It’s the start of a new week, and today we draw our inspiration from Dineo Molokoane. She was previously awarded Best Female of the Year in the category of Youth Development for the 2016 Women’s Awards in her community, Tlhabane. Read her inspiring story below.
I am short, fair-skinned, witty lady who hails from the dusty streets of Rustenburg in a township called Tlhabane. I did my primary schooling in Reuben Monareng Primary school were I discovered the genius in me. I proceeded on to study at Thabiso Middle School where the genius in me started developing a voice which reminded others of their own geniuses. I advanced to H.F Tlou High School where I learned that through my own light, I let the light of others shine. I capped my years of studying at the University of Johannesburg where the genius in me was tested to the core. I only learned later on that I was being tested to make my own light shine brighter.
My greatest challenge growing up was finding people who understood my “insanity”. I was always a BIG dreamer. As Dr Reuel Khoza once said: “If you THINK BIG, you DO BIG, you learn BIG, you fail BIG and life promotes you BIG.” It was until I grew older and wiser that I began to accept that in fact, it is OK to not be understood by people sometimes. I’d like to believe that’s a great thing about growing within-awakening to the genius in me and not only growing up.
Career
I am an entrepreneur, an accredited facilitator, an accredited assessor, SAfm Inspirational Speaker and the Managing Director of Shedding Light Pty Ltd. I am very passionate about a type of education that prepares learners for life. I am a true humanitarian at heart characterised by unexplainable AUTHENTICITY and incredible ENERGY. After all, what would my life be without these two fundamental pillars of life?
My previous employer was Telkom which I served in for close to 8 years as a Business Analyst. I have a BSC IT degree. Yet my heart has always been stolen by education which is the space I currently operate in.
Likes
I enjoy laughing a lot. I think it makes me look prettier and much younger than I am. But also, I laugh to heal myself from the pains of life. As they say: “Laughter is the best medicine” and indeed it is a healer. Most of the times I laugh at myself. It makes me feel much lighter. It reminds me that life is a story with colourful scenes and that I’m but just a character in it. It is this belief I have embraced that gives me absolute peace of mind.
Challenges
Operating in a space of education as an entrepreneur can be quite challenging. The mind-set is usually that one is expected to do things for free or services should be rendered at no cost. Obviously for an entrepreneur this mind-set doesn’t make business sense. It was my greatest challenge even before I left corporate. Therefore, I needed to be very careful of how I package my services in a way that makes it worth someone paying a good sum of money for. Hence the SACE accredited educator development programme I elaborate on below.
Achievements
Winning the Best Female of the Year in the category of Youth Development for the 2016 Women’s Awards in my community, Tlhabane. This was a pleasant surprise for me. Above that, I was humbled by my community for acknowledging my humble efforts to improve the quality of the youth in my community.
Factors to keep in mind to make it in your career and in life
There the three main character traits I personally believe are key to making it in life. They are: Persistence, Focus and Humility. Persistence is what teaches you to ride on the wings of the winds and storms of life; Focus is what makes you see the light at the end of the tunnel and humility is what keeps you down to earth when you have all the reasons to hang with the stars in the sky.
Three critical skills we all need to have in a career are: Problem-solving, Creativity/Critical thinking as well as Communication skills. Problem solving reminds you that we all have an “X” we need to solve in life. Creativity/Critical thinking reminds you that for every traded down idea or belief you need to ask the critical question: Why? Communication reminds us what Peter Shepherd said that: “Communication is a solvent of all problems and the foundation of personal development. To sum it up, the most critical factor is having Ridiculous Self-Belief.
When I exited the corporate environment my CIO then, Ms Beauty Apleni said the most profound words to me about this trait. She shared with me a quote which reads: “A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of a branch breaking because her trust is not on the branch but on her wings.” I will never forget those words. They left an impression in my heart. To be frank with you, this is the secret to what keeps me going in my entrepreneurship journey and life in general.
Future Plans
The key challenge in our country is not poverty or unemployment; it is lack of skills amongst the youth of South Africa. I see myself investing more effort and time training young people in the areas of communication skills, character building as well as personal transformation. My intention with this is not to make young people employable but rather employ-able meaning able to employ others.
If there was anything you could do differently, what would it be?
Personally, I would learn about money and how the economy of our country is structured much earlier in life. Most of these things I had to learn when I was already grown up. Subjects such as taxes, I only started learning about them in my previous job. On a professional level, I would certainly change the approach to education in South Africa. Our education system still lacks an entrepreneurial approach to education. Content relevance remains a fundamental issue.
Inspiration
I am a very simple and observant person. Therefore, for me inspiration comes easy. From my neighbour who sells food across the street, to a young selfless entrepreneur who empowers young people, to an individual who can turn an idea into something tangible. I draw inspiration from stories I read about in books not forgetting from my own life story and the great challenges I have had to overcome in life. This is more practical for me. To mention a few names: Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein are among those who inspire me.
Projects
Shedding Light is running a teacher development programme which aims to enhance both educator and learner experience in a classroom environment. It is based on a model called: “Teach-A-Leader” Framework For Excellent Teaching. The target audience is educators. It focuses on classroom management, teacher insight and different teaching methodologies to address learner needs among many other aspects it addresses. I am also in discussions to partner with the Lebo Kotane Foundation in a project aimed at improving academic learner performance and results.
Last words
The greatest advice I can provide anyone is to listen to the voice that whispers to you in your heart. It certainly is not a ghost. It is your Creator speaking to you. Some call it intuition. Pay heed to this voice and do what it tells you to do. You’ll be shocked where it can lead you in life.
Secondly trust yourself, your abilities, your gifts and know your limitations too. You can’t be a jerk of all traits. Be a master of something in life. It usually works out better that way.
Email: dineo@sheddinglight.co.za
Call: 083 754 3610
Facebook: Dineo Molokoane
Instagram: dineo.molokoane
Twitter: @Donedie1
Thank you for sharing your inspiring story with our community, Dineo. We are inspired by your strength and wish you all the best with all of your future endeavours.
If you would also like to see your inspirational story published in our blog, email it to: info@educationambassadors.org.za
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