
South African marketing firm Quirk has launched a new brand monitoring service called BrandsEye. Global firms like Ogilvy, Standard Bank and the South African Tourism Board are already using it. I’ve yet to try it out, but Quirk is a solid company, and they have good companies already using it, so that’s promising.

I’m a big fan of WordPress and all the customization and businesses that can grow out of it. A couple South African guys have been working in this space for a while, and have a great premium (meaning you pay money for them) themes offered at the new website WooThemes. (Adii, Mark, Magnus and Elliot have a great eye for detail, a boatload of experience with WordPress, and continue to impress on the international level.)

Joe, head of Google Kenya, launched the Google Africa Blog last week. I’m sure all of us will be watching it with interest. No comments allowed though, which is kind of lame.
This is day 6 of My 4 Hour Work Week Journey. Please make sure you read the rest of the articles that came before this one to understand where I am in the journey. Click here to buy a copy of the 4 hour work week and go on the journey with me.
As far as psychology is concerned, one of the most powerful tools you will get out of the 4 hour work week, should you choose to use it is: fear setting.
NB: This post is rather long, but I really want to get to the meaty part of the journey, ASAP.
What is Fear Setting?
In a nutshell, fear setting is:
When you are being held back from doing something by fear:
1) Write down the absolute worst case scenario that can take place: This, in and of itself, makes you much more aware of what exactly you fear and more often than not you realize that what you fear isn’t all that bad.
2) Write down things you will do to recover the situation or take advantage of these worst case scenarios should they take place: This changes your focus from Armageddon to thinking about how you can either avoid Armageddon or use it to create a brand new better world.
Therefore, for the second edition of Question and Actions, you watch me perform some fear setting
Question and Actions: Fear Setting Edition
1) Describe the absolute worst, nightmare scenario that would take place if you did what you are considering:
2) What steps would I take to repair damage or put things back on the upswing (my own addition: or exploit any negative situations?)
1) I would work on one of the many minimum wage jobs that I recommended on the blog and ask all the members of my family to help me get back on my feet. I would sell my car that recently died. I would stop writing heavily for a while to focus on doing some freelance work and getting back on my feet. I would have sausage sizzles where I sell sausage sandwiches for a dollar each until I get back on my feet. I would look for a job on radio or a paper or any form of mass media using my blog as a credibility tool.
2) Make the product something that benefits the African community and other communities (because Africans are pretty tight with the pocket and Internet commerce is quite new to us). Create something that consistently brings three bottom lines: money, environmental improvement and social improvement.
3) I would immediately get to work on creating a membership site using Yaro’s teaching. I would learn from my mistakes how the Internet marketing world works before trying again. I would talk to Yaro and other members of Blog Mastermind about what I did wrong and keep that in mind as I move forward. I would read Jay Abraham’s material and other Internet marketing materials regarding the area I went wrong. Include it in my story once I finally succeed online to increase the drama.
4) Go to the church and stay there for a long time around beautiful people who are the light of the Earth. Completely cut myself off from any cynical sections of Western society and disconnect myself from the capitalist money making machine for a while to focus on re-building my trust in humanity. I will always have Yaro Starak who really had a great product that so far has done exactly as it promised: taught me how to write, how to bring in readers, how to make money and how much to expect: I even have an email list too.
5) I focus on successful relationships (intimate and non-intimate) and make it a focus of the blog for a long time while surrounding myself with wonderful church going people.
6) Refer to 4 and 5.
7) Refer to Number 1
3) What are the outcomes or benefits of more probable scenarios?
4) If you were fired today, what would you do to restore financial stability?
Refer to either Question 2s answer or read this article.
5) What are you putting off out of fear?
Nothing, I am already up for it: I am merely fear setting as an example.
6) What is it costing you - financially, emotionally, physically - to not act?
I am eating an excess of junk and my body isn’t where it should be because I can’t afford organic food or personal training as I pursue my body building goal.
I still psychologically feel like a lot of people are ahead of me who shouldn’t be (mean to say, but I feel it).
I am not living my ideal lifestyle.
I have to juggle many things so as to fund the blogging lifestyle.
I am not able to get VAs to do some of the more, unenjoyable tasks.
I am not studying marketing from Jay Abraham, peak state from T. Robbins or exploring the world of PUAS or recording the history of Africa or becoming a public speaker or…..too many things to mention.
7) What are you waiting for?
You sold me already Tim, I am with you on the journey.
Moral of the Story
I think fear setting is an absolutely fantastic tool to use, not only when you are going on a 4 hour work week journey but also when fear is holding you back from doing something that can be of massive positive benefit to you.
So, next time you feel fear creeping in: try fear setting. Takes the fear right out.
To ensure you don’t miss a single moment of my 4 hour work week journey, subscribe to the site via RSS or email.
Have a fear-free day,
Mwangi
The three-man probe team led by Justice (retired) Majid Cockar has Mr Charles Kirui and Mr Kathurima M’Inoti as members has been tasked to unearth the “truth” regarding the “sale” of the hotel.
