Steve Jobs: Motivational Speech
Send this article to Twitter!
This is a great speech, given by a great entrepreneur and if you are having doubts about what you are trying to do, either in terms of a career or in terms of starting a business, this speech will lift you up.
Good speech I agree.
I thought I was going to get bored but he kept it interesting and short.
Do not live under dogma – thats a nice one.
Smart cookie… and in Kenya, we need folks like Steve Jobs…
nice speech. I loved it.
when u hear knowledge like this from steve jobs , it really motivates you.
but when u hear some politicking about land, sijui kenyatta grabbed land in kenya over 3 decades ago-and as a result I’m in perpetual poverty, it really contrasts.
These are the issues we should be talkin about not petty kenyan politics of sijui who said what and what he really meant by it…I mean how will decoding political undertones of kenya’s fat politicians make me any richer or progress more here in the west ?
Mzeiya
I agree that kenyans really have to think hard about where they want they want to go.
We have some moribund politicians who are trapped in a time warp. Good examples are Orengo, Anyang Nyong and Ngilu who we all thought would behave differerently when in power. Well, at least we can now see what they would do if they had total power.
******
Nice speech by Steve.
Do we have these kind of success stories in Kenya?
I am sure there must be – but where are they?
mzeiya:
Puhleeze… did jomo ‘land grabber’ kenyatta steal? Yes. Is he a thief? Yes. So the family should return the land… and the profits derived from their theft. Using your logic, we should have NEVER gotten independence (or the Masais their land back) since it had been taken over 30 years before 1963…
As far as Jobs is concerned, it is about being creative & determined. Jobs by all accounts is a brilliant man. He turned to himself. The environment was also enabling with no idiots like moi banning faxes… Also don’t forget the 10% culture in Kenya where kenyatta & his cronies wanted 10% for doing nothing…
We have to stop the culture of impunity & theft otherwise many Kenyan entrepreneurs will be discouraged and displaced…
CT, Mzeiya
Did you see Uhuru Kenyatta on BBC Hardtalk last night? You can download it.
The guy is brilliant and he addressed the question of land.
He said that the land policy reform in Kenya is not about ONE family. And that he will abide by any agreed changes to land ownership policy – so there you are!
Let me tell you one thing, there will be no grabbing of land from the Kenyatta family or any other family for that matter.
This will replicate a Zimbabwe situation – meltdown (9 Million % inflation). Who wants that? I personally dont want that.
Buy your own land if you are really that obsessed with land.
Uhuru actually made Stephen Sackur break a sweat! I smiled.
Yawa! This Uhuru guy is good. Real good.
Just checking to see if this silly blog still gets any hits.
Mmmm…Looks kike everybody has gone to Kumekucha.
CT,…..lol…U guy it seems you will never let kenyatta off the hook,
But I don’t think that the kenyatta family giving back land will transform your life in any meaningful way. You are the one who’s responsible for that, you can’t live the rest of your life by using the kenyatta’s as excuses for lack of acheivement.
Kei O, I will watch that hardtalk piece and see what the guy says.
Kei O,
I’ve just seen the interview of uhuru kenyatta on hardtalk.
I’m not sure if I’d describe uhuru as briliant in this interview. Honestly, the hardtalk guy asks very good questions, questions that I believe that the ordinary kenyan is asking.
All I see from uhuru is him dogging the questions or trying to avoid giving a direct answer to the tough questions. Basically he’s talking lik a politician and being vague on almost all his answers.
He also gets quite defensive on the land issue. Offocurse he’ll have to say that he’ll agree upon whatever wil be decided about the land issue, there’s really nothing else he can say about that.
To me he just spoke like a politician. He’s stil talking of establishing other commissions to investigate sijui what.
On the issue of MP’s salary, he’s told that MP’s make $18,000 a month while the avergae kenyan makes $ 400 a YEAR, and he tries to justify his answer by saying that the new legislation to tax MP’s pay will make the field more level….I’m like WTF???? Kwanik does that mean MP’s will be taxed at 90% to make it more in line with the average kenyan who’s making $ 40 a year.
out of the hard talk interviews, I liked martha karuas the most, she’s a straight talker no vague answers..
