Why You Must Dare to Fail
Thousands and thousands of people who are now enjoying success have attested to having failed many times before they could test the fruits of success. Their reaction to failure has always been the same. They saw failure in a different way, reacted to it with amazing positivity, and regarded failure as a snowball of lessons. It is probably one of the most important factors that have made them what they are today.
If you are afraid of taking risk, you are actually avoiding the fundamental requisite element that guides you towards your success. The fear of failure denies you the opportunity to unleash you potential. Research indicates that the average human being using less than 10% of their potential.
Every single person has so much potential to be able to use in a 100-life times. Fear is one of the biggest factors that diminishes human ability and stands between you and a life of your dreams. Multi-millionaire, entrepreneur, and author Richard Brandson flew thousands of kilometres in a hot air balloon and was rescued by a helicopter after falling into sea. His company Virgin is now flying to space.
I am not suggesting you take extreme ridiculous risks but this a clarion call for you to dare to fail. Somehow men and women who have dared to fail have achieved great things. Failure is a weapon of success, it must be used to achieve, and it should not be a destructive force.
Great men and women have seen failure as a definite pathway to success and believed that failure is a starting point to any form of success. While ordinary folks give up, successful people regard failure as a feedback mechanism and use the opportunity to re-strategize and face the future cognizant of what would not work.
The man who discovered the light bulb Thomas Edison when once asked how many times he failed responded by saying “I did not fail a thousand times I just found out one-thousand ways it would not work.” Great men and women have their brains wired to view failure in a different way. Failure tends to toughen their resolve to get what they want.
Their view and perception of the world is so entirely different and traceable in their language that they use. There are very stubborn and stick on their goals and dreams until they achieve them. The ordinary folk stops at the very first hurdle but when great men and women are faced with challenges they remain stuck to the ultimate goals.
They remain so focused on their goals so much that little else on the road side matter. Their eyes are always on the ball. The one thing that they have mastered is the power of persistence. They never give up because nobody has really achieved anything by giving up.
Successful people know that when you fail, you fail at something not everything. Defeat can only be temporary and the measure of a true man or woman is their ability to rise from what looked like impossible positions.
Author of the Classic book Think And Grow Rich Napoleon Hill states that “opportunities have a sly habit of coming misguided as failure or temporary defeat” In what you have deemed failure in the past what were the opportunities, what lessons did you learn and how would you do things differently if you were to undergo the same process?
These are three question that successful people ask themselves when they are facing set-backs. I just want you know that you can react differently to failure. If you don’t see failure differently you will use a few instances to make a judgement call on your abilities, skills and personality.
The end result will be a loss of confidence, low self-esteem and you will be doubtful of your purpose. And I am sure you have met somebody so much dejected by failure that they begin to question their existence on earth. But if they had just reacted differently to failure and regarded it as necessary feedback they would be probably be reacting differently about their purpose.
Your subconscious through various life experiences will be wired to react to failure in a particular way. You would know of people who react to failure by crying, some become withdrawn, some aggressive and they do this because that is the only way they know of reacting to failure. All these reactions have been stencilled to the subconscious mind because of our attitude towards failure.
If there is someone who has never failed, it is because they have never tried anything. They go through life cautious and afraid of taking the risks and end up failing anyway. And because they have never experienced failure, it becomes a new devastating phenomenon. Most of people who are failure averse never recover from major set-backs.
Start reacting to fear differently, fear provides lessons and it is a tool to be used to achieve and throw out that fear and start living today.
Money Mind
Until next week.
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Business
LLR transforms from Company to Group reporting
Botswana Stock Exchange listed diversified real estate company, Letlole La Rona Limited (“LLR” or “the Company” or “the Group”), posted its first set of group financial statements which comprise the Company and Group consolidated accounts, which show strong financial performance for the six months ended 31 December 2023, with improvements across all key metrics.