Apart from Kimunya, the probe team is likely to investigate Central Bank Governor Njuguna Ndung’u and National Security Intelligence Service director Michael Gichangi who played key roles in the high-stakes drama surrounding the stinking deal.
This is the height of Kibaki’s arrogance. What will the Cockar team investigate? Isn’t this a straightforward matter the CID can investigate if there is political will? Even a layman could unravel the mystery if he is allowed to go to Treasury and CBK and access the relevant documents regarding the shoddy transactions!
Isn’t this a well-calculated scheme by Kibaki to buy time, use the judicial commission to cover himself and the real truth and cleanse Kimunya? What do these commissions achieve? Aren’t they mere circus to buy time, cover the truth and gulp the hard-earned tax-payers cash? Kibaki has either gone crazy or we Kenyans are too daft to comprehend anything!
Will Kibaki appear before the Cockar team since he is the principal suspect in the Grand Regency saga? Kenyans should rise up for they are being taken for a ride. Now that a judicial commission is in place, nobody can comment about the theft of the hotel in public without risking being cited for contempt of court. What a clever Kibaki!
As I have argued before in regard to the Grand Regency, our MPs and leading media houses have been tying to outdo each other to be seen to be shedding light (or is it more tears) yet they add little value to the debate or are ignorant to the truth and genesis behind the “selling” of the prestigious hotel.
What the MPs and the leading media houses (which are either owned or under the firm grip of Kikuyu managers and editors) are doing is flying the foot soldiers who foolishly acted on illegal orders to please their masters yet
the main thief in the Grand Regency sits pretty tight in State House in his characteristic gesture of hear no evil and see no evil.
Is there a conspiracy amongst the MPs and media houses to sit on the truth or are they afraid of spilling the beans or are they too incompetent to do a little bit of research and inform Kenyans the truth behind the infamous “sale” of the hotel.
As I have reported in this blog (Lands Minister James Orengo is now basking in the glory of being the whistle-blower in the Grand Regency theft yet Kumekucha was the first to expose Kibaki’s dirty hands in respect to the hotel “sale”), the plot to “sell” the hotel was sealed by President Kibaki himself when he made a three-day visit to Libya between June 4 and 6, 2007, to beg cash for his presidential re-election.
President Gaddafi didn’t disappoint the Kenyan beggar. In his generosity, he promised to give the man from Othaya a few millions to fund his PNU campaigns. But as the Swahili saying goes, mkono mtupu haulambwi, President Gaddafi is not a charitable organisation. He laid his demands on the table if he was to help the beggar.
A beggar has no choice. So, President Gaddafi looked for the best portion in the Kenyan beef which he asked the beggar to chop a delicious steak for him. President Gaddafi’s appetite for the Kenyan beef was in six key lucrative properties which he asked his beggar to chop for him. Grand Regency Hotel – which was then the private property of the Goldenberg thief Kamlesh Pattni – was part of the six properties.
And since none of the properties belonged to him, the beggar had no hesitation to give in to the request in exchange of the cash he needed badly. It’s like a man asking you to link him to girl he badly wanted. If you have no interest in her, you would do anything in your power to broker the meeting. But if you had any stake in her, you would take off when such demands were placed on your table. There is no pain trading off what is not yours.
President Gaddafi is a clever man. He could not trust his beggar who has a history of breaking promises – both official and unofficial. He made sure the deal was sealed between the two Governments – but there was no mention of the bribe he offered the beggar to fund his PNU campaign.
A dispatch from the Presidential Press Service (PPS) to KBC and all the other mainstream media houses plus a posting on the website of Dr Alfred Mutua’s Office of Public Communications clearly stated in back and white that Kibaki and Libya’s President Muammar Gaddafi had signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Titled "Agreement on Promotion Guarantee and Protection On Investment".
Under the MoU, President Kibaki committed Kenya into granting an exclusive trade pact to Libya, making Tripoli "most favoured nation" status - making it possible for Libyan companies to start at an advantage over investors when competing for lucrative contracts. The Grand Regency Hotel was as among the six projects that the Libyans had expressed interest in the Mou.
The MoU was signed by Kenya's then Minister for Trade, Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, and Dr Ali Elisaue, Secretary General of Libya's General People's Committee for the Economy and Investment. The document was endorsed by Presidents Kibaki and Gaddafi.
Although the PPS dispatch stated categorically what Kibaki had offered Libya, it was silent on what Kenya was to receive or benefit in exchange. Why and it was a mutual deal to benefit the two countries? Of course Kibaki had pocketed millions for his campaign and that could not be made official! For the doubting Thomases, this confidential information was given to Kumekucha by two members of Kibaki’s inner circle privy to the Libya deal and the Grand Regency saga.
What the busy-body MPs and journalists should be trying to do is shed more light on the secret MoU, the content and how it was going to affect Kenyans and not feed Kenyans with empty and hollow debate – which has taken an ethnic dimension. They should have told us by now what was in the MoU and demanded its revocation. The MoU served Kibaki’s personal interests and not those of Kenyans. PNU campaigns were the personal affairs of the party and Kibaki himself and not Kenyans.
