Sam used to eat at Palm Beach Restaurant in Dar. He saw this girl who he really admired but did not know how to break the ice. Sam wanted to date Alice, but had never spoken to her and did not even know where Alice worked. Alice drove a Peugeot 504 and had it parked in this particular spot whenever she dined out. Sam and his friend Bill had to find a way of coming into contact with Alice. When Alice was serving lunch, they put nails behind the rear wheels of Alice’s car. When Alice walked back to her car ready to rush back to work, she treaded the nails and heard a loud noise, PSSSSSSHHHHHH, PPSSSSHHHHH PSHHHHHH, both the tires were flat and she did not know what to do. Guess who shows up to help?! Sam. He offered her a ride and got the two tires fixed and the next thing is Sam started dating Alice.

While Sam was dating Alice, I was in the process of signing an agreement for purchasing a car. This was a turning point in my life. I had my dreams of buying my first car come true. This was an historic moment worth appearing in the 7.00pm news broadcast. I had found a cure for Car Deficiency Syndrome in my family tree. My great grandfather did not own a car, my grandfather did not own a motor bike and my dad did not own even a bicycle.

This purchase was one of its kind, the car was not mobile, and I could not even do a test drive. It was perched on stones like my Grand ma’s clay pot.  To move it we had to inflate the tires and from there tow it straight to the garage for repairs. Have you ever had that experience, you buy a car and tow it to the garage? Within a week, the car was repaired. I was finally on the road even if my vehicle was slow, My status had changed from a public transport commuter to a motorist! This sounded more decent.

It dawned on me one day that it was easier to make a baby than bring up one and consequently easier to purchase a car than maintain it because; I spent more time in the garage than on the road and called my friend Ruta several times, to road-rescue me.  He also owned a beetle, no wonder we were friends!  We often compared notes: I had flat tires, twice this week, my car would not start this morning, I was caught by traffic police for over-speeding, just to mention a few. There was however, a silver lining in this dark cloud of frequent breakdowns. The beetle taught me three lessons from three incidences.

Incident One

My first experience was when the car broke down in the middle of the road. Other drivers hooted at me, screaming, “Move your ramshackle car” somehow I managed to push the car on the roadside. “Mmh, it must be fuel, I guessed.” It was only a guess because my fuel gauge was not working. I used to fill one, two or five liters, at most, when I visit the fuel station. Whenever my girlfriend sat next to me, I would pay two hundred shillings and tell the pump attendant, “Full tank please.”

I then dashed like a 100 meter-sprinter, to the nearest filling station about two miles away and bought a container, filled it up with five liters of petrol and came back hobbling, tired like a stray dog.

I filled the car – half liter, one liter, two liters ooops, and looks like the tank was full. Can you imagine, after all the walking and running, that tank was full!!! Lesson no 1- Prevention is better than cure. Perform medical check-up before taking the medication, maybe it is not just headache. Babu a textile company owner complained about his employees all the time but, when a review was done, by the consultants he hired he was found to be the problem, not the employees.

 Second incident

Saturday 3^rd December 1994, had a bright and sunny weather. The sky was blue and the weather was just perfect as I navigated the streets of the Heaven of Peace city, Dar-es-Salaam. My girlfriend was sitting next to me, her feet perched on the dashboard as she sipped her ice cold Coca Cola. Reggae music was playing on the background; the wind was blowing pushing my shoulder length dreadlocks straight into air. “What else would a young man like me need in life” I thought…… Unexpectedly, the sky changed from blue, to grey to pitch- black and thunder was drumming my ears as lightning dominated the atmospheres. It started pouring. When I turned my wipers they were, of course, not working, I could hardly see three meters in front of me. I had to pull over, my girlfriend and I sat in solemn silence, wearily waiting for the rain to stop. My journey was delayed.

Lesson no 2, Fix the Wipers. Fix the problem before it fixes you. If you have a problem with communication, do not wait to fall off the lectern; do not wait to flunk the job interview to join public speaking classes. If the promotion is delayed, go for further training.  If you are stuck in your career, find a mentor. Do something! Do not wait for the rain! Dig your well before you are thirsty.

Third Incident

VW Beetles do not have the same cooling systems like other conventional engines besides; the engine is at the rear.  Imagine of all the places, the engine is at the back of the car. I was with a friend driving to visit a mutual friend. The car slowed down as the engine rattled.  I pulled over. The engine was on fire and I did not even have a fire extinguisher. So we had to pick the sand and sprinkle it on the engine!!! We survived, but the next thing was to go to the garage, once again!

Lesson number three – Do not wait for the burn out to burn you down.  We need to recharge, we need to manage stress and we need to avoid burn out by taking a break. So start by taking care of your physical well-being, Socializing, Enjoying your hobbies, exercising regularly, learning to say No to things you cannot fulfil, taking stress management courses,  Joining a social or dance club or being part of social networks which have a lot of activities.

I spent more time at the garage than on the road – As leaders is it possible that we are spending more time repairing rather than preparing? Is it possible that we are spending more time solving problems than leading? Whatever it is, get out of that frame so that you can see your picture.