The Old Diocesan Issue 10 - Magazine - Page 43
THE COLUMN
Thabang Skwambane (1993F) is a proud father and husband.
He is CEO of Nahana Communications Group, chairman of
the Association for Communication & Advertising in South
Africa, and chairman and founder of the Aluwani Foundation
NGO. He is also an Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellow.
It was only when I sat truly still
in that lonely isolation room in the
Neuro ICU ward and reflected on
my last 48 years of life that I began
to see the world differently. And
the profoundly personal revelation
that occurred to me then is why I’ve
come to write this article. Here are
some of the lessons I took from
those personal reflections.
Be patient. Healing and recovery
from any injury – physically,
mentally or emotionally – takes
time. You can’t rush it. Embrace
the present, be patient with
yourself, and focus on and allow
for incremental progress. A 1%
improvement every day of your
life is more valuable than a 10%
improvement annually. (Check
out the theory of “the aggregation
of marginal gains”, made popular
by James Clear, author of the
excellent Atomic Habits.)
Make meaningful memories while
making money. Reflect on what
will truly matter when you leave
this world. Your legacy is shaped
by those who remember you,
not by the amount of money
or possessions you amassed
while alive. I am grateful to have
become a father and a husband
later on in life, and found myself
considering the implications of
what was happening to my wife
and kids. I intend to leave that
lasting legacy for them when it is
truly my time to meet my maker.
In this life, no-one makes it out alive!
This is the ultimate truth about
life. None of us can or will escape
Better times today. Thabang with his family in Cape Town, January 2024:
his parents (both 90 years old), sons Biko and Matimba, and wife Sharon.
our mortality. Begin by living
today and make the most of your
time on this Earth, starting right
now. Live, learn, trust in yourself
courageously and, above all, love
yourself and your people – you
know who they are – with all
your heart.
In my time at Bishops, Father
Bands (may his soul rest in peace)
would urge us boys at the end of
every service, in a booming voice:
“Go out into the world, FIGHT the
good fight, so that you may finish
your course with JOY!”
I never imagined that, 30 years
later, I would hear those words
echo deeply in my soul and
awaken a new version of myself –
one that is intent on finishing my
course with joy. And it dawned on
me that who I am was always
etched in my name, Thabang,
meaning joy in SePedi.
After 175 years, our alma
mater Bishops – the Diocesan
College school for boys – is
a reflection of our collective
contributions to the societies
and communities in which
we live. And our brotherhood is
not one of blood, but one of life
in action. If our planet survives
another 175 years, no-one will
speak of us – except perhaps
of the exceptional few, and even
then only as an aide-mémoire in
the historical archives of the time.
So I say to you now:
Go out INTO the WORLD,
FIGHT the good FIGHT, so that you
may FINISH your course with JOY.
Because no-one makes it out alive!
THE OLD DIOCESAN | 39