“QUALITY;
a peculiar and essential character; an inherent feature or property; a degree
of excellence; superiority in kind; a distinguishing attribute.
(The Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
I want to talk about quality in terms of
“a degree of excellence.” I want to talk about it in terms of people.
But
first, some background. I am an artist. In Zambia that can mean a lot of
different things. But in my short time working here, I have noticed the
importance of quality in every aspect of what I do. There is a huge difference
between the reception I get now and the reception I got in the beginning when I
knew nothing about my brand or even the basic importance of having one. Once
upon a time, I thought I could just apologise for being late, wear whatever I
wanted, say whatever I wanted, “be me”
and people would still believe. I can’t tell you how hard it was to convince
clients that I was nothing more than a rookie cabaret singer who played at Arcades
on occasion.
The
first time I went to a meeting in half a suit and spoke my “school English” I
walked out of there a boss. After that I decided to exude excellence and
quality at all times, even just when someone recognises me in a store.
Now I pay attention to what I say, who I
say what to, how I walk, how I stand, how I smell, how I groom myself, who
negotiates for me, when I speak, what events I go to, which places I am seen at
because if I am asking you to respect my grind, respect my ideals, believe in my brand and pay my asking
price I sure as hell better be worth it. This is an essential part of
everything that people seem to be forgetting around here.
Last
night I went to one of the most prominent hotels in Lusaka for a little
meeting. We walked into the bar and the first table we saw had not been
cleared. The bar was not particularly full so it begged the question as to why
the waiters were being so lackadaisical about keeping the place clean. Our
waiter then proceeded to bring us drinks, no spoon to stir my hot chocolate, no
ice in my friend’s glass and on top of that she had to mix her drink by pouring
from glass to glass herself. These are basic things that people can’t be
bothered to pay attention to or perhaps they decide not to care to pay attention. I would fire the whole staff
in that bar.
I go
to radio stations a lot. It broke my heart to walk out of an interview once and
be accosted in the hallway by a young radio presenter, completely hammered at
11am on a Saturday, slurring his words as he asked me to consider a job
co-hosting his show. First of all, say what you want about radio hosting, it is
a very relevant occupation, I don’t see why anybody should be at work drunk. No
matter what job they do. A person must
choose to be clean, to be on time, to be sober, to perfect and respect his
craft. A person must choose to deliver excellence.
We
had an awards show last week. The first ever Zambian Music Awards and there was a lot of hype building up to
them; so much hype that I was filled with trepidation when I went to the venue
for the dress rehearsal on the actual day. To my surprise, I was greeted by the
most beautiful stage I have ever seen here, lighting and seating so precisely
arranged that it felt as though I was in another country. Not to shoot down my
own, but it’s been a long time coming.
The
ceremony itself was something to be proud of, from the master of ceremonies who
was elegantly dressed in a well cut suit, well-spoken, on cue every single
time, enthusiastic and professional throughout the show, all the way down to
the effort that was seen to be have been taken by most present to look and
behave like they were at an important event; because it was. Musicians being
recognised for their efforts to create and promote art is an important moment.
It filled me with pride to walk onto that stage and present the award for the
Best Jazz Album, jazz being one of my personal favourites in this world of
music and think how great it is that I am part of that world at a time when it
is taking a definite turn for the better.
It
made me think about excellence. Excellence
takes effort. To be the best version of me, I must at all times be aware of
my shortcomings, accept them and strive daily to work on them and improve on those
things that are less than what they should be. That is why the team that pulled
off that awards show did such a great job, because they looked at what was in
their hand and made a plan and a
decision to use what they had to get the job done as best they could instead of
being calm about it and leaving the end result up to chance.
I am
inspired by a young man I met recently. Every day I am struck by this person
and the air of purpose and determination that causes him to strive to be the
best version of himself he could possibly be. From the way he dresses, to the
way he speaks, the things he speaks of , the things he wants to do, the places
he likes to go, his excellent spirit, his politeness and air of calm
confidence, the way he wakes up every day to get his job done, works at
exhausting every ounce of passion he can muster and channelling it into the
things he loves, his focus that ensured that he is as educated and worldly-wise
as he is at such a young age, and improving his skill set and qualifications,
spreading positive energy, purpose, optimism, and belief in self without even
talking about it, just by being it. He is different. A unique mix of class and
maturity and excellence that has earned my respect and admiration.
Sometimes
you meet someone who makes you think about who you are and question whether or
not what you are is enough or you are under selling yourself. He is one such
person. There are many times when I am lazy and lack the focus that is
necessary to meet many of my targets. I find myself procrastinating and
ignoring things, ignoring goals I set for myself and placing them on the back
burner because I can get away with not doing it when I said I would. Sometimes
I fall into the bad habits of others or am demoralised by their seeming lack of
concern or interest in things we set out to do together. None of this is
excellence. But to be excellent one must decide to be.
So
last week I decided to start waking up earlier, to get serious with my prayer
life, to eat better and eat less, to take better care of my skin, to not be a
slob just because it isn’t a working day, hanging around in baggy pants with my
hair in a messy bun; I decided to write my goals down again and start working
towards achieving them, to sign the documents that need to be signed and finish
the process of packaging myself as a precisely conceptualised, easily
understood and accessible brand, to get actively involved in helping in the
communities around me, becoming a voice for the helpless and the
underprivileged, a role model and mentor to young girls who are what I used to
be; to get my money right and make my
family and my very serious man proud. Most importantly to live every day so
that when I am done I will look back and know I did right by myself and lived
an excellent life.
Unforgettably
Yours,
Miss
Mahogany…
Nice piece
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