The Extra Mile: The Less Traveled Path 62421p

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Copyright © 2018 Dr Molapo Selepe

ISBN: 978-1-925681-68-0 (ebook edition) Published by Vivid Publishing P.O. Box 948, Fremantle Western Australia 6959 www.vividpublishing.com.au

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“One thing is clear from this book, the extra mile is never a reckless action and a fluke. Molapo systematically and meticulously takes a leaf from his personal experience to demonstrate what it means to go an extra mile. This does not come as a simple testimony but a formula, dare I say a scientific one. The steps can be repeated with guaranteed similar results. Thanks Molapo for showing us that this can be done…” — Dr Jongimpi Papu, DMin; PhD

“If you are serious about finding, empowering and being your best self, then The Extra Mile is a must read. Dr Selepe pours his life journeys into this book, which is personal enough to be inspiring, challenging enough to be motivational, and human enough to find resonance.” — Eddie Hypolite, MA (communication), MA (theology)

Special Thanks

Special thanks to my lovely and ive wife Mahali Selepe. You were so understanding when I nicked so much of our valuable time for this project. To my kids Rea and Halle—you remain the best. To Dr Jongimpi Papu for his generous and succinct input to this precious project. To Pastor Eddie Hypolite for his considerate, bulls-eye-precise and astute review of this book. To my mother (Masebotsa Selepe) and siblings (Malebo and Puleng) for believing in me so much. To my friends who have contributed so much in shaping the person I am today. To my Sovereign Maker for His incessant providence and inexplicable Love.

Contents

Foreword by Dr J Papu Prologue

1 You’re Extraordinary 2 Wake Up Early 3 Arrive Early 4 Leave Late 5 Exceed Expectations 6 Prepare More 7 Give More 8 Go Beyond 9 Love Outrageously 10 Lay Down Your Life 11 Be Fearless 12 The Extra Mile

Epilogue

About the Author Notes and References

Foreword

There you have it, dynamite comes in small packages. An extra mile has never killed anyone. The book challenges the reader to always consider going one step further. The extra mile is not just the next mile—it is the mile that one walks after the journey has ended and the required distance is covered. You know it is an extra mile when everything in your body whispers, enough, enough you cannot go any further! Those who dare to go an extra mile, those who go beyond the ordinary, are the ones who are the perfect candidates for history. One thing is clear from this book: the extra mile is never a reckless action and a fluke. Molapo systematically and meticulously takes a leaf from his personal experience to demonstrate what it means to go an extra mile. This does not come across as a simple testimony but a formula, dare I say a scientific one. The steps can be repeated with guaranteed similar results. Extra mile is not for the ordinary, as Molapo shows, but for the extra-ordinary. When God created us, He went an extra mile, by creating us in His own image. We are stuck in this reality; even sin could not destroy it. We can never enjoy this life, we can never experience happiness until we live up to what we were created for—An Extra mile! Go ahead! The world is waiting for your next move.

Dr Jongimpi Papu, DMin; PhD

Prologue

Mark Twain once said, “If everyone was satisfied with themselves, there would be no heroes.” Life is full of ample opportunities to be average. Many go through life simply drifting and maintaining the status quo. Human behaviour essentially seeks comfort, to get on by with the bare minimum of effort. In the ensuing pages we will look at ways and methods of unleashing our potential. The world is desperate for winners, people who go an extra mile. Anyone can reach their highest potential, if they operate at their peak. Most people fail to reach their peak and stay there, This book is a simple guide to a fully charged life. It is not our actions per se, rather it is the daily habits that set us apart. The Extra Mile is compiled in a simple but comprehensive fashion to help you work hard and work smart. Compete with yourself, set your benchmark and work daily towards matching your personal standards. The first three chapters address the habits of a productive life, the middle four chapters address the attitude of a successful person, and the last four chapters address the character of a successful person.

1

You’re Extraordinary

“Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all.” —JF Kennedy

“Your ‘I can’ is more important than your ‘IQ.’” —Malika Chand

What JFK said was somewhat of an epiphany. You are extraordinary. I wish you could come to a realisation of how extraordinary you are. The day it dawns on you how amazing and exceptional you are, you won’t see yourself the same way again. Furthermore, the knowledge that you can, the outlook that you can, and the attitude that you can, is more powerful than your innate mental capacity. Your extraordinariness is not some static predetermined capacity to excel; your extraordinariness is in your readiness to embrace life fully and apply yourself consistently to reaching your utmost potential. Professor Carol Dweck calls this “Growth Mindset” versus the “Fixed Mindset.” In his book Why People Fail, Siimon Reynolds expatiates on the two mindsets this way. “People with a fixed mindset believe that their qualities and abilities are set in stone. They think they have been given a fixed amount of intelligence and a certain set of talents and basically that’s that.” He explains: “A person with a growth mindset believes that talents are not fixed. They think that even if you’re not good at something at first, you can become good at it eventually through dedicated and consistent

effort.” The capacity to grow and expand is what sets us apart as humans. Our potential is essentially limitless, that’s mindboggling!

My Story: Defying the Odds In 1991 there was so much uncertainty in South Africa. The country was on the verge of a civil war, Mandela was twelve months out of prison. There were student uprisings all over the country. The Inkatha Freedom Party was at war with the African National Congress. The situation was quite volatile. I was doing my final year in high school. To add insult to injury, our school was suspended from April 1991 to October 1991. I had a personal predicament, under extraordinary circumstances. I’d spent the previous five years of my high school life building up to that year, I wanted to do well and go on to medical school. I was not ready to ditch my dreams and abandon them to the uncertainty of my circumstances. So, I designed a personal plan. I decided to wake up at four a.m. daily and study. I used the corrugated iron shack at the back of my grandparents’ pitiable property as my study room. I used candlelight to study and the paraffin heater for warmth during winter months. I ploughed through the course work and studied day and night without the benefit of formal schooling. It was not easy to keep studying knowing that we were effectively disqualified from sitting the final year exams at the end of that year. I received incredible and encouragement from my Mom, who was now single following her divorce from Dad the year before. She encouraged me to attend the Winter School and Spring School at Wits University in Johannesburg. I received ample course material from these extra classes to help me revise and study comprehensively for the examinations. My friend Fusi Madela (now a General Surgeon in Durban, SA) was my study buddy. We resolved to study and get ready for the exam. We covered as much work as we could and got ourselves ready in case the impossible happened. We were equally ready for the worst-case scenario, namely, forfeiting the opportunity to sit for the exam that year. If we didn’t get to sit, we were ready to wait another year, hoping the ban would be lifted by then.

Organisations like SADTU (South African Democratic Teacher’s Union) and COSAS (Congress of South African Students) put relentless pressure on the regime to lift the ban and allow the students to sit. Miraculously, in October 1991, we were allowed to write our exams. I was quite stoked to be able to sit my final year examinations that year. Suffice to say that Fusi and I performed very well, enough to afford us entry to medical school. In February 1992 I was itted to the University of Cape Town (UCT) medical school, the best medical school in Africa. The morning of Thursday 20 February 1992, I received a call from Cape Town. It was Ms Maureen Dennehy from UCT medical school; she congratulated me for my acceptance and told me I could start Monday 24 February 1992. I informed Maureen of my financial situation. I was happy to start but I was not able to meet my financial obligations. This was a big hurdle at the back of my mind. When I expressed my concern, Maureen suggested that I could attend anyway, apply for financial assistance, and wait for the outcome. Indeed, I attended and put in the application immediately on my arrival in Cape Town. I was called for an interview and after a month I got the exciting news. I was granted a scholarship from a German Pharmaceutical Company called Boehringer Ingelheim. It was a full scholarship from my first year to my final year at medical school. I tell you my story to illustrate that we can do the extraordinary even when the odds are stacked against us. We are extraordinary. As humans we have this extraordinary ability to rise to the occasion when faced with insurmountable challenges. We all have had a fair share of hardship, it is not a question of “if,” but “when” the tough times come. When those hard times come there is a temptation to give in or quit. the hard times are temporary, but giving up is permanent. When the hard times come, they must be matched by your resilience; they must reveal your extraordinary nature. Deep in your DNA lies an extraordinary capacity to be able to deal with any challenge you face. When you stamp your authority on life, it is fascinating how circumstances comply with your will and things begin to work in your favour.

Three lessons from my story Resolve: make a decision to stand firm and charge forward. Accept no defeat until something gives in. My friend and I resolved to write our exams come what may, come rain or shine. Prepare: make necessary plans to back up your decision. A plan without a written draft is just a wish. We made time tables and plans to attend extra classes and have daily study lessons. Excel: set the bar high and have a benchmark of excellence. Never aim low; discard mediocrity from your life. We aimed high and we got accepted to the top medical school in Africa.

In conclusion, the difference between ordinary and extra-ordinary is that EXTRA factor.

ExTRA- Excellence, Tenacity, Resilience, Application

Excellence: It is imperative to cultivate the spirit of excellence in your life. If one wants to go an extra mile, the attitude of excellence is paramount. The cutting edge innovation is what sets us apart; it is what instils discipline of thought and practice; it is what defines our mantra.

Tenacity: To be extraordinary you must have internal strength and fortitude. You should not be intimidated by circumstances and people. You must be able to face fear head on and express your boldness and courage. When you make it your daily habit to dispel fear out of your life, to do things you are not comfortable doing, you soon find you are extraordinary. You can do anything!

Resilience: Resilience is the ability to recover quickly from a setback. We all experience setbacks, but some people dwell on and sulk over their pain for days on end. They find it hard to move on. Resilience is the capacity to cut your losses and move on quickly. You’ve no time to mull over what could have been.

Application: Self-application is what separates the best from the rest. Nothing gets done if you don’t apply yourself. Nothing grandiose can ever be achieved with timidity. Seize each day and do the extraordinary. Impossible things become possible if we relentlessly apply ourselves.

You are extraordinary, you are a trailblazer. Just accept it and embrace your true identity, go an extra mile and experience an extraordinary life.

2

Wake Up Early

“The sun has not caught me in bed in fifty years.” —Thomas Jefferson

“It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom.” —Aristotle

“The early morning has gold in its mouth.” — Benjamin Franklin

My mantra has always been: “Seize the day!” from the Latin phrase: “Carpe Diem,” coined by the Roman lyric poet Horace. If you don’t make full use of the opportunities life grants you, you miss out. Seizing the day means assuming full responsibility for how you want your day to pan out. Granted, there are situations outside human control, but all things being equal, you owe it to yourself to take full charge of each day of your life. The early morning attitude sets the tone for the rest of your day, and indeed, the rest of your life.

My story: An Early Bird When my son was born in 2003 I was a casualty officer at the Heartlands Emergency Department in Birmingham UK. I was also studying towards my MR—hip with the Royal College of Physicians. My schedule was insanely hectic. When your life is very busy you adopt some survival tactics, I resorted to what has always worked for me, early rising. I found that waking up early gives one an extra edge. Throughout my high school and university days I developed a reputation for being the most chilled dude even at the face of insurmountable pressure. Being disciplined taught me not to be fazed by stress. Early planning, daily routines, simple habits, morning rituals and early rising contributed immensely to shielding me against stress. So, during those hectic days in the UK, I used to wake up early without fail. I believed in morning devotion, creating a to do list for the day, and reading one chapter from my book of choice every morning. These daily disciplines got deeply entrenched and were inculcated in me until they became my second nature. I thought it was a normal way to commence a day, just like some people would deem a cup of coffee and a puff of a cigarette to be a must for a great morning. This is a habit I drew from my father. Dad used to wake up five every morning on a regular basis. Growing up, we never missed the early morning live broadcasts because Dad was an early riser. All the big boxing fights like Big John Tate versus Gerrie Coetzee, Sugar Ray Leonard versus Marvellous Marvin Hagle—we never missed. At some stage for five consecutive years from 1985 to 1990, we were glued to our screens to watch Bruce Fordyce and Hosea Tjale run the Kwazulu-Natal escarpment with grace and prowess. This was the infamous Comrades Marathon—the world’s largest and oldest ultramarathon run over eighty-nine kilometres between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Early in those years, long distance running became an eternal fascination for me. To this day, Dad left that impression in me, the love of long distance running. In 2009 when my son was aged six, I started seeing some intriguing qualities in him. He woke up early at five a.m., made a personal devotion and read his favourite book prior to plunging into his day. He did all this without prompting or coaching. By the time he was ten he was unrivalled in his reading, writing and

knowledge of literature. All those years when I woke up early, I had no idea that I was setting a precedent for him. He just naturally followed this pattern and thrived. To this day he still wakes up well before sunrise and feeds his insatiable appetite for knowledge and wisdom. Consequently, he has developed a disciplined disposition, a formidable character and astute knowledge. I am proud of him. Early rising has a way of shaping the character and building the inner man. I believe the best way to bring out the best in mankind is by fostering the habit of early rising.

In Conclusion Waking up early is the best exercise for training the human character. Those who rise early set themselves apart and gain a massive advantage over their peers. If you want to excel and stand out, you must strive to go an extra mile. It all starts with waking up an hour or two earlier and adopting that as a daily habit. Hence, these words from Benjamin Franklin resonate so much with me, “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

EARLY: Energy, Advantage, Ruler, Legend, Young

Energy: Early to bed and early to rise gives you the energy and enthusiasm so needed for each day. We all need to feel healthy, vibrant and indomitable each day. There is no better way of filling your life with energy and positive vibes than the habit of waking up early.

Advantage: Each day you have an added advantage by rising early. You feel like you are living a better and longer life. After forty years of rising two hours earlier, you add an extra decade to your life. Philip Doddridge says,

“The difference between rising at five and seven o’clock in the morning, for forty years, supposing a man to go to bed at the same hour at night, is nearly equivalent to the addition of ten years to a man’s life.”

Ruler: In order to take control of your life and dictate your own destiny, you must wake up early. There is something attractive about being early and being in control of your life. Early rising gives you rulership over your life and your plans. Legend: You become a legend and a “lit brand” in the eyes of many if you rise early. The habits you adopt make a legend out of you. Early rising makes you stand out and become accustomed to excellence.

Young: There is something about the morning breeze and the pre-dawn serenity that is a wellspring of youth and strength. Mornings well spent become the source of inspiration and the antidote for ageing, lethargy and despondency.

3

Arrive Early

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” —George Bernard Shaw

“I am Jose Mourinho and I don’t change. I arrive with all my qualities and my defects.” —Jose Mourinho

“Nothing can ever happen twice. In consequence, the sorry fact is that we arrive here improvised and leave without the chance to practice.” —Wislawa Szymborska

There you have it folks, life is not about counting every minute…. it’s about making every minute count. The real reason you want to arrive early is to create a habit of utter respect towards time. The way you handle time speaks volumes about you. A friend once said, “if you change lanes when approaching the red traffic lights in order to a presumably faster lane, you are too much in a hurry.” Learn to slow time right down to a considerate pace.

