Born For A Purpose | D.S. Mashego
- Kim Hunter
- Apr 2, 2017
- 3 min read
Approximate Reading Time: 5 minutes
Although aimed at Young Adults, this is a book to be read by anyone wanting to discover their purpose in life. 'Blacks Only - It's Okay to be Black' was the first book written by Daniel Mashego and one that inspired thought provoking debate around race and other issues in South Africa and abroad. His second book moves into a much more personal subject, but will have no less of an impact. It is very relevant to today's society as the struggles we experience while growing up need to be looked at to see how we, as individuals, impact our own lives and the lives of others. In his words "You have a great destiny ahead of you. The one thing that is standing between you and your destiny is your mindset. To a greater extent, your success is largely dependent on your attitude towards life. Your thinking patterns determine how far you go in life. This is because your life is shaped by your thoughts. Therefore, it is imperative that you manage and invest in your ‘thought life’."
Mr. Mashego has worked in the banking environment for many years first as a business process analyst
and then after the publication of his first book, in communications. He is a self-published author with a goal - to try and help people change their way of thinking so that they can pursue the things they were born to do. Books help shape your thinking and your life is shaped by your thoughts. We need to stop letting the 'subtle voices' stop us from achieving things in life. Fear cripples us and we have to recognise it so that it cannot stop us. He also had some advice for writers:
- You will always find a way - do not let a lack of money stop you. If you persevere, the money will come when needed.
- Don't procrastinate - just get on with it and work hard.
- You will never find the perfect condition / time to write - you have to just get on with it.
- Pursue excellence in everything you do.
We were entertained by the glamorous and talented Nala (known in her community as Unathi) to several songs and Queen Nthiti (author of Five Principles for a Wife) read several interesting (and by interesting I mean 'made me want to buy the book'!) passages from the book being launched. Another esteemed and influential author, Collen Lemawane (Why Are You Broke? When There's So Much Information About Money) spoke about the need for people who have a story to tell, to just get on with it; to write down ideas - on whatever medium that might be - as they come so that they are not lost and then to persevere through all the pitfalls, disappointments and rejections that come your way before, during and after publication. He also reminded us that even a rejection is a good thing as it means that someone has read and probably disagreed with what you have written. He commended Mr. Mashego on his achievements.
Reverend Mathebula (Hope Restoration Ministries) spoke to the crowd of the importance of 'building to last' and this for me was very significant. In whatever we are doing in life, we are building a legacy through our interactions with the people we come in contact with. These interactions are coloured by our past and the way we look at the future. He noted that if one knows their purpose, they are then able to make informed decisions in the way they manage their lives. He noted that 'leaders are readers' and many of our communities have lost sight of this. The goal in life is to create something that will last, and by writing books and his interactions with people, Daniel Mashego has done this. The final word was given by his son in the form of a song which had all the children present joining in.
This was a launch I left feeling uplifted, not only by the author and his book, but also by the people I met.
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