SLUM FOCUS YOUTH GROUP

Make Your Life a Masterpiece

“Everything has been figured out, except how to live.” — Jean-Paul Sartre

You have one life. You are the artist. Don’t just make life work, you make it a masterpiece. When you are the artist of your life, it reminds you constantly that your life is your responsibility. Give it all you’ve got.

You can’t truly express yourself, until you’ve found your voice: the tone, style, tenor, pitch, personality you use to express yourself without fear or reservation. The greatest and most important adventure of our lives is discovering who we really are and spending time doing what brings out the best in us.

Experiment boldly

How we choose what we do, and how we approach it…will determine whether the sum of our days adds up to a formless blur, or to something resembling a work of art. — Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Embrace experimentation. The world has come this far because a few people dared to try. Dared to dream. We thrive on change but hate change. The only way forward is change, but change it hard. You can’t make, create, do or start anything worthwhile if you are not willing to experiment. Find inspiration from the greats. Start exploring what’s possible and make every move in that direction.

The only way to succeed is to try. You can’t make, create, do or start anything worthwhile if you are not willing to experiment. Nobody gets it right the first time. Artists experiment different ideas until they find what works for them. Try and err.

The painter Willem de Kooning used to wrap his paintings in newspaper between sessions, which kept the paint from drying out. This had an inadvertent effect of transferring some of the print into the painting. He liked the effect, so he utilized it and produced great effect in subsequent paintings.

Clarity of purpose keeps creativity on track

I experience a period of frightening clarity in those moments when nature is so beautiful. I am no longer sure of myself, and the paintings appear as in a dream. — Vincent Van Gogh

Begin with the end in mind. Artists begin their most awesome work with purpose and a clear idea of what they expect. They have some kind of idea about what they want to create, whether it’s a song, a poem, a painting or a movie.

Artists start with a clear idea of what they wants to create, a brilliant image shining in their minds. One brush stroke or note at a time until the painting or music is complete. Once all the peices are put together, it comes alive for other people to see and experience.

Focus on developing your craft

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality.”― Lao Tzu

Everything meaningful in life takes time and perseverance. One of the greatest impediments to living a fulfilling life is our impatience, the almost inevitable desire to hurry up the process, express something, and make a quick splash. Artists don’t work like that.

Leonardo began work on the Mona Lisa in 1503 and continued to make changes to it through 1506. He re-worked the painting until 1517.

If you want to be the best at anything, you need to value the process. The value of practice can have profound effects on your career.

When you practice something — anything — you improve, you grow, you advance, you gain a skill and heaps of confidence in the process, because you get better with time.

You’ll suck at most things in the beginning. And that’s okay. It takes time, persistence, and patience to create your most amazing work. Keep on trying.

Challenge your boundaries

‘Don’t limit your challenges; challenge your limits.’ — Jerry Dunn

Think of the mind as a muscle that naturally tightens up over time unless it is consciously worked upon. Your personal growth significantly depends on new challenges and activities. Tackle the fear that has kept you from living your best life. Your mind has a way of rising to the occasion. Challenge it, and it will reward you.

Challenge your mind — even making it a little uncomfortable by pushing yourself to learn tasks that may not come naturally. Most things seems impossible until they are done. Give yourself permission to think and act beyond the usual.

Great life, work or art, like a healthy financial portfolio, takes time to mature. Your best work and life is ahead of you and will emerge with patient attention, time, and strategic action. Go get it!

The One Thing That is a Better Indicator of Your Success Than Talent

The trait that takes you from average to spectacular is not your IQ!

You are unique, and so is everyone else. Success means a lot to every person. It’s a weighted combination of power, status, money, family, and work. You can define success in your own terms, because what brings you fulfillment and meaning is not the same for everyone.

People pursue success for different reasons. The fortunate few with a high IQ advantage may find it easy to pursue specific careers in life. And what could take you twice as long to learn and achieve will be an easy pursuit for them.#SLUMFOCUSYOUTHGROUP

Deliberate practice, self-discipline, and perseverance have a lot more to do with your success than you think!

“I fear not the man who has practiced ten thousand kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick ten thousand times.” — Bruce Lee

Talent is overrated. Thousands of hours of hard work can compensate for what you think is a weakness. You can master any skill if you put your mind to it and commit to relentless practice. Embracing repetition means changing your mindset; instead of viewing it as a chore, view it as your most powerful tool.

In Talent Is Overrated, Geoff Colvin argues that deliberate, methodical, and sustained practice is the way to achieve true mastery.

“Deliberate practice is hard. It hurts. But it works. More of it equals better performance. Tons of it equals great performance,” Colvin writes.

You could argue that a set of genes give rise to some particular skill and that Einstein had the physics gene and Mozart had the symphony gene. But guess what? Even those with some kind of talent have to work hard to reach the peak of their selected careers. Einstein and Mozart had to work damn hard to achieve greatness.

Mozart once wrote to a friend: “People err who think my art comes easily to me. I assure you, dear friend, nobody has devoted so much time and thought to composition as I. There is not a famous master whose music I have not industriously studied through many times.”

You can easily attribute insane success to talent. But the ability to keep plugging away despite any setbacks or failures can significantly improve your odds of succeeding at any skill you choose to master.