Mzeiya: We have to right the wrongs… to prove to the current generation that theft is wrong… yes, the return of stolen land will benefit me…
Value of stolen land ‘owned’ by the kenyatta family (& cronies) = KES 35 billion. Say we sold it at market price in an open auction… and not underhand to the libyans…
There are 35 million Kenyans thus each will get 1,000/-…. now that is a fortune for many Kenyans.
So… the KES 35 billion will circulate back into the economy… the buyers will either build on the land or use it for production… and we spread the wealth…
Alternatively the KES 35 billion goes into a kitty that is used to fund development projects like a new road from Nairobi to Kisumu…
KES 35 billion is what KQ is worth… wouldn’t I like to see another institution like KQ set up?
Then after the kenyattas, we go after moi, biwott, ruto, kibaki, raila, etc… anyone who ever stole from Kenyans… it is a long, expensive process… but worth it…
Kei O
I just watched the Uhuru interview and I think he did quite well. The reason I say that is because BBC is very hostile to Kibaki and PNU in general. Infact, the BBC has now become a propaganda tool for the british govt.
Luckily, PNU has some very brilliant minds operating behind the scenes. These guys did not win the election by being foolish. They just pretend to be foolish.
Anyhow, I think PNU needs to come out fighting if they are to win the next election. ODM has a strategy of demonising the brightest leaders in PNU. Look at what happened to poor, innocent Kimunya.
On the issue of land, I do not think that targetting the Kenyatta family is the solution. Uhuru is right in saying that land policy should be for the benefit of all and should be followed by all.
CT
You are allowing bitterness to cloud your judgement . Free yourself from this bitterness against the Kenyattas and you will achieve your dreams.
You also appear to be engaging in jungle economics when you say that Kenyatta’s land should be sold for 35Billion and the money given to all Kenyans – that is a laughable idea!
What is needed is a radical shift in the way the economy is run. Transparency, elimination of corruption, education and infrastructural improvement will lift Kenyans out of poverty.
Josh: I just gave an example but if GRH is worth KES 2.9bn… the kenyattas own the Voyager Hotels… as well as other prime land at the coast… plus other gains they got from the crooked – thankfully dead – patriach…
After the kenyattas… then moi… then biwott… then kibaki… then ruto… then jirongo… then somaia… then pattni… then raila…
It’s simple… I think we should start with the first ‘big’ thief… aka kamau wa ngengi’s family then work our way down…
Ahhh… use the proceeds to pay for the infrastructure… should I also have to explain that to you as well?
Oh coldtusker
How many times are we going to tell you here that the stolen money will never be returned. You need to copy your heroes the Indians and focus on building NEW WEALTH.
Now, let’s please all get back to the topic of this post, which was, the importance of one following their passion and listening to themselves.
KE: Well… the Indians haven’t let go of the Gandhis… and the bofors deal… BUT new scandals seem to have dropped as a % of their economy while not so for Kenya… or maybe they are not reported?
I understand Indian Railways is very profitable and growing i.e. new lines, trains, etc… and we have RVR… sigh… perhaps we should have concessioned ours to Indian Railways as well…
We can only create wealth when the creators are assured that it will not be stolen/destoyed through theft or incompentence…
Mark Shuttleworth has left S.Africa since he can’t run his business (software) from S.Africa… the exchange controls and stupidity of the S.Africans in regulating businesses… does not bode well for them… Shuttleworth’s has ‘new welath’… not stolen, not through land or mines but created by brains…
Yet… he left S.Africa coz of bad policies…
CT
You repossession exercise would be shambolic. It would result in chaos.
The best possible solution would be for the government to buy back unused tracts of land and settle the landless there. That is the work of a government.
And who told you repossession would stop at land? It would escalate and you CT would soon a be victim. The repossession thugs would say:
“How did CT make all this money? He must be a thief. He must have stolen it from the taxpayer. Alright, lets grab it from him!” – and so on and so forth.
To come back to the topic, there is a buzz and freedom in entrepreneurship. I am just about to start my own legal firm after 6 years of employment. The speech by Jobs edged me closer to my dream. I have a gut feeling I can do it – and I will go for it.
