Africa's Alphabet of Change

A for A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E

A.lways
T.ake
T.hought
I.n
T.endering to
U.r
D.aily
E.rrands

It’s been a long week. We are all excited that it’s coming to an end, and yes, you’re another day closer to a pay check, more alcohol, or worse to a more bleak and uncertain future.


To shake off the This Is Africa notion I’d like introduce you to something I’d like to call Africa’s Classroom. Each week we’ll be looking at a new word in our alphabet of change. Today’s first word is A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E.

You may know the conventional dictionary terminology for it, such as an outlook towards life and your day-to-day works, or more precisely; a way of thinking and behaving. But the African word dictionary will take your everyday words and make an acronym of them to ensure that we can adopt and internalize each word as a code of conduct rather than just knowing new vocabulary to show off your intellectual prowess.

So from now hence forth in the African word Dictionary Attitude stands for Always, Take Thought In Tendering to Ur Daily Errands. That simply means be impeccable in your work. Be deliberate in delivering whatever it is, to the best of your ability.

It doesn’t matter whether you shine shoes, are a porter in a hotel, a secretary dealing with annoying people or an underpaid civil servant. You need to adopt an attitude of excellence and precision in whatever you do. It’s through your individual A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E that you’ll rub on the magical virus and let it spread across the continent.

If you’re young, old, frustrated or hopeless then you need to have a really big A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E, much more than anyone else. Because you need to think very carefully and realize what it is your dreams and aspirations are. There’s a quote that says, do what you can, where you are, with what you have. Another great man also said, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. Remember it's when you use the little you have to the best of your ability that you are able to yield the best not just in your life, but the community around you, however small.

It’s not easy, it never is, that’s what we all need to understand. The road to deliverance and prosperity in Africa, is never going to be easy, but you need to have the heart and the determination to ‘soldier on’ if I may say so.

It is what is between your ears and within your heart that’ll show you where to go. You may be semi literate as you read this, jobless, hopeless, but you have a dream. What is that dream? Share it and find out how to get started on the right path, once you speak it out, it becomes an opportunity. When you share it with like minded people, it becomes a venture, you exchange ideas and come up with something concrete that you then create and deliberately pursue with the right A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E.

With a few steps you grow from hopeless to prosperous. But you need to take that first step and let other subsequent steps of growth be guided by A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E that will definitely lead to prosperity.

So whatever you’re going through, however impossible, you have the choice to change it. And all you’ll need is to Always, Take Thought In Tendering to Ur Daily Errands.