Surreal moments always abandon a residue of euphoria in the hearts of those who experience such moments. Such was the case with the just-ended Seed of Greatness Conference which took place at Harglena Hotel, Buea on Saturday 22nd July, 2017. The fire which was sparked during the school of success conclave found full expression during the Seed of Greatness Conference. It was a rainy Saturday morning and participants began to make their entrance into the conference hall as early as 8:00 AM to attend the conference which was scheduled to begin at 8:30 AM. Even the dark skies could not foil the determination of the participants as well as the facilitators. When all was set for kickoff, Ambassador George raised the curtains for the program with words of encouragement and a welcome speech. He then handed the baton to Ambassador Rudolf who ably manned the program as the program director from start to finish.

As a means of stimulating the appetite of the participants for the intellectual menu that was to be served for the day, Mr. Babila Emmanuel; the National Vice President of the Junior Chambers International (JCI), a tertiary campus movement gave a 15 minutes motivational challenge to the participants daubed “Thinking out of the box”. Soon after his motivational exercise came the first speaker for the day with a lesson on Time Management. Mr. Sidoine Felix Leudjie, the co-founder and CEO of Inspiring Positive Actions Now Ltd. did justice to the subject of time management. Spanning from the importance of time and delving into time wasters, he charged participants to take responsibility for their lives by living with the consciousness of the value of time and managing it in order to make the most of life. Paramount in his presentation was the watchword “You cannot manage time well, if you are not organized”. His presentation was crowned with an exercise which was geared at helping the participants manage time remarkably well.

Mr. Felix eventually handed the baton to Ambassador George who did a presentation on Goal-setting. Being the second keynote speaker for the day, Ambassador George took time to explain some of the technicalities around goal-setting and some common reasons why several people set goals and do not follow through their plans. He talked about principled living as one of the greatest secrets to setting and attaining goals. His presentation equally ended with a practical goal-setting exercise during which participants were urged to set personal goals for their lives based on the seven trajectories of goal-setting.

 

 

Madam Noela Lyonga, the Founder of Noela Lyonga Foundation (NLF) then cued in with a lesson on The Benefits of Volunteerism. He passionately exposed the need for service that is motivated by love and the desire to gain skills. Drawing examples from her vast wealth of experience as a volunteer, she portrayed the need to choose selflessness over selfishness. With a great deal of passion and verve, she declared “Put a smile on someone’s face, learn a skill, help your community, get involved in changing the story of those around you positively”. This was given more credibility by Ambassador Rudolf who came in to lay further emphasis on the benefits of volunteerism at the end of Noela’s Presentation.

Having feasted on a sumptuous intellectual diet, the conference had to recess for break and refreshing. Fortunately, SAF Cameroon had prepared good food to nourish the conference attendees. Refreshment went on in a lively atmosphere side-by-side networking.

 

As soon as the Lunch break came to a close, the fourth and last speaker for the day took to the rostrum to do another keynote presentation on Entrepreneurship. Ambassador Ashu Arrey who is the global ambassador for the International Young Leaders’ Assembly (IYLA) exceeded expectations as he presented on the dynamics of entrepreneurship in the 21st Century.  He brazenly challenged the myth that “The solution of Africa is in the hands of the West”. He said “You are the solution to Africa’s problem; Africa cannot emerge without you. Our educational system has failed us because it has taught us to depend on the government for our welfare. We must look within ourselves and use what God has given us to create opportunities for ourselves and those around us”. You can be sure that his presentation dealt a severe blow on the tiredness that was beginning to have its toll on the participants. He stroke several unfamiliar chords and said so many things that were diametrically opposed to the rhetoric of political correctness.

The conference finally ended about 5 PM with the award of attestations of participation to participants and a closing charge from Ambassador George. Indeed, it was a day well lived and a day to be relived.

The next conference which shall be on the theme “FINDING MYSELF” is billed for October 14, 2017.

Ambassador George remembers…