I don’t care about Kenyatta or Moi right now. I am concentrating on my life.
I hope I don’t encounter miscreants in the future saying – Kei O must have stolen this money coz he is a Kikuyu!
I will fight back ferociously – trust me on that one.
” don’t care about Kenyatta or Moi right now. I am concentrating on my life.”
CT Isuggest you meditate and digest those strong words KeiO has said. He will succeed in his endevaors.
We all know our kenyan leaders were corrupt, but constantly wining about their misdeeds is a waste of energy. just Do You! as thy say in America.
JOSH, About ODM Targeting PNU’s bright minds, I agree, however I don’t think Kimunya is one of those “bright minds”. I think Kimunya just got a lil arrogant and ocky and naive to believe that suspicous deals like that would be possible in this new gvt.
KeiO, Congrats on starting your new law firm, It’s always good to see/hear kenyans oing things abroad.
mzeiya
I agree Kimunya is a little bit arrogant but that does not mean that the GRH deal was suspicious.
This is the way i understand it:
GRH was originally owned by Mohammed Aslam. He then sold the property to Kamlesh Pattni. Kamlesh then borrowed money from the CBK and put up GRH as collateral. He was unable to honour the debts and CBK took hold of GRH. Therefore GRH was never a public property. The CBK then sold the hotel by private treaty as it is allowed legally to do. The price was right for a property of that magnitude.
I stand to be corrected but that is the way I understand it.
What Kimunya should have done is to publicise the deal. However, it appears that he has alot to learn in the political game.
The most basic lesson is – COVER YOUR BACK.
http://www.eastandard.net/Insi.....4&
So… the kenyatta land theft is in the news again…
JOSH,
You maybe right, however remember politics is all about PERCEPTION, Not reality. Kimunya knowing tht the GRH is a controversial topic should have tread very carefully and TRANSPARENTLY When dealing with this hot potato issue.
CT
I see you are on that kenyatta grabbed my land vibe again, However this time people are talking about it.
I saw uhuru on hardtalk answering questions about his family, although he seemed to be dodging questions rather than giving the straight martha karua type of answers
Okay coldtusker. I’m going to try attacking your obsession with the kenyatta stolen land from this angle.
Look at Ethiopia. Ethiopia currently has a policy similar to what you are advocating, which essentially involves the redistribution of land from a wealthy entity (e.g the kenyatta’s or the government) to poor, landless peasants.
Now, the Ethiopian land system, which is really a warped sense of socialism has not worked at all. The question is, why hasn’t it worked?
When the government in Ethiopia redistributed the land to these poor peasants, they “forgot” that farming, even on a small scale, is not that easy. You need manure, you need water, you need seeds, you need the energy to dig, etc, etc….
So, these peasants got their small parcels of land, but because they lacked the tools described above, they never became successful farmers and have been unable to grow their own food and that is why the country is facing yet another food crisis.
Zenawi mistakenly thought that land socialism would be the answer to Ethiopia’s perennial food problems, but in fact, commercial farming would have been the answer because wealthy entrepreneurs would have been able to make the capital investments required to turn that land into it’s most productive uses (& they would also have provided jobs in the process).
Robert Mugabe’s land policies are also another good example of why redistribution does not work. Yes, it was unfair that 2% of the population owned 80% of the land, but look what happened when he tried to redistribute the land?
Kikuyu’s are not enthralled with the kenyatta’s in the way that luo’s are enthralled by the odinga’s. When uhuru ran for office the first time , he lost and I don’t understand why these old men keep trying to push someone like uhuru on them. Kikuyu’s like self-made hard workers, not drunkard inheritors like uhuru.
KE,
When the government in Ethiopia redistributed the land to these poor peasants, they “forgot” that farming, even on a small scale, is not that easy. You need manure, you need water, you need seeds, you need the energy to dig, etc, etc….
So, these peasants got their small parcels of land, but because they lacked the tools described above, they never became successful farmers and have been unable to grow their own food and that is why the country is facing yet another food crisis.