My Story: Punctuality Pays In January 2013 I sat the International English Language Testing System – IELTS for professionals, in Cambridge. I had prepared well for the test. On the morning of the examination I left home in Kettering, Northamptonshire two hours early for an hour’s journey, in order to factor in traffic and other inadvertent delays. I arrived at Cambridge City an hour early, I was fully present. My mind completely forgot the purpose of my arrival at the city of canals that morning. I imbibed the beauty of the River Cam running in the belly of the city. I was awestruck by the elegant university buildings dating as far as back the thirteenth century. I arrived at the designated venue and managed to find parking on time. I took out my iPod and listened to my favourite music. I was listening to Marvin Sapp and Fred Hammond. I thought about what that English Test meant to me. It was in preparation for a general practitioner’s job in Perth, Australia. I wanted to do well, so I couldn’t allow myself to get in the way of my success. Nothing was going to deter me, not even my nerves. In the past I had sabotaged my own progress by being casual with time. I have had my fingers burnt umpteen times by being late to interviews and crucial meetings. This time around, I was determined to show time my utmost respect. So, I arrived thirty minutes early at the venue, I ed, read the necessary instructions, went to the loo, found a comfortable place to sit, and collected my thoughts. The examination commenced on time, and we were given the table numbers, instruction sheets, the question papers, and the answer sheets. There were three sections to the paper, forty-five minutes each—the writing section, the listening section and the speaking section. My mind was settled. I read the paper and allotted enough time to my writing, listening and speaking. I subdivided my time in three sections of fifteen minutes and made sure I timed myself well and followed the instructions correctly. I enjoyed the writing and speaking parts the most. There, in my temporary solitary confinement, I imagined myself a prolific writer, I upped my game and

wrote with flair and fluidity. I used poetic licence and wrote with clarity and potency, I used my cultural space and the versatility of the English language, I used metaphors and poignant words to expression my thoughts in a way that would impact the reader. I also enjoyed the speaking part. I spoke with conviction, deliberately using the simplicity and efficacy of the spoken word to mesmerise my listener. In my impromptu speech, I spoke about the Protea—the native plant of South Africa which is also the national flower of the country. It represents change and hope. It is the name attributed to the national cricket team. I spoke about nature conservation, botany, and horticulture, as if I were a flora and fauna scientist. I finished my exam on time, and felt positive about the outcome. The results came out; I had achieved band 8.5 in all areas, the highest band being 9. I excelled. I am telling this story not to brag about my performance, but to demonstrate the power of timekeeping. If we respect time, we respect the cosmos and the universe, we respect our Maker and our fellow human beings. The more respect we give to time, the more life will be generous with her opportunities and breakthroughs. We come to this world naked and naïve; we are given time to allow us to grow and mature. Time is one invaluable asset that has shaped our lives. If we respect time we are bound to prosper and flourish.

In Conclusion My high school principal used to say, “time is a precious commodity which when lost shall never be regained!” Those who neglect time do so at their own peril. Get into the habit of honouring time and your appointments. Punctuality is the most profitable habit one can acquire. the words of Brent Beshore: “Five minutes early is on time. On time is late. Late is unacceptable.”

Time: Treasure, Income, Money, Economy

Treasure: Time is the grandest asset you have. Although it seems to be depreciating in value, if wisely invested it yields some astonishing dividends.

Strive to make time your friend until you reach a stage where time works for your profit and you work for leisure and pleasure!

Income: You may have heard of the concept of ive income. Investing in stocks and property gives you a new perspective on time. As time es, things which matter appreciate in value and significance. You gain more income without having to work. ive income is when your money earns you more income without you having to physically put in the effort.

Money: Time is money; it sounds clichéd, but it’s true. Money is more than a paper promissory banknote; money is the tangible representation of gold, silver or livestock in real . Time, like money, has the capacity to define and represent your worth.

Economy: A trade of goods and a balance of payments. Time is an essential resource which has to be managed wisely so it’s not carelessly wasted. Those who neglect this principle pay a heavy price.

4

Leave Late

“The only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.” —Steve Jobs

“People don’t leave their company, they leave their boss.” —Anonymous

The 2015 US Gallup Study of 7272 adults revealed that one in two employees leaves their job to get away from their manager, rather than the company, in order to improve their overall life. The more engaged and satisfied we are at our workplace, the more likelihood of staying longer. The rush to leave the workplace at five p.m. on the dot is somewhat indicative of people’s dissatisfaction or lack of ion for their job. Inasmuch as you want to be efficient with your time management, you still have to overstay and do more as the situation demands. This does not have to be a trend, as it is imperative to have a healthy work-life balance. It is equally important for one to go an extra mile at work, to do more, to do over and above the expected. It is that level of dedication that makes a good impression on colleagues and bosses. Being prepared to leave work late when necessary can be a mark of true dedication and job satisfaction.

My Story: The Gunners’ Match When I arrived in the UK in 2002 I did a job which I absolutely abhorred. I took a position as a Resident Medical Officer in the BMI Private Hospitals. The job entailed, among other things, being on call twenty-four-seven for one week and have one week off. I was not used to that way of working, I found it restrictive and stifling to say the least. There were hardly ever any emergencies, but it was a legal and ethical requirement to have a doctor there at any given time. That’s what we were paid for. Having come from South Africa where I worked as the head of casualty for a busy regional hospital, I found it draining to be confined to one place for such a length of time without any action. This set-up took a toll on me without my realising it. I noticed the impact it had on me when there was a big event happening, only to find it coincided with my on-call week. I tried to be organised and arrange relief on time or swap the oncall week with another doctor if possible. But it proved difficult and often not feasible. One such week fell at the time of the football clash between Arsenal and Aston Villa. This was one match I was not going to miss, as Arsenal (The Gunners) were on form that season (my favourite team), and Aston Villa boys were such a delight to watch on the field of play. I organised a reliever that weekend and booked the tickets for that fixture at the old Highbury Stadium. I was extremely excited on the days leading up to the match. On the day my colleague was meant to relieve me at around ten a.m. so that I could be in Highbury by two p.m. for a three p.m. match, he had not arrived two hours after the agreed time. We got a message that his train was delayed, and he was running extremely late. I made up my mind that if he’d not arrived by one p.m. I would have to go. It was a two-hour journey from Birmingham to North London on a good day. I packed my bags in the boot of the car, so I was ready to go when he arrived. One o’clock struck and there was still no sign of his arrival. So, I impulsively decided to leave. I was desperate to see the match and I was angry at the doctor for inconveniencing me that way. So, I left the workplace. I was willing to face the consequences on my return, but I was not willing to miss the football match I

had so eagerly waited for. Besides, I was going through the darkest moment in my personal life. I felt this was going to lift my spirits. My judgement was clouded. I travelled in a rush. I drove at speed to try to make it there on time. It was a badly planned trip. I struggled to get parking. I had to drive a few stations further and catch a tube back to Highbury Station. By the time I made it to the stadium it was extremely late—five p.m. I had missed the match. I was devastated—I had missed the football match and left the workplace unsupervised by a doctor. How unlucky. I was gutted. During my week off, my manager called me and interrogated me about the incident. Suffice to say they were not pleased, I was sacked on the spot, and the matter was referred to the General Medical Council as a serious professional misconduct. I had left them with no choice. I spent the whole year attending legal advice meetings with the British Medical Association, putting a case for mitigating circumstances to what appeared to be a professional misconduct. A year later I was subpoenaed to the GMC hearing. I was lucky to have great legal representation. I was facing some serious challenges in my personal life, and in hindsight, that led to an oversight and serious error of judgement. I was acquitted with a slap on the wrist, given my impeccable clinical and professional track record before and after the incident. The moral of the story—if you are not happy at work you are unlikely to bend backwards for your employer. If not happy at work, it is impossible to make little, let alone big sacrifices. Granted, in this case there were some confounding matters like my personal challeges, I was generally not in a good space. The case I am trying to put across is that you are unlikely to leave work late by choice if you are not fulfilled at work. Always strive to find meaning at work, don’t stay at a workplace you don’t like or where you don’t get along with the bosses. When you are happy at work, make it your custom to occasionally leave work late and do more. Go an extra mile. Do over and above the minimum requirement—that’s a mark of excellence.

In Conclusion Leaving work later than expected will set you apart in your professional life.

Always demand more from yourself than the bare minimum. Don’t be trapped into a habit of coasting along in the minimum requirement mode—do more!

Over & Above: Outstanding, Vehement, Exceed, Reliable; Audacious, Beyond, Optimum, Valiant, Exuberant

Outstanding: To stand out you have to be outstanding. To excel you have to do more than enough. This is what Michael Grover describes as a cleaner in his book, Relentless. Don’t perceive going an extra mile as a compromise; going an extra mile is a sign of greatness.

Vehement: Giving your best portrays courage. When you find your ion, you exude tenacity and a go-getter attitude. You do well when you don’t expect things to come your way. Go out of your way to change and create.

Exceed: Exceed expectations. Go beyond your call of duty. When you leave work late, you exceed the scope of your contract and go beyond the of reference. That’s exceptional.

Reliable: It takes some doing, plus personal sacrifice and selflessness to develop a reliable character. There is no other virtue so essential to character as being reliable. Reliability says volumes about you. It means people can trust you.

Audacious: Being audacious implies your ambition is hovering on the verge of delusion. You are confident in what you do, you possess no fear anymore. You become as wild as your dreams, you know no bounds.

Beyond: Beyond the here and now, beyond the obvious, beyond the permissible, beyond the ordinary. When you constantly go beyond, you are training your inner person never to be content with the status quo.

Optimum: You make the most of any situation. You capitalise, you optimise, you take full advantage of the resources at your disposal. The more you apply yourself, the more you push yourself beyond limits, the better person you become.

Valiant: In life you have to be ruthless and take no prisoners. It is important to be valiant and brave. To be brave you don’t need bulging biceps, you need a big heart that is not fazed by obstacles.

Exuberant: The energy you possess does not mean having a larger than life attitude. It means loving life and going out your way to encourage others to love life. The sense of humility and gratitude infuses us with an incessant energy.

5

Exceed Expectations

“Make each day count by setting specific goals to succeed, then putting forth every effort to exceed your own expectations.” —Les Brown

“You can’t base your life on other people’s expectations.” —Stevie Wonder

“I think there’s a sort of satisfaction in defying people’s expectations.” —Gillian Jacobs

It is important to exceed expectations, but they must be yours first and foremost. Set the bar high and make it your custom to beat the odds. Don’t let others’ expectations of you exceed your own but insist on constant self-betterment. Don’t let others’ expectations of you be your yardstick—create your own and exceed them.

My Story: Hitting rock bottom

Shortly after the funeral service for our last-born son in January 2009, I took what was arguably the hardest job in medicine—medical registrar. I accepted a post in Scarborough General Hospital as a registrar. It was a six months post from February to August 2009. My wife and I had hit rock bottom when we lost our four-month-old son. Our funds were depleted, our mortgage was in arrears, the stress levels were at an alltime high. I taking a bus from Brecon in Wales to Scarborough in East Yorkshire, it was a twelve-hour trip. Whilst in transit I resolved… “never again will my children go hungry. I will be focused, I will do my very best at work always, no matter how hard, I will never quit. I choose to be disciplined, I choose to excel.” I arrived on Sunday evening, I commenced work on Monday morning. I had to get on with it. It was a busy department and a very intense schedule. I had to be on call, lead the resuscitation team, run the Falls and Parkinson’s Disease Clinics, co-lead the ward rounds, attend to a pile of work, guide the junior doctors, do the academic presentations, and effectively run the hospital during weekend on-calls. The stakes were high. My standards were higher. The job afforded me no opportunity to grieve I had to up my game. At times patients would die under my hands during resuscitation. I , one evening, feeling way out of my depth, after a woman came into the emergency department with a condition called saddle embolus. This patient arrived unconscious and was critically unwell with very non-specific symptoms and signs.

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the Respiratory Medicine Journal states: “Management of PE is difficult, and emergent thrombolysis is sometimes the only option left if the patient is hemodynamically unstable. Saddle pulmonary embolism (PE) is a form of large pulmonary thrombo-embolism that straddles the main pulmonary arterial trunk at its bifurcation. Its incidence among patients diagnosed with PE was found to be approximately 2.6%. Saddle PE frequently results in significant hemodynamic instability and signals the potential for imminent hemodynamic

collapse. Unfortunately, the most common presenting symptoms of dyspnoea followed by syncope are relatively non-specific. Consequently, a high index of suspicion and emergent diagnosis and treatment are of critical importance.” (see Chapter 5, reference 6, on page 50)

***

Our patient died in ICU. We had made the diagnosis and commenced the treatment, but we delayed in arriving at the right answer. The patient developed complications like cerebral oedema and DIC (disseminated intravascular coagulation). We lost her. I was distraught. I leaving the hospital at nine p.m. after a long twelve-hour shift which was relentless and unforgiving. I had been on my feet the whole day, dealing with one complex emergency after the other. I took a long walk into the outskirts of Scarborough, it was a cold night. I felt like walking into the dark and never coming back, I was distraught. I wept like a child. My heart was brittle and sensitive, yet I was resolute and defiant. I was determined to push harder and bear the hardest test of medicine. The following Monday morning I was back at the ward round composed and smiling. It was like nothing had happened. There were many such experiences during my stint in Scarborough. Throughout that period, I was becoming the epitome of a great doctor. I was extremely courteous and kind to my patients, I was impeccable with my communication to the team and to my patients, I was polite to my staff, I was thorough, I was the best advocate for my patients, I was hard working. By the end of that six months spell in Scarborough, the hectic schedule felt normal. I went out at weekends for social visits. I made good friends. I formed some formidable bonds. I speaking to some of our clinic staff and our office secretary towards the end of my placement there. During our conversation, I happened to mention the death of my son six months back. They were astounded, how could it be? Such composure and professionalism in the face of such searing loss? They found it hard to believe…I was grateful to God for His constant , and to my wife, who believed in me.

It was experiences like these that made me realise how resilient we are as human beings. I realised then that there is nothing I cannot do if I put my mind to it. As much as I loved internal medicine, it was too busy and not sustainable with looking after my young family. Consequently, I decided to take up family medicine as my speciality of choice. In April 2009 the Royal College of GPs issued an invitation for extra applications for the August 2009 intake. The intake had closed December 2008. I applied. I was one of the seven who applied from my hospital. I was the only one successful. The moral of the story—exceed expectations, especially your own. The universe rallies around those who have an unshakeable resolve to follow their dreams at all cost. When you are ready to learn, life sends you a teacher.

