Tell Me What You're Doing About It

What are you doing about it?

If Africans implemented 10% of the good intentions they have on social media about resolving the challenges in Africa, we could be talking a different story. That is why I have started blogging. I realised that many of the ideas I put across is locked down in social media company archives. Not that it is impossible to retrieve them but that it is currently non-intuitive to do so. We also have a limited reach beyond our circle of friends and their friends. We know what the challenges are and how to resolve them, what we lack are the platforms to express and act upon those ideas. Lets think about this again, do we lack these platforms or we are not using the right platforms? The later is true it seems. We focus on the wrong platforms such as social media. We should be using social media to spread the works, showcase how it is done not just why it should be done. Instead of telling why Africa is on its knees, show me how it can get up and walk again. Show me by doing it yourself like I have done. I have started blogging to spread my ideas to a wider audience. I have built my own website from the ground up. I have taught myself web design. I have a product. By reading this article you are consuming this product and helping to build my capital. As my personal capital grows, I will then be able to engage in bigger initiatives to influence the lives of more people.

As part of my preparation as a blogger, I have read wide for a long time and I continue to do so. I have a background in Physics education but had to read about finance, the economy, business, governance, and all sorts fields to help me see the relationships between seemingly disparate fields of study. Blogging is the best way to encompass every field imaginable, no restrictions. My focus is putting everything in the African context. Instead of complaining that journalists and the media are not doing enough to define the challenges in Africa, I become the journalist and the media with my blog. I start small and I try to grow it, one sentence after the other. This is being practical. By the end of this year, I am hoping that I will attract comments on the blog itself and start a conversation that will give ideas to more practical people to build their own capital. Influence without capital is impossible and this is our political dilemma. As a poor African electorate, we have no say in who should govern because those with the resources will ensure that they remain in power. There is no morality when it comes to retaining capital. That is our experience. My other observation is that no one listens to a guy who has not done it himself. Your individual success speaks for itself. The poor guy will say exactly the same thing and no one will pay attention. Its nothing personal. 

For me blogging provides that platform to be practical about finding solutions. It is a product for creating capital. On social media I am the product, on my blog I am not. The blog is the product. Besides this blog, I have also set a YouTube channel to complement the ideas here. It is also a product. It can build capital depending on how it is used. I will blog about how you can create capital on YouTube in a future post. We have a poverty of implementation but a rich bank of ideas. We need more practical people and we need to create capital. There is no influence without capital. So when people make suggestions I always ask them how they are going to implement and just why someone else especially the government should do it. This is the change of mindset that I am advocating for. You don’t have to be on the ground in Africa to start creating capital and finding solutions to our challenges. Start where you are with what you have. Capital is an idea that you turn into reality through practical endeavours.