Zenawi mistakenly thought that land socialism would be the answer to Ethiopia’s perennial food problems, but in fact, commercial farming would have been the answer because wealthy entrepreneurs would have been able to make the capital investments required to turn that land into it’s most productive uses (& they would also have provided jobs in the process).
Robert Mugabe’s land policies are also another good example of why redistribution does not work. Yes, it was unfair that 2% of the population owned 80% of the land, but look what happened when he tried to redistribute the land?
There’s no need to look abroad in search of viable land reform. The Kenyatta government – with help – pulled it off after independence. The plan was fairly simple: pay off the landowners and sell the land to commercial cooperatives. It worked: the recurrent RVP violence hasn’t caused by a shortage of land (or the Kalenjin love of freedom, or whatever else Pokot will think up this week).
Commercial farmers in Kenya had exceptionally cheap labour – our grandfathers – and still managed to lose money most years – until the post-WWII boom rescued them. So. Small plots? More productive than large plots (the Kenyan historical data is unequivocal). Lack of capital for improvements? That’s what Equity is for.
Coldtusker is obviously unhealthily obsessed with the Kenyattas, but that’s no reason to deprecate land reform in general, and in Kenya in particular.
KE
On Mugabe’s reforms, don’t forget they were going very well, following the Kenyan model, until Tony Blair’s new government arrogantly refused to pay any further compensation for he white farmers to leave in 1997. Mugabe patiently tried to negotiate with the Blair government until 2001 – he then evicted the white farmers forcefully.
I understand the real reason why the Blair goverment refused to provide white farmers with any further compesation is NOT because Mugabe was corrupt but it was because Mugabe had sent his troops into Congo (DRC) to help Kabila (the father) in his war against Kagame (a British stooge). That was the true reason.
And another thing, the reason why the Zimbabwe economy has collapsed is mainly due to the sanctions imposed on that govt by the west. It is very few government that can survive when there is such a concerted effort to deny them access to international credit. This is even worse if the country is landlocked.
This is not to say that Mugabe is a saint but there are worse dictators in Africa whom Britain has not raised a finger against. Obasanjo, Raila, Ruto, Museveni and Meles Zenawi have all killed more people that Mugabe.
There is another thing you need to realise – white farmers in Zimbabwe were actually allowed to relocate to the UK. Britain enacted a new visa category called the ANCESTRAL CATEGORY. if any of your grandparents was born in the UK, then you are allowed to move back to Britain. Many others left for Australia, Canada and New Zealand where they were welcomed with open hands. They did not lose anything because they always kept their money in offshore accounts.
*****
CT
The Standard newspaper is not to be taken seriously. Infact, it is one of those papers that should be indicted for incitement. The Standard newspaper played a big role in promoting politics of negative ethnicity before the election. They have a sinister agenda against the Kikuyu community and any objective can see that. Is it because Ruto is the owner? Time will tell.
KE: I agree with you. Free stuff has little value. I don’t care if you own 50% of the land in Kenya if it was acquired ‘legally & transparently’ meaning not thru favoured allocations… the kenyattas ‘own’ this land thru kamau’s theft. That is what I want returned. The STOLEN land… not the land acquired thru proper channels…
DW: It’s the theft that galls me. kamau and his ilk started with land… moi went after businesses built by others… kibz is selling out the country’s assets to foreigners at discounted prices… And don’t forget pattni, ruto, jirongo, somaia, merali and raila…
KeiO: Why were the British obligated to pay for the land? And mugabe & cronies made out. It is said that Sally (his Ghanian wife) kept a lid on his excesses… but when he married his nurse, the guy went nutz.
Zimbabwe entered the Congo to rip her off… mugabe and his generals made/stole billions from Congo.
I would mourn the death 1 Kagame than 1,000,000 mugabes…
The Standard has a ‘moi’ ownership… paul melly is the deputy ceo… go figure…
CT
I heard through the grapevine that the Mois used to own the Standard by proxy through Ruto. However, Ruto being the cunning character he is has refused to hand over alot of properties, land, vehicles and investments which the Mois had acquired by proxy through him – Standard being one of them. He knows the Mois cannot legitimately and/or publicly challenge him for these properties.