The Company commenced the financial year with the appointment of a Deputy Chairperson, Mr Mooketsi Maphane, in order to bolster its governance and enhance leadership continuity through the development of a Board and Executive Management Succession Plan.
At operational level, LLR increased its shareholding in Railpark Mall from 32.79% to 57.79% and proudly took over the management of this prime asset.
The CEO of LLR, Ms Kamogelo Mowaneng commented “During the period under review, our portfolio continued to perform strongly, with improvements across all key metrics as a result of our ongoing focus on portfolio growth and optimisation.
“We are pleased to report a successful first half of the 2024 financial year, where we managed to not only grow the portfolio through strategic acquisitions and value accretive refurbishments but also recycled capital through the disposal of Moedi House as well as the ongoing sale of section titles at Red Square Apartments. The acquisition of an additional 25% stake in JTTM Properties significantly uplifted the value of our investment portfolio to P2.0 billion at a Group level. Our investment portfolio was further differentiated by the quality of our tenant base, as demonstrated by above market occupancy levels of 99.15% and strong collections of above 100% for the period”.
The growth in contractual revenue of 9% from the prior year’s P48.0 million to the current year P52.2 million, increased income from Railpark Mall, coupled with high collection rates, has enabled the company to declare a distribution of 9.11 thebe per linked unit, which is in line with the prior year.
In line with its strategic pillars of ‘Streamlined and Expanded Botswana Portfolio’ as well as ‘Quality African Assets’, the Group continuously monitors the performance of its investments to ensure that they meet the targeted returns.
“The Group continues to explore yield accretive opportunities for balance sheet growth and funding options that can be deployed to finance that growth” further commented the CEO of LLR Ms Kamogelo Mowaneng.
Ms Mowaneng further thanked the Group’s stakeholders for their continued support and stated that they look forward to unlocking further value in the Group.
Business
Botswana’s Electricity Generation Dips 26.4%
The Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) has reported a significant decrease in electricity generation for the fourth quarter of 2023, with output plummeting by 26.4%. This decline is primarily attributed to operational difficulties at the Morupule B power plant, as per the latest Botswana Index of Electricity Generation (IEG) released recently.
Local electricity production saw a drastic reduction, falling from 889,535 MWH in the third quarter of 2023 to 654,312 MWH in the period under review. This substantial decrease is largely due to the operational challenges at the Morupule B power plant. Consequently, the need for imported electricity surged by 35.6% (136,243 MWH) from 382,426 MWH in the third quarter to 518,669 MWH in the fourth quarter. This increase was necessitated by the need to compensate for the shortfall in locally generated electricity.
Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (ZESCO) was the principal supplier of imported electricity, accounting for 43.1% of total electricity imports during the fourth quarter of 2023. Eskom followed with 21.8%, while the remaining 12.1, 10.3, 8.6, and 4.2% were sourced from Electricidade de Mozambique (EDM), Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), Nampower, and Cross-border electricity markets, respectively. Cross-border electricity markets involve the supply of electricity to towns and villages along the border from neighboring countries such as Namibia and Zambia.
Distributed electricity exhibited a decrease of 7.8% (98,980 MWH), dropping from 1,271,961 MWH in the third quarter of 2023 to 1,172,981 MWH in the review quarter.
Electricity generated locally contributed 55.8% to the electricity distributed during the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease from the 74.5% contribution in the same quarter of the previous year. This signifies a decrease of 18.7 percentage points. The quarter-on-quarter comparison shows that the contribution of locally generated electricity to the distributed electricity fell by 14.2 percentage points, from 69.9% in the third quarter of 2023 to 55.8% in the fourth quarter. The Morupule A and B power stations accounted for 90.4% of the electricity generated during the fourth quarter of 2023, while Matshelagabedi and Orapa emergency power plants contributed the remaining 5.9 and 3.7% respectively.
