How positive energy and confidence gives opportunities to win

One of the reasons one young lady made a lasting impact on me at our very first meeting is her confidence and a glass full of motivation she was willing to share. We meet so many people, but few encourage us to become better. At the time I was teaching ACCA financial reporting paper at Makerere University Business School. I did not know that she was one of the students in my class.

Two days later, I went to the MUBS professional courses department. At the time, there was a man called Richard. He had a great smile. I entered and since I was one of the lectures on the program that he was coordinating at the business school, he gave me some time to chat. In the middle of the conversation, a lady entered. She looked so young and innocent. She had no makeup. She sat quietly on the waiting bench. After five minutes, she stood up moved to Richard, looked directly into his eyes, and said “you think I have all the time to wait here as you entertain your visitors during working hours?” She then asked for some papers from him and moved out of the office.

I was impressed by the confidence of this lady.

I asked Richard, who is that girl who thinks the world should revolve around her. In his usual comedian style, Richard said “MUBS is not like any other place. People have read their books… they don’t have time to waste… that lady you are calling a girl is a Lecturer…”

Many people we interact with at such chance meetings never take space in our permanent memory.

However, given the confidence of this lady and the fact that she was a trailblazer academically (which Richard told me about later), I put her face in my permanent memory. I also know MUBS would not keep someone to teach unless they had demonstrated academic excellence. Usually, people who get the first class or at worst, a second class upper are retained to teach at Universities. The others are those who fail but succeed in the life tests by making lots of money as entrepreneurs, so they are invited as guest lecturers.

A week later, I entered the class to commence my afternoon lecturer. And guess who I saw: the young girl was in the corner of the class on the second last row. I made sure that I tickled her mind. I wanted to see what she was made of. Mid-way my lecturer I put a question on the whiteboard and told each student to answer in their books. I started moving around the class to each student’s desk, checking what they had written. For the then tough ACCA exams (I hope they are still as tough as they used to be), giving such personal touch was necessary to make sure students were on the same page. When I reached her sit, I found she had properly answered the question, which many students in the class had failed.

Later I was made to understand that she was an Accounting Lecturer. She knew the tricks.

Two weeks later, we met again at a food joint in Bugolobi. She recognized me and asked me to join share a table. I accepted. We started a conversation. She said “I love your class. You have a good teaching style. You are knowledgeable. Many students also love the notes you share on email after the class. Please you should consider adding another subject to teach us.”

How do you not love a person like this?

When it comes to positive vibes and motivation, few people if any have enough of it. Whether they are presidents or ministers or CEOs, people are always looking for validation and affirmations. People want you to acknowledge and tell them how great they are.

However, someone may look successful in their own right, they always have space for more positivity and motivation. And if you want to win friends and create lasting relationships, be frank with your friends and people you want to influence or network with. Start with their good values. Tell them what they do great at and ask them to do more of it and challenge them to keep raising the bar. That way they open-up and look forward to having conversations with you.

As you can see, her confidence made us friends. I started sharing great study materials for all ACCA subjects. In the process, she saved a lot of her money. No wonder she passed all the ACCA exams well. All these benefits thanks to her confidence and ability to give positive energy. People will love to meet often folks who make them happy. Stop looking for faults in people.

Can you guess which lady I am referring to in the above article? And why?

Copy right Mustapha B Mugisa, 2020. All rights reserved.