Wisdom for everyday

Gems of wisdom

Camera on Lorry could save lives

We seriously need this installed  on every lorry on Kenyan roads!

How to EFFECTIVELY use the LinkedIn Referral for job applicants (Dos & Don'ts)

Tips for Job-seekers on using LinkedIn.

This forum is powerful. It is your CV, as I have said before. It allows you to link with very useful resources at "no fee" (except perhaps the cost of your data!).

Jobs are posted each day and some are obviously attractive.

They are competitive.

LinkedIn, I am told, allows you to reach out to people working in those companies, who are on your connections, for support regarding your application.

It is OK to ask for recommendations from your connections if you are applying for a job in a company.

BUT.

I think it would be of great help NOT to simply apply the LinkedIn template.

That is LAZY. In my opinion.

IF I wanted a job at company A, and I have a connection on LinkedIn who worked there, I'd write a PERSONAL introductory note, explain to the connection WHY I fit the profile being sought and request a referral.

IF you drop requests on people using generic templates, be sure that the person you are asking to vouch for you KNOWS you well enough to speak on your behalf. IF Not, do a brief CV of yourself.
Honestly, being a connection of LinkedIn is no more than "Accept Connection Request" for a lot of people. Passive relationships.

We hardly KNOW our connections. Maybe we "Know About" them.

That is NOT enough if you wish to be supported. You have to make a case for yourself.

DO

• Introduce yourself, especially focusing on your career path and relevance to the job you're applying for and for which you seek "campaign support"
• Do a brief CV of yourself to offer talking points if your connection wishes to speak to the hiring manager about you (you don't want him/her to lack what to say about you).
• Tell your connection WHY you are fit for the job. Remember there are many more connections using that same route to seek help. Why are you better than them?
• Figure out how you would like someone to present themselves to you IF you were the one being asked for support.

DON'T

• Assume. Assumptions are dangerous. Don't assume that casual social media knowledge is enough to get a positive nod and support
• Take anything for granted
• Think you are the ONLY person asking for help!

Take every opportunity as an interview. You would like to be supported by someone who is clear that you take the application seriously and that you don't just ask them for help simply because LinkedIn nudged you to do it.

I hope this helps and happy job-hunting.

Is this innovation or not?

Some lads have decided to convert motorbikes into farm tillers. Do you agree?

Wisdom is

Wisdom is more than mere intelligence. There are plenty of intelligent fools.

Wisdom is the ability to make sound decisions.

It involves empathy and compassion.

It involves real world experience.

It involves imagination.

It involves the ability to connect dots across multiple disciplines.

It involves the ability to break complex situations down into simple ways of understanding and application.

And above all, it involves self-knowledge and self-control.

light up more candles

No candle losers its lustre by lighting another. Instead it extends its life!

Read on

"In 1896, Thomas Edison, the great inventor who invented the electric bulb, was working on an idea to design a car when he heard that a young man who worked in his company had created an experimental car.

Edison met the young man at his company's party in New York and interviewed him about the car. He was impressed!

He had the same idea as the young man but he was considering electricity as the power source while the young man used a gasoline engine to power the car.

He slammed his fist down and shouted "young man, that's the thing! You have it! I think you are on to something! I encourage you to continue your pursuits!"

With these words of encouragement from the most highly respected inventor in the United States at that time, HENRY Ford continued his work, invented a car and became wealthy.

On December 9, 1914, Thomas Edison's laboratory and factory got burnt. He was 67years old and the damage was too extensive for insurance cover.

Before the ashes were cold, Henry Ford handed Edison a cheque of $750,000 with a note saying that Edison could have more if he needed it!

In 1916, Henry Ford relocated his home to the building next to Edison's home and when Edison couldn't walk and was confined to a wheelchair by his doctors, Henry Ford also bought himself a wheelchair so that he could run wheelchair races with his friend and mentor!

Thomas Edison made Henry Ford believe in himself and got a friend for life!

Don't ever be jealous of other people's success. If you can't win a race, help the person in front of you break the record!

Putting out the candle light of your neighbour in the dark will never increase the brightness of yours.

Your candle will not lose its light when it lights up another candle. Getting the job done is more important than who gets the glory!

Be inspired, speak positively into someone's life today, and possibly save a soul.

Have a brilliant weekend!!"

Love unlimited disobeys our deficiencies

Love is not built on perfection. No. It is not based on our judgement of what is missing or what we have. Neither. It is about taking that which we have and making the best out of it. Love is about giving, NOT taking!

Why do you wanna quit your job?

Most of us are desperate when looking for a job. We're ready for anything. Any job. The motivation is own salary. Independence. It's empowering.

