2021 The Year of Gratitude, Optimism & Productivity

Gratitude

Overview of 2020, it tends out for many things, other call it the year of World Reset, to some, the year that proved relevance in the Connected Economy, but I see it as the year that connected FAMILIES, which was fast becoming luxury for the world at large. In all, it is a year that will never be wiped out of the history of the planet. When we show gratitude for everything in our lives both the desirable and undesirable, it opens up access to unlimited possibilities. Gratitude is not just a word professed, but it's the spinal cord to unlock the Divine Essence of the Universe. Saying thank you to people who cross our path, saying good words to our water bodies, and basically, everything The Supreme Power gave us is a very basic thing to do as a living human. In 2021, in all things remember, Love and Gratitude not because you have all you wanted but it is the source to the least you have.

Optimism

I love the optimism, it’s a great litmus test of any progress made in the history of humanity. Show me a group or a society that is with no sense of Optimism, yet made any significant difference in the lives of their citizens. In the words of Simon Sinek- Optimism is about the future. It is not blind positivity nor is it naïve. It is not seeing the glass as half full and ignoring the half of the glass that is empty. It is the ability to see the emptiness of half the glass while choosing to focus on the fullness of the other half of the glass. It is the ability to see the good in the face of the bad. It is the practice of looking for the silver linings in any cloud. 2020 definitely gave us lots of “half empty” things to see. However, this New Year will be defined by our ability to see the “half full” moments- Simon Sinek

The New Africa-AfCFTA

Often my continent has been bedeviled with a sense of entitlement born out of phantom productivity by spending more hours praying to see miracle breakthroughs than actually putting in the hard work and then praying for help and divine favor to make our handy works fruitful. For the first time in the history of Africa, a continent of 1.2 billion people, the dreams of our forbearers of having one integrated continent have finally become a reality. Africa Continental Free Trade Area is birthed and commenced January 1, 2021. Read the details here: It took the likes of China, Singapore, and India extreme hard work to change their situation, a mindset change is key and a new direction with an emphasis on productivity must be pushed across all our people. What a moment to be alive to see the dreams and aspirations of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumbaba, Thomas Sankara, Nelson Mandela, etc. see the light of the day. Read the dreams of the forefathers here

Now it’s launched what is next?

Permit me to perhaps, draw attention to few things:

-Hope to build nations and it's cool to energize ourselves with the hope of possibilities.

• do we have potential? indeed we do, but what is potential without hitting the milestone of the now to unlock the potential?

-For businesses is all about the metrics and the key pipelines as a result of hard work, consistency, perseverance, focus and a bit of luck and timing in some rare cases but the ultimate is HARD WORK.

-For Nations leadership is key to create a sense of inclusion from all walks of life to get the citizenry to get involved in the full process.

• who is planning what and to who is been planned for?
• What is the state of regulations across Africa?
• Will AfCFTA work with fragmented colonial leftover monetary policies, fiscal policies, and laws as we have today?
• How do we push forward with the advent of the smart economy driven by AI, Big Data, Blockchain, FinTech, and more? Read the pillars of our future world here

- What is the long playbook and why would we build a rail in Area A instead of Area B?

• AfCFTA is a game-changer on paper, are we emotionally, psychologically, economically ready to match it with reality intentionally?
• How committed are the promoters who are at the helm of affairs at the African Commission, AfCFTA Secretariat, the Heads of States, and every African?

- What is the state of the infrastructure i.e. rail, air, road, water, and everything internet?

These are few not to be swept under the carpet.

Having said the above, I’m never suggesting, we the people must wait to get all things perfect to start.

Matter of fact, we are already on the go, what is key is, not to just do a wishful approach, but be more intentional this time around, and together we can become giants for the benefit of the people.

It’s possible, there are templates from Southern Asia to watch and apply those that are applicable today, we need to be original and do things the way our framework is organized.

African must be Africa, what propelled the Western rise or Asian rise may not necessarily work for us but a good mirror to guide the future of the sleeping continent.

Let enjoy the year with optimism, gratitude, a sense of kindness, compassion, care, and empathy in all we do, putting people first can help us unlock the milestones with ease.

Let me however conclude with a quote from a very revered personality-” All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” — Walt Disney.