ExCEED: Exceptional, Custodian, Embrace, Elevate, Dominate

Exceptional: Choose to be exceptional in what you do. Being exceptional means being tireless in your game, putting in more time and better effort than anyone else.

Custodian: you are a custodian of all God has given you. Go out of your way to guard your abilities and responsibilities with all your might.

Embrace: Embrace high standards and let excellence be your second nature. Embrace life and all its endowments; see yourself as the symbol of nature’s best.

Elevate: Strive to elevate and up your game at any given time. Leave room for improvement yet leave no margin for error. Be neurotic in your quest for greatness.

Dominate: Never be conservative with your attempt to excel. Whatever you do, do it with all your might, dominate and take no prisoners. The world is your oyster!

6

Prepare More

“I try to prepare for everything beyond the extent of preparation.” —Taylor Swift

“I feel like whatever you’ve done in your career, good or bad, it’s nothing but preparation for the big events to come.” —Kevin Hart

“To be ready to fail is to be prepared for success.” —Jose Bergamin

A successful life is a manifestation of our daily preparation. Each day presents us with ample opportunities for personal preparation. It is a true saying—we get what we deserve in life. If we prepare, we prosper; if we fail to prepare, we prepare to fail.

My Story: Advance Planning People often prepare for exams, races, visas, licences, projects, theses, talent

shows, musicals, presentations, concerts, events, loan applications, et cetera. But we are not so good at projecting five years ahead and planning in advance. In 2012, when I decided I wanted to come to Australia, my main goal was acquiring land and building my own house there. The process was going to be long and protracted. First of all, I needed to be a permanent resident/citizen of Australia; secondly, I needed at least ten percent deposit for the house; thirdly, I needed a good job; fourthly, I needed my family’s ; fifthly, I needed a good banker. These were all fundamental steps and hurdles I needed to hop over in order to reach my goal. So, I spent 2012/13 working hard to prepare for my Australian professional registration and visa. I saying to my wife, please swear to secrecy, tell no one about the plan. We did it all quietly. I believe it is important to say less and do more; this philosophy has sustained me in life. In 2013, I applied for a job in Perth, and went through a thorough interview process. It was successful, and had a knock-on effect on the whole move from the UK to Australia. In 2014, I acquired a permanent residency of Australia for my entire family. In 2015, I put some savings aside towards the deposit of a land and house mortgage. In 2016, I started building the house, a process that my wife and I enjoyed intensely. In 2017, I moved into the house, with two very excited children and one in-love wife. In 2018, I sit in my study and write in the comfort of my dream home, the dream I relished for ten years from when I started writing in my repossessed house in Wales. Since I started writing professionally ten years ago in Brecon, Wales, I have learnt some invaluable lessons. In 2008 I published my first book, The Final Straw. I naïvely thought publishing a book would be a great source of ive income. I spent six months writing, editing, deg, printing, marketing and selling—a handful. This was when self-publishing was starting to become popular. I left my job as a medical professional to follow my new ion which had been lying dormant for years—writing. Consequently, everything came spiralling down. We lost our main revenue when I took sabbatical leave from medicine. The first book I published and the first album my wife released were bringing income, but it was in trickles. The successful events that brought in some substantial revenue were few and far

between. We saw our ability to service our debts dwindle; we were snowed under by the barrage of bills and bailiffs’ collections. The situation was quite dire, but the entrepreneurial ion in us compelled us to keep trying. This was the same year our second son was born. He was born during a very rough patch financially. We could not even keep the house warm during winter, which arrived shortly after his birth. We lost our son, we lost our house, we lost our cars, we lost everything. This was all in pursuit of a dream. So, in the wake of 2009 we were brutally battered by life; we had burnt our fingers badly. We were in some colossal deficit. We were black listed. We had a strip of County Court judgements stacked against our names. We resolved to swallow our pride, to live simply, to pay back our debts, to rebuild our capacity. Our preparation meant me going back to medicine and learning fast and getting back on top my game swiftly. Within three years we had rebuilt the foundations and cleared our names. A heartwrenching experience that taught us to stay our course and stick to our own lane. We studied hard. I acquired hip with the Royal College of GPs, and my wife gained a Diploma with the London Institute of Contemporary Music Performance. What life taught us prepared us for the next level of our lives. We learnt from that difficult experience that life is about daily preparation. Life leaves no room for idling and resting on one’s laurels. We learnt that to attain the desire of your heart, you must be willing to go all the way, be ready for failure if need be, for that’s the biggest preparation for success.

In Conclusion My experience has taught me that preparation is the key to life. Prepare daily to be the best version of yourself. When things go wrong, as they often will, don’t be despondent, rather be an ardent scholar of life. Learn intently from your failures and use every setback as a stepping stone to your goals. Prepare more than is expected of you. Preparation as a way of life that gets you ready to take advantage of the opportunities life presents to you daily.

MorE: Morning or Evening do MORE

Morning: The best time to prepare for your life is in the morning. Each morning routine plants a seed of consistency in your life. It is those daily habits that determine the trajectory of your entire life. The best way to prepare for a great tomorrow is to do and be your best today, to apply yourself with full abandon. Keep fine-tuning your life until you instinctively know the first thing to do when you get up. Prepare your To Do List. Spend the rest of your day happy, enthused and focused. Never procrastinate, never postpone unnecessarily, never delay, never park for tomorrow the things which are apportioned to today.

Evening: This is a chance to take stock of each day. Use your evenings to reflect. Take an evening walk and rewind. Revisit your To Do List and see what you have accomplished for the day and what is outstanding yet. Spend the evening dreaming and imagining your long-term goals. It helps to meditate and use the time before sleeping as a chance to be transported to your ideal world. Use this time also to prepare for your morning. Make sure you have your books, clothes, alarm clock, laptop, et cetera, ready before bed in preparation for the next day.

If you spend your mornings and evenings preparing to do more, you will be surprised how many opportunities life will put at your disposal for your success.

7

Give More

“ that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.” —H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

“The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others.” —Mahatma Gandhi

“Go the extra mile. It’s never crowded.” —Anonymous

When you give, give more than you can—that’s true generosity. Genuine sacrifice demands giving of yourself to your fullest ability without expecting anything back. A generous heart is better than a diligent hand. We must be hard workers but resist the temptation to be hoarders.

My Story: My Giving Spirit Giving is an extraordinary trait that sets us apart as human beings. I

when I was about eighteen years of age I was quite confronted by the abject poverty I saw in my township. One day I decided to gather all my old, too-small clothes to give away. I knew my parents were going to be against the idea. So, I gathered the stuff and smuggled it out of the house through the side window and left. I went to the nearby squatter camp/informal settlement. I knocked from door to door and offered people clothes for free. I had managed to fill up a large twentyfive kilogram bag. At each house I knocked at, there was a desperate need. I only managed to reach ten houses or so; the whole bag was emptied. When I got to each house, I introduced myself, left a short message and offered a word of prayer. A few of my hosts remarked, “This boy is an Angel.” I never told anybody about that incident. I don’t know if my parents ever noticed; they never asked. Two years later I was accepted into the University of Cape Town. My dilemma was that I could not afford the astronomical costs of studying at a University of such calibre. So, I told my predicament to the ission office. I was encouraged to apply for a scholarship and see. I applied and waited anxiously for the response. I was called for an interview within a month of applying. I was gobsmacked when I received the news that I was offered a full scholarship with a monthly student stipend for my entire period of study at the medical school. It was the first time I’d been a recipient of such great generosity. The scholarship was from Boehringer Ingelheim, a German pharmaceutical company. I learnt from then onwards that to be kind and courteous to others and to help others where necessary paves a way for your own success. When I was in my fourth year of study at medical school, I met a chap in the streets of Rondebosch, Cape Town. He was the filthiest person I have ever met on the streets. He had not brushed his teeth in ages. He had lost one eye through violence. He was an unusual hybrid of nastiness and politeness. His concrete thoughts and inappropriate sense of humour were somewhat suggestive of a schizophrenic personality. I will call him Zakes. I offered Zakes food virtually every day. Every evening I would visit him in his usual corner near Steers in Rondebosch. We chatted for long hours at a time. After a while we became like friends. I offered him a chance to come to my place for a bath and perhaps a chance for a sleep over. He took the offer. I must

have underestimated how filthy Zakes was. When he finished bathing that night I had to throw away his clothes. The state of his underwear literally broke my heart in tatters. The stench that he left infiltrated the whole flat for a week. I invited him to come to my place once a week for a bath, a cooked meal and a decent bed overnight. I took him to places like The Waterfront, and we would indulge ourselves with good food, movies and other forms of entertainment. He became a brother. We maintained this relationship for about twelve months or so, but then he disappeared into the streets, I would often hear stories about Zakes being rude to people in the streets. So, we became distant and estranged. After a while we ceased seeing each other. I often wonder what became of Zakes. When I finished medical school, I went to work in Kroonstad in the middle of South Africa. I soon met a local GP, Dr Benny Malakoane. We got on like a house on fire. He was older and more experienced; he became a good friend and a great mentor. One of his famous expressions was “Ke mokoko o jang ranta ka kgwedi,” meaning “I am a rooster that spents one rand per month”; another way of saying he was a scrooge. He was fun and eloquent and smart! As a young professional, I had an endless list of things I needed to do to find my feet. I needed a driver’s licence, a new car, a new wife, et cetera. I approached the bank manager with my big problems. He told me they couldn’t offer me a bank loan, overdraft, credit card and so on without a guarantor and some deposit upfront. I knew my only option was waiting. So I decided to wait, but whilst waiting I expressed my predicament to “Big Ben” as I fondly called Dr Malakoane. He made time to go to the bank with me and approached the bank manager. All he told them was that he knew me well and he was happy to give me a reference. His made a way for me. The bank assisted me with my financial needs. I managed to buy a brand-new Toyota Tazz and arranged for our wedding within six months. I have witnessed the far-reaching effects of generosity. When we give, we also get to be the recipients of the random acts of kindness from others. When we give, we change our world. When we give, we set in motion the domino effect of kindness. Often, we don’t appreciate the far-reaching effects of our little acts of kindness. When I lived in Wales I once sent a message on a Balloon with a return to sender postcard attached to it. After a few weeks I received a message from a man in Spain who got the card and sent me a beautiful dated message

back. I was pleasantly surprised how far the little balloon was transported from a hand in Wales to a village in Spain. I would have never known had he not written back. When I was twenty-four I used to help the high school students with math and science lessons. One day I commenced one of the lessons with these word: “Work like you have never prayed before and pray like you have never worked before.” Unbeknown to me, those words struck a chord with one of the students, who later on graduated from my Alma Mater as a medical doctor himself. Twenty years later he dropped me a line and reminded me of those words that changed his life.

In Conclusion Always look for an opportunity to serve others with diligence; never cease to give selfless service. If we are habitual creatures of service, life will always look favourably at us. What goes around comes around. Life is like a two-way street; what we put in is what we get back.

GIVE: Generosity Is Virtue Enhanced The true expression of enhanced virtue is through generosity. We know we have reached a higher realm of existence if our object of living becomes adding value to the lives of others. When faced with the opportunity to give, give generously, because that is what makes a huge impression in the lives of others. Generosity is one virtue which has a potential to change our world forever. Animosity and vengeance can be offset through kindness and selfless giving. Whenever an opportunity to give presents itself, give more!

8

Go Beyond

“You only know yourself when you go beyond your limits.” —Paulo Coelho

“Either push your limits or suffocate in your comfort zone.” —Arun Purang

“Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, ‘What’s in it for me?’ —Brian Tracy

Our true self remains obscure until we go beyond our limits. This is why it is important to go far and beyond. Many people struggle with knowing their purpose, in fact many go to the grave none the wiser. To know your purpose, you have to identify those things that make you uncomfortable, that infuriate you, that frustrate you, and then use your ion and expertise to address them. Once you get to know your purpose, be relentless in your pursuit. Do whatever it takes, however long it takes, go wherever it takes, go beyond!

My Story- Pushing The Envelope Soon after I arrived at the University of Cape Town (UCT), I realised how wide the disparity gap was among the races. There were two main cohorts of students, the main stream students and disadvantaged students, I belonged to the latter group. Despite the odds which were stacked against us, we knew the only way to succeed was through persistence and hard work. It was possible to correct those past imbalances of our nation, and education was one of the key instruments. So, when I first arrived, I decided to immerse myself into student life. I visited the African library weekly and familiarised myself with Africa, her literature and her stalwarts, like Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, Wale Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, JM Coetzee and Steve Biko. I ed student organisations such as SHAWCO, the Students’ Health and Welfare Centres Organisation based at UCT. SHAWCO sought to improve the quality of life for individuals in developing communities within the Cape Metropolitan area. I got involved in the SHAWCO fundraising wing called RAG, mainly the SAX Appeal campaign, where we paraded in the middle of the city to raise funds for SHAWCO. In my second year at UCT, I ed the House Committee for our residence— Driekoppen. It was while I was in the house committee that we raised our concern about the derogatory connotations of the residence’s name. Apparently in the eighteenth century, three slaves were beheaded on the grounds of the middle campus before it was acquired by the University. So the place was named the Drie-Koppen, meaning the Three-Heads. The name was very offensive; having such a name was indicative of how aloof the University was from the cause of the South African majority. So we applied to the University Council for a name change. As residents, we proposed the adoption of a new name—Kopano Residence—a Sotho word meaning UNITY. In 1994 I witnessed three major changes at the University. 1. The University Vice Chancellorship could change from Prof Stuart Saunders to Dr Mamphele Ramphele (she was a partner to the late Steve Bantu Biko with whom she had two sons). This was an unprecendented change; for the first time we saw the possibility of the university leadership change from a white male to a black female. She officially became the Vice Chancellor in September1996, the

first black woman to hold this position in any South African University. 2. We saw the name change of the Driekoppen Residence to Kopano Residence. We buried the old name in the colonial past and embraced a new name which was African in origin and epitomised Unity. 3. We voted for regime change in South Africa for the very first time—Advocate Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was sworn in as the first president of the new Republic of South Africa on 27 April 1994.