I heard in a recent meeting that the Mois have their own personal beef with Ruto because of these outstanding issues. They have vowed to take their revenge. A very ugly vendetta is building up.
No Honour Among Thieves they say.
So… Mzeiya and KeiO… unless you are a kenyatta… or should I say kamau’s family… why should you not support taking back what WE as Kemyans own?
Let it take 5 years… lets get the stolen land & its proceeds… coz the value runs into 10s of billions! It is worth every penny…
kenyattas own voyager… if GRH wa sold at KES 2.9billion then the voyager group would be worth more… then there are the hectares of PRIME land in Nairobi and Central… esp around Thika and Ruiru…
Ahh… then moi and ruto… of course, pattni and somaia… and let’s take a fresh look at raila…
CT
If the land is to be grabbed from the big landowners, why should it go to the so-called Kenyans – yourself included?
You CT or any other Kenyan are not the owner of that land. Kenyans would have no claim to that land.
If this is to be the case, it should revert to its original owners. The families that owned the land before it was acquired by the colonialists. It should not go to the Kenyan state or government. The original families that owned the land occupied by the big farms and towns/cities are well known and they are still existing.
If there is to be any land reform, then it should go back to 1886 when Britain started demarcating land for itself in Kenya. And do not think I am hallucinating – I personally know what acreage was owned by my great great great grandfather in 1890.
However, like I said, this is not a solution. This will be the end of Kenya. The solution is the creation of new wealth as KE, Kei O, Mzeiya and others have put it.
Let us look forward – not backward.
Daniel:
Kenyatta was a thief. In theory, the willing buyer, willing seller proposition was a good one, but a majority of it’s benefits went to politically connected Kikuyu’s who did amass vast amounts of land at that time.
A lot of people don’t realize that a majority of Kikuyu’s were left poor and landless during Kenyatta’s time. I mean, massive amounts of beach front land was stolen in Mombasa. How do you think people like matiba and Eliud Mahihu were able to own hotels in the coast? they got the prime land at deflated prices and built hotels on it. Then of course, mama ngina’s massive amounts of land in Taita Taveta. That’s why the coast has all these landless peasants!
I for one, I’m just disappointed that these thieves don’t do any charity work or don’t give to any philanthropic organizations in Kenya. If Mama Ngina is not going to give up her land, she should at least do some good with her stolen money. Why can’t she build schools in Taita Taveta? build hospitals?
What do these people do with their stolen money?
CT
Did any of you know that Arthur Magugu (former Githunguri MP) is the biggest landowner in Nairobi? I bet you didn’t!
He owns more than 100000 hectares – situated between Eastlands and Thika.
Did you know that Karugu (former AG), Njonjo, Moi, Koinange and some wazungus own 600 acre coffee farms between Eastlands and Kiambu town? I bet you didn’t!
Do you know that Matiba, Kanyotu, Moi, Karume, Unilever, Williamson and other multinationals own 600 acre tea farms in Limuru? I bet you didn’t!
Do you imagine that these coffee/tea farms are going to be grabbed and given back to the so-called Kenyans? What would happen to coffee/tea production if these farms are handed out to people and subdivided as 1 acre plots?
These land was grabbed by the colonialists before independence from specific families. These families are very much around today but they accepted the willing buyer willing seller arrangement as a way forward at independence. The deal was that they would be able to mobilize and buy land elsewhere. And they did. They organised themselves into cooperative societies and they bought properties and set up businesses all over Kenya.
If the land is to be grabbed from the current owners, then it should revert to those families. It is their ancestral land – aaaight CT? NOT YOU.
This is an idea that is dead in the water. This is another Zimbabwe in the making – for real!
KE
I know Matiba has done alot of philanthropic work. Infact, Matiba has been paying school fees for kids since the 1970s. I personally know an architect who was educated by Matiba right from High School to University – and there are many more.
