A MESSAGE FROM MY HEART

It is from what is burning in people's hearts that they will speak. It is what matters to them that they will front. The contents of the heart have formed companies, defended nations and causes, freed young girls in India forced into prostitution by their uncles, revolutionized entire countries and so on. Do you have a heart? Then you are a candidate and an agent of change. My question to you today is this: What is burning deep down your heart today? Or maybe of late? Or maybe in the past two years? Kindly take note of it, it is not there for you, it is there for the masses around the world. SELAH

First off, I am totally convinced beyond any shadow of a doubt that there is absolutely nobody on the face of the earth who is here and is not needed. Everybody alive, including you is here because you have to offer something, no not just to your family, but to the whole world. Your platform is not a platform of the mundane, distress, discontentment and debt. Yes, I know, we live in a world that is painted so greatly with all these negatives. 

In addition to that, we have this powerful force called illusion. Today, you suffer loss, and it is easy to believe that the whole life you will have starting today will be a life of loss. Its called illusion. Today, you are steeped in serious debt and distress, and you think that that would be your life situation for the rest of your life. You do not see how else the opposite can be true. The power of illusion. 

Let me tell you what I have learnt over the past several years. I have learnt one simple lesson: You get enlarged in the moment of your distress! That's right. If you can handle it well, with a warrior spirit that totally and firmly refuses to accept the distress, the discontentment and the debt, it is possible to get enlarged in the moment of your distress. I have seen dire and disturbing circumstances altered. Let me say right here that each person in distress and discontent about what is happening in their life is a major candidate for a massive turn around for the better...an enlargement at their time of distress.

Remember Father Abraham? Do you know that it is said that this guy and his nephew were so prosperous that even the land would not accommodate them? The truth is that that is a major possibility. 

The antidote of the illusion I have talked about is...WORDS. The truth is, brothers and sisters that there is a major possibility that you and I can move from distress to major and unprecedented abundance and wealth. Wealth is a weapon we all need. Do you see that struggling family across the street? That single mama struggling to take her kids to school? That children's home lacking all the basic facilities? Do you see the paraplegic people out there in their distress? 

It is for you as a visionary to get out of your illusion of the mundane and helplessness, smack into the thick of things being a major blessing unto the lives of these people and situations. The truth is, no government is formed to care for the people directly...I kid you not. The governments are for the people yes, but their major call is to protect the boundaries and the business space.

So therefore, are you distressed? How long have you been distressed about your life. A year? Two, maybe three? Would you please look up, bloat that illusion out of your mind? Use words to reject the distress. Use faith-filled words to totally obliterate the illusion. Refuse it completely. Do not give up, give in or let up. Truth is that in a moment of imagination, you can see a better good. Abraham was told to lift up his eyes and see...the extent of which he saw became his land...after what was seemingly good had already been taken.

Don't let illusion fool you that the economies have gone down....that the best men/women have been taken...that the best jobs have been taken (especially after you failed an interview)...that the best books have already been printed...LOOK UP! Whatever you see, you are able to get it.

Breathe in....slowly breathe out. That's what is on my heart today.

Have a great week, wont you?

PERMISSION FOR GREATNESS: A PREVIEW

(Darby)  But whosoever shall offend one of these little ones who believe in me, it were profitable for him that a great millstone had been hanged upon his neck and he be sunk in the depths of the sea.

People often tell me that motivation doesn't last, and I tell them that bathing doesn't either. That's why I recommend it daily. —Zig Ziglar

This is an excerpt from my book, 'Permission For Greatness', Coming up in July.  A question here. How many people were mentored by their parents for Greatness,Success, Wealth, and significance? Can you acknowledge that by your show of hands? I really would like to know.

An announcement was made in a church service: “Born to Mr. and Mrs. X, a bouncing Baby boy Y, weighing 3.5 Kg of God’s blessings. The mother and child AND DAD are all in good condition!”

