Interview with non-fiction writer Wellington Manjengwa

Welcome, Readers. Today's guest is writer Wellington Manjengwa. He's chatting with me about his new non-fiction personal development book, Take a Chance and Win.

During his virtual book tour, Wellington will be awarding an autographed copy of Take a Chance and Win to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too!

Welcome, Wellington. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

I don’t know if you do this as well, but I keep old notebooks in my drawers; some of them go way back. My drawers get really cluttered sometimes because I dump all kinds of papers with notes from books, speeches, workshops, ideas that just crop up, brainstorming etc.

One Sunday in 2008, I needed to do a bit of cleaning, which included my desk and drawers. So I got started throwing stuff away and cleaning up. I was determined to leave the place sparkling clean.

And then I came to my desk, happily throwing away papers, notes, and unwanted clutter, when I came across this diary. A nice, leather-bound diary I had used the previous year, with many inspirational quotes on every page. While thumbing through the diary and reliving the appointments and meetings in it, I noticed one interesting quote; Success is due to our stretching to the challenges of life. Failure comes when we shrink from them. I didn’t know who John Maxwell was but his words were immensely profound.

Then I read one of John’s quotes from my old daily planner, which said: “Your thoughts will attract opportunities to you but it is your actions that will put money to that opportunity.”

This was at a time when my life was at crossroads. I was contemplating making a huge career move, which entailed me leaving my country and comfort zone. I had lost money through some speculative investments in the era of hyperinflation in my home country, Zimbabwe. I was running a small business which was my passion but it just wasn’t making enough money to make it reasonable to keep going, in fact I was sustaining it with my salary because it was just not doing well. John’s messages and quotes touched me at the very core and left me questioning every decision I had ever made about my life. I kept saying to myself, this is so painful, why isn’t there some guidance out there to help me make these decisions. I realised my limitations but I had no-one to turn to, no big brother to run to for advice. I was confused about life, I had many questions but no answers. I have always been quite ambitious and hungry for success but at this point I was really afraid. I had a family that depended on me for everything and I needed to make sure that whatever decision I made would enable me to be successful and be able to continue being the provider. There was no room for mistakes. Failure was just not an option. How was I going to make this happen?

EVERYONE IS A RISK TAKER

I have since gone through a long path of self-discovery and self-development that has led me to discover something:

One of the greatest challenges we face in life is DECISION MAKING. As you weigh the options for yourself or your company’s next step, how do you decide which way to turn? Successful outcomes can only be evaluated after the fact. But by the time the results are in, it’s normally too late to take corrective action. Often our decisions involve risk, and our big failures come from failing to manage the risk. Some people consider themselves risk-averse, while others consider themselves risk-takers. This drives their decision making and the strategies they implement to achieve what they want. The cold, hard truth is that everyone is a risk taker, what differs is the size, type, and amount of risk you take. The key element that distinguishes the successful from the unsuccessful is how we manage our risk. To take a risk is not the same as being careless. Many people confuse the two.

SO, WHO STARTED ALL THIS?

My name is Wellington, I was born and raised in one of the most populous townships in Harare, Zimbabwe. Yeah, you’ve heard of that country. Does one million percent inflation ring a bell for you?? At some point we were millionaires and billionaires but could barely afford a loaf of bread. I come from humble beginnings. No silver spoon in my mouth. I get that you don’t know me that well yet. Usually when you have a background like mine, you are not given much of a chance. But I have lived this one truth that has transformed my life forever: The battle for success is an internal battle. Great things always begin from your inside.

That is why I fell in love with learning expert, Jim Kwik’s saying the first time I saw it: “If an egg is broken from outside force, life ends, but if it is broken from inside, life begins.”

Failure to understand this is the reason one can be sitting on a treasure but be treating it like trash.

I have discovered an intensity and passion that has led me through a journey of self-discovery, adventure, conquering doubt, fear, and many limiting beliefs to establish the Well of Inspiration. My team and I work with individuals and companies providing them with information, ideas, and strategies that help to take their lives and businesses to their next level of success.

Please tell us a little bit about your current release.
This book can be taken as a success handbook which focuses on three key decisions in the areas of business, life partners and finances. If these strategies were taken on board, internalized, absorbed and put into practice, they will fundamentally improve your decision making and your chances of success.

What inspired you to write this book?

I simply made more mistakes, said stupid things, and acted before thinking than I care to recall. I took risks in many cases rather carelessly and have had to deal with the consequences of poor decision making and poor risk management in the making of key decisions in my life.

I woke up to the folly of my poor decisions only in my late 20's and realized I could have been so much closer to my life goals had I known how to manage the processes that lead to making important decisions and putting risk management strategies into action to assist in improving my chances of success

Tony Robins once said, “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.”

This book takes that philosophy and expands upon it. Grounded in the idea that how you approach decision making and risk management determines success or failure, Take A Chance And Win aims to teach you the tenets of success in all aspects of your life and shows you how to capitalize upon effective risk management for regular decision making.

--> Excerpt from Take a Chance and Win:

It is said that before success in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat and perhaps some failure. Temporary defeat is part of the learning curve because you cannot foresee every obstacle and sometimes circumstances may blindside you. As long one keeps the main thing and stays focused, they always come out wiser and more strategic. They will be able to rise again, reassert themselves and go at their dreams again—this time a little bit wise.

However, there are some sad scenarios of failure. Sadly, such moments of failure can spell the end of many people’s dreams. They bring them to the end of the road.

You see, the world is full of people who are staging a comeback because they have made serious mistakes, met obstacles, and succumbed to them or got beaten down by fear. Most importantly, a lot of the comeback stories in today’s world are the stories of those who have made bad decisions along the way or have taken risks without the proper strategies to manage the risk and maximise the upside of their decisions.

Sometimes all it takes is the ability to seek expert counsel when you hit a snag, or when you are not sure about something. Speaking to an expert like a lawyer, a religious leader, a business advisor, a life coach can be the difference between making a catastrophic mistake and rising to the top and realising your dreams.

What exciting story are you working on next?I’m currently working on a blog post titled. From Bachelor to Master.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I never really thought of myself as a writer but I realized in 2014 that I could express myself better in writing that in word.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I don’t write full time. I work in the financial services sector in Risk Management. I just wake up early everyday and write for an hour consistently and it works for me.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I’m kind of a stumbler when it comes to writing. I stumbled into it

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be an accountant

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?Each one of us is a decision maker. We make decisions every day, about what to wear, where to go, what to do, what to listen to, the list goes on. Simplistic as it may seem, it is true that each of us is a decision maker in all facets of our lives. I would like to introduce you to something that you also are...even though it may not be so obvious. YOU ARE A RISK TAKER. Ok, so someone has told you before that you are not a risk taker and so on, but the reality is that you take risks every day; in fact, in every decision that you make at any given time, you are doing any of these four things: ACCEPTING A RISK, AVOIDING A RISK, TRANSFERRING A RISK, MITIGATING A RISK. My contention in this book is that as the world continues to change and innovations keep transforming lives and ushering in new opportunities, it is imperative that champions in the making, millionaires, and billionaires in the making also adapt to the changes and accept that in making decisions, it is smarter to avoid pitfalls while pursuing success, and that this is an important part of every success story together with the ability to rise after falling on your face.

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