In 1997, I made the bold decision to stand for the SRC or Student Representative Council. I knew this was way out of my depth, but I was determined to run a campaign, participate in student discourse, and learn from the process. My campaign was abysmal. I ran a solo campaign without much strategy, lobbying or marketing. It fell face first. Inadvertently, the experience I gathered in 1997 prepared me for the Medical Residence Committee Head Student position in 1998, and the Medical Residence Subwarden position in 1999. By the time I finished medical school, I had accumulated a sound body of experience. I wanted to live life to the fullest. I wanted to challenge myself, I wanted to challenge the status quo and break the mould. I lived life on the edge. I left my comfort zone and pushed the envelope. That experience groomed and prepared me for life in the ensuing years. When the odds are against you, you can’t afford to sit back and rest on your laurels, you must apply yourself fully. Those audacious steps introduced me to my purpose: that I love people and I abhor injustice; that I am endowed with rare natural leadership qualities—humility and perseverance; that I am a natural coordinator/organiser who is able to bring people together for a common mission; that I am an eternal optimist even when the odds are so obviously against me. I believe that all these qualities must be harnessed for the rebuilding of Africa, my beloved continent.

In Conclusion Go beyond your limitations and enter a new realm of your abilities. Escape your

comfort zone and meet your new self. Don’t be afraid to expose your vulnerabilities momentarily and gain new virtuosity endlessly.

BEYOND: Be Yourself Never Doubt

Be Yourself: Many people fail to live life to their fullest potential because they are not authentic. When you are your authentic self you live without a filter or mask. It is that genuine living that unites you with your potential and your destiny. Authenticity is attractive. Modern culture robs our youth of the privilege to be themselves entirely. True living starts when one realises they only have one life which they cannot afford to squander and waste on pretence. When you live under the shadow of others, you lead an unfulfilled life which is focused on pleasing others rather than self. Life is too short to be spent on wild goose chases, chasing the elusive waterfalls. When you are yourself you learn to face reality, run your own race, and stick to your lane. When you practice being yourself daily, you get to know yourself, your likes and your dislikes, your strengths and your weakness. Self-awareness leads to a place where you can serve others better and fuller. It is when you know yourself fully that you can be of greater service to the world; you can go beyond the norm or expectations.

Never Doubt: Doubt is a seed rooted in fear. Doubt comes from a false premise that you are not good enough. Never doubt your abilities. Never doubt yourself. Mark Twain once said, “There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist, except an old optimist.” It is sad when people wait for full evidence before they can follow a path of faith. Without faith, it is impossible to make a meaningful contribution in the world. Some people are paralysed by doubt and fear, waiting for the perfect moment before they can make a move. Daily we must make some daunting decisions; often we must arrive at a decision without the benefit of the full facts at our disposal. We can’t afford to second guess ourselves all the time, incarcerated by our own doubt.

Be bold, make an informed assessment, weigh the probabilities, analyse the facts and evidence at your disposal, don’t dilly dally, don’t procrastinate, decide! Be willing to live comfortably and confidently with the decisions you make given limited information. Trust your instincts, intuition, prayers and sixth sense, follow your gut at all costs. Whatever you do, never doubt. Give your all and go beyond. Develop a progressive culture, go beyond, be fearless and doubtless.

9

Love Outrageously

“Did I shave my legs for this?” —Deana Carter

“Some people are worth melting for.” —Olaf

“Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about.” —Winston Churchill

Love is one element in human existence that is a permanent puzzle, an eternal enigma. We will spend eternity trying to get our heads around this monumental mystery. Love is that which we all need, love is that which we all long to give with the hope to get back. Love is that which we all know when we have it, love is that which we all know when we lack it. Love is one need common to all humans irrespective of gender, age, race or creed. No one can live without love, yet it is not tangible, it is not measurable. Love is more essential to life than the essential gases. Love is the noblest form of emotion; it is the most sacred of human virtues and

closest thing to divinity in human existence. Love remains noble and sublime. Without love we are nought, with love we are complete. We must love fully or not love at all. Dare I propose that we must love outrageously, love uncommonly?

My Story: Love Like An Idiot Love has many facets to it, the most intriguing being forgiveness. Forgiveness is the substrate upon which the principle of love is established. Love is noble, love is magical, love is sensational, yes. But the one thing that makes love outrageous is the forgiveness element, the forgiveness factor. This is true not only with romantic love. It is true with any form of love for a fellow human being. If others treat you with malicious intent, how do you find space in your heart to forgive? In South Africa, the Europeans came and maltreated the native people of colour atrociously. In 1996 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up. We needed to talk and reflect and reconcile. The biggest question was, will forgiveness prevail? In the end it did. All those years of malicious racial segregation, bigotry, torture and hatred were watered down with love. It feels like it was just watering down, for it seems abnormal to let others go scot-free after so much wrongdoing, without consequences, only a slap on the wrist. How do you forgive when the white race is still so deeply entrenched in their old ways? All over the world you can see it, the perpetuation of the superiority of one race over the other. When I worked in Kroonstad, South Africa, my first placement was in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department at Boitumelo Hospital. My first patient was a white lady in her thirties accompanied by her husband. I saw her as my patient in need of my professional service. But her husband was on a different orbit. He didn’t mince his words when he said, “I am not letting this monkey examine my wife!” I reported the matter to the hospital superintendent and manager (both white) with immediate effect. The matter was dealt with promptly. He was banned from our hospital and told in no uncertain that none of our doctors would be called monkeys, if he didn’t want to see me there was no one else the hospital was prepared to replace my services with. True love means holding no grudge against those who mean us harm. True love

means being acutely aware that anyone can falter. In the event they slip and fall on an aberrant path, you are prepared to forgive them and bear the full brunt of the pain they cost you. Another way of putting it is, you place a revolver in their hand and give them permission to kill you, hoping they won’t, trusting like a child. Love fears no consequences. Love does not ask, what will happen to me if I help them, but, what will happen to them if I don’t help them? You must be willing to love uncommonly. You must be willing to love outrageously. To live like an icon, you have to love like an idiot. My wife and I have to practice daily to love each other despite our countless faults. We have to battle raging emotions and resist the blame game. We choose daily to learn willingly, to understand each other, and love outrageously. In winning our battle against self, we win each other’s heart. After many years of struggling with the senselessness of disappointment and the frivolity of jealousy, we have slowly learnt what it means to trust each other implicitly, to respect each other completely. In life we are faced with situations and people that rub us the wrong way. We can address the issues in one of three ways: 1. Harbour the grudge 2. Confront them squarely 3. Forgive them intently. We choose to forgive, it builds the character. Mahatma Ghandi puts it this way: “The weak can never forgive, forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” Forgiveness is the noblest demonstration of love.

In Conclusion Love is more than a feeling, a sensual word; love is a commitment and a covenant. Love sticks when circumstances shift. Love bears genuinely with the shortcomings of the other. Love is inexplicably outrageous.

LOVE: Learning Outrageous Values Everyday

Learning: We all are students in the classroom of love. We must make efforts to learn from what life gives us daily. All around we are surrounded by opportunities to learn.

Outrageous: Love is not ordinary. We must love fully or not love at all. The demands of love are inherently outrageous. We must learn to live with the absurdity of love.

Values: Daily we must adopt new values. Love compels us to up the ante and raise the bar high. Our values must reflect the upward trajectory of our standards.

Everyday: Each day dawns with a brand-new opportunity to learn what true love looks like. Each day sets with a chance to reflect on what we have learnt.

10

Lay Down Your Life

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” —John the Apostle

‘It is better to die for an idea that will live, than to live for an idea that will die.” —Steve Biko

“The secret to having it all is knowing you already do.” —Anonymous

You have it all! What an epiphany…. All the things you are striving to get, all the things you are looking for, all the things you long for, you have them all. The happiness you’re looking for, you possess already. You just have to pause, pay more attention to what you have already, and appreciate more. Once you know matter-of-factly that you have it all, you cease labouring for material possessions and start living for higher ideals. These are the ideals you are prepared to die for if need be.

My Story: Sacrificial Love In November 2008, our six-week-old son got acutely unwell with RSV Bronchiolitis (Respiratory Syncytial Virus). After two weeks at the University Hospital of Wales (UHW) in Cardiff, it became very clear that his condition was quite critical. As a father, not only did I have the responsibility of caring for my son, I also had the responsibility of providing for my whole family. I took my two older kids, wrapped them tightly under my arms and prayed. I sobbed, I had reached the tipping point. At that moment it dawned on me that I had nothing, like zilch! No money, no prospects of income, no income protection, no insurance, no contingency plan, no plan B, no options. I had done all I could trying to make ends meet for them. Now I was left with no option but to succumb, I had done trying. I had attempted going to work but with my baby at the hospital I was an emotional wreck. I knew that there, by my baby’s cotside, in the company of my wife and children, was the only place I could ever be, and praying was the only thing I could do. It seemed right and sensible to just be there by his cotside in the company of my fledgling family. The hospital in Cardiff provided us with full accommodation for free. Our friends in Cardiff and across UK flowed to the Hospital and showered us with love. We had good food to eat daily, we had a roof over our heads, and the four of us were by the bedside of our little one every single ing second of the day. Mahali and I took turns to be there most parts of the day. Mahali expressed milk periodically and stored bottles in the fridge. She would wake up at three a.m. and walk the quiet corridors of the hospital to the PICU (Paediatric Intensive Care Unit) where our son lay. All we ever wanted was to see him better. We knew no other reason to live for but to see him recuperate. At the start of his third week at the hospital, things took a turn for the worse. He developed a condition called surgical emphysema as a complication from the ventilator. A type of ventilator called an oscillator, which was used to assist his breathing, applied excessive positive airway pressure to his delicate lungs. They ruptured, letting air escape into his tissues. He ballooned all over his body until he was like a little Michelin man. As his condition nose-dived, our resolve soared. We were not giving up on him. The doctors kept asking if they should continue to resuscitate or should they prioritise his comfort; we said both. Whatever they did, they must not give up on

our little fighter. At one point he developed a respiratory arrest. He was resuscitated, he barely made it. Our little trooper held on by the skin of his teeth. That prompted the oncall paediatric consultant to refer him to GOSH, the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. He was airlifted to GOSH. We were worried as to how we were going to get to London if he was moved. The hospital kindly took us along on a helicopter. This was a less than twenty minute flight on a chopper for a usual three hour trip by road. When we got to London, he was put on an ECMO machine(Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) to help him breathe. This is the same oxygenation machine used during heart surgery to provide oxygen to the body, bying the patient’s lungs; hence the name, cardiac by surgery. As a family, we received free accommodation in London as soon as we arrived. The love we received from family and friends was second to none. We were showered with unprecedented love from strangers, all and sundry. The we received helped us focus on what was of paramount importance to us—our baby. During the time he was on the ECMO machine he became like our normal baby again. He responded to us, and we shared so much love. At that time, nothing else mattered. Food, sleep, shelter, friends, work, money, car—you name it, nothing else mattered. All we ever wanted was to see him get better. Unfortunately, he didn’t. After eight weeks in GOSH, he was weaned off the ECMO machine and his lungs were given a chance to function independently. He succumbed. Our little warrior succumbed. It was the most searing pain to pierce the parents’ hearts. We knew then that losing him was the ultimate loss. Yet we accepted. As much as I know I would easily lay down my life for his, it tore my heart asunder, knowing my innocent angel lay down his life for mine. I have resolved that as a father, I will do anything for my children as long as I live. What consoled us was the knowledge that absolutely everything humanly possible to save his life was done—lock, stock and barrel! What is the highest ideal you are prepared do live for? Would you die for this

ideal? “I Am Prepared to Die” is the name given to the three-hour speech given by Nelson Mandela on 20 April 1964 from the dock of the defendant at the Rivonia Trial. The speech is so titled because it ends with the words “it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die”. The speech is considered one of the great speeches of the twentieth century, and a key moment in the history of South African democracy.

“During my lifetime I have dedicated my life to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to see realised. But, my Lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” — Nelson Mandela, at the conclusion of his speech

In Conclusion Reflect on those words of Nelson Mandela again. If possible, commit them to memory. Get into the habit of reciting them once a week. “During my lifetime I have dedicated my life to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to see realised. But, my Lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

LIVE: Life in View of Eternity To Live in View of Eternity is to live with full conviction of the ideals you are prepared to die for.

Mandela said – “It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to see realised. But, my Lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” Biko said – ‘It is better to die for an idea that will live, than to live for an idea that will die.” Live in View of Eternity. Leave a legacy that will transform our world. You can transform the world if you are uniquely you. Your legacy can immortalise you. Be prepared to lay down your life for another. Mandela sacrificed his entire life, allowed himself to be subjected to humiliation and solitary confinement, for the sake of others. He who tries to save his life will lose it, he who is selfless will live an endless life.

11

Be Fearless

“We all know fear. But ion makes us fearless.” —Paulo Coelho

“It’s important to be fearless yet vulnerable. It takes courage to do both.” —Nicole Scherzinger

“Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” —Warren Buffet

“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.” —Rosa Parks

Fear is a costly liability. It robs one of the courage to face life fully charged. Fear is just a figment of the mind. Since fear is not real but a phantom creation of your mind, it is senseless. Many would achieve so much more if they learnt to march through life fearless. You need a resolute mind to steer you through the

thick jungle of your fears. Allow yourself to be driven by your ion, don’t be stifled by your fears. Where many dread to go, go with composure and courage. Where many go in droves, avoid with composure and caution.

My Story: Nothing Fazed Me In the summer of 1996, I was a confident twenty-four-year-old medic at the University of Cape Town. I played soccer, I led a Christian Student Organisation, I wrote articles for our student magazines, I got engaged in student debates, I was popular with girls—within reason, I dressed well, I was physically fit, I was a well-rounded young man. I respected all people. I expected no less from people, from anybody for that matter. I was level-headed, but I was also headstrong. I pushed no one around and allowed no one to push me around. I was humble as a lamb yet poised as a stallion. One Saturday afternoon we gathered at the University of Western Cape Campus. The weather was moderate, with a slight brush of the south-easterly breeze referred to as the Cape Doctor. The atmosphere was perfect. I was standing outside one of the student blocks with three stunning ladies, having a chat. The students went past in groups, some rowdy, some jovial, some quiet. So, when a group of four black guys went past, we didn’t make anything of it. One of the guys wanted to chat up one of the girls, which I found blatantly rude. I took issue with him. They lingered around longer than welcomed. I could sense from the ladies’ body language that they were getting uncomfortable with this self-imposed company. So, I requested them politely to leave the ladies alone. I told them in no uncertain . They were not amused. Typical of a mob of yobs, a bunch of youth, they got offended. It became clear to me that they were a gang. By the time I realised it was too late, they were on the offensive. The ring leader came right up close to my face and spat out a string of expletives. “Yah, who do you think you are, nigga?” I kept quiet and looked him straight in the eye, I was not fazed. “I am from Soweto, bari (fool).” He hurled profanities at me. He looked at the way I was dressed; he must have thought I worked for one of the multinationals. He noted my confidence, and he presumed

I must be a high-earning young executive. So, he continued his onslaught… “Do you work for IBM?” …. “I am from the Ghetto, ek (Afrikaans for me).” “Catch the ball nigga!” as he threw a basketball hard, straight at my forehead. I moved my head quickly but smoothly to evade the ball. It bounced on the wall behind me and he caught it again. He did this several times as he tried to suss me out and intimidate me. I stood my ground. I entertained none of his questions, I insisted they leave the girls alone. All I wanted from them was to show respect to the girls and understand when they said NO. It became very clear to them I was not interested in their fight. I didn’t allow them to drag me down to their level. I was not going to be pushed by them, I was not going to be bullied. I reminded them of the need to respect our ladies and be true gentlemen… “True men don’t harass but harness the femininity of a girl child!” After a while one of the guys pulled my assailant away and asked them to leave: ”Asivaye Joe (let’s go Joe).” I never met them again. But I know that moment changed all of us; it changed my worldview, their worldview, the girls’ worldview. For me, the take-home message was… Be fearless, be bold, be daring. Fearlessness does not mean the absence of fear or danger, it means the courage to uphold principle even in the face of an impending threat. Knowing what you stand for makes you stand, come what may! Hence the riveting words of Rosa Park: “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.”

