop and ask for directions

It's a common joke that men don't stop and ask for directions and I have been guilty of this many times. One of the things I have was taught in flying school is when you are temporarily unsure of position - i.e lost the first thing you do is confess. Hard thing to accept that you're lost but it's the first step in getting back on track. Asking for directions is not stupid, nobody knows everything so if you don't have that map or GPS ask! This can be extended to any other situation where you have inadequate knowledge to move yourself forward, ask others who've been there before!