According to our confidential sources, Kimunya and Co were acting on the wishes of their master. How stupid they are acting on illegal orders just to please your master. Poor Kimunya chose to bite the bullet and ruin his illustrious career, his name and reputation for the sake of Kenya’s Thief Number One.
To me, Kimunya and his arrogance is not the big issue here. We should direct all our energies on the main thief. And what an irony! The prime thief in the Grand Regency is reported to be forming a team to investigate the theft. Poor Kenyans! Your duly-elected President is a man of wisdom. He has the interests of Kenyans at heart and we should all offer him our total support to lead Kenya into an industrious nation by 2030!
In fact, we should amend the Constitution to remove the two-five year tenure that bars him from vying for president in 2012. We should make the duly-elected H.E Mwai Kibaki the President for Life for the Republic of Kenya. Kenya will overtake the US economy in 2020 under Kibaki’s leadership.
Kibaki should stop beating about the bush and fooling Kenyans, we know the truth about the “sale” of Grand Regency!
Former Tigo-Tz CEO, Rene Meza, has been hired as the Managing Director (Not CEO) of Celtel Kenya after the recent exodus of Key staff from the mobile service company, including the former CEO who left in January. Rene brings to Celtel ten years of experience from Managing Tigo in Tanzania. Last year, before he left Tigo, he introduced the Tsh.1 per minute calling rate that revolutionized the mobile service in Tanzania.
It’s now official that Celtel Kenya will change its name to Zain as from August.
More from Bongo
Tanzanians are planning to use the Kimunya saga in Kenya as yard stick against which their own grand corruption victims will be prosecuted.
KCB Rwanda Approved
KCB has been given a go ahead by Rwandan authorities to start operating the bank branch in the country. The bank plans to open at least five branches in the country.
Tornado in Kenya?
Apparently, according to this story, there was a tornado in Kenya and funds are being raised to support some victim in Mwamanga village. How come a tornado hit kenya and nobody told me?
Salutations. This page has been created with two purposes in mind:
1) To encourage media outlets to get in contact with the Displaced African
In a nutshell, if your media outlet is doing good work and you want to interview me or get in touch with me, I am predominantly available 24/7 as long as I receive prior notification of 24 hours or more.
So send me an email now at masmilele@thedisplacedafrican.com or check out my contact page and let’s get talking.
2) To post up all the press that the Displaced African receives and all its media appearances:
I don’t want to have to stop churning out content in the intended order or interrupt the regularly scheduled programming of the blog every time I appear in the media.
And so I have created this page which I will update every time I make a media appearance that I can publicly share. Check on this place regularly as I intend on media and media appearances becoming a big part of the Displaced African blog.
Media and Press AppearancesInterviewed by Capital FM on July 9th 2008
A great 30 minute interview with Linda that was featured on Urban Nites on Capital FM. I recorded this myself by recording the live stream of Capital FM and then cutting it up in an amateur fashion: the content is still 100% intact and hearable:
My first ever appearance on Capital FM
Linda and the Urban Nites team talk about and send some love to the Displaced African. I talked about it in the article below:
Listen Now to the Displaced African’s Appearance on Capital FM in Kenya
My First Appearance as a Guest Columnist on Afrik, the English version.
Find the first article I submitted here:
Barrack Obama: A role model or simply an empty symbol
This article was adapted and based on my earlier article:
The Empty Symbol That is Barrack Obama
My Guest Post to One of the Largest Websites in Nigeria according to Alexa.com, Naija Ecash:
3 Blogging Secrets Learned from My First 5 Months of Blogging
My Appearance on the Website, Kenyan Jewels:
They featured the press release I sent them:
Kenyan Jewel: Tony Njanja (Australia)
My Press Release Featured on African Loft:
Displaced African Press Release
My media and podcast page on African Loft:
My appearance on the Nairobi Star Newspaper:
It all started with the interview below:
Nairobi Star’s Grace Kerogo Interviews Mwangi
And ended with this article (please ensure that you have Adobe Reader to read the article), where unfortunately the name of my site was mispelled. First media appearance for me and so I was thankful and didn’t really care.
Nairobi Star Article featuring the Displaced African
The Weird Way In Which I Ended Up Mentioned on the East African Standard
Follow the trail beginning here:
M Does Not Stand for Mwangi: Mwangi Stands for Mwangi » The Displaced African
My First Guest Post on Kenya Imagine
It all started when I got contacted by Kenya Imagine:
A Cause for Celebration: Have a Great Day!
And Julia from Kenya Imagine asked me to bring my debate to Kenyan Imagine:
Why Stereotypes Can Be Good and What we are Taught about Formalized Education Sucks?
My Interview with SARFM Radio in New York
As a result of my press release being featured on African Loft, I got a call from the lovely Pamela Stitch all the way in New York and we managed to record this fun interview where we cover aspects of my immigrant life, interracial relationships, Heidi Klum and Seal.
Professional Images of the blog’s head writer,Mwangi
To stay a part of the Displaced African (tDA) community as it continues to grow, subscribe to the site via RSS or email.