Once you've a job done dynamics set in. Stagnation. Frustration. Boredom. Unsupportive bosses. Unrealistic demands. Attrition with colleagues. Or to start over. Perhaps even to go into business and stop waiting for a salary. Be your own boss!

You want to move. From your team. Or your company. Or your job.

So why do you want to quit your job? Why do you want to change your job?

Why do people change jobs?

Chomei Nandiek ko aldooi imbareet

What is this disease of selling land, Nandiechu?

The names of the months in Sabaot, Kipsigiis and Nandi

Names of the months in Sabaot, Kipsigiis and Nandi. What did you call them in your mother tongue?

Dying abroad and sense in resource wasting

Kenyans like to spend lavishly on the dead. Including what they don't have. In my opinion it's unreasonable to bury money with the departed while there are kids that need fees and other forms of support. We need to be realistic. Watch on

Poverty and time wasting are twins

Academic lecture at Egerton University

A long time ago, I used to give lectures while visiting my old Alma Mater of Egerton University. Enjoy

Hunt for new protein sources from agricultural side-streams

Pro-Enrich industry partners

Dude, your life is too short!

Your Life Is Too Short
Your life is too short to waste it trying to be “successful”.
Your life is too short to waste it with negative thinking.
Your life is too short to waste it reading or listening to things that are uninspiring.
Your life is too short to waste it arguing with people who don’t want to be convinced.
Your life is too short to waste it accumulating way more stuff than you need.
Your life is too short to waste it trying to figure everything out.
Your life is too short to waste it trying to be someone you’re not.
Your life is too short to waste it worrying about death.
Your life is too short to waste it having imaginary arguments.
Your life is too short to waste it doing work that kills your soul.
Your life is too short to waste it being all about yourself.

-source:  LivingWithConfidence.net

Your company determines your character

Your character is the sum of the five guys you hang out with!

It is called the law of averages. You can't hang out with negative people and expect to be anything but pessimistic. You can't swim with the "loser mentality" and expect to harvest a "winner attitude". You and I are a product of our environment. Our environment is those who live, eat, breathe and speak to our mind.

Hang out with losers, you are a loser.

Like begets like.

Hang out with conquerors and you develop a mind of conquest.

An apple tree doesn't bear bananas.

I agree. In Nandi we say "A Lion begets a (cowardly) fox". Meaning there are exceptions to the rule.

However, on average the Biblical wisdom in I Cor 15:33 is obeyed.

Bad company corrupts good morals

Instructively, the Bible doesn't say

Good company corrects bad morals

No.

You may ask me why.

Although I have NO answer, all I can do is to imagine that behaviour and attitude obey the laws of gravity.

Negative + Positive = Negative!

Invariably, there is always a tendency to pull down what is up, much easily than it is to lift what is down!

In short, choose your company wisely. Get hooked up with negative souls and you pile up negative charges and pessimism. Get hooked up with optimists and you see the bright side and work for a future driven by positivity.

I know we all want to play the "missionary" . go convert the four bad guys to be in your league.

Go try it.

I wouldn't.

If I wanted to I need to go with a Swarm of good guys to surround a "bad guy". With a four-to-one, there is a good chance of a shift to us and our position.

I am NOT ashamed of this TRINITY: Christian Faith, Transformational Education and Blockchain

Arnaud Jean-Georges Beltrame

I am NOT ashamed of three things: My faith in Jesus Christ, transformational power of education and the future of Blockchain technology.

I was born a SINNER. BUT Jesus Christ, a total stranger to me, decided to step up and pick the punishment on my behalf. Forget about somebody picking a bill after dinner. Forget about someone paying your bus ticket. It is not anything close to someone coming to your rescue to pay your college fees or repay that bank loan to save your house from being auctioned.

All those are acts of incredible kindness. Very positive offers within human reach and acts of compassion that ought NOT be downplayed. Because those are acts of sacrifice. Someone has given up something for another. Someone has denied self some comfort to help another. It is human to be gracious and yet that pales in comparison with what Jesus Christ did for me. For us. Undeserving sinners!

That guy was flawless. He did not disobey his dad. He did not fight with some next-door kid. He did not steal a neighbour's cow or goat. He was without sin. From His vintage position He looked at the wretched of the earth. Condemned to eternal damnation by his Father. Nothing could change God's resolve to punish sin. I am not talking of error, or mishap or some casual family spat. I am talking of SIN. That type which is punishable by DEATH.

Jesus Christ knew his dad was mad at us, His creation. He (Jehovah God) made us in HIS image. He left us with some responsibility. But our Grandfather Adam SINNED by disobeying Dad. The punishment for that is Banishment. Being swept AWAY from the family. It is like a father who is irreconcilably distraught and unforgiving of a child who is incredibly disobedient. If that father is raging with anger and resolves to disinherit that child, even a mother's (or aunt's, as is wont to happen in most African setups) won't assuage the fathers anger.

God was MAD at us. He swore only one thing for Adam's sin: Eternal separation from God and condemnation to pain and suffering.

JESUS stepped on the stage. He stood between a father seething with anger and wrath and Adam and his progeny (you and I). Jesus Christ did NOT beg God for mercy. He knew his Dad was mad. He did NOT explain our plight. He knew his Dad was not going to listen to that storyline either!

He did something incredible. He surrendered himself to God and asked to be punished On MY (and YOUR) BEHALF! That is why this is bigger than helping a needy person. It is the ultimate sacrifice.

To God, only ONE form of punishment could pay the recompense. Jesus Christ, having chosen to take our punishment, had to die a shameful, painful and slow death. On the cross. Surrounded by convicts! For death on the cross was not a pleasure. It was humiliation. Which he took for you and I.

Do you know the story of Lt-Col. Arnaud Beltrame? Maybe not! On March 25, 2018, a cowardly lone gunman killed three people while wounding 16 others in Super U supermarket in Trèbes, southern France. In that incident, Arnaud, a lieutenant colonel with the National Police, offered to exchange himself for one of the female hostages being held inside the supermarket. He was fatally wounded and died later. The woman whose life he saved was unhurt. Arnaud offered his life to save the women.

That is what Jesus Christ did. He swapped himself for us. He took ALL our deserved punishment and paid the price for us.

Because of such a sacrifice, I am NOT ashamed to be a believer in my Friend and Saviour. I would not be ashamed of someone who pays my school fees, college fees, medical bill, dinner bill. How much more for someone who decided to go to the cross for me!

In a world where people think faith is an opium of the illiterate poor, I have news for you. I am VERY educated. AND I LOVE and BELIEVE in Jesus Christ as a PERSONAL saviour and LORD.

SECONDLY, I am NOT ashamed of the power of education. I was born ILLITERATE and helpless. Into terrible poverty. I was born ignorant. I went without food and clothing. I did not go to school until I was nine. I almost missed out on this incredible opportunity.

I had my first pair of shoes at 18. It was not even a pair of shoes. I picked two "footwear items" from an open air market, in a hurry and paid. I realised later that the shoes were dissimilar in design on the sole and didn't match in sizes. One was smaller than the other. But I was already 200km away. And in Kenya that was like two days of travel those days! Many years later, and a lot of sacrifices, education has changed everything in my life. From my family to my career to my friends.

I am blessed to work for a company ranked among the top in the Great Place to Work for. Because working for Mars has exceeded my expectations and continues to reward the pains I went through in my education journey. Not only does this give me the opportunity to do my best for the Pets we serve in order to "Make a Better World for Pets", my job exposes me to further opportunities to grow in character and explore new and exciting opportunities to develop.

Mine is not the only story. As Mandela said "Education is the most powerful equaliser". I believe it. It is the ONLY enabler that brings the son of a poor squatter to the same table with the heir to a royal largesse. Education is the best weapon against poverty.

THIRDLY. The third item in my pride-list is Blockchain. It will solve corruption for Africa. It will simplify life for so many other things we do each day. It will eliminate the need to build trust. It will democratise stuff beyond our imagination. From food safety to drug integrity. From engineering to elections monitoring. From data storage to crime fighting and fight against terror. Any imaginable need which requires artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine Learning. It is huge and unstoppable.

I am NOT ashamed of my faith in Trinity of Jesus Christ, Education and Blockchain.

In image copyright, there's a Blockchain wrestling match between Kodak and German Copytrack

Image credits Copytrack

The internet has created things. And people. And it's liberalised everything. And imprisoned some things. In the dungeons of history.

The internet has also democratised our lives.

The internet never forgets.

It's an endless pit. Shadowing anything ever created by man.

The internet has made everybody a content creator. You're reading this because of the internet. Before today, you'd be reading my pieces in Kenyan dailies. In the Letters to the Editor section.

But I neither need an editor not a daily. This is the age of the internet.

Everybody has become a photojournalist. Yet those essays, pens, paintings, photos etc have ownership. Owners have rights. Enforceable, costly, complicated.

Let's talk photos and pictures. In the day of Instagram and Facebook and Pinterest you're talking about billions of pictures and photos being uploaded every day on the internet. Roughly 800 are posted on Instagram per second. More than 200,000 are uploaded on Facebook every minute.

They range from mundane everyday records of birthdays, weddings, funerals, sports, to photos of nature and disaster.

Those who post them don't know their rights.

Those of us who pick and use them, as I always do for my PowerPoint presentations, likely break the law because we infringe on copyright!

A sophisticated professional photographer like my friend in Munich, Dr Oehlmann may have the knowledge and wherewithal to pursue litigation against illegal users.

My villagemate in Kenya, Mwalimu Wilson Meli, who cherishes morning shots of happy bird chirping away at the early sunrise has no idea where his latest upload had ended! He posted it on Facebook. It was picked by a nature enthusiast in London and it suits as a screensaver on her laptop!

Enter Copytrack. And after that KodakOne.

Both buying for the lucrative but humongous market space. One more experienced. 

The other, sort of reinventing itself.

Copytrack has been in business fighting copyright infringement. It's an existing business. With active tools. Running after culprits and securing settlements.

Kodak missed the digital revolution. It wants not to miss the Blockchain Revolution.

Both are pitching tent in the latest technological muscle of the internet.

Copytrack seeks to expand, and speed up it's work while cutting costs.

They've decided to launch an ICO, the CopytrackICO.

As I've said before, I no longer buy cryptocrypto.

I invest in ICOs that are backed by real assets. Real business. Led by people with relevant skills.

That's why I find CopytrackICO persuasive. Because of the profiles of the team and the fact that they're already in business.

Investing in such a company allows me to share their vision. Their token becomes a form of share for me to be part of their dream. 

Makes me a kind of shareholder.

So in this image copyright space in sure Copytrack has the Usain Bolt headstart. With the overwhelming support from close to 10k members in their Telegram group and thousands more on Twitter and Facebook plus the Blockchain community, this team of typical German Mittelstandunternehmen (SME) is going to launch into space right in the hearts of the army of enthusiastic supporters. 

To many people, KodakOne is playing opportunistic in this entry. And they've their battle lines well drawn out for them!

May the photographers win with the best, and most carrying company that has a track record and depth of skill to cater for their needs.

I'm biased.

Disclaimer: This is no financial advise. Investing in ICOs and crypto is risky. Only invest what you're prepared to lose

Review of L-Pesa ICO

URGENTLY RESPOND: Free airdrops on Nucleus Vision

One of my favourite ICOs, Nucleus Vision, is not holding a public sale.

URGENT ACTION REQUIRED FROM YOU
Nucleus Vision has cancelled their public sale because they reached their target during the private sale.

In order to assuage the anger of the community, they're giving away Free tokens (airdrops).

Act now. Go to this link (it's not a referral) and read the post pinned at the site and register.

Website: https://nucleus.vision/token-sale

If you don't have a wallet (called ERC-20 wallet), and you've a computer, install MetaMask (go to Addons on Firefox or Chrome browser). Use any other wallet of your choice like MyEtherWallet

If you don't have a wallet (called ERC-20 wallet), and you've a computer, install MetaMask (go to Addons on Firefox or Chrome browser). Use any other wallet of your choice like MyEtherWallet

My expanding ICO investments

As I mentioned at the beginning of this year, I was going to move into ICOs. The choice to invest in ICOs over altcoins is informed by the fact that ICOs at 100-, even 1000-fold cheaper than investment in altcoins.

But then.

Given the thousands of ICOs entering the market each day it's tricky to pick the right one.

This is because there are far too many scam ICOs.

So I usually decide based on several metrics.

1. What's the ICO going to do? Is it something I understand and like and I'm passionate about? It has to be nothing to do with intangible assets. I can't invest in currencies. I've enough. I like ICOs that are going to provide physical products or services for which people would pay.

2. The team, and their relevant expertise. I like ICOs that invest in areas that their big pushers are competent in. For example, of it's about health, I care to see some guys in health sector management.

3. LinkedIn profiles. Linked to the team.

4. Roadmap. Past and future.

So far I've invested in these ICOs.
1. Swissborg (https://ico.swissborg.com/)
2. Crypterium
3. Lucyd (https://lcd.lucyd.co/?ref=7030)
4. LHC (https://lh-crypto.io/referral/8bdadcc2-24b2-42db-bdc7-ff5444037854/main)
5. Graft (https://ico.graft.network)

6. CopytrackICO (https://copytrack.io/)

I'm waiting, and I'm signed up for:
1. Faceter (https://tokensale.faceter.io/)
2. Coinvest (https://coinve.st/)
3. BelugaPay (https://belugapay.com/?r=pOukbOk)
4. Nucleus Vision (https://nucleus.vision/token-sale)

For now I'm undecided whether to go on with ATFS, my "Blochhain meets the Food chain" ICO.

