The Standard Group has partnered with the Kenya Community Development Foundation in a programme titled Mentenda, which mentors boys. The Group ‘adopted’ Highway Secondary School, Nairobi, where male employees visit every fortnight. Topics discussed include careers, manhood and sexuality.

ATTITUDE, a speech by JAMAL KULLOW IBRAHIM

Ladies and gentlemen, all protocol observed.

Today I would like to talk about attitude. Attitude, as they say, is everything , and it can either make things easier for you or put them out of your reach.

There was a man who made a living selling balloons at a fair. Whenever business slowed down, he would release inflated balloons into the air. When children saw the different coloured balloons floating, they all wanted one. They would then come up to him, and ensure that the sales went up again.

One day, the balloon seller felt someone tagging at his jacket. He turned around and a little boy asked him, “If you release a black balloon, would that also fly?”

Moved by the boy’s concern, the man replied, “Son, it is not the colour of the balloon; it is what is inside it that makes it go up.”

Truly, our inner drive in life determines our outer progress.

Have you ever asked yourself this question: What in life can give 100 per cent satisfaction?

Is it power, money, love, talent? After several attempts trying to determine what can add up alphabetically to 100 per cent, I ended up with:

A=1, B=2, C=3, D=4, E=5, F=6, G=7, H=8, I=9, J=10, K=1, L=12, M=13, N=14, O=15, P=16, Q=17, R=18, S=19, T=20, U=21, V=22, W=23, X=24, Y=25, Z=26, POWER=77, LOVE=54, MONEY= 72, TALENT=72, ATTITUDE=100

Now, as you can see, it is a fact that attitude is the most important thing.

If I may ask, can a parent, guardian or teacher win children’s hearts with a bad attitude? Can a student perform well in his studies with a bad attitude?

So, ladies, and gentlemen, it is not your aptitude but your attitude that determines your altitude. I leave you with a quote that has kept me going: No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.