In Conclusion Make it your daily mission to eradicate fear out of your life. Don’t let your fear hold your ransom. Show courage by speaking against injustice and wrongdoing. Use your fear to propel you to face the issues head-on; be courageous. Being courageous does not mean feeling brave, it means defending the principle even when your fears dictate otherwise.

FEAR: False Evidence Appear Real

False Evidence: Mostly fear is based on challenges that seem insurmountable. The facts are there, they seem real, but in essence they are false. There is a subtle difference between genuine and false evidence. Learn to decipher substance from dross.

Appear Real: Live above the realm of the known and the tangible. Live in the zone of the supernatural. Trust your instincts to be able to read malicious intents and wrong motives from a distance. Don’t be fooled by appearance, ostentation and pretence. Life expects you to be a genuine version of yourself, that’s all that matters.

12

The Extra Mile

“The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid for more than he does.” —Napoleon Hill

“It’s the horse that finishes a neck ahead that wins the race.” —Andrew Carnegie

“He who is outside his door has the hardest part of his journey behind him.” —Dutch Proverb

“Give the world the best that you have, and the best will come back to you.” —Madeline Bridges

Here is the summation of a remarkable life: You’re Extraordinary, Wake Up Early, Arrive Early, Leave Late, Exceed Expectations, Prepare More, Give More, Go Beyond, Love Outrageously, Lay Down Your Life, Be Fearless, and always, go the Extra Mile. Going an extra mile means doing a little bit more and better

daily, demanding a little bit more from yourself daily, thus giving yourself a competitive edge in life. It is not about competing with others or comparing yourself with others; rather it is about being the best you can possibly be. It is about being dissatisfied with average living. Don’t be satisfied with knowing things and not putting them to practice. True wisdom is putting to practice one’s accumulated knowledge and understanding. Let change be your constant gauge. Go the extra mile. Play a clean game. Never cheat, be legit.

My Story: The Extra Mile When I took a six-months sabbatical leave from medicine at the start of 2008, I interrupted my professional development. As you may appreciate, with academic careers like medicine it is important to maintain continuing professional development, commonly referred to as D. Even a break of six months can be detrimental to your career, as you may struggle to get a credible reference and return smoothly to your career path. I faced one such dilemma in and around April 2009 when I was completing my application for Family Medicine Specialist Training. I was already working as a registrar in General Medicine at the time. But in my application, I had to for every stint in my career, including the career gaps. I approached one of my previous consultants who was reluctant to give me a reference, given the hiatus in my career path. At some stage I chased this particular reference desperately, knowing my whole career progress hinged on their endorsement. What made this particular reference difficult was the deadline of the application, which was in about a week’s time. Secondly, the reference needed to be completed as a part of the online application. Thirdly, the stakes were high in of ethics; it had to be completely truthful. I making several phone calls to this consultant. First, to explain my situation; secondly, to request their reference; thirdly, to express the urgency of the matter; fourthly, to ascertain the time frame; fifthly, to ask when they would be able to it to my online application; and sixthly, would they be able to and complete my application using the security code verification. I literally had two days to chase this reference and ensure I met all the requirements. So, I made a plan… 1. To call in the morning and confirm a time

frame agreement; 2. To make a follow up call at lunch time; 3. To find out in the evening if there’d been any glitches; 4. Repeat the process the following day. Through my persistence, that crucial reference came through. I was able to complete the application on time and wait for the outcome. My entire career literally hinged on that special reference. I was subsequently itted to the training program and spent three harrowing years in the Leicestershire Deanery perfecting my skill. Today I am indebted to that program for preparing me to be a world class physician. I am sure we can all cite those moments that literally changed our lives. Life presents us with a few in our lifetime—perhaps ten moments in an average person’s lifetime. For me, this was a turning point in my life which was impossible without throwing all of myself into this cause. We have to be willing to be thrown into the deep end and learn to stay afloat.

In Conclusion Go the extra mile. Don’t be afraid to devote all of yourself to a cause you believe in. Do whatever it takes and more. When things are hard, as they often will be, don’t wish for an easier assignment; rather, seek to create a better you. Every day, work harder on yourself than on your task. Attributes like honesty, transparency, dedication, hard work, trustworthiness, integrity, reliability, dependability, faithfulness, love, generosity, kindness, empathy, peace, happiness, and genuineness, are what form a truly successful person. Learn to govern yourself first before you expect to govern others. There is no point in working hard and having lots of money yet being riddled with guilt, stress and lack of peace. Give more, go further! Go the extra mile!

MILE: Must Improve the Learning Experience

Must: Lifelong learning is an imperative. Self-development is not optional, it is a must which can only be enforced by you. It is an imperative you must be willing to embrace.

Improve: Take time to make your life better and fuller. Self enhancement is man’s grandest privilege. Nothing infuses man with energy and confidence more than a sense of progress.

Learning: A great quality of a great person is their teachability. Learn daily with an uncommon enthusiasm, for no one knows everything. We all are students in the school of life; it is best to adjust your attitude.

Experience: Subjective as it may be, experience is the only thing we can take out of this world. Each moment is once in a lifetime experience. Going an extra mile each day makes our whole life an extraordinary experience.

Epilogue

We have gone through the twelve chapters together and armed ourselves with the tools for leading an extraordinary life. Going the extra mile not only makes us stand out, it also helps us fulfil our potential and purpose in life. The extra mile is an inside job; you have to perfect the art within first, then the results will show without. The process of character building takes time and effort. You cannot afford to cut corners. You have to establish an impeccable template from which you can build your whole solid empire. The whole process starts with your mindset, followed by the crystal-clear plans of the direction you want to take in life. It is the daily habits that will facilitate your ability to reach those goals. Those goals demand focus and discipline coupled with resilience and the tenacity to stop at nothing until they are realised. The road of life is not easy. It is an extra mile travelled by a few. Even when it gets lonely, learn to enjoy your own company. No one can quite travel your path your way. Learn to be an independent thinker who lives with full abandon, who is not afraid to ruffle a few feathers in pursuit of principle. The extra mile is not only lonely, it is precarious. As Steve Biko asserts, “It is better to die for an idea that will live, than to live for an idea that die.” Be fearless, be ruthless, take no prisoners, go the extra mile!

About The Author

Dr Molapo Selepe was born at the height of apartheid in the small town of Odendaalsrus in the middle of South Africa. He grew up in the township of Kutloanong. His high school of Rearabetswe was banned by the Education Department when he was doing his final year of high school — matriculation. He defied the odds when he was itted to the University of Cape Town Medical School in 1992. He completed his protracted training in 1999. Dr Selepe moved to England in 2002 where he did his medical residency until 2007. In 2009 he took up the discipline of Family Medicine. He has been a reputable GP since 2012. He was a GP partner in Peterborough before moving to Australia in 2013. He has been a successful GP in Perth Australia since 2013. He is a well experienced GP who has special interest in vasectomy, men’s health, diabetes, paediatrics, geriatrics and education. He has been married to Mahali Selepe (Gospel Musician) for eighteen years. They are blessed with a son aged fifteen, Rea, and a daughter aged eleven, Halle. In January 2009, they lost their third-born child, L’amour, to a severe form of bronchiolitis. In his spare time, Dr Selepe enjoys family time, long distance running, gym, public speaking, writing, reading, and music. He is also a leader of Road To Bethlehem, the largest nativity play of its kind in Perth, Australia.

Notes and References

Chapter 1

JF Kennedy: John Fitzgerald “Jack” Kennedy (May 29, 1917–November 22, 1963), commonly referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963.

Malika Chand’s words from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma, page 53, published by Thornsons 2015, ©Robin Sharma, 1997.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela: 18 July 1918–5 December 2013, was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary who became President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country’s first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. He was imprisoned for twentyseven years from 1963 to 1990, after being charged with treason for conspiring to overthrow the state, and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia Trial.

Fusi Madela: Dr Fusi Madela, general surgeon in Durban, South Africa. He was my childhood friend. We studied first degree medicine together at the University of Cape Town, 1992 to 1999.

SADTU: The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) is a progressive teachers’ union which was established on 6 October 1990. The birth of SADTU saw thousands of teachers from at least eighteen organisations from

all corners of South Africa coming together to form the union. This historical event has been described by teachers as “the day of victory.” SADTU became the first national unitary, non-racial and nonsexist union to be formed in South Africa.

COSAS: The Congress of South African Students (COSAS) was established in June 1979 as a national organization to represent the interests of Black school students in the wake of the Soweto uprisings. COSAS organized students at secondary and night schools, as well as technical, teacher training and correspondence colleges. Soon after their formation, the organisation set up branches in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Transvaal, Orange Free State and Natal.

Maureen Dennehy: was the academic development officer at the University of Cape Town in 1992, the year I was itted to the medical school. She later took the Program Coordinator position. She is currently based at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, as the Quality Consultant.

Boehringer Ingelheim: Is the pharmaceutical company that sponsored my studies from 1992 to 1999 at the University of Cape Town. Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH was founded in 1885 by Albert Boehringer in Ingelheim am Rhein, . The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Still headquartered in Ingelheim, it operates globally with 146 s and more than 47,700 employees. The company’s key areas of interest are respiratory diseases, metabolism, immunology, oncology and the central nervous system.

Chapter 2

Thomas Jefferson: (April 13,1743–July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Father who was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and later served as the third President of the United States from 1801 to 1809.— Wikipedia.

Aristotle: (384–322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist born in the city of Stagira, Chalkidice, on the northern periphery of Classical Greece. Along with Plato, Aristotle is considered the “Father of Western Philosophy,” which inherited almost its entire lexicon from his teachings, including problems and methods of inquiry, so influencing almost any form of knowledge known to the modern world.

Benjamin Franklin:(January 17, 1706–April 17, 1790) was an American polymath and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, humourist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment. As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, among other inventions. He founded many civic organizations, including Philadelphia’s fire department and the University of Pennsylvania—Wikipedia.

Horace: Quintus Horatius Flaccus (December 8, 65 BC–November 27, 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his Odes as just about the only Latin lyrics worth reading.

Heartlands Hospital: This hospital is based at the heart of a bustling, dynamic community. It is the largest hospital at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust. I worked in this hospital as a middle grade emergency doctor in 2003/4. They are one of the busiest emergency departments in the UK.

MRCGP: hip with the Royal College of General Practitioners. Specialist qualification in General Practice/Family Medicine offered by the Royal College of GPs based in Euston Square, London.

Big John Tate: One of the fighters I from my childhood days. John Tate (January 29, 1955–April 9, 1998) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1988 and held the WBA heavyweight title from 1979 to 1980. Tate turned pro in 1977 and scored a series of high-profile wins, knocking out highly ranked contenders Duane Bobick, Bernardo Mercado, and Kallie Knoetze. He captured the vacant WBA title on October 20, 1979 by defeating Gerrie Coetzee by decision, succeeding Muhammad Ali, who had relinquished the title that summer. Tate’s fights with Knoetze and Coetzee were held in Apartheid South Africa, the latter before 80,000 fans—Wikipedia.

Gerrie Coetzee: Gerhardus Christian “Gerrie” Coetzee (born 8 April 1955) is a South African former professional boxer who competed from 1974 to 1986, and in 1993 and 1997. He was the first boxer from the African continent ever to fight for, and win, a world heavyweight championship, having held the WBA title from 1983 to 1984—Wikipedia.

Sugar Ray Leonard: (born May 17, 1956) is an American former professional boxer. He is often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed from 1977 to 1997, winning world titles in five weight divisions; the lineal championship in three weight divisions; as well as the undisputed welterweight title—Wikipedia.

Marvelous Marvin Hagler: (born Marvin Nathaniel Hagler; May 23, 1954) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 1987. He reigned as the undisputed middleweight champion from 1980 to 1987, making twelve defences of that title, and currently holds the highest knockout percentage of all undisputed middleweight champions, at seventy-eight percent, while also holding the second longest unified championship reign in boxing history at

twelve consecutive defences—Wikipedia.

Hosea Tjale: (Born June 6, 1954), the South African long-distance runner who dominated marathon and ultramarathon in the 1980s. He won eleven titles including the London-Brighton Marathon. He won nine Golds for Comrades Marathon. Hosea Tjale, fondly referred to as “Hoss or Horse” was regarded as the best runner who never won the race. He had the misfortune of competing in the Fordyce era, finishing second in 1985 and 1990, and third in 1986 and 1987. Tjale, now in his sixties, lives in an informal settlement near Tembisa in Gauteng. In his heyday, he was perhaps the most popular athlete at the Comrades. www.espn.com.au/athletics/story/_/id/19520558/2017-comrades-marathonpreview

Bruce Fordyce: (born 3 December 1955 in Hong Kong) a South African marathon and ultramarathon athlete. He is best known for having won the South African Comrades Marathon a record nine times, of which eight wins were consecutive. He also won the London to Brighton Marathon three years in a row. He is the current world record holder over fifty miles and the former world record holder over 100 km—Wikipedia.

Comrades Marathon: The Comrades Marathon is an ultramarathon of approximately eighty-nine kilometres (approx. fifty-six miles) which is run annually in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It is the world’s largest and oldest ultramarathon race. The direction of the race alternates each year between the “up” run (eightyseven kms) starting from Durban and the “down” run (eighty-nine kms) starting from Pietermaritzburg—Wikipedia.