It is sometimes heart-breaking when the child that a mother has carried for nine months, brought to this world successfully, that that same child turns away from the mother and mistreats her. The fact is, that child just doesn’t know, she or he just doesn’t understand. They don’t know the anguish and the pain of childbirth. Childbirth is another mystery of God’s creation. These days, husbands are encouraged to be with their wives in the delivery room through the process. How days have changed! One such a man, am told, from that moment on treated his wife like a queen. He used secret emissaries to ask his wife of her wildest dreams, and systematically went on a mission to fulfill each and every one of them! That is how much respect he accorded his lady after experiencing the pain in the birth process of his child.

But can you imagine the tragedy? Can you imagine a mother after all those 9 months of faithfully expecting, coming to that crucial stage of transition and lacking the power to ‘push?’ Can you imagine there being no facilities around her to help her with this process? A new life is just about to come on earth, and there is no strength, no help and support in this process? Wouldn’t you call that a tragedy?

Childbirth is a transition, both for the mother, and the new born. You will however agree that that is not the only transition that both will go through. In fact, childbirth is the beginning of several transitions in the lives of parents and children. Each transition needs a midwife, a support, and strength to ‘Push’. Frankly at both the conscious and subconscious level, your child needs you whether in a transition or not.

They all crave for it. They all want that validation. It occurred to me twice. Once was when I had sat for my final high school exams that would inevitably decide my fate in life. I was shaken; I was terrified, I was afraid. I remember as I was back in the village, I could gaze at my Dad and Mum’s joint photo hanging on the wall. I remember so vividly weeping and telling dad (the photo that is), “You made it, you made it, and I envy you. I wish I could make it like you!” I was going through a thorough shake up in my young age. I was only 17, and facing the prospect of failure. At that time, mum had been taken ill and needed an urgent operation in Nairobi. The rest of the family was in Nairobi, I was the only boy in the village. As long as I live, I will never forget that potentially defining moment. Can you imagine the chance? Can you imagine the opportunity to shape that young life for significance, greatness, wealth and success?

Let me emphasize once more what permission for greatness is all about. It is about children receiving a daily dose of ‘the blessing’ from the people in authority in their lives. It is this daily dose of blessing that will help form specific paradigms for success, greatness, wealth and significance. This, I have to tell you is important to the children because for the most part in this day and age, it is a forgotten principle. I read T.D. Jake’s devotional titled, “So You Call Yourself A Man?” He gives the following account.

“One Sunday in our church, I called all the young boys who had no fathers to come forward so that I might lay hands on them and prophesy over them and tell them who they are in the Lord. I looked up and found that a thirty year old man had come forward and fallen at my feet. He said, “Pastor, I know am not a boy, but nobody told me who I am. Will you lay your hands on me and tell me who I am? I am hurting because nobody has ever blessed me like that.” Call your sons and your grand sons to you today. Lay your hands upon them and tell them that you love them and that God loves them and has a purpose for their lives. Give them an identity.”

It kind of reminds me of the story of creation. After God had made all there is to make, he fashioned Adam and gave him the authority to rule over everything. It says in the Bible that whatever name Adam gave to a thing, that became its name. So a giraffe is a giraffe, but it could have been an elephant. A lion is a lion but it really could have been a mouse. What was the difference maker? The power of words. The authority of a man. That same power and authority I believe are the most under-utilized tools in forming great men and women of today. The chance to give the blessing is still here with us…will we embrace it?

Have a great weekend, wont you?

WHAT YOU SEE IS NOT WHAT YOU GET!!!

"It is what you really see that will determine what you will get" ~ Life Signatures

We have evolved big time! I have always asked this question: Would you rather that the human race appeared on earth at once showing off iPads, iMac, iPhones, iPods and all these great gadgets of technology, than go through the processes we have gone through all these six thousand years?

That would be an interesting discussion. There are two major industries that are going hand in hand these days: the Coaching Industry and the Technology world. Guess what both agree on? It is that statement WYSIWYG. A professor of mine calls it ‘Wiswig’, which stands for “What You See Is What You Get”.  In the computer world, they add another thing called ‘Garbage in, Garbage out’, GIGO in short. Now, the reason as to why I am saying that what you see is not what you get has to do little with input, but a lot with potential. Focus is a powerful word. It is one of my labels in most of my blog posts.

