On October 18, 2020, Deepikadhaka nominated me for the Leibster Award. And as a member of the blogging community, am happy to honor this recognition by answering 11 questions about me. She writes Good Vibes around health, wellness and beauty. And now to the 11 questions about me:

What is success according to you?

My favorite description of success is from the first scroll in OG Mandino’s book, The Greatest Salesman in the World.

…for what is success other than a state of mind?

Which two, among a thousand wise men, will define success in the same words; yet failure is always described in one way. Failure is man’s inability to reach his goals in life, whatever they may be.

The Greatest Salesman in the World

How do you take care of your mental health?

Taking care of my mental health became easier when I realized that it was largely influenced by how people perceive or define me. People will forge their meaning from your actions and words, and then create an identity for you – an identity you then live proving right or wrong. And so to stop being defined by people who may not really know or care about me, which in turn affects my mental health, I have been taking care of my mental health through living deliberately. For instance, anyone I consider toxic (bullies, mockers, passive aggressive, manipulators etc) has to be kicked out of my personal social space as soon as practically possible. Similarly, am very keen with where I go, who I associate with, what I watch/read and anything that might influence me in an undesirable way. It becomes easier to nurture my wellbeing when I avoid people and environments that compromise who I would like to be.

Which public figure do you admire?

I don’t really have an idol. But I do get inspired by self-drive people – those who are clear about what they want to achieve in life and then pursue it till they succeed. The most recent example is a young couple who just turned thirty a few weeks ago. They bought a van six years ago, lived on the road documenting their experiences, and early this year, were able to achieve their goal of buying a sailing boat. Using this example, am inspired not only by what they have accomplished but also how they did it. Once you understand the ‘how’ you realize that you can also make just like the people we tend to admire. Below is a link to their story of how they moved from a van to a boat:

What would you want to change about yourself?

Having been in a journey of self discovery since 2015, let’s say I have been in a journey of changing myself. I work on self improvement almost as a ritual. That’s why my theme here at goalslifestyle.com is: Lead your life to reach your goals; live deliberately.

Which one country do you want to visit?

My dream country used to be Canada because Canada is way better than Kenya e.g., Canada has more efficient public systems (roads, transport, health, security, ethics, tolerance of diversity) compared to Kenya. Am glad I have already visited Canada, because I realized there is no perfect country in our world e.g., Kenya is ever politically charged and corruption is a real issue here, and yet Kenya’s climate is less hostile than that of Canada (Canada has extremely cold winters and extremely hot summers). After the exposure, my desire changed from wanting to leave my country to simply becoming a global citizen – such that though my roots are in Kenya, I am part of the larger global population and so can visit places and meet new people when time and resources allow.

If you are given an offer to buy 3 things for free of cost, what 3 things will you choose?

This is a tough question. It’s tough because I learned something from Og Mandino in the tenth scroll of his book: The Greatest Salesman in the World. Below is the quote:

“I ask not for gold or garments or even opportunities equal to my ability; instead, guide me so that I may acquire ability equal to my opportunities.” This simple quote has influenced me to pursue and achieve my full potential

The Greatest Salesman in the World

As you will realize, you can’t see things the same way again after being exposed to such wisdom. Rather than what I want to have (free or not), I have had a paradigm shift – to be someone rather than to have some things. It’s a profound realization that am still pursuing.

If you have to give a huge amount as donation, for which 1 cause would you want to donate?

Sometimes I feel like people are living blind and oblivious of themselves and the world around them. If I were to stand for a cause and support it, it would have something to do with opening the eyes, the minds and the hearts of people so that they can understand more, feel more and see more of themselves as well as the world around them. Empowering people through enlightenment would be my philanthropy. I can liken this to teaching people how to fish rather than giving them fish. The former empowers them to take care of themselves while the latter keeps them blind and oblivious of not only themselves but also the world around them.

Why did you choose blogging?

I chose blogging about goals lifestyle as a way of keeping myself focused to pursuing a goals lifestyle. It also gives me a publicly accessible platform where I can express myself so that anyone who wants to know me will easily know me. The third reason is that I love writing and encouraging people and with a blog, I can do this from anywhere in the world – anywhere with internet access. And who knows? The more I practice writing by blogging, the better I get at writing, which means I could write a book one day!

Where do you live?

I live in Kenya and currently based in a coastal town called Kilifi

Three of your favourite brands from any industry?

For mobile phones, am a big fan of Samsung products. For computers and laptops, I prefer Hewlett Packard (HP). Third favorite? WordPress, because it’s so friendly that I don’t need anyone to manage my website for me.

If given a time machine.. which moment will you re-live?

If I were to re-live a life moment, it would be the one am currently living, because this is the moment I discovered myself and the moment I am beginning to realize and appreciate living a life with meaning.

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Am required to nominate 11 other bloggers and request them to answer 11 questions.

Here are the 11 people I would love to know about them: DeepikaDhaka, TheEnlightenedMind622, Chatter Master, rarasaur, Desert Flower, thoughtsnlifeblog, simple Ula, CAJSpirituality, Meshack Kimwele, Alishah and lifewithlilred.

Here are the 11 questions I would love to hear about you:

1. What inspired you to start writing?
2. What is your end goal for writing?
3. How do you handle those moments when you don’t feel like writing, or isn’t sure of what to write about?
4. What would you consider to be a success outcome of your writing?
5. Do you consider writing to be a part of your day-to-day life, or is it a different entity from your normal life?
6. What is the one thing you feel could make you a better writer?
7. How do you plan your life to ensure consistency in your writing?
8. If you were not writer, what would you be doing?
9. In an ideal world, what would writing represent for you?
10. What would you advise new and ambitious writers?
11. is there something about you that you wish your readers would understand about you?

RULES

• Thank the blogger who nominated you.
• Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
• Nominate 11 bloggers.
• Ask your nominees 11 questions.
• Notify your 11 nominees.