Phillip Doddridge: (26 June 1702—26 October 1751) was an English Nonconformist leader, educator, and hymnwriter. Philip Doddridge was born in

London, the last of the twenty children of Daniel Doddridge (died 1715), a dealer in oils and pickles. Before Philip could read, his mother began to teach him the history of the Old and New Testament from blue Dutch chimney-tiles on the chimney place of their sitting room. In his youth, Philip Doddridge was educated first by a tutor employed by his parents, then boarded at a private school in London. In 1719, he chose to enter the Dissenting academy at Kibworth in Leicestershire. Here he was taught by John Jennings, whom Doddridge briefly succeeded in 1723. Also, in 1723 he received an invitation to be pastor to an independent congregation at Northampton, which he also accepted. Charles Spurgeon referred to The Rise and Progress as “that holy book”. Doddridge also wrote over 400 hymns.

Chapter 3

George Bernard Shaw: (26 July 1856—2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist, and political activist who held both Irish and British citizenship. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. He wrote more than sixty plays, including major works such as Man and Superman (1902), Pygmalion (1912) and Saint Joan (1923). With a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

José Mourinho: (born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese football manager. He is the manager of Premier League Club Manchester United. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most successful managers in the world. In 2015, Mourinho was named Portuguese Coach of the Century by the Portuguese Football Federation. In 2017, Mourinho was named among the 10 greatest coaches since the foundation of UEFA in 1954. He also became the first coach to spend more

than £1 billion on transfers—Wikipedia.

Wislawa Szymborska: Maria Wislawa Anna Szymborska (2 July 1923–1 February 2012) was a Polish poet, essayist, translator and recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in Prowent, which has since become part of Kórnik, she later resided in Kraków until the end of her life. In Poland, Szymborska’s books have reached sales rivalling prominent prose authors: although she once remarked in a poem, “Some Like Poetry” (“Niektórzy lubi¹ poezjê”), that no more than two out of a thousand people care for the art.

IELTS: The International English Language Testing System, or IELTS, is an international standardised test of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers. It is tly managed by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia, and Cambridge English Language Assessment, and was established in 1989. IELTS is one of the major English language tests in the world. IELTS is accepted by most Australian, British, Canadian and New Zealand academic institutions, by over 3,000 academic institutions in the United States, and by various professional organisations across the world.

Marvin Sapp: Pastor Marvin Louis Sapp (born January 28, 1967) is an American Gospel music singer-songwriter who recorded with the group Commissioned during the 1990s before beginning a record-breaking solo career. Sapp is also the founder and senior pastor of Lighthouse Full Life Centre Church, located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He recorded Perfect Peace in 1995.

Fred Hammond: For the New York politician, see Fred W. Hammond.

Frederick William Hammond (born December 27, 1960) is a gospel singer, bass guitar player, and record producer. Hammond has been active both as a member of the gospel performing group Commissioned, and as a solo artist. He is a

multiple Grammy, Dove, and Stellar award winner and nominee as a performer, producer and writer.

Hammond first gained recognition while playing bass guitar for the gospel group The Winans. By 1985 he was one of the six original of the group Commissioned, participating in ten of the group’s twelve albums. After his time with Commissioned ended, he regained fame in the gospel community after selling millions of albums with his musical group Radical For Christ.

The Proteas: The South African national cricket team, nicknamed the Proteas (after South Africa’s national flower, Protea), represents South Africa in international cricket. South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test, One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) status. As of 7 February 2018, South Africa has played 420 Test matches, winning 157 and losing 139. The team has played 586 ODIs, winning 361, losing 203 and tying six, with 16 no-results. Finally, it has played 91 T20Is, winning 54 and losing 36, with one no-result. On 20 August 2012, South Africa became the top ranked team in Test cricket for the first time. Eight days later, on 28 August 2012, it became the first team to top the rankings in all three formats of the game.

IELTS Bands: No minimum score is required to the test. An IELTS result or Test Report Form is issued to all test takers with a score from “band 1” (“non”) to “band 9” (“expert ”) and each institution sets a different threshold. There is also a “band 0” score for those who did not attempt the test. Institutions are advised not to consider a report older than two year to be valid, unless the proves that they have worked to maintain their level.

High School Principal: Mr Sephiri Leteane, my high school principal 1988 to 2018. For 30 years he has been the head of Rearabetswe Senior Secondary

school where I finished high school in 1991. He did a BCom degree from Turfloop University in Polokwane, Limpopo Province. He impressed us with his eloquence and great command of the English language. One of his popular quotes: “Time is a precious commodity which when lost can never be regained.”

Brent Beshore: a commentator and columnist on business investment. He is an entrepreneur, the founder/CEO of adventur.es (#28 on 2011 Inc. 500), an angel investor, a winemaker (Beshore Family Vineyards), and a poverty relief advocate. Twitter handle @brentbeshore.

Chapter 4

Steve Jobs: Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955–October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, business magnate, inventor, and industrial designer. He was the chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), and co-founder of Apple Inc., CEO and majority shareholder of Pixar, a member of The Walt Disney Company’s board of directors following its acquisition of Pixar, and the founder, chairman, and CEO of NeXT. Jobs and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak are widely recognized as pioneers of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s.

Gallup Studies: Gallup, Inc. is an American research-based, global performancemanagement consulting company. Founded by George Gallup in 1935, the company is known for its public opinion polls conducted worldwide. It provides research and strategic consulting to large organizations in many countries, focusing on “analytics and advice to help leaders and organizations solve their most pressing problems.” Some of Gallup’s stated key practice areas are employee engagement, customer engagement, talent management, and wellbeing. Gallup has thirty offices in more than twenty countries, employing about 2,000 people in four divisions: Gallup Poll, Gallup Consulting, Gallup

University, and Gallup Press.

BMI Private Hospital: BMI Healthcare is the largest private hospital group in the UK, with fifty-nine hospitals and clinics throughout the UK. BMI Healthcare is an independent provider of private healthcare, offering treatment to private patients, medically insured patients, and NHS patients. It is a subsidiary of General Healthcare Group (GHG), forming the majority of the operations (OpCo) side of GHG, which owns and operates the hospital business.

Arsenal Football Club: Arsenal Football Club, nicknamed The Gunners/Gooners, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England, that plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won thirteen League titles, a record thirteen FA Cups, two League Cups, the League Centenary Trophy, fifteen FA Community Shields, one UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The club has also won the secondmost top-flight matches in English football history and is the only English club to go a thirty-eight-match league season unbeaten, receiving the nickname The Invincibles, and a special gold Premier League trophy.

Aston Villa Football Club: Aston Villa Football Club; nicknamed Villa, The Villa, The Villans and The Lions) is a professional football club in Aston, Birmingham, that plays in the Championship, the second level of English football. Founded in 1874, they have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa was one of the founder of the Football League in 1888 and of the Premier League in 1992–Wikipedia.

GMC: The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is “to protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public” by controlling entry to the , and suspending or removing when necessary. It also sets the standards for medical schools in the UK. hip of the confers substantial privileges under Part VI of

the Medical Act 1983.

BMA: The British Medical Association - (BMA) is the professional association and a ed trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association’s headquarters are located in BMA House, Tavistock Square, London. Additionally, the association has national offices in Cardiff, Belfast, and Edinburgh, a European office in Brussels, and a number of offices in English regions. The BMA has a range of representative and scientific committees and is recognised by National Health Service (NHS) employers as sole contract negotiators for doctors.

Tim Grover: Tim S. Grover is the CEO of ATTACK Athletics, Inc., founded in 1989. World-renowned for his legendary work with elite champions and Hall of Famers, including Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, and hundreds other NFL, MLB, NBA, and Olympic athletes, he is the preeminent authority on the science and art of physical and mental dominance and achieving excellence. Author of the national bestseller RELENTLESS: From Good to Great to Unstoppable.

Chapter 5

Les Brown: (born February 17, 1945) is an American motivational speaker, author, radio DJ, former television host, and former politician. As a politician, he is a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives. As a motivational speaker, he uses the catch phrase “it’s possible!” and teaches people to follow their dreams as he learned to do. He was the host of The Les Brown Show in America.

Stevie Wonder: Stevland Hardaway Morris (born May 13, 1950), known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. A child prodigy, he is one of the most critically and commercially successful musical performers of the late 20th century. He has been blind since shortly after birth.

Gillian Jacobs: Gillian MacLaren Jacobs (born October 19, 1982) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Britta Perry on the NBC Screen comedy series Community and as Mickey Dobbs on the Netflix series Love. Jacobs had a recurring role as Mimi-Rose Howard on the fourth season of the HBO series Girls and has appeared in films such as Gardens of the Night (2008), The Lookalike (2014), Life Partners (2014), Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015), Don’t Think Twice (2016) and Brother Nature (2016).

Scarborough General Hospital: The secondary hospital that serves Scarborough and the North Yorkshire area on the north-east coast of England. I worked in this hospital as a medical registrar in 2009 under the auspices of Dr Rajit Perera, a well-respected geriatrician who retired in 2011.

Respiratory Medicine Journal: Management of PE, Respiratory Medicine Journal 2007 Jul, 101(7):1537-42. Epub 2007 Jan 24. “Saddle pulmonary embolism diagnosed by CT angiography: frequency, clinical features and outcome.” Ryu JH1, Pellikka PA, Froehling DA, Peters SG, Aughenbaugh GL.

RCGP: Royal College of General Practitioners ission Program: the first step to becoming a General Practitioner in the UK is to the General Medical Council’s (GMC) GP . For most UK graduates, this means completing a minimum of three years specialty training on a GMC approved program, ing the MRCGP assessments, and gaining a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT). The RCGP is not involved in the recruitment of GP trainees. Applications to a GP training program in the UK are made through the GP National Recruitment Office (NRO).

Once you have been accepted onto a GP training program and assigned a Health Education England (HEE) local office or deanery, you can with the RCGP. This will give you access to the Trainee ePortfolio. You and your educational supervisors can then record your training and assessments and monitor your progress through your program.

Chapter 6

Taylor Swift: Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. One of the leading contemporary recording artists, she is known for narrative songs about her personal life, which have received widespread media coverage. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee at the age of fourteen to pursue a career in country music. She signed with the label Big Machine Records and became the youngest artist ever signed by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house.

Kevin Hart: Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. His humour often uses self-deprecation derived from his experiences as a black man with a large extended family. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Hart began his career by winning several amateur comedy competitions at clubs throughout New England, culminating in his first real break in 2001 when he was cast by Judd Apatow for a recurring role on the TV series Undeclared.

Jose Bergamin: José Bergamín Gutiérrez (Madrid, 1895–August 28, 1983) was a Spanish writer, essayist, poet, and playwright. His father served as president of the canton of Málaga; his mother was a Catholic. Bergamín was influenced by both politics and religion and attempted to reconcile Communism and

Catholicism throughout his life, remarking “I would die ing the Communists, but no further than that” —Wikipedia

Permanent Residence in Australia: An Australian permanent resident (PR) is the name given to a non-citizen who is the holder of a permanent visa. A permanent resident can live, work and study without restriction in Australia. A permanent resident has most of the rights and entitlements of a citizen, however there are differences: A citizen has an automatic right of entry to Australia; however, if a permanent resident chooses to travel internationally, they need to ensure they have a permanent visa with a valid travel authority if they wish to return to Australia as a permanent resident.

AHPRA: Australian Health Professional Registration Agency. AHPRA’s operations are governed by the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, as in force in each state and territory (the National Law), which came into effect on 1 July 2010. This law means that for the first time in Australia, sixteen health professional bodies are regulated by nationally consistent legislation under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme.

Apollo Health: my first job in Perth, WA. Apollo Health is a GP practice group founded in 2012 by Dr Tim Haggett. It has four GP clinic branches in Armadale, Cannington, Joondalup and Cockburn. I have worked in all four centres between 2013 and 2016. In 2016 Apollo Health was taken over by St John of God to provide urgent care services.

Brecon, Wales: Brecon (Welsh: Aberhonddu), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, with a population of 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Brecknockshire; although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of the County of Powys, it remains an important local centre. Brecon is the third-largest town in Powys, after Newtown and Ystradgynlais. It lies north of the Brecon Beacons

mountain range but is just within the Brecon Beacons National Park.

MRCGP: hip with the Royal College of General Practitioners, based in Euston Square, London.

ICMP: The ICMP (The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance, formerly known as the Guitar Institute), is an independent music education provider located in London, UK. My wife Mahali studied contemporary music performance at this institute in 2011–12. Founded in 1985 by session guitarist Alan Limbrick, the Institute was originally known as Guitartech & Basstech, and was focused exclusively on training and developing guitarists and bassists. The school now also offers courses in drums, vocals, songwriting, music business and music production.

To Do List: Is a task manager which helps to simplify and prioritise things to be done. A to do list lets you keep track of everything in one place, so you can get it all done and enjoy more peace of mind along the way. Daily planning starts with drawing up a list of tasks to be done for the day. Once a broad list has been drawn one can then group the tasks and prioritise them in order of urgency and gravity. I normally identity the three most important tasks that must be done on the day and allocate time for them. Once they are satisfactorily completed I tick them off the list. This way one becomes efficient and effective at making sure things get done. This is a good way to combat procrastination.

Chapter 7

H Jackson Brown Junior: Harriett Jackson Brown Jr. is an American author best known for his inspirational book, Life’s Little Instruction Book, which was a

New York Times bestseller (1991–1994). Its sequel Life’s Little Instruction Book: Volume 2 also made it to the same best seller list in 1993. Born in 1940, in Middle Tennessee (where he still lives), before becoming a writer, Brown acted as a creative director of an advertising agency in Nashville, Tennessee.

Mahatma Gandhi: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 October 1869–30 January 1948) was an Indian activist who was the leader of the Indian independence movement against British rule. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahâtmâ (Sanskrit: “high-souled”, “venerable”) which was applied to him first in 1914 in South Africa, is now used worldwide.

The Extra Mile: “Go the extra mile. It’s never crowded.” Anonymous. What a selfless, generous person to write and share such profound words and claim no recognition for it. The extra mile is sparsely populated. The straight way is narrow and less travelled; the crooked way is wide and congested.

UCT: The University of Cape Town (UCT) is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, making it the oldest higher education institute in South Africa, it is tly the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Saharan Africa. UCT is the highest-ranked African university in the QS World University Rankings, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities, and its Law and Commerce Faculties are consistently placed among the hundred best internationally—Wikipedia.

See Chapter 2 reference 8.