The word potential however is so vast that I could literally spend months of Sundays talking about it. When you look at potential from the angle of ‘what you see is not what you get’, there is some kind of ‘deliverance’ that comes your way. Let me explain. Few years ago, a certain Senator of the United States of America visited Kenya. He spoke straight up and freely what he thought about the governing conditions of that country. Of course that did not go down well with the powers that be, and using their ‘mouthpiece’ (by the way, I wonder where this guy went!), Alfred Mutua more or less rubbished this senator and in a ‘diplomatic’ tone, told him off.

#ThatAwkwardMoment when the rubbished senator becomes the US presidents few years later, and poor old Alfred Mutua has to give explanations of what he really meant years back! That more or less makes my point. What you see is not what you get. But why is that? Simple; You are not God Almighty! The same principle applies to seeds. When you look at a seed…what do you see? You see a seed! But what do you really ‘see’? What you really see is in fact what you will get. So, when you look at a seed, you really ought to see a forest and not a tree!

I hope you are following. What do you really see in your life now? A certain young guy came to my facebook chat over the weekend seeking some financial aid. He tells me that he is a talented guy studying art in one of the prestigious arts institutions in Nairobi. Of course I could not help him due to where I was in relation to where he was, I asked him to seek help nearby.

Few days later on, he comes back to my facebook and paints a grim picture. Here is how the conversation went:

Him: me i'm not cool.

Me: it happens man...you will be just fine...not being cool is only temporary i assure you

Him: stop saying that dude, i'm serious here!

Me: So am I my friend…unless of course you wanna be in that condition forever?

Him: no!

Me: Great, so my point still stands. Let me ask you...are you talented in art...or you are skilled?

Him: i'm talented in art of course. why are you asking!

Me: because its time you started earning from it, don't you think?

Him: *audible silence…logs off. Maybe had power issues or internet bundle ran out*

Unbeknown to this guy, I need just about 10 illustrations to be included in my new book, “Permission For Greatness”. I have been shopping around for quotes and I can tell you this: that guy is seated on a gold mine! What does he really see in himself? And that my friend is the million dollar question. That question is not just directed to that guy. It is directed to all of us. What do we really  see? Am talking about looking deep into our God-given potential, taking it and multiplying with time…what do we really see?

What you actually see today is not necessarily what you will get tomorrow. What you see today are just facts: Jobless, homeless, rejected, alone, starving, ‘no man’, ‘no woman’, no money, no opportunities, no degree, no ‘godfather’, no expertise. Sadly, most people stop right there in their ‘vision’. They make conclusions of tomorrow based on the sad facts of today, and not on the true potential of tomorrow that offers ‘boundless possibilities’. Is it any wonder that we are warned not to despise the days of humble beginnings?

Most probably, what this guy on facebook is seeing right now is that if I cannot bail him out, I should stop asking him ‘maswali za clinic’, that is Swahili for ‘useless questions’. (I am not sure why Swahili is in English…but I digress). My point today is that we have got to start seeing with ‘eyes of opportunity’ than with the eyes of facts and reality. That does not mean we negate reality, it simply means we choose to seek out the best. I have had multiplied missed opportunities because I did not really see, but I just ‘saw’. In the words of Rafiki in Lion King, you have got to ‘see beyond what you can see’. I hope this makes sense.

Have a telescopic week, wont you?

LESSONS FROM MY LEGZUS

A few weeks back, I had a first hand experience of Nairobi's rain torrents, floods, gridlock traffic jams and all. I was quick to learn several things. I also came to terms with the fact that naturally, I seek the most comfortable solution to predicaments, something that does not 'disturb the peace' around me. You see, when it started raining, I had no umbrella and I thought that the easiest way not to be rained on would be to get a special hire to drop me right at the doorstep. It turned out that the availability of a special hire was, well, scarce...which tells you that if I were to find one, the prices would be through the roof.