Daniel Coyle, author of “The Little Book of Talent” explains:

“From a distance, top performers seem to live charmed, cushy lives. When you look closer, however, you’ll find that they spend vast portions of their life intensively practicing their craft. Their mind-set is not entitled or arrogant; it’s 100-percent blue collar: They get up in the morning and go to work every day, whether they feel like it or not.”

Researcher Dr. K. Anders Ericsson of the University of Stockholm has found that talent is really about deliberate practice. The mix of passion, perseverance, and self-discipline that keeps you moving forward in spite of obstacles can contribute to your success more than your IQ.

Your ability to stick with and pursue any goal over a long period of time is an important indicator of achieving anything worthwhile in your life and career.

In an article on LinkedIn, Daniel Goleman, the author of Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, argues that the trait that takes you from average to spectacular comes from your measure of cognitive control, not your IQ.

“The abilities that set stars apart from the average at work cover the emotional intelligence spectrum: self-awareness, self-management, empathy, and social effectiveness,” says Daniel.

He references studies from the University of Pennsylvania to exemplify the importance of these skills: The students who earned the highest grades weren’t necessarily the ones with the highest IQs, but rather those who kept trying despite setbacks and failures.

These studies suggest that one of the most crucial skills you need to succeed is having a talent for working hard. The ability to persevere and maintain goal-focused effort for extended periods is important for your success.

The good news is, you can cultivate the perseverance and mental toughness success requires. Your response to a challenging situation is more important than the obstacles you face, hence the need to develop powerful motivation to help you achieve your goals. Tenacity matters more than talent.

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES TO KEEP YOU GOING IN THIS LIFE

Life’s most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?
—Martin Luther King, Jr.

People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with
mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.
—Andrew Carnegie

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of
strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will.
—Vincent T. Lombardi

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t
believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people
who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t
find them, make them.
—George Bernard Shaw

Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become
actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they
become your character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
—Frank Outlaw

Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.
—Henry Ford

don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but how high he
bounces when he hits the bottom.
—General George S. Patton

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.
—Walt Disney

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you
become by achieving your goals.
—Zig Ziglar

Four short words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals above
the crowd: a little bit more. They did all that was expected of them and a
little bit more.
—A. Lou Vickery

Only those who dare to fail greatly, can ever achieve greatly.
—Robert Kennedy

Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is
no path and leave a trail.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

The best way you can predict your future is to create it.
—Stephen Covey

If you want to know your past - look into your present conditions. If you want
to know your future - look into your present actions.
—Chinese proverb

There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.
—Mother Teresa

It’s how you deal with failure that determines how you achieve success.
—David Feherty

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do
not dare that they are difficult.
—Seneca

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realise how close they were to
success when they gave up.
—Thomas Edison

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we
are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most
frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented,
fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your
playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about
shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all
meant to shine, as children do.
—Marianne Williamson

The most wasted day of all is that on which we have not laughed.
—Nicholas Chamfort

Faith moves mountains, but you have to keep pushing while you’re praying.
—Mason Cooley

People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people
will never forget how you made them feel.
—Maya Angelou

No-one is a failure until they blame somebody else.
—Charles “Tremendous” Jones

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to
celebrate.
—Oprah Winfrey

The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of
comfort and convenience, but where they stand in times of challenge
and controversy.
—Martin Luther King, Jr.

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
—Mahatma Gandhi

Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take
without forgetting.
—Elizabeth Bibesco

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.
—Oscar Wilde

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes
to sit down and listen.
—Winston Churchill

Most people can do extraordinary things if they have the confidence or take
the risks. Yet most people don’t. They sit in front of the telly and treat life as
if it goes on forever.
—Philip Andrew Adams

Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice.
—William Jennings Bryan

I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his
enemies; for the hardest victory is the victory over self.
—Aristotle

Life is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in
all the thousand small uncaring ways.
—Stephen Vincent Benet

It’s no use saying, ‘We are doing our best’. You have got to succeed in doing
what is necessary.
—Winston Churchill

Attempt easy tasks as if they were difficult, and difficult as if they were easy;
in the one case that confidence may not fall asleep, in the other that it may
not be dismayed.
—Baltasar Gracian

Too many of us are hung up on what we don’t have, can’t have, or won’t
ever have. We spend too much energy being down, when we could use that
same energy - if not less of it - doing, or at least trying to do, some of the
things we really want to do.
—Terry McMillan

The trick is not how much pain you feel but how much joy you feel. Any idiot
can feel pain. Life is full of excuses to feel pain, excuses not to live; excuses,
excuses, excuses.
—Erica Jong

FUND RAISING EVENT AT MATHARE SLUMS

As per our agenda to eradicate poverty, suffering, sicknesses and being the voice of the disadvantaged in Mathare slums, we took time to stand with the needy at Mathare Slums during their fundraising ceremony that was meant to raise funds for the needy which turned to be a success.

Slum Focus Members in attendance

From the left event coordinators (Michael Barasa and Jackson Ndegwa), event MC (MC Redz), event Dj (DJ Nesh), Group Vice-Chairman(Allan Chitila),, Guest artiste(Pinchez Machungu) and Group secretary (Martin Thome).