How To Be A Magazine Writer

Mar 15, 2016 |

In the last chapter of my life story, I was editor of a South African men’s business and lifestyle magazine. I also had a stint with a lifestyle magazine before that. An occupational hazard related to being an editor is that you receive countless requests to either write for the publication or for mentorship advice. Having left my previous job, I still continue to receive emails, tweets, Facebook and LinkedIn messages, etc. asking me for assistance in getting into the magazine writing world. I must say, as a quick side note, that my biggest gripe in this regard is that very few messages are...

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Read For Ten Minutes a Day

Jun 14, 2015 |

The drive way is a 30 metre gentle incline that curves to the left. At the top, was the single-car garage, which, within a couple of months of moving into the house, he had converted into a study, with a carport just in front of it. On both sides of the length of the former garage, he put in shelves from ground to just below the ceiling with a couple of shelves on the wall office the entrance, beneath a small window that was put in to brighten the study. The shelves weren’t able to hold all the books he owned but it made a dent. This was the home we moved into when I was 11 years old. I grew...

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This Is True Africa

Jun 11, 2015 | ,

I was recently approached to write an article on interesting trends in Africa for Africa Travel Market Magazine which is positioned as "a new glossy travel, trade and business publication that dares to reposition the African continent as a destination of choice. The trailblazing magazine features a strong lifestyle element and is available in both traditional (print) and digital (embracing new media and social media) platforms." While the world 'discovers' us all over again, I truly believe the future of this continent lies in the hands (and minds) of the many people who quietly go about...

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Random Thoughts: Writing

Mar 25, 2015 |

Discovering a certain knack for putting words together in a manner that is occasionally engaging or worth reading has influenced the trajectory of my life immensely. Discovering that, as with most things, mere talent counts for very little has made that journey, at times, painful. Talent is merely the starting point. Learning how to use the tools of the trade – grammar, language, form, genre, craft, etc – is where the real work lies. Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like...

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Random Thoughts: Transition

Mar 17, 2015 |

Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in a panel at GIBS on Career Transitions. It was little daunting because my fellow panellists were people who have been working in the career coaching, executive recruitment and organisational development spaces for some years. But, it was an insightful experience to participate in because, in a way, it allowed me to get clarity on some of the lessons I have learnt about building career and transitioning between industries by simply doing (and reading). In a weird way, having spent extended periods of my life writing, I have had to both...

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To Write Or Not To Write

Dec 18, 2014 |

Until 2010, I’d never worked in a position that overwhelmingly became how the world sees and defines me. Having worked in multiple industries and companies, (for myself and in family business), working as Destiny Man editor was the first real time that people introduced me by my job title first. For the first time, it wasn’t difficult to answer the question that Johannesburg seems to love so much: “so what do you do?” Before that, I was seen as a poet, businessperson, TV producer, writer, etc but that was never all that people saw me as. It is interesting, for me, how, in just over four...

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