I quickly knew that the more I waited for a special hire, the more delayed I would be...so I hopped onto my Legzus, took 'roote eleven', and headed for the nearest bus stop. As you can imagine, there were no public transport vehicles that had space for me. They were packed to the brim...and even if they were available, they would not move, thanks to the congestion on the road! Again, I was quick to think, did some mental calculations and decided that my Legzus should be strong enough to take me home. Now, there is something interesting about my psyche. Just the fact that I had in my wallet dime enough to pay for a special hire for the journey of my legzus freed me. I can almost bet that if the dime was not available and I was trekking all the way home, my Psyche would have been really low.

Anyway, the first lesson is this: At the earliest opportunity, acknowledge the discomfort, find a plan to keep the vision in motion. Motion is extremely critical to the fulfilment of your cause. Yeah, I know they would tell you something like, "Do not just have motion without progress", but I would tell you that I'd rather a moving man, than a stagnant one. A moving man attracts Ideas and better ways of doing things. A stagnant man allows the message of defeat and impossibility to sink in. At the onset of motion, there might not be progress, but that motion is critical to the mind...

Then, as I walked along, I realized another thing. The hottest selling commodity in Nairobi is....SPACE. I need not belabor this. It takes you just a stint on the Nairobi roads to realize this...how motorists get sucked into the nearest available space to their left, right or in front of them, and how haughty they protect that fort! It is amazing. I wonder who mentors the motorists in Nairobi.

So I get to this small stream of Water on the road. To cross it, I had to skip hop and jump before I could safely and dryly (key word) land over to the other side. True to the assessment that space is critical, there was a woman standing smack in the middle of where I was to land after my neat hop skipping and jumping. The result, I ended up submerged ankle deep in dirty Nairobi water! She did not apologized. Her focus was on her hopping skipping and jumping to the opposite side.

The second lesson is this: What cannot kill you, will make you strong! For some reason, after facing what I had feared (getting soaked with water), my attitude changed. I realized that I could wade through the water. In fact, a few meters later on, I came across a mighty river of flood water. It was so mighty that vehicles from both sides had stopped, not willing to risk the crossing. Guess what? There was no other way round. We had to pass through that place. Now, my being incensed by the lady who did not give me space was useless. This time round, I had to wade through that water...KNEE DEEP! 

And wade through the dirty water I did...but that was not before a quick mental calculation was made: "Should I remove my shoes and wade through barefoot like the rest of the people?" Something quickly told me that my feet were more important than my shoes...and my shoes were meant to serve my feet, and not the other way round. That is the third and final lesson: In life, people are more important than things! That statement is a statement of focus. It will determine what kind of life a visionary will have. It will determine what kind of definition you will have around such things as prosperity, wealth, money, success, significance, greatness. My take is that if your definition does not include that O-Word...you have missed the boat. The word is OTHERS.

Have a blessed day, wont you?

"HOW MANY LOAVES DO YOU HAVE?"

There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but in today's marketing, there is always 'added value.' "Buy two, get one free, register with half a million and stand a chance of winning twenty thousand...." and so on. Two subjects in today's post. Actually three major subjects. First off, the basics. Men and food. Secondly, the fundamental: Questions are answers. Thirdly, the whole point of where we want to go is 'what we have' to start the journey. 

Let us start with the third point. The question above is an excerpt from the Bible. I have been studying the subject of miracles for quite a while. I have noticed that the miracles and the miracle workers almost always required something of those anticipating the miraculous. For some, it was faith. For others it was whatever substance they had. You might think that a soul in adversity has nothing to offer...and you would be totally wrong. A soul in adversity has all that is left for a miracle! You can not count yourself out. You see, miracles are a partnership. Have you ever seen a miracle happen out of the blue...with no participation of a human being in terms of desire, faith, prayer, giving? Have you ever seen a field of corn rise up all by itself? Have you ever seen a seed die and come to life while in the granary?

In a visionary's life, there sometimes is a tendency to depend on a miracle coming from some place else. In that vein, there is also a tendency to neglect 'how many loves you have.' Jesus Christ asked his mentees that question before he could perform a miracle of feeding four thousand MEN. Now, am not into the details. Skeptics might dispel the whole story as a legend...but even then, the HOW is not really for the people in need to figure out. It is for the miracle worker. This kind of mindset will help us accomplish so much. 

Think of any vision that you have right now. Why is it called a vision in the first place? Well, probably it is because you have no clue on HOW it will materialize. All you know for now is that you are thoroughly desirous that it indeed manifests. 

Ladies and gentlemen, it is extremely important for any Life Signatures visionary to ask themselves that all important question, in light of where we are going. What do I have right now? I am not talking about the accounting type of questioning...that is important. Yet I am talking about the insightful deep kind of introspection. "With what I want to accomplish, what do I have right now that I can immediately put into action in relation to where I am going?" 

For some, it is a laptop. For others, a parked vehicle. Others still, a blog. Others, a willing (yet unasked friend). Someone else might be having an Idea undeveloped. Still, someone else might be having a song...or shoes they do not need, or clothes extra, or facebook friends, or twitter followers. "How many loaves do you have?" The answer to this question is an open door to the miraculous, even a liberation from depression and self doubt. You will be surprised with the number when you start counting...since as we have said, questions are answers. Probably people do not have a count of the 'loaves' they have because they have never really deeply asked.

Of course, there is that small bit of putting your 'loaves' on the line. I perceive that the reason most people do not want to take stock of their 'loaves' is that that will expose the 'loaves' from getting out of their lives. Well, if there has got to be multiplication, there has got to be something to multiply with. 'Settling" is such a bad thing. I settle with a parked car ostensibly to maintain my status as a 'car owner'...at the expense of a vision...or worse still, I 'look down' on my 'loaves' saying, "Ah! They are just five loaves anyway. What can they do to server this massive vision?" Oh, that is a biggy, I tell you! The paradox of the miraculous is the use of our 'only' to achieve what we really need, hope, and desire!

Finally, men and food. Well, unfortunately, there isn't a Life Signatures message from those two...just that food is basic. There are basic needs and there are vision needs. At the end of the day, the life of a visionary should be spent for the most part pursuing Life signatures, than the mundane activities of putting food on the table and clothes on the back. That would be killing our potential. A world changer rises above the basics to the important ~being relevant and prominent in changing the stories of the lives of OTHERS.

Have a loaves-filled day, wont you?

THE UNFORTUNATE GAP

Someone has said that success leaves clues. I say that is true. Someone else has said that if you think you are a leader and nobody is following you, you are like one taking a walk in the park. True. Greatness has a way of going beyond the vision bearer. In other words, if you think you are great, then you die and that's all there is about you-your greatness and success go together with you to the grave, I submit that you are not that great. You see, greatness ought to be about others and not about ourselves.

That being said, there is one very unfortunate thing that happens to young people year in and out. For some reason, most parents and guardians have abdicated that crucial responsibility of shaping Life Signatures to the school system. This is completely unfortunate. If I asked, I know I will get responses in droves where young people have come to the cross-roads of their lives and there is no adult 'in authority' to show them the ropes. I watched a movie the other day (based on a true story) called 'We bought a zoo'. I really laughed out when a teenager tells the dad that he has never taught him how to shave. The dad in turn tells the kid (who has now gone into his room and locked the door behind him), "let's shave son, lets shave!" Needless to say, that statement made my day.

Let me say this: If you are expecting a primary school teacher to train up the young generation on Greatness, Success, Significance and Wealth, you are thoroughly myopic. If you are expecting the school system to be present at the crucial moments of a young person's transition, you are mistaken. With all due respect, the School system must be lauded. Yet at the end of it all, I need to ask myself that one important question: What are the objectives of the school system? To educate people so that they can get jobs. That is OK. Now, have you heard of late of any vast vacancies out there? Any jobs waiting to be filled up? Yet, do you know how many young people are churned out of the school system yearly? Droves! Thousands!

I recently heard Loral Langemeier, a money expert, recount of how she was being interviewed on major media some time back. She was waxing eloquent about how to make money and all...when the interviewing journalist askend her, "Loral, what's your take on un-employement"? She immediately said, "I am contributing to it!" That sounded funny, yet the great point to take here is that life after school ought not to be an automatic job search. I have been championing for all of us who have been there at cross-roads, to be as kind as to look back and proverbially 'pass on the baton' to most of these kids standing at the cross-roads. A good population does not know basics in life like money, tithing, saving, planning, goal setting and all. Yet these are the nuts and bolts that we use out here in life to make a difference.


The unfortunate gap ladies and gentlemen, is when a young person stands at major points of transition in their lives and there is no adult to guide them through. I have been there severally. I am sure it would have been different had there been someone to fill that gap. It is my challenge today that anybody who is a visionary out there to consciously take note of the youths in your circle of influence and endeavor to 'show them the ropes'. Believe me, they are hungry for it. I have been there and I know it full well. As we do, we are offering them 'Permission for Greatness!

Have a gap-filled day, wont you?

THE BIGGEST FOUR-WORDED SENTENCE OF ALL TIME

Some years back, I heard a speaker say that the most unfortunate three words that a human being can ever utter are: "I don't Care!" I had been using those words like a cliche but hearing him speak, I immediately exorcised it from my vocabulary. Think about it. Why should you not care? Is it because you are selfish and self-centered? Probably. Is it because the 'results' are more critical than the people? Maybe. That sentence locates you.

In the recent past, we have talked about being VALUEable on this blog. We have said that it is far more fruitful to build value in yourself and what you offer than to seek for people to elevate you to heights of affluence. Think about that once again, because it is an important statement.

You see, the 'inside-out' message for all visionaries is simply key and foundational. When a visionary out-competes herself, when she can tell you without battling an eyelid and at a moments notice what her passion is, she is living the inside out message. A friend of mine Robert Bake calls it the 'lift speech'. If you met Bill Gates in a lift today and you had less than two minutes to share your passion so that he 'sees' it and 'gets' it...what would you say? That is another powerful statement worth reflecting on before you can continue reading. I am doing the same.

However, when all is said and done, the roots must supply sustenance to the branches, and the branches must yield the fruits. I believe with all of my gut that when we are passionately forming value inside of us, we automatically come to the level of using the Biggest Four-worded sentence of all time. Let me explain. People who are living the 'outside-in' message are always seeking for solutions from the outside instead of from their own souls. They say things like, "If only I can have a degree...", or "If only I had some money....", or "If only I had a king-maker..." And so on. You get the point.

The person who has been forming their brand and adding value to it over time will almost always say these four words: "How Can I Help"? Much as the focus in the foundation of this visionary was on the self, they are now at that position where they realize that the potential laden inside of them is for OTHERS. How can I help? This is said with absolute confidence that they have the wherewithal to provide the needed assistance...and if they cannot help, at least they have the necessary references that they can provide. Have you ever told off someone who told you "How can I help"? I doubt. And if you have, then you have surely doubted their SINCERITY. If you are doubting their sincerity to help, it is because they lack value.

Look, the world needs help. The moment we stop looking at ourselves with pity and notice that we need to come alive and offer solutions...that is the moment our Life Signatures become alive. When is the last time I asked someone, "Can I be of help to you?" How about you? That, my friend is another deep statement worthy of a week of reflection. How can i help?

WHO ARE THESE PRESIDENTIAL ASPIRANTS?

This post is Unique to the Kenyan experience. You may find that you are not really following the examples, unless of course you have kept yourself abreast with the political situation in that country. That being said, there is definitely a Life Signatures message in this post for whoever will persevere to read to the end.

Kenya as a nation is standing on what I believe to be its greatest crossroads since independence. The country has a brand new constitution and would be ushering in the first ever general elections under that dispensation. It is precarious as it is challenging for this beautiful country to oversee it’s own true transition close to fifty years after independence.

