Following a proven recipe step-by-step is a guarantee for success.

It may sound like a no-brainer, but I believe in copying what already works well. Replicating something with a successful track record is far easier than doing something never conceived before. I’m not suggesting not being innovative, in fact, quite the opposite. First, get the basics right, then start challenging the status quo.

Cooking and baking recipes ensure the correct ingredients, quantities and methods, for the best outcome. Of course, adding your flair and culinary skills to a recipe is how you add your signature to the dish. …

If hardship doesn’t give you character, it’ll ruin you.

We all go through challenging times throughout our lives. Trying to escape from things going wrong is a futile exercise. t’s better to prepare for curveballs by expecting them. Preparing oneself for unpredictable eventualities takes practice. Anticipating problems might sound like a pessimistic way of living, when in fact, the opposite is true. Having a mindset geared to solving the next problem has many positive effects. It creates a “can-do” attitude that is open to new possibilities.

When you can expect approaching storms and adjust your sails, your quality of life…

I received this fake Peanuts comic strip on a family WhatsApp group.

With only white members in the group, it was “ safe.” My eyes flicked over the three frames as I took them in. Then back again. Then again. Then I stopped. It was like a knock-out punch in the face from Mike Tyson. Gutted, I realised how far we must go before we start healing as a nation.

I paused and gazed into space contemplating how to respond. I thought how many white South Africans would send back a string of laughing face emojis. It would be easy…

I’ve grown up around people that taught me how to cook.

Two of my great loves are reading and learning. Great instructors throughout my life that taught me to challenge the status quo. Having, “Why?” on your lips keeps life interesting — you always tend to be learning.

I’ve always revered people that teach.

My Brother was 11-years older than me. When he went to university after finishing his military service, I was in grade two. He first studied medicine at Witwatersrand University (WITS) for two years. …

How we react to voices of authority is largely determined by our upbringing.

As an Afrikaner born in 1963, I was raised in a disciplined environment. There’s something to be said for most white Afrikaans speaking folks’ high family values, especially back then . My parents had the foresight to raise their four kids fluent in both English and Afrikaans. Besides the normal advantages that being bilingual affords, had an unexpected outcome.

Language sits at the root of any nationality’s culture. It shapes and forms the people and their identity through a common- and exclusive -means of communication . By…

There’s arguably no greater love than the love between a mother and her child.

Maybe because it’s less common, it’s intriguing when a deep bond exists between a son and his mother. History seems to highlight those cases as exceptions rather than the rule. Many stories behind their intimate relationship reveal a mother resolute on preparing her son to be special one day. The early love and encouragement of a parent-especially a mother-can help set a child up for future success.

Jack Welch, the legendary CEO of General Electric for 2 decades, called his Mom, “The most influential person in…

Can anyone be an artist?

The fact is, we’re all artists. We only stop being an artist after being told we can’t do something. The art I speak of is not only artists that paint, sculpt and design. An artist is anyone vulnerable enough to put their work out there , on display for all to see and criticize. So, no matter if you’re a nurse, a lawyer, or an assembler, you can be an artist.

Motivation works. It does for me anyway. I’ve attended many conferences, workshops, and roadshows where various speakers deliver talks throughout the day . I’ve…

What happens when we die?

I always thought when we die, we’ll know everything that people did to us, and everything we did to other people. The truth will be revealed . The nuances of situations-the betrayals behind closed doors, seemingly innocent white-lies, hidden jealousy, secretly envying more, greed and power lurking as the agenda . Also laid bare to see and absorb is all the good that was done . People that helped you without you knowing. When things were said -by you and to you-what’s the meaning and intention.

There is a reckoning to look out for.

When…