Thank you for visiting Jill of Virtual Assistