I was in an agri-show a few weeks ago and there, I met Ray.

Ray was the herd dog that was herding five ducks in a show to demonstrate how dogs can be good shepherd with proper training.

The ducks went into different obstacle challenges with Ray not barking once, but pre-empting the ducks' movements, nudging them to take a certain direction, and lastly, blocking their way so that they have no choice but to take the challenge.

It was a great experience to learn and see how Ray was a patient, methodical, and strategic herd.

I likened this to leaders who are trying their best to show their followers the way.

Through nudges, incentives and rewards, pre-emptions, and strategic blocks, leader fine-tune their styles to suit the temperaments of their team, the objectives at hand, and the process they had to be girded on. 

Herding is a process that requires high relational quotient. if your team doesn't trust you, your herding is scorned and ridiculed. 

Your attempts to pre-empt and redirect will be taken in contempt and mistaken to be self-serving.

Your nudges and subtle reminders will be ignored.

Like Ray, you don't need to bark to show them the way.

​Your subtle gestures are loud enough to warrant paying attention. 

You have to ask yourself, regularly, this question: Why are you successful?

What are the causes of your success?

Success could mean growth, self-improvement, societal contribution or impact, legacy, building and nurturing something that will last, financial gain, security, worldwide appeal, etc. whatever that is.

The Whys of success will encourage you to look deeper into the patterns: 

The mindset that propelled that;

The right behaviours you used;

The attitude exercised; 

When you're successful once, you can replicate it many times over.

The method of arriving at that could be modified or changed according to your bandwidth, market response, or external factors such as cooperation or approval of others. 

A lot of experts would say, that you need to give yourself the permission to be successful.

A lot of people doesn't know even that they're successful.

They keep on going in circles comparing themselves with others and undermining their own gifts and inherent advantages. 

When I get asked this question, I always go back to the beginning when I was starting.

The journey is worth every step and is far greater than the momentary thrills of those moments.

The key to success is when to know you're successful and hone in on those areas that led you down that path and never let it go. 

​There is nothing in this world that will not age or become obsolete.

Somehow, somewhere the hands of time will follow its natural order.

My daughter told me a few days ago that I have a lot of greying hair.

It's a fact that I have been greying since I was 18!

Truth be told as we age we face different challenges from different seasons of our lives. 

Ageism is one thing.

Building a legacy is another.

Finding your car keys is another point.

Supporting your parents while taking care of the young ones is a juggling act.

Growing old is a blessing and a gift. 

You'll never know really if you'll reach 50, 60, 90, or 100.

My grandmother who passed away at the age of 94  quietly slipped away contented.

She was ready to go since the age of 85! 

But everyday that accounts for your grey hair means wisdom.

Forty is the new 30, and so on and so forth.

It's the attitude that determines everything.

A life devoid of shame, guilt, and self-imposed misery is the goal to be had. 

Ageing usually comes with maturity and maturity is loving oneself and fully accepting those things that you cannot change. 

There is freedom, levity, and groundedness in aging gracefully. 

We are all aging past our first birthday, anyway regardless of what we do about it.

The question is: Does our everyday lead to grace?