Kavit’s Blog

observations from the edge of my seat (and my personal thoughts) 

Sitting on dune 45 in the Namib Desert

Photo of Kavit and Trevor on Dune 45 in the Namib Desert, Namibia. September 2009.

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Filed under  //   africa   dune 45   namib desert   namibia   sossusvlei   south africa   travel   traveling  

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Hip Hop Violin

Here's a wonderful video with a young and very talented violin player and a DJ spinning hip hop tracks.

There are many lessons from this about collaboration, marketing, team work, creativity, excitement, social media, conversation, dialogue and respect.

What are your thoughts? Do share...

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Photos from my trip to Africa 2009

Jambo!

On September 6th, I flew to Johannesburg and then worked my way up to Nairobi by October 24th. 

Here is a selection of photographs and a few highlights of my trip:

I'm at Nelson Mandela Square in Johannesburg...

Looking towards Table Mountain from Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was in jail for over a quarter of a century...

Sitting at the top of Table Mountain having taken 2 hours to hike up...

In Namibia, the Fish River Canyon, 2nd largest after the Grand Canyon and completely untouched...

In the Namib Desert, the oldest desert in the world...

The Himba Tribe people in northern Namibia cover themselves in mud...

A wildebeest in Etosha National Park, in Namibia...

Entering Botswana, we drove to to Maun where we set off for a few nights in the Okavango Delta. Here's a giraffe in the wild just a few metres away from us, and we were on a walking safari.

Look at this tree, an elephant has scraped off the bark...

Then to Chobe National Park and the Chobe River. There is always time for yet another African sunset.

Two hippos play fighting in the Chobe river:

From Botswana to Zimbabwe. Here's our welcome:

I went to Victoria Falls, locally known as Mosi-O-Tunya (the smoke that thunders). The spray of the falls is absolutely incredible. Here's why:

From Zimbabwe to Zambia, driving four three/four days through to the Malawian border.

Elephants spotted on the roadside:

Lake Malawi was absolutely beautiful and the five days there were divine. Here's me in Lake Malawi:

And the clearwater and sky usually merge during sunrise and evening...

From Malawi to Tanzania, after a few days driving up towards Dar Es Salaam and a few stops in between, we took the ferry over to nearby Zanzibar Island. This place is really peaceful, beautiful and I would certainly visit again. The spice farm I visited was certainly one of the best experiences.

The boys with their new hats and ties...

Here's the wonderful sea:

As I found to be always special in Africa, here's another beautiful sunset...

Nearby Prison Island is home to over 104 giant Aldabra tortoise species originally from Seychelles. Here I am with one of them:

A peacock on Prison Island...

From Zanzibar to Arusha and a visit to the Ngorongoro Crater, the best place I have ever been to for safari. There were literally thousands and thousands of animals. 

Check out a few shots here:

From Ngorongoro, to Arusha to Nairobi. Then after a week in Mombasa, I landed back in London on 3rd November.

-Kavit

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Filed under  //   africa   african safari   african sunset   bostwana   cape town   kenya   malawi   mombasa   namib desert   namibia   nelson mandela   ngorongoro crater   okavango delta   robben island   south africa   tanzania   victoria falls   zambia   zanzibar   zimbabwe  

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Top 3 Blogs I've Read Regularly In 2009

Here are my top three blogs of 2009.

The Art of Non-Conformity - http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/

Zen Habits - http://zenhabits.net

Karl Moorehttp://www.karlblog.com

What are your top blogs of 2009? Do tell...

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40 Inspirational Messages In 2 Minutes

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The mindset of a successful business owner

The other day, as I was driving to St Albans, I was thinking about the differences in mentality between the successful business owner and the unsuccesful business owner. What is it that makes one person successful whereas in that same very industry there are others who are not doing so great.

There are many reasons why one is doing better than the other.

Maybe it's because he has more money to invest in the business.
Maybe because his skills are much better.
Maybe it's because he is more passionate about the idea.
Maybe he is better at traffic generation.
Maybe he knows how to lead a team of people to work towards a common vision.

All the above, and more, are very important attributes.

But I think above all of those "tactics" it comes down to your attitude, your mindset and your beliefs.

Applying Pareto's Law to this, success is always an 80-20 relationship between your mindset and your action plan. 80% of your success comes down to your mindset and 20% is from your strategies – your A-B action plan. This concept has been reiterated to us more times than we can count on two hands, but here again, it is vitally important if your product or service is going to be the latest talking point in circles around the world. 

Let's talk about your needs. 

Most people when going for success in their business look to satisfy one need – they want to make money. When you see your need (your ultimate motivation) as wanting to make money, there are really only three paths to making it happen: (1) you get the knowledge (2) you do the labor and (3) you leverage your resources. 

However good it may sound to you, having money as your ultimate need and core motivation is not the major driving force for success. Let’s take another need for example. Let’s look at your ultimate need as being your need for food. When you have a need for food, there are two ways to go about satisfying that need. One is to buy food with money, and two, is to grow your own food. 

