Update:The Qatari Files (30 November 2019)

Another week has gone by here in the land of never-ending construction works. And as I said last time – lovely weather we’re experiencing now.

The last week has been quite hectic. I’m busy developing a new website and blog. Decided I will have to refocus my energies and knowledge into some other channel for revenue generation. Getting fixed employment here or in South Africa is apparently impossible at my advanced age. Really funny to think that when one reaches the pinnacle of your abilities to contribute to any working environment, one should be viewed as too old.

Amazing that. I’m 59 years old and plan to work till I’m about 70, but clearly that will not be on a full-time (corporate) basis over here or in South Africa. So the only way to go is to do my own thing.

I have been researching various options over the past few months, and I think I’ve found the way to go now. As usual you must spend money to make money, but then so be it. My only real challenge is that after a career spanning 40 years, in diverse industries, and covering both public and private sectors, one has accumulated such a wealth of knowledge on such a wide variety of subject-matter. So, it becomes difficult to decide where to focus, because it is an old business adage that if one's product offering is too diffused – as mine arguably is at present – then the market either loses interest or have difficulty in deciding what you are all about.

In my case I’m about a lot of things, be it strategy, risk, safety and security, defence, facilities management, leadership development, training, and even, having had to edit ALL of their products, to an extent involved in my wife’s early childhood development business. Apart from that I also dabble in writing short stories and have a novel or two in various draft form on paper.

Speaking of which – can someone PLEASE tell the Americans to lay off the leadership of Al-Qaeda and ISIS! Jeez! I was halfway through a novel years ago in which Osama bin Laden was sort of a central figure and he got taken out. That set me back about three years before I mustered enough energy to start again. This time Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was the central character. And guess what??

C’mon guys. Give me a break for another year or two!!

The other book – I have yet to decide whether it is going to be a short story or a fully-fledged novel, deals with the life of a boy growing up in the rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. About his trials and tribulations as a young 11-year-old having to attend school for the first time and eventually getting involved in politics. A common story I think in that part of the world, but one that perhaps needs telling.

So, the biggest challenge is not having enough material – there is more than enough. The challenge is focusing and monetising. And one gets taken for such a ride by all these websites who promise you that they can teach you how to do this right. They all have the same MO – first they start with a so-called free lesson. Once you are hooked, they start bombarding you with emails as to cheap ways to take another one-month course. Once you have done that there is the inevitable other service offerings at a price. And quite frankly – when you look back you realise that you haven’t really learned much of use at all.

Very similar to many of these self-help courses and books that you find on the internet nowadays - how to become a better parent/husband/worker/person/it. All so generic and presented by people with wavy hair, trimmed, tanned bodies, pearly-white teeth and deep husky voices who intimidate you with the enormity of the successes they have achieved in life, after all the terrible setbacks they have suffered initially (which, of course, you can do as well!).

Yeah. Right!

The only truth that I have learned from one of these sites is that instead of procrastinating, you should just start. Get going!

Anyhow, the topics/subjects that I mentioned above are the ones that I spend most of my time and thought leadership energies on.

Now back to Qatar – they have the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup here this week – sort of dry run for the World Cup in 2022, so everyone is extremely excited, especially because the local side absolutely crushed Yemen last night 6-0. I suppose those poor buggers don’t have much time to practise soccer, considering all that’s going on in their country at present, so it may be a bit of a Pyrrhic victory.

Good to see that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also taking part. Perhaps the embargo will end soon. About time the children put there differences aside. Take about holding a grudge... (subject of another post).

Then, as far as the metro rail project is concerned, the Gold Line opened last week, so we will use that tonight with a visit to the National Museum. An impressive building which I haven’t visited yet. Always been fascinated by museums and their artefacts. They also have the Museum of Islamic Art over here which is another interesting place to visit (a bit of useless info - Robert de Niro attended the opening ceremony in 2008 - whilst he was also the patron of the local annual Tribeca Film Festival, which I think is now defunct).

National Museum

Museum of Islamic Art

On the way to the museum there is a station stop at Souq Waqif, so I doubt whether my wife will let us pass up a visit there. She absolutely loves visiting the place, and I absolutely detest it! Just like shopping centers. You do me no favours by asking me to surround myself by masses of people, crammed into small claustrophobic little alleyways. Works for some - not me. I prefer to sit some distance away at a coffee shop and watch the madness unfold, while she scurries along the narrow passages, bargaining away at the locals and then emerging triumphant with her latest purchases.

Anyhow – what one won’t do for matrimonial harmony.

Aluta continua…