Own It

Dear male reader, 

Own it. This is not about the masterpiece from Stormzy ft. Ed Sheeran and Burna Boy. In recent times, I have found myself thinking about extremes. Fanaticism, extremism, and I’ve been thinking about this in relation to myself- how it is that I go all out or not at all.

See, I think that for one to indubitably enjoy an idea, one has to allow oneself to be consumed by the idea. But there are questions to be asked. To what extent should one allow oneself to be consumed by an idea? Are there times we say to ourselves, this is done, this is enough; no more for me on this? Or do we just continue and continue and continue? As I think about this, I think about Spider-Man 1. The villain in Spider-Man, the Green Goblin, how it is that you can allow an idea to consume you so much that you lose yourself in it and become the very thing that you stand for. Although this analysis is inaccurate, we can deduce that an idea can make a personality out of its progenitor. 

A while back, I sat with one of my cousins, and I shared something with him. I said, Look, there is a reason that in recent times I try to develop ideas outside of myself. True, initially, I’d embody the idea, but in the process of time, I’d try to shed the idea like a snake shedding its skin because I want there to be a distinction between me and the idea. Follow, everything that I have undertaken has helped me develop in character more than it has helped anybody else. I like to think so.

I remember that when I started off The Patriarch  Convention, the idea of it, it wasn’t always this; but the idea of The Patriarch Convention would begin to mold me into a better man, which in itself is the goal of The Patriarch Convention. As such, the man that I was in 2021 is not the man that I am right now, and with everything that it has taken to develop that idea, it has developed me more. And I think this is where I want to quote GeeKay. He says, “When you give your best at work, you do yourself the bigger favour than your company. And remember, how you do anything is how you’ll do everything. Excellence compounds, the more you do excellent work, the more you get used to doing excellent work. Be excellent where you are!” Simply put, ownership. Own it. 

On the other hand, I remember Vusi Thembekwayo saying something. He said, people start a business without really thinking about exit, because one day you’re going to exit the business, either selling it off or handing it over to somebody else or worse, death. And that is really important. I think that if we can begin things with the end in mind, it, in a way, structures how we work at things; it regiments, so to say, how we go about it.

I have often said this. I want to be many things before I die, so I know from the outset of a project that I’m not going to be there forever. Now, one might ask, are you trying to be a real live jack of all trades? Not necessarily. And I say this because I can boldly say that everything that I have done, I have given it my all. That is the ownership that we’re talking about. Come to the point where you own it. Nonetheless, know that it’s not yours, per se, it’s just your turn. Hence, you play your part. Growing up, my mother, paraphrasing William Shakespeare, would always say, The world’s a stage where everyone must play their part. 

In the same vein, I feel that this is in line with what the Holy Scriptures say, that every man should be careful to not think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly. You should therefore look at events, and then you ask yourself, have I really given it my all? I know this sort of sounds cliche, but it’s a great question to ask. 

Consequently, I’ve come to appreciate developing a sense of urgency over the years. When I speak to teams, even those I work closely with, I watch their faces cringe at the idea of dying. I say to them, what if, and I’ve learned to use myself in the example rather than my audience. What happens when one goes to bed and does not wake up? What would we remember them for? Thus, whatever I find myself doing, I give it my all. I give it my all. I give it my all. I give it my all. I don’t hold back. I don’t say, Hey, there’s tomorrow.

The thought that there is tomorrow makes you lazy because you think you have time, but you actually don’t. I don’t care: live 100 years, and it is not enough time. You will still have something unfinished. Charles Thomas Munger, said in an interview that he’s still got something on his bucket list: “There are things you give up with time.” He was ninety-nine (99) years old. In other words, there’s always going to be a trade-off. However, ensure that what you are trading off for something else, that thing is worth it, it will be worth it. I digress. Look, I have made up my mind that I don’t want to be lazy. Therefore, I must be productive if I want to be many things before I die. 

At some point in my life, I was known as the Lion. I was the Patriarch, the Chief Patriarch, and now the King of Boys. And I think that era is going to come to an end. But I should like to say this: these programs, these projects, have made me a better person than I would have been had I not undertaken them or had I not been a part of them.

Ergo, I think I agree that the fastest way to personal development is giving your all while starting a business or trying to do something that you think is bigger than you or something that is actually bigger than you because all of these things are bigger than me. And my greatest joy will be that someday there’ll be somebody who would pursue them so passionately like I am doing in that, I won’t be here forever, but I would want these things to be here forever. I would want people to experience what I have experienced in the process of trying to bring these to life. So, yeah, ownership does it. 

Truly, ownership does it, nevertheless, we must know when to pass the baton, or else we might just sink with the ship. Now, when I say sink with the ship, it’s not necessarily that it would fail. No. We would pretty much become stuck, and that’s the last thing you want- to be stuck. There are times that an idea, a business, a project, a campaign needs a fresh pair of eyes or a new set of hands. It will be wise to know such moments and give way and go find other things that you can do. 

Again, I speak right now, and I speak for myself. I do not think it should become a law or a rule of thumb, but I believe that there is so much to do. Think of all the unrealized potentials discovered while you were growing up. Think about them and then (re)visit them. Yes, you should pick up something. Always have something to look forward to. It’s why I love what I do. You never really know who you will meet on the street. Indeed, all you know and all the experience that you have garnered over the years do help, but you must be agile in your approach. 

In all, own it. Leave your mark. Thank you.

The chief patriarch.