UCT Medical School: established over 100 years ago in 1912, the Faculty of Health Sciences at UCT is the oldest medical school in sub-Saharan Africa, and the top-rated one on the continent. With a stellar reputation in education and research it was ranked forty-eighth in the 2014 Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The medical school is renowned for the first heart transplant in history. On December 3, 1967, 53-year-old Lewis Washkansky received the first human heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.

Rondebosch: one of the southern suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. It is primarily a residential suburb, with a medium-sized shopping area, a small business district, and the main campus of the University of Cape Town. Four years after the first Dutch settlement at the Cape in 1652, the first experimental crops were grown along the banks of the Liesbeek River (at that stage called the Amstel or Versse Rivier). On the banks of the river, a circular grove of thorn trees, or Ronde Doorn Bosje, was turned into a kraal. In 1657, the first group of Dutch East India Company employees gained “free burgher” (free citizen) status and were granted land along the river in the area now known as Rondebosch. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Rondebosch became a predominantly English-speaking area and was declared a whites-only area under the Group Areas Act. Since the end of Apartheid in the mid-1990s, the area has become increasingly integrated.

Zakes: a pseudonym; I decided to name this friend of mine after Zakes Bantwini, a popular South African artist whose real name is Zakhele Madida. Zakes typifies how deep rooted are the social-economic disparities in South Africa. Street dwellers/street kids are a common reality in South Africa, and one which any self-respecting society should never tolerate.

Waterfront, Cape Town: the Victoria & Alfred (V&A) Waterfront in Cape Town is situated on the Atlantic shore, Table Bay Harbour, the City of Cape Town and Table Mountain. Adrian van der Vyver designed the complex. Situated in South Africa’s oldest working harbour, the 123 hectares (300 acres) area has been

developed for mixed-use, with both residential and commercial real estate.

Kroonstad, FS: Kroonstad (Afrikaans for “Crown City”) is the third-largest city in the Free State (after Bloemfontein and Welkom) and lies two hours’ drive from Gauteng. Maokeng is an area within Kroonstad and is occasionally used as a synonym for the city itself. It is the second-largest commercial and urban centre in the Northern Free State (after Welkom), and an important railway junction on the main line from Cape Town to Johannesburg. Maokeng is Sesotho, and means “place of the thorn trees (mimosa trees). Kroonstad was established in 1855 by the Irish pioneer Joseph Orpen and was the first city founded after the independence of the Orange Free State.

Dr Benny Malakoane: He was one of the GPs I worked with in Kroonstad when I arrived there in the year 2000. He later on delved into business and political leadership. He studied medicine at the Medical University of Southern Africa (MEDUNSA). Malakoane completed his housemanship at the Ga-Rankuwa Hospital (now the Dr. George Mukhari Hospital). Thereafter, he went into private practice in Kroonstad. He also studied family medicine (MFamMed) at the University of the Free State.

Alma Mater: (Latin: alma “nourishing/kind”, mater “mother”) is an metaphorical Latin phrase for a university or college. In English, this is largely a US usage referring to a school or university from which an individual has graduated. My alma mater is UCT – I am currently involved in a minimal way through the Australia Alumni Programme.

Chapter 8

Paulo Coelho: Paulo Coelho de Souza (born 24 August 1947) is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist and the recipient of numerous international awards. He is best known for his widely translated novel The Alchemist. He is the writer with the highest number of social media followers, reaching over 29.5 million fans through his Facebook page and 12.2 million followers on Twitter.

Arun Purang: Mr. Purang is a writer, speaker and consultant in the field of talent intelligence. In his book Corporate Seer, he has challenged Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, proposing four standards of work. He is a visiting lecturer in IIM (Indian Institute of Management) Bangalore. His program has helped many people discover their own journeys in life and live a meaningful and fulfilling life.

Brian Tracy: (born January 5, 1944) is a Canadian-American motivational public speaker and self-development author. He is the author of over seventy books that have been translated into dozens of languages. His popular books are Earn What You’re Really Worth, Eat That Frog!, and The Psychology of Achievement.

Ngugi Wa Thiong’o: (born 5 January 1938) is a Kenyan writer, formerly working in English and now working in Gikuyu. His work includes novels, plays, short stories, and essays, ranging from literary and social criticism to children’s literature. He is the founder and editor of the Gikuyu-language journal Mutiiri(meaning pilgrims in Swahili) In 1977, Ngugi embarked upon a novel form of theatre in his native Kenya that sought to liberate the theatrical process from what he held to be “the general bourgeois education system,” by encouraging spontaneity and audience participation in the performances. His project sought to “demystify” the theatrical process, and to avoid the “process of alienation [that] produces a gallery of active stars and an undifferentiated mass of grateful irers” which, according to Ngugi, encourages ivity in “ordinary people.” In the United States, he taught at Yale University for some years, and has since also taught at New York University, with a dual professorship in Comparative

Literature and Performance Studies, and at the University of California, Irvine.

Wole Soyinka: Akinwande Oluwole “Wole” Babatunde Soyinka (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian playwright, poet and essayist. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first African to be honoured in that category. Soyinka was born into a Yoruba family in Abeokuta. After studying in Nigeria and the UK, he worked with the Royal Court Theatre in London. He went on to write plays that were produced in both countries, in theatres and on radio. He took an active role in Nigeria’s political history and its struggle for independence from Great Britain. In 1965, he seized the Western Nigeria Broadcasting Service studio and broadcast a demand for the cancellation of the Western Nigeria Regional Elections. In 1967 during the Nigerian Civil War, he was arrested by the federal government of General Yakubu Gowon and put in solitary confinement for two years—Wikipedia.

Chuana Achebe: (16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic. His first novel Things Fall Apart (1958), often considered his best, is the most widely read book in modern African literature. He won the Man Booker International Prize in 2007. Raised by his parents in the Igbo town of Ogidi in southeastern Nigeria, Achebe excelled at school and won a scholarship to study medicine, but changed his studies to English literature at University College (now the University of Ibadan). He became fascinated with world religions and traditional African cultures, and began writing stories as a university student. After graduation, he worked for the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS) and soon moved to the metropolis of Lagos. He gained worldwide attention for his novel Things Fall Apart in the late 1950s.

JM Coetzee: John Maxwell Coetzee (born 9 February 1940) is a South African novelist, essayist, linguist, translator and recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature. He relocated to Australia in 2002 and lives in Adelaide. He became an Australian citizen in 2006. In 2013, Richard Poplak of the Daily Maverick

described Coetzee as “inarguably the most celebrated and decorated living English-language author.” Before receiving the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature, Coetzee was awarded the Jerusalem Prize, CNA Prize (thrice), the Prix Femina Étranger, The Irish Times International Fiction Prize, and the Booker Prize (twice), among other accolades. Coetzee spent most of his early life in Cape Town and in Worcester in Cape Province (modern-day Western Cape), as recounted in his fictionalised memoir, Boyhood (1997). He studied mathematics and English at the University of Cape Town and received his Bachelor of Arts with Honours in English in 1960, and his Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Mathematics in 1961. He then relocated to the United Kingdom. In 1962, he worked as a computer programmer for IBM in London, and ICT (International Computers and Tabulators) in Bracknell, staying until 1965. Coetzee went to the University of Texas at Austin, in the United States, on the Fulbright Program in 1965, receiving his doctorate in 1969. In 1968, he began teaching English literature at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he stayed until 1971. It was at Buffalo that he began his first novel, Dusklands. In 1971 he returned to South Africa to teach English literature at the University of Cape Town, where he was promoted Professor of General Literature in 1983 and was Distinguished Professor of Literature between 1999 and 2001.

Steve Biko: Bantu Stephen Biko (18 December 1946–12 September 1977) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he was at the forefront of a grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known as the Black Consciousness Movement during the late 1960s and 1970s. His ideas were articulated in a series of articles published under the pseudonym Frank Talk. Raised in a poor Xhosa family, Biko grew up in Ginsberg township in the Eastern Cape. In 1966, he began studying medicine at the University of Natal, where he ed the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS). Strongly opposed to the apartheid system of racial segregation and white minority rule in South Africa, Biko was frustrated that NUSAS and other antiapartheid groups were dominated by white liberals, rather than by the blacks

who were most affected by apartheid. He developed the view that to avoid white domination, black people had to organise independently, and to this end he became a leading figure in the creation of the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO) in 1968. Influenced by Frantz Fanon and the African-American Black Power movement, Biko and his compatriots developed Black Consciousness as SASO’s official ideology. The movement campaigned for an end to apartheid and the transition of South Africa toward universal suffrage and a socialist economy. It organised Black Community Programmes (Bs) and focused on the psychological empowerment of black people. Biko believed that black people needed to rid themselves of any sense of racial inferiority, an idea he expressed by popularizing the slogan “black is beautiful.” The government came to see Biko as a subversive threat and placed him under a banning order in 1973, severely restricting his activities. He remained politically active, helping organise Bs such as a healthcare centre and a crê,che in the Ginsberg area. During his ban, he received repeated anonymous threats and was detained by state security services on several occasions. Following his arrest in August 1977, Biko was severely beaten by state security officers, resulting in his death. Over 20,000 people attended his funeral.

SHAWCO:, the Students’ Health and Welfare Centres Organisation is a studentrun NGO based at the University of Cape Town, that seeks to improve the quality of life for individuals in developing communities within the Cape Metropolitan area. SHAWCO was founded in 1943 by Andrew Kinnear, a medical student who was moved to action by the need which he saw in the impoverished communities of Cape Town.

RAG: started in the 1920s, UCT RAG ( And Give) is the student-run fundraising division of SHAWCO, made up of just over forty-five diverse students, spanning various faculties, programs and experiences. These students work on a volunteer basis, modelling the structures, requirements and processes of the corporate and entrepreneurial world.

SAX Appeal: the fund-raising magazine of the UCT RAG. The magazine showcases the many changes made to UCT RAG’s largest contributor since the first edition, published in 1933, “when men were men and women were so loose they rattled,” according to a 1940s SAX Appeal editor. Selling at one shilling and weighing in at thirty-two pages, the 1933 edition featured cartoons, limericks, an advert for electricity—when many Capetonians were yet to learn the benefits of an electrified city—and an advert for Springbok cigarettes; which, true to the times, featured a confident doctor smoking the product before operating on a scantily-clad woman.

Driekoppen: the residence was originally named Belsen, after the Bergen-Belsen Nazi concentration camp in north-west , as the residence initially housed students who had served in World War II. The name was changed to Driekoppen to mark the beheading of three slaves around the Mowbray area in 1724.

Kopano Residence: ‘Kopano’ is a Sesotho word that means a place of unity; it is a popular male Residence at UCT. Driekoppen was changed to Kopano after 1994 as a celebration of unity.

Professor Stuart Saunder: specialist Physician at Groote Schuur Hospital (Born 28-08-1931). Stuart Saunders is a senior specialist physician at Groote Schuur Hospital. He is also a co-founder of the liver clinic and liver research unit in the Medicine department at the University of Cape Town.

Part-Time Deputy Principal, planning | University of Cape Town, 1979–present Doctor | Private Practice, Cape Town | 1959–present

Consultant Senior Physician & Liver Disease Specialist | Groote Schuur Hospital Vice-Chancellor | University of Cape Town, 1981–1997 Head | Medicine Department | University Cape Town, 1971–1980 Lecturer |

Dr Mamphele Ramphele: Mamphela Aletta Ramphele (born 28 December 1947) is a South African politician, a former activist against apartheid, a medical doctor, an academic and businesswoman. She was a partner of anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, with whom she had two children. She is a former ViceChancellor at the University of Cape Town and a one-time Managing Director at the World Bank. Ramphele founded the political party Agang South Africa in February 2013 and withdrew from politics in July 2014. Ramphele was born in the Bochum District in Northern Transvaal (now Limpopo). She completed her schooling at Setotolwane High School in 1966 and subsequently enrolled for pre-medical courses at the University of the North. Her mother, Rangoato Rahab, and her father, Pitsi Eliphaz Ramphele, were primary school teachers. In 1968, she was accepted into the University of Natal Medical School, then the only institution that allowed black students to enroll without prior permission from the government. Her meagre financial resources meant that she was forced to borrow money to travel to the Natal Medical School (now the Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Medical School). Ramphele won the 1968 South African Jewish Women’s Association Scholarship and the Sir Ernest Oppenheimer Bursary, worth about R150 annually, for the rest of her years at Medical School. While at university, Ramphele became increasingly involved in student politics and anti-apartheid activism, becoming one of the founders of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), where she met Steve Biko. Biko and Ramphele had two children; Lerato Biko, born in 1974, and Hlumelo Biko, born in 1978. Lerato contracted fatal pneumonia when she was two months old. Their son Hlumelo Biko was born after Biko’s death. In April 1977, Ramphele was issued with banning orders and banished to Tzaneen, Northern Transvaal (now Limpopo) where she remained until 1984. In 1983, she completed her B.Comm. degree through UNISA (the University of South Africa), which she had ed for in 1975. She also completed a

postgraduate diploma in Tropical Hygiene and a Diploma in Public Health at the University of Witwatersrand. In 1991 she received her PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Cape Town. Ramphele has also authored and edited a number of books. Ramphele ed the University of Cape Town as a research fellow in 1986 and was appointed as one of its Deputy Vice-Chancellors in 1991. She was appointed to the post of Vice-Chancellor of the university in September 1996, thereby becoming the first black woman to hold such a position at a South African university. In 2000, Ramphele became one of the four Managing Directors of the World Bank. She was tasked with overseeing the strategic positioning and operations of the World Bank Institute as well as the Vice-Presidency of External Affairs. She is the first South African to hold this position—Wikipedia.

Mandela: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (18 July 1918–5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist, who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country’s first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. On the 21st of September 1998 Mandela gave a most compelling speech in his farewell address to the United Nations: “As I sit in Qunu and grow as ancient as its hills, I will continue to entertain the hope that there has emerged a cadre of leaders in my own country and region, on my Continent and in the world, which will not allow that any should be denied their freedom as we were; that any should be turned into refugees as we were; that any should be condemned to go hungry as we were; that any should be stripped of their human dignity as we were. I will continue to hope that Africa’s Renaissance will strike deep roots and blossom forever, without regard to the changing seasons.”

SRC: The Student Representative Council (SRC) is the highest decision-making structure of student governance. It represents all students at UCT, and their

overall interest and social well-being, in university committees. It is highly involved in policy-making and co-operative decision-making on campus. The SRC is elected annually by the students and consists of seventeen who either represent other student organisations or are independents. The duties, functions, privileges and term of office are set out in the SRC Constitution and election by-laws approved by Council as institutional rules. www.src.uct.ac.za

Medical Residence: UCT: this is a second tier residence situated at the Medical School campus. Second tier refers to a catering senior residence with adequate amenities, house committee, subwarden, resident matron/manager and the resident warden. I lived in Medical Residence 1997 to 1999.