The year-on-year analysis reveals some improvement in local electricity generation. The year-on-year perspective shows that the amount of distributed electricity increased by 8.2% (88,781 MWH), from 1,084,200 MWH in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 1,172,981 MWH in the current quarter. The trend of the Index of Electricity Generation from the first quarter of 2013 to the fourth quarter of 2023 indicates an improvement in local electricity generation, despite fluctuations.
The year-on-year analysis also reveals a downward trend in the physical volume of imported electricity. The trend in the physical volume of imported electricity from the first quarter of 2013 to the fourth quarter of 2023 shows a downward trend, indicating the country’s continued effort to generate adequate electricity to meet domestic demand, has led to the decreased reliance on electricity imports.
In response to the need to increase local generation and reduce power imports, the government has initiated a new National Energy Policy. This policy is aimed at guiding the management and development of Botswana’s energy sector and encouraging investment in new and renewable energy. In the policy document, Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security Lefoko Moagi stated that the policy aims to transform Botswana from being a net energy importer to a self-sufficient nation with surplus energy for export into the region. Moagi expressed confidence that Botswana has the potential to achieve self-sufficiency in electric power supply, given the country’s readily available energy resources such as coal and renewable sources.
Business
MMG acquires Khoemacau in a transaction valued at P23Bn
MMG Limited, the Hong Kong-based mining company specializing in base metals, has successfully concluded the acquisition of Khoemacau Copper Mine, a state-of-the-art, world-class copper asset nestled in the northwest of Botswana.
On Monday, MMG announced that the acquisition of Khoemacau Mine in Botswana was finalized on 22nd March 2024. “This acquisition enriches the company’s portfolio with a top-tier, transformative growth project and signifies a monumental milestone in the Company’s journey,” MMG communicated in an official statement published on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Upon completion of the acquisition, MMG remitted to the Sellers an Aggregate Consideration of approximately US$1,734,657,000 (over P23 billion), a sum subject to potential adjustments post-Completion.
In addition to the Aggregate Consideration, MMG, in accordance with the Agreement, advanced an aggregate amount of approximately US$348,580,000 (over P4.5 billion) as the Aggregate Debt Settlement Amount, to settle certain debt balances of the Target Group (Cuprous Capital/Khoemacau).
On November 21, 2023, Khoemacau announced that the shareholders of its parent company [Cuprous Capital] had agreed to sell 100% of their interests to MMG Limited.
MMG is a global resources company that mines, explores, and develops copper and other base metals projects on four continents. The company is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, and has a significant shareholder, China Minmetals Corporation, which is China’s largest metals and minerals group owned by the Government of the People’s Republic of China.
On December 22, 2023, Khoemacau Copper Mining (Pty) Ltd received the approval from the Minister of Minerals and Energy of Botswana regarding the transfer of a controlling interest in the Project Licenses and Prospecting Licenses associated with the Khoemacau Copper Mine, a result of the Acquisition.
The Botswana Competition & Consumer Authority (CCA) on January 29, 2024, notified the market that it had given its approval for the takeover of Khoemacau Copper Mining by MMG Limited.
On January 29, 2024, the CCA issued a merger decision to the market, stating that after conducting all necessary assessments, it was ready to proceed.
The Competition Authority affirmed that the structure of the relevant market would not significantly change upon implementation of the proposed merger as the proposed transaction is not likely to result in a substantial lessening of competition, nor endanger the continuity of service in the market of mining of copper and silver ores and the production, and sale or supply of copper concentrate in Botswana.
Furthermore, the CCA stated that the proposed merger would not have any negative impact on public interest matters in Botswana as per the provisions of section 52(2) of the Competition Act 2018.
Earlier this month, Minister of Minerals & Energy, Lefoko Maxwell Moagi, informed parliament that his Ministry was endorsing the Khoemacau acquisition by MMG Limited. He noted that not only was the company acquiring the existing operation but also committing to an expansion program that would cost over $700 million to double production, create more jobs for Batswana, and increase taxes and royalties paid to the Government.