When you decide to buy food with money, you have the three options again – knowledge, labor and leverage. When you decide to grow your own food, you have another three options – (1) learn from successful gardeners, (2) borrow seeds in exchange for cooking and (3) get someone else to grow it for you. 

The idea I’m trying to portray here is that no obstacle should really be an obstacle for your business when your need is deep and strong. The solution should be an almost no compromise answer so that your business gets what it needs to succeed.  

This is one step towards discovering your core motivation.

Take a moment now to do this exercise: 

Let’s just assume reincarnation doesn’t happen. One day you will be dead. And in your place you will have left something. What will that something be? How will you be remembered? What impact will you make? What will you create that continues on after you are gone?

What you want to come up with are reasons why you are really in this arena – reasons why you’re doing it. Here are my five reasons: 

1. I love the game. It’s scary; it’s fun, it’s challenging & stimulating. 

2. I like being able to provide opportunities and give back to the community. 

3. I enjoy being part of a team that is helping thousands and thousands of people all over the world. 

4. I like the concept of being financially free and the opportunities, experiences, and influence that come along with having money. 

5. I’m passionate about changing the world on a global scale by working towards cultivating peace 

What will be your core motivation? We get motivated by the venture of making money. A desire for respect motivates us. A thirst for achievement motivates us. The desire to excel both mentally and physically is a drive we want to pursue. Also the goal of being a creator and living a memorable legacy can be a motivation for many of us. Here are some questions to help you come up with your own reasons for playing in this arena. 

  • Why do you want to create worldwide buzz with your product and solution?
  • What do you want to get out of it? 
  • What do you really crave to learn? Another culture, a foreign language, ski-jumping?
  • Which material objects are you motivated to possess? Are you craving a motorbike, a mansion, a Mercedes Benz?
  • Does the benefit of financial security and prosperity motivate you? Do you crave things in your life that money can buy which makes it more comfortable and enjoyable? 
  • How do you want to contribute to the world and how does that motivate you?

Get out and give all you have. Make your goals. Find your motivation and core reasons for being. Then give it your all, plus that extra 10%. In the end, be happy that you made a difference, accomplished something meaningful to you, added value to the world, and had fun. That’s real success in my book. 

Please leave me your thoughts below...

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Filed under  //   achievement   ambition   business   entrepreneur   entrepreneurship   goal setting   goals   internet marketing   marketing   success  

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What are you most grateful for?

On this American day of gratitude, what are you most grateful for?

 

I strive to wake up every day making a list of the things I'm grateful for. So I don't think this Thanksgiving day is the only to show gratitude.

 

I'm grateful that I've acquired the entrepreneurial ability, know-how and confidence to build my business.

 

I'm grateful to the opportunity of helping other individuals become internet entrepreneurs.

 

I'm grateful for the thousands of musicians that have entrusted the support and training from my organisation, Insider Music Business.

 

I'm grateful that my birth in human form allows me the opportunity for spiritual growth.

 

I'm grateful for my parents, my family, my friends and my loved ones.

 

I'm grateful to moments and experiences in my life that have made me who I am today.

 

I realise that when I'm most grateful, and when I'm hanging out with those who are grateful, I live a graceful life.

 

I've also learnt and understood that one of the most important skills you can have in your life is the "being grateful". If you haven't realised that, I invite you to a challenge of waking up the next 10 days and taking 5 minutes to feel, think and be grateful. You'll thank yourself for doing it.


What are you most grateful for?

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Filed under  //   achievement   ambition   authenticity   business   entrepreneur   fulfillment   gratitude   happiness   success  

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This Is Karma

I came across this wonderful video with insights and a look into the eastern philosophy of karma. I've been recently reading about and studying the theory of karma in the Jain philosophy. 

Watch the video below, directed by Erling Hoveid, and share your thoughts in the comments section below:

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Filed under  //   eastern philosophy   jainism   karma   religion   spirituality   young jains  

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What's Your Biggest Internet Marketing Challenge?

Hello!

As we move towards the end of 2009, and you work hard to meet your goals, what is your biggest internet marketing challenge?

Please share...

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Filed under  //   achievement   business   challenge   entrepreneur   entrepreneurship   internet   marketing  

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africa, africa!

On Sunday 6th Sept, I'm heading to Africa for two months. Starting in Johannesburg and then Cape Town, I'm going through a total of eight countries in a overland truck. The 8 countries are SA, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya. 

I reach Nairobi on 24th October and fly to Mombasa for a cousin brother's wedding which takes place on Halloween. 

I'm most looking forward to sand boarding in the Namibian desert. I've never stood in a place where I turn all four ways and am surrounded by golden sand so that is very exciting. I'm also looking forward to traveling in a mokoro along the Okavango Delta in Botswana amongst other things.

I hope to get some photos and video clips too.

This is a really exciting test for my various business ventures to run on their own with my excellent team of assistants and marketers.

I don't think I'll check e-mail or communicate with technology so I'm not sure if I'll blog but I'll try to share some videos and photos when I can.

See you when I get back!

-Kavit

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