Steve jobs was forgotten: People will always discuss issues affecting them no matter the topic…curious observation
#ALL
IT can be observed that all the bloggers commenting eg CT,Josh,Keio,KE ,Mzeiya, Waweru agree on a Kenya based on real hard work and hard thought in the spirit of Steve Jobs
ALL blogers agree Kenyatta stole land and other things…..Moi followed on the footsteps and so is Kibaki…
However CT thinks such Kenya will not be posible unless certain basic standards are set ie…honour of property (interlectual and otherwise) be observed…the rule of blind law and justice be be adhered to….Steve Jobs sure must have found the american dream (justice..law…constitution etc) a fertile ground to propsper….CT thus advocates teaching the old thiefs a lesson so that it becomes a lesson to others too…..and forms a basis for trusting to invest in Kenya long term…….
Most of the others are saying something like this….Do not touch Kenyatta …It will cause chaos (he has his tribe)….Even if you touched his property it wont add Ugali to your plate…kind of logic
Being a Kenyan i can guess CT comes from a tribe outside Jomos and the rest are Jomos tribesmen…..
But its true if anyone touches Jomos property…we will see Nairobi burning (attacks from Jomos tribes)…THIS IS A FACT …….
THIS is a classic dilema of KENYA.and most of AFRICAN ‘NATIONS’..it was never founded to be a Nation (1885 berlin conference) by the wazungu…they were called and still are protectrates.
(did you see our protectors coming to protect us from ourselves in january )
But life goes on…We are supposed to compete with real nations like Japan,Germany,France..England etc? What do we do…GIVEN NO DEVELOPEMENT WILL TAKE UNLESS
1) The law is just and BLIND
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN Better if ONE TRIBE was dominant (over 80%) so that we could find a cultural basis for true nationhood….
For our case FEDERALISM would be the best option…a federation of Kenyas ethnic groups : see switzerland
Honestly comment on this …do NOT be politicaly correct…..
Lord
I will first deal with your take on the tribal angle of land. There is a misconception that has been created deliberately by some politicians in Kenya that it is only Kikuyus, and specifically the Kenyattas, who own huge tracts of land. Sadly, this is not the case.
There are people from all tribes, wazungus, wahindis, international companies, local companies in Kenya who own huge tracts of land. Raila’s family is one of them, Mudavadi’s family, Kosgey and Ruto are big land owners, Balala’s family are big landowners at the coast, the Yusuf Haji family and clan are big land owners in the North East. So, please do no fall for this anti-Kikuyu propaganda. It is baseless.
Will the Jaramogi family give up East Africa Spectre Limited and the Molasses plant? I am given to understand that East Africa Spectre was started through the influence of Jomo Kenyatta and the Molasses one through the influence of Moi. Raila should lead from the front and voluntarily give up these properties!
Now – the justification for having big landowners is that it helped nurture a middle class in Kenya. If you are a good student of economics and history, you will realize that no society ever developed without a middle class. Infact, it has been observed in Kenya that we have been stable, as compared to our neighbours, because we have a sizeable middle class. I did not realise the impotance of a creating a middle class until I read Yoweri Museveni’s book (Sowing The Mustard Seed). Read this book. Museveni with all his faults, is a serious thinker. He deliberately set out to create a middle class and made a reasonable case. Our leaders at independence were shrewd enough to recognise that a middle class needed to be created – and pronto.
It is the same reason that Uhuru in his recent interview confidently and rightly argued that land reform is not about one family. That would be foolish. Land reform would basically involve every community in the republic. And as I said, those who are saying that land should be grabbed should tread very very carefully because that will be the beginning of chaos. It will mean subverting the constitutional arrangement arrived at at independence.
On the issue of federalism, I have no objection to it. However, Kenyans, again having been misled by greedy politicians, believe that federalism means chasing people who are not indigeneous to that region back to their ancestral lands. This again would be another recipe for chaos. It is exactly what happened in the RV and other areas in January. What kind of country would that be?
How do you propose to fund those areas that do not have much resources such as the North Rift, parts of Eastern and Coast?
Do you think that people from the richer jimbos such as central, nyanza, central rift will agree to provide funds for the poorer jimbos? I don’t think so.
Having given this matter considerable thought, I respectfully argue that what we need is more integration – not disintegration through majimbo.