anelisan

I've been a copywriter and online entrepreneur for almost a decade now. And in that time, I've come up with so many business ideas and creative projects that many of them never saw the light of day. But just because my ideas failed doesn't mean that I didn't get anything from the experience.  With every failed experiment came a lesson that made me a better person and set me up for the next opportunity.  The following advice is a compendium of these lessons as well as affirmations that  I live by and sometimes have had to repeat to myself along the way when things get tough.  Make no mistake, as a young, black, female entrepreneur coming from a ‘disadvantaged’ background in South Africa pursuing the type of dreams I have, mine has not been an easy road.  But I chose this path because I believe in myself and my ideas. And I believe that I have a truth and perspective that only I can share with the world. And I knew early on in life that I wouldn’t be able to a...

Imagine meeting a complete stranger and feeling like you’ve known them forever. Imagine loving and enjoying that stranger’s company so much that you both decide to share the rest of your days together. This is an amazing blessing that should be treasured and nourished.  What is Love? To me, love is about accepting your partner wholeheartedly. Loving them for their beauty and their flaws. I know from experience that the best gift you can ever give to someone is to love them unconditionally.   Secondly, something we all value and hold dear to our hearts; honesty and trust. The only way you can build this in your relationship is through open and vulnerable communication.  And through absolute (and sometimes brutal) honesty. You have to be willing to practice truth and vulnerability when you’re in a relationship.  How to Practice and Live Truth in Your Relationship I’ve found that being honest about the smallest things can teach you a lot about the person ...

I start each day with a to-do list. It could have as much as 10 items on it, or as few as five. And I’ve experienced so many benefits from this life-saving practice, such as:   To-do lists help me to stay focused because they enable me to keep track of my dreams and goals. If my dreams and goals are a big watermelon, then my daily to-do list would be like cutting it into small chunks of digestible pieces. Writing a to-do list is a practice that brings my dreams closer and makes them more practical. Having a to-do list helps to keep me more focused, as it works as an external reminder of my goals and tasks that I need to perform in order to achieve those big goals. A to-do list also makes me accountable for the promises that I make to myself, and there’s no better feeling than ticking off as many tasks as possible on my list.  Now that's what I call productivity!  DOWNSIDE Hard as I try, I’m not always able to complete the items on my to-do list and that’s so...

Vegans often spend so much time advocating against animal cruelty, promoting environmental sustainability and basically focusing on all other aspects of the vegan lifestyle that we forget to pay attention to the most vital part of being vegan - nutrition!  We sometimes forget to be mindful about our diet, consume vegan junk and fast food, while ignoring our body’s need for a balanced variety of nutrients. This can lead to health problems later on which detracts from the joy that comes with a vegan lifestyle.  But then again, this is something that happens to everyone, not just vegans. At one time or another, we all lose sight of taking care of our own needs, especially when we’re so focused  on making the world a better place. It’s part of being human.  The good news is that you can take steps to create more balance in your life and overcome this common slip-up. One way is to stay informed about the types of foods that one should consume in order to get the neces...

                         I’ve only been vegan for a few years, and in those years I’ve grown so passionate about this lifestyle that I can’t help but share it with others every chance I get, especially because of the remarkable health benefits that I’ve gained from it.  In my discussions with people, I've come to notice that a majority of the general public get confused when you refer to being vegan as a lifestyle because they assume that it’s a choice that only affects your diet.  What people often don’t understand is that adopting a plant-based vegan or even vegetarian diet, comes as a part of a global set of behaviours and beliefs about life that make up a lifestyle. For instance, being vegan to me means eating fresh and healthy foods, enjoying a vigorous exercise regime, living sustainably, contributing towards environmental revitalisation, promoting compassion for animals and realising my body-mind’s hig...

How valuable is it for us today, to leave a better world for our children tomorrow? How sincere are we in our intention and actions towards making the world more peaceful, abundant and equal? What are we each willing to sacrifice to realise a world of unity, peace, beauty and understanding? I don’t have the answers, but I sure would like to know. What will it take? What will it take for humanity to ‘wake up’ from the seeming slumber and actually take action towards what we know to be the truth? When will we start collectively moving towards realising that truth? Will the world ever change for the better?   Will the world ever know peace ? Has the world ever been at peace at one point in history? What will be the meaning of our current generation’s story in the future? How will we be remembered? Have we made any difference to the way things are? Have we only just scratched the surface in saving the world despite our good deeds, good intentions and prayers?...

Today we live in a society that glorifies competition with others as an inevitable part of life, because apparently it ‘motivates’ us to perform better. Hence the idea of ‘healthy’ competition. But can competition really be healthy and is it even a necessary component of our modern culture?   I personally don’t think so.  To me, competition means comparing yourself to others, and more often than not, this leads to feelings of low self-esteem and a loss of dignity.  Why? For the simple reason that, it doesn’t matter where you fall on the win-lose pendulum, competing with others will always lead to some sort of disappointment because by definition, competition depends on the external validation of others. Plus, competition doesn’t really work because each of us is unique and competition forces us to fit into a predetermined label of perfection that doesn’t really exist because humans aren’t generic. Also, when you’re constantly competing with others you find that ther...