DISCLAIMER: investing in crypto and ICOs is fraught with risks. You may lose all your investments. Only invest what you're OK to lose. This is no financial or legal advise. I'm merely expressing my own opinions so you've to do your OWN research, speak to your legal and financial advisor and MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION.

Now comes Smart Glasses from Lucyd powered by Blockchain

In the world of Blockchain there are cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ripple. That's like gold and pennies. 

Then there's a whole habit of other exciting disruptive technologies powered by Blockchain and peer2peer networks. 

One such is Lucyd (https://lcd.lucyd.co/?ref=7030). 

It's not currency. 

No. 

It's a product backed by solid academic research. 

Lucyd wants to bring smart 👓 to the market. I like this type of Blockchain technology application because it brings on a physical product, something you can touch and feel and use. 

Visit that link and check out the things that guide me in deciding to support a project (a) mission (b) Team and (c) roadmap. 

Use that reference and feel free to invest.

Join me on a chit chat on Youtube Live today

Dealing with Roads Carnage in Kenya: Sensor-driven Bumps

Kenyan roads are tombs. Hundreds of Kenyans died between Nairobi and Eldoret, Nairobi and Nyeri and Nairobi and Mombasa in the festive season of December.

Part of that problem is the drivers.

Partly, the roads are to blame.

Then there is the police.

Corrupt. Inept and simply incapable.

There is the whole morass of the driving licencing that needs a surgical overhaul.

Welcome to technology.

How have Road Bumps helped?

They cause more accidents because they are poorly designed, are too many and mostly not sturdy enough so they wear out.

How about some intelligent road bumps?

They are built into the roads. They have sensors for speed. If a car is speeding too fast, it rises to slow it down. If no speed breach is noticed, it is a smooth road!

Watch on (Courtesy of Cheddar Inc)

Forget Eurobond, Blockchain's Initial Country (County) Offerings a new crowdfunding tool!

The Kenya government has once approached the international donors to sell Kenyan debt in what was called the EUROBOND. That colossal sums of money were lost between the buyers and the Central Bank/Treasury is no secret.

What we all know though, is that the Mguu Tupus of Kenya are paying the EUROBOND loard billions in money that was not 100% deployed to better their lives.

Besides, EUROBOND, like any other instrument of debt financing is expensive and it will take decades to repay. Probably more money needs to be borrowed to finance that debt. It is a vicious cycle.

Enter Blockchain. And Tokens. And Cryptocurrencies.

Today, anybody with a smart idea, from starting a cloud storage server to setting up a food processing plant to establishing a shipping line is running to the one hot area that is revolutionising the world: Blockchain technology.

You already know of Bitcoin and Ripple. That is money.

I have talked about how Blockchain can help in the war against official and unofficial corruption.

Ideally, in Blockchain technology, there is NO need for trust. Computers are negotiating contracts and signing.

Smart contracting. Call it mining if you like.

More computers hold copies of ledgers with entries of marriage certificates, birth certificates, land title deeds, education certificates.

Name it.

All copies.

Thousands, even millions.

You forge on one server, the rest of the "unforged" servers reject it. Invalid.

You can't bribe the servers!

So how does it work on debt?

Let us take one example.

A company is coming up which is going to manage assets. It is called Swissborg, based, yes you guessed right, out of Switzerland. A groupd of guys with impeccable credentials came together with this ambition.

But theycould reach millions on online funds through an
ICO (Initial Coin Offering). I bought in. 60,000 other netizens bought in. Different amounts. Total? 60,000,000, CHF (1CHF=US$). Just like that. Some KShs 6 billion was raised by so many of us who have not, and likely won't, meet them.

But we bought their idea and invested in it in exchange for TOKENS! Strangers buying from strangers. No need for trust of the traders. It is machine trust!

So I am just thinking.
Nandi Coin
Uhuru Coin
Harambee Coin
Taifa Coin
Jenga Coin
Utalii Coin
Jambo Coin

Do you see where I an going with this?

The Blockchain is today's fundraising tool. Can't the Nation-State embrace this and deploy it to raise funds for development?

Can't counties like my native Nandi County issue a Token based on Blockchain Smart Contracting to raise money for infrastructure development?

Can't Kenya use this to also raise some Bonga Points on our dwindling tourism sector?

It is time for "Intitial Country Coin", or better still "Intial County Coin", the ICO that countries and counties can use to finance debt and crowdfund.

You heard it here first!

Watch it and decide whether you want to be left behind

I am now hooked to Ian. Like a religion. You better too. Why? Watch and tell me. And if you like him, subscribe to his incredible videos and enable notifications in order to be informed when he has a new release!