This is a book motivated by the endless struggles portrayed by modern human-life styles, despite the fact that we humans consider ourselves to be the most sophisticated and well-advanced species ever. Some even believe that we are the ultimate in all of nature creations, and that everything that exists was meant for humans. However, the world today is inundated with human activities that contradict the view that humans are the most advanced amongst all living species. All around the globe we see daily conflicts ranging from the scale of wars between and among nations to community and family tragedies that have resulted, and still continues, in the destruction of life for the human species by the human species. Modern man alone is succeeding in polluting the environment, in which also lives other species, and hence poses a great risk to all that is life on Planet Earth. Nations, communities and organisations in many parts of the world continue to struggle to develop effective structures and systems that can allow for a long-term enhancement of the quality of life for all. This is despite the numerous and costly developmental initiatives and work reform processes introduced at different levels of human organisational settings. Does this reflect the highest level of operation of the human brain in terms of developing thoughts to secure and sustain life for the human species? Is the human species developing or deteriorating? The concerns and questions above are what the author of this book, Dr. Benson N. Modie, often found his mind engaged on, as he observed the struggle that humans undergo on Planet Earth. Ultimately, Dr. Modie developed the zeal to share these concerns and offer possible solutions. In this book you will find several discussions on many issues of human life as well as opinions and suggestions on possible solutions to many of life's everyday problems. The book puts more emphasis on the process of learning, to acquire knowledge, and the need to proactively respond to knowledge gained, by acting/using the knowledge and skills acquired during the learning process, to meet human life needs. This book emphatically addresses people at their individual level, and encourages them to embrace the learning process, in order to expand their knowledge base, so as to improve the quality and value of the decisions they make on a daily basis, both at work and in life in general. A core element of this book is the subject of personal development for individual effectiveness and overall management of self in life. The objective is to influence individuals to upgrade and enhance their own worth and become invaluable components of the system that is human-life and its major drivers e.g. family, workplace, and community settings. The discussions in the book are designed to influence everyone to challenge/interrogate themselves with regard to their own involvement and contributions in life, as well as to develop a much more broader picture of life beyond just the local environment. The book offers a wide variety of topics that includes issues on education, politics, wellness, religion, personal fulfillment etc., in order to create the opportunity for many people to take part in the discussions.
About the Author: Dr. Benson N. Modie is the founder and current manager of the Centre for Knowledge (CfK), an academy for life coaching in people skills on the management-of-self-in-life. The leadership of the CfK under Dr. Modie has assumed the role of a catalyst to promote human effectiveness through sharing information, knowledge, and experience pertinent to personal development, work or service, and life in general. Dr. Modie served as a geologist in the Public Service for 20 years during which he undertook several projects, to avail geo-science knowledge pertinent to present-day human life. Overtime Dr. Modie became more intrigued by research on Palaeontology (a study of ancient life forms preserved in rocks as fossils), used in geology to categorise the history of the earth, including that of life-forms such as the human species. It became apparent from Palaeontology that human beings have their own time-slot in the life experience and Dr. Modie considered this a fascinating realisation, particularly when viewed with respect to the current human life-styles of conflicts and struggles, underlining human ineffectiveness. It was this realisation, based on Palaeontological evidence, which inspired Dr. Modie to spend the second-half of his life promoting growth in human effectiveness to help the human species to effectively utilise its window of existence in the life experience. Dr. Modie's philosophy is that "success begins with the individual, and that the learning process is the first thing". In other words, for any entity (i.e. individuals, society, work and business organizations etc.) to succeed, in realizing its goals or vision, it is critical that the individuals that make up such an entity are themselves well-established with regard to basic competencies of human effectiveness. The latter refers to universal principles of human effectiveness that do not necessarily form part of routine academic programmes, because they are considered either obvious or less important to be taught at institutions of higher learning, but nevertheless remains the driving force to personal productivity. Such include the competencies of commitment, confidence, effective leadership, envisioning, knowledge response, learning receptivity, passion, resilience, self analysis, self starting, synergy, tenacity etc. etc. No doubt every individual or organization that desires to succeed necessarily require these qualities, irrespective of the level of academic success obtained.