As I was travelling by bus from Nairobi Kenya on to Kampala Uganda, we traversed very many regions. As usual, my mind was always thinking of this and that in relation to the current political climate in that country. For example, as we passed from Nairobi to Nakuru, I most definitely thought of non other than Uhuru Kenyatta, a Presidential Candidate. It appeared to me that the region we were traversing was his ‘stronghold’. 

Then of course we had to pass through the Rift Valley areas like Kapsabet, Kipkelion and so on, and automatically, I thought of non other than William Ruto, another presidential candidate.  By the time we entered Kaimosi and on to Chavakali, a new entrant in the presidential race with a brand new party Musalia Mudavadi crossed my mind. Before I could think enough about the Mudavadi guy, we were definitely in Kisumu, Raila Odinga’s stronghold. 

I honestly got sickened by all these thoughts on 'strongholds'. I started asking myself: What kind of country are we living in as Kenyans? I thought: What are the Ideologies that these presidential candidates are championing? Come to think of it. When we think about Uhuru Kenyatta, what IDEOLOGY comes to our mind? Honestly? How about William Ruto? What are his ideologies, let alone the party he is using for his presidential bid! What ‘new’ ideology is Musalia Mudavadi bringing in this whole circus? Isn't it sickening that we hear zero content on ideologies, visions, missions, passions of these guys…yet they all want to be the henchmen of our beloved nation? Isn't that just a load of bunk? Why should Vision 2030 not be in the forefront of the very men and women who are up smarting it out to lead this great country? Without a vision, people perish! How so worse when the people's king is visionless, directionless, and passionless for the very country he wants to lead!

Let me ask this question...why would one want to vote for Uhuru Kenyatta? Some people would consider this to be a rather cynical question, even politically incorrect. OK, for good measure, let me ask again...why would one want to vote for Raila Odinga, or William Ruto, or Martha Karua, or Musalia Mudavadi? Have we seriously thought about that? Does it matter anyway? Should it matter the answer? Is it because they are passionate about the country? Is it because they have vision? Is it because they have great teams behind them? Let me ask again...can the word 'Statesman' be mentioned in the same breath as the names of these guys? That is a sobering question worth a retake.

One thing about ideologies is the permanance of pursuit. If we knew these presidential aspirants as say, Reformist, or Economist, or Democratic...or any pure ideology, and are able to identify with those ideologies year in and out, wouldnt that be something? I have found out that tribal groupings are fickle...non of them since independence has held any water. Ideological groupings on the other hand hold UNTIL the ideology is obtained, and even then, it must be maintained.

Then again, let’s look at ourselves as the citizens of this country. Individually…and corporately…what are our ideologies? Between being a tribalistic country and a country filled with pursuits of dreams and Ideologies…what camp do we belong to? See, once we identify who we really are as a country, we stand in a pole position to move forward. It really adds no value to us to sing out that we have a new constitution and that we are not tribalistic, yet to the very bone we exude tribal biases! I talk to learned people and sometimes, a good number of them lean on the tribal train. Look, we either come out and ACCEPT that we are a nation of different varieties of people and use that knowledge well or our pretenses will catch up with us. You see, there is something so beautiful about variety. Sometimes one thing can be boring. Variety spells beauty…and so we should look at it that way. My biggest question to all Kenyans is this: What is our content?

A story is told about when the Berlin wall separated East and West. The Eastern guys one day got loads of trash and garbage and dumped it on the Western side. For good measure, the Westerners did their own dumping, but it was not of garbabe. It was of niceties and presents with a message thus: You give only what you can! This is so sobering a message!

And that is just it. You can only dump what you have. Remember, Ideologies are more permanent than emotional leanings. As a Visionary, I gotta ask you this question: What are your ideologies? What do we know you by? It's time we re-examined ourselves. Have an ideological week, wont you?

PS. No government is formed to specifically help you with fulfilling your dreams! SELAH