Head Student: the head of the house committee at the University Residence. I was the head student at the Medical Residence in 1998.

Subwarden: the student supervisor and caretaker at the University Residence. He is responsible for providing and guidance for junior students, safety and security issues, discipline and good conduct at the residence. I was the subwarden at the Medical Residence in 1999.

Mark Twain: Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835–April 21, 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humourist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. Among his novels are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), the latter often called “The Great American Novel”. Twain was raised in Hannibal, Missouri, which later provided the setting for Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. His humorous story, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” was published in 1865, based on a story that he heard at Angels Hotel in Angels Camp, California, where he had spent some time as a miner. The short story brought international attention and was

even translated into French. His wit and satire, in prose and in speech, earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty–Wikipedia.

Chapter 9

Deana Carter: Deana Kay Carter (born January 4, 1966) is a country music artist who broke through in 1996 with the release of debut album Did I Shave My Legs for This?, which was certified five times multi-platinum in the United States for sales of over five million. It was followed by 1998’s Everything’s Gonna Be Alright, 2003’s I’m Just a Girl, 2005’s The Story of My Life, and 2007’s The Chain. Overall, Carter’s albums have ed for fourteen singles, including three which reached number one on the Billboard country charts: “Strawberry Wine”, “We Danced Anyway”, and “How Do I Get There.” Carter was born in Nashville, Tennessee, the daughter of singer Fred Carter, Jr. Despite her famous father, she did not have a smooth path to a recording deal. After an initial lack of success at age seventeen, she entered the University of Tennessee, majoring in rehabilitation therapy and becoming a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, and a Sigma Alpha Epsilon Little Sister, also known as a “Little Sister of Minerva.”

Olaf: Olaf the Snowman is a fictional character from the 2013 animated film Frozen, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Winston Churchill: Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill (30 November 1874–24 January 1965) was a British statesman, army officer, and writer, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Over the course of his career as a Member of Parliament (MP), he represented five constituencies in both England and Scotland. During

his time as Prime Minister, Churchill led Britain to an allied victory in the Second World War. He was Conservative Party leader from 1940 to 1955. In 1953, Churchill won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his lifetime body of work; the prize cited “his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as … brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values.” His second term was preoccupied with foreign affairs, including the Malayan Emergency, the Mau Mau Uprising, the Korean War and a UK-backed Iranian coup. Domestically, his government emphasised house-building. Churchill suffered a serious stroke in 1953 and retired as prime minister in 1955, although he remained an MP until 1964. Upon his death in 1965, he was given a state funeral.

Mariah Carey: (born March 27, 1969) is an American singer and songwriter. After g to Columbia Records, she released her debut album, Mariah Carey (1990), which spawned four number-one singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Following her marriage to Sony Music head Tommy Mottola, Carey became the label’s highest-selling act with the albums Music Box (1993), Merry Christmas (1994), and Daydream (1995). After divorcing Mottola, Carey adopted a new image and incorporated more elements of hip hop into her music with the release of Butterfly (1997). Billboard named her the most successful artist of the 1990s in the United States, while World Music Awards honoured her as the world’s best-selling recording artist of the 1990s—Wikipedia

TRC: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was a court-like restorative justice body assembled in South Africa after the abolition of apartheid in 1994. Witnesses who were identified as victims of gross human rights violations were invited to give statements about their experiences, and some were selected for public hearings. Perpetrators of violence could also give testimony and request amnesty from both civil and criminal prosecution. The TRC, the first of the 1003 held internationally to stage public hearings, was seen by many as a crucial component of the transition to full and free democracy in South Africa. Despite some flaws, it is generally (although not universally)

thought to have been successful.

Boitumelo Hospital: a regional hospital in the Northern Free State situated in Kroonstad, South Africa. I completed my internship and community service at this hospital. An impressive institute during its heyday.

Mahatma Ghandi: See Chapter 7 reference number 2.

Chapter 10

John the Apostle: (AD 6-100) was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle (perhaps ten years Jesus’ junior), he was the son of Zebedee and Salome. His brother was James, who was another of the twelve apostles.

Bantu Stephen Biko (18 December 1946–12 September 1977) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he was at the forefront of a grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known as the Black Consciousness Movement during the late 1960s and 1970s. His ideas were articulated in a series of articles published under the pseudonym Frank Talk. I Write What I Like contains a selection of Biko’s writings from 1969, when he became the president of the South African Student Organisation, to 1972, when he was prohibited from publishing. Originally published in 1978, the book was republished in 1987 and April 2002. The book’s title was taken from the title under which he had published his writings in the SASO newsletter under the pseudonym Frank Talk.

RSV: Respiratory syncytial virus is a virus that causes respiratory infections. Illness is common in children under 2 years of age. In this age group RSV can cause bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small breathing tubes of the lung) and pneumonia (infection of the lung). Infections peak in late autumn or winter in most countries. Almost all children will have been infected by the age of three years, but symptoms are often only mild. Recovery from the illness results in immunity to further infection, but this is not long-lasting. http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/respiratory-syncytialvirus.aspx

UHW: University Hospital Wales is a major 1000-bed hospital in the Heath district of Cardiff, Wales. UHW is a teaching hospital of Cardiff University School of Medicine. Construction started in 1963 with the official opening in 1971. It was Europe’s first fully integrated hospital and medical school at a cost of £22 million. The hospital is the third largest University Hospital in the UK and the largest hospital in Wales—Wikipedia

PICU: a paediatric intensive care unit, usually abbreviated to PICU, is an area within a hospital specializing in the care of critically ill infants, children, and teenagers. A PICU is typically directed by one or more paediatric intensivists or PICU consultants, and staffed by doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists who are specially trained and experienced in paediatric intensive care. The ratio of professionals to patients is generally higher than in other areas of the hospital, reflecting the acuity of PICU patients and the risk of life-threatening complications. Complex technology and equipment is often in use, particularly mechanical ventilators and patient monitoring systems. Consequently, PICUs have a larger operating budget than many other departments in the hospital.

Surgical Emphysema: aka Subcutaneous emphysema (SE) is when gas or air is in the layer under the skin. Subcutaneous refers to the tissue beneath the skin, and emphysema refers to trapped air. Since the air generally comes from the chest cavity, subcutaneous emphysema usually occurs on the chest, neck and face, where it is able to travel from the chest cavity along the fascia.

Subcutaneous emphysema has a characteristic crackling feel to the touch, a sensation that has been described as similar to touching Rice Krispies; this sensation of air under the skin is known as subcutaneous crepitation.

GOSH: Great Ormond Street Hospital (then known as The Hospital for Sick Children) opened its doors at 49 Great Ormond Street on Valentine’s Day 1852 with ten beds. It has since become one of the world’s leading children’s hospitals, housing the widest range of specialists under one roof. GOSH was founded by Dr Charles West, who was driven by the shockingly high level of infant mortality in the capital. It was the first hospital in the UK dedicated solely to the treatment of children. For over 160 years, GOSH has been at the forefront of developing new and better ways to treat childhood diseases, pioneering numerous breakthroughs in paediatric care. Some of GOSH’s breakthroughs and ‘firsts’ include but are not limited to:

UK’s first consultant paediatric surgeon, Denis Browne, in 1928. Opening the UK’s first heart and lung unit in 1947. Opening the UK’s first leukaemia research unit in 1961. Pioneering the first heart and lung by machine for children in 1962, to help repair heart problems. Performing the first successful bone marrow transplant in Britain in 1979, by the late Professor Roland Levinsky. Undertaking the world’s first stem cell ed tracheal transplant in a child in 2010. Becoming Europe’s first children’s hospital to offer a portable haemodialysis service in 2010.

Opening Europe’s first research centre to tackle birth defects, the Newlife Birth Defects Research Centre, in 2012.

ECMO: Extracorporeal Machine Oxygenation, also known as extracorporeal life (ECLS), is an extracorporeal technique of providing prolonged cardiac and respiratory to persons whose heart and lungs are unable to provide an adequate amount of gas exchange or perfusion to sustain life. The technology for ECMO is largely derived from cardiopulmonary by, which provides shorter-term . Robert (Bob) Bartlett (born May 8, 1939) is an American physician and medical researcher who is credited with developing a lifesaving heart-lung technology known as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). He is an emeritus professor of surgery at the University of Michigan Medical School. Bartlett reported the first neonatal survivor of ECMO, referred to as Baby Esperanza, in 1976. Baby Esperanza suffered lung damage from meconium aspiration syndrome and she was so sick that ECMO was applied as a last-ditch effort to save her life. The baby spent three days on Bartlett’s machine and she recovered.

Mandela: “I Am Prepared to Die” is the name given to the three-hour speech given by Nelson Mandela on 20 April 1964 from the dock of the defendant at the Rivonia Trial. The speech is so titled because it ends with the words “it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die”. The speech is considered one of the great speeches of the twentieth century, and a key moment in the history of South African democracy.

Rivonia Trial: In July 1963, ten African National Congress (ANC) leaders were arrested in Rivonia, a suburb of Johannesburg. Along with Mandela, who had been arrested in August 1962 and was serving a five-year sentence, they were accused of counts of sabotage, furthering communism, and aiding foreign powers. This included charges of recruiting persons to undertake guerrilla

warfare against the South African state, conspiring to aid foreign military against the republic, and furthering acts of communism. The prosecutor Percy Yutar did not explicitly move for the death penalty, but it was generally believed that that was what the state wanted. All defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. Mandela worked on the speech for weeks before the trial, receiving help in editing and polishing it from author Nadine Gordimer and journalist Anthony Sampson. In writing the speech, Mandela was inspired by Fidel Castro’s famous “History Will Absolve Me” defence speech. He was particularly interested in making the speech appeal to an international audience, inspiring international for the ANC cause. Mandela’s lawyers urged him to leave out the final statement, lest it provoke the judge into sentencing him to death, but Mandela refused. He felt that he was likely to be sentenced to death regardless of his statement, so that saying what he truly felt would be the best option. Nonetheless, he did add the qualifier “if it needs be”.

Chapter 11

Paulo Coelho: Paulo Coelho- See Chapter 8 reference 1.

Nicole ScherzingerL (born Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente; June 29, 1978) is an American recording multi-platinum artist, actress, dancer, singer, songwriter and television personality. She performed initially in high school plays, and studied at Wright State University before dropping out to pursue a musical career alongside the American rock band Days of the New, and later auditioned for Popstars, becoming a member of the short-lived girl group Eden’s Crush. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the burlesque troupe-turnedrecording act the Pussycat Dolls, who became one of the world’s best-selling girl groups.

Scherzinger was born in Maui and raised in Honolulu, into a Catholic family. Her father, Alfonso Valiente, is of Filipino descent, while her mother, Rosemary Elikolani, has native Hawaiian and Ukrainian ancestry. Scherzinger’s parents separated when she was still a baby. When she was six years old, her maternal family moved to Louisville, Kentucky,

Warren Buffet: Warren Edward Buffett (born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist who serves as the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is considered one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net worth of $87.5 billion as of February 17, 2018, making him the third wealthiest person in the United States and in the world.

Rosa Parks: Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913–October 24, 2005) was an activist in the Civil Rights Movement, whom the United States Congress called “the first lady of civil rights” and “the mother of the freedom movement”. On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks refused to obey bus driver James F. Blake’s order to give up her seat in the “coloured section” to a white enger, after the whites-only section was filled—Wikipedia

UWC: The University of Western Cape is a public university located in the Bellville suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. UWC has a history of creative struggle against oppression, discrimination and disadvantage. Among academic institutions it has been in the vanguard of South Africa’s historic change, playing a distinctive academic role in helping to build an equitable and dynamic nation. UWC’s key concerns with access, equity and quality in higher education arise from extensive practical engagement in helping the historically marginalised participate fully in the life of the nation. The university was established in 1960 by the South African government as a university for Coloured people only. Other universities near Cape Town are the University of Cape Town, (UCT, originally for English speaking whites) and the Stellenbosch University (originally for Afrikaans speaking whites). The establishing of UWC was a direct effect of the Extension of University Education Act, 1959. This law accomplished the

segregation of higher education in South Africa. Since the end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994, it has been an integrated and multiracial institution— Wikipedia

Chapter 12

Napoleon Hill- Oliver Napoleon Hill (born October 26, 1883–November 8, 1970) was an American self-help author. He is known best for his book Think and Grow Rich (1937) which is among the ten bestselling self-help books of all time. Hill’s works insisted that ionate expectations are essential to improving one’s life. Most of his books expound principles on achieving “success”.

Andrew Carnegie: (November 25, 1835–August 11, 1919) was a ScottishAmerican industrialist, business magnate, and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late nineteenth century and is often identified as one of the richest people (and richest Americans). He became a leading philanthropist in the United States and in the British Empire. During the last eighteen years of his life, he gave away about $350 million to charities, foundations, and universities—almost ninety percent of his fortune. His 1889 article proclaiming “The Gospel of Wealth” called on the rich to use their wealth to improve society, and stimulated a wave of philanthropy. Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, and emigrated to the United States with his parents in 1848. He built Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Steel Company, which he sold to JP Morgan in 1901 for $480 million. It became the US Steel Corporation. After selling Carnegie Steel, he sured John D Rockefeller as the richest American for the next couple of years—Wikipedia.

Dutch Proverb: The Dutch people believe in their proverbs and idioms. A proverb is an expression stating wisdom believed to be true by the majority of the population.

Madeline Bridges: Madeline S Bridges (1844–1920) is the pen name of Mary Ainge De Vere, an American poet from Brooklyn, NY.

D: continuing professional development; according to AHPRA (Australian Health Professional Registration Agency), D is how health practitioners maintain, improve and broaden their knowledge, expertise and competence, and develop the personal and professional qualities required throughout their professional lives. Health practitioners who are engaged in any form of practice are required to participate regularly in D that is relevant to their scope of practice. in order to maintain, develop, update, and enhance their knowledge, skills and performance and to help them deliver appropriate and safe care.

Family Medicine Speciality: my area of competence, family physician, family medicine (FM), formerly family practice (FP), is a specialty devoted to comprehensive health care for people of all ages; the specialist is named a family physician or family doctor. In Europe, the discipline is often referred to as general practice. Family practice is a division of primary care that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and parts of the body; family physicians are often primary care physicians. It is based on knowledge of the patient in the context of the family and the community, emphasizing disease prevention and health promotion. According to the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA), the aim of family medicine is to provide personal, comprehensive, and continuing care for the individual in the context of the family and the community.