Machel Waikenda’s Message To The Twitter & OCD Generation

Political strategist, communications consultant, National Olympics Committee member and youth advisor, Machel Waikenda has a message for Kenya’s young people.

Join him tomorrow on Twitter for the weekly #AskWaikenda between 2.00 p.m. and 4.00 p.m. as he talks about opportunities for youth in transport business. Engage him using his Twitter handle @MachelWaikenda.

Below is a speech he gave during the Marketing Society of Kenya launch of the youth chapter.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. As a generation, we have been called all sorts of names, from the microwave generation to the Twitter generation to the OCD people. Yet, they forget to realize that we are all looking for our purpose in our lives so that we can add our signature to the history of the world.

We need models. We need mentors. We need people who can share with us their life stories and not the gisty aspect of the stories but the truth, the gut-wrenching moments that defined them. That set their value system into brick and mortar.

Marketing is the holy grail of any career or business and it’s something that our education system needs to enshrine in every aspect. Across the realm of entrepreneurship to the horizons of business to the structures of employment, marketing defines just how the life span of that particular entity will be like.

This is a great opportunity for all of us here to learn from each other, to define our space as we seek forth to change the dynamism of doing business and creating networks. As youth, nothing will be given to us for free. We must show that we are capable of handling the small things to be able to graduate to the big things. We must define our own space. We must claim our space on the table of men and women of industry.

Everyone has a transferable commodity-knowledge. Sharing your unique expertise and making introductions for someone creates a lasting legacy and this meeting here today defines that. In the advent of social media and digital engagement, it’s easier to share knowledge, to create networks and sustain them at no cost at all.

As we all engage online, my advice to all of us, let every tweet, every Facebook update be of purpose. Let it leave your mark of difference that when you look back, you will be proud. Stand out. Be different. Define your space.
Self-esteem is a huge fabric that defines us young people.
 We have to defy peer pressure and be able to stand on our own and achieve what many believe is not possible. You have to believe it’s possible and believe in yourself. Because after you’ve decided what you want, you have to believe it’s possible and possible for you, not just for other people. Then you need to seek out models, mentors, and coaches to learn from them, to listen to the lessons they have so that you avoid making the same mistakes they did.

Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are and I have come to realize that whatever they think of you, is none of your business. Focus. Do not be afraid to fail. Failure is the essence of success. It’s the cornerstone that defines what a successful life is. Failure is the holy grail that makes one wise and knowledgeable.

Success is a bad teacher. Failure is the perfect teacher that gives us all an opportunity to redefine our boundaries and defy odds. Success has many fathers, whilst failure is an orphan. Embrace failure; be proud of your mistakes. Remember marketing is all our risk and trying our new strategies to deliver on whatever your assignment is. I believe that the six essential leadership attributes are:
Set high standards; live your standards and mentor those who follow;
Create and share a vision; make the hard choices when necessary;
Be visible and out-front; and instill hope in those who follow.

Mentoring brings us together-–across generation, class, and often race-–in a manner that forces us to acknowledge our interdependence, to appreciate, in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words, that “we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied to a single garment of destiny.”
 
In this way, mentoring enables us to participate in the essential but unfinished drama of reinventing community, while reaffirming that there is an important role for each of us in it. Remember, you are never too young to be a mentor or a coach.

My final words to us all, Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there. We need mentors and models to help us define and nurture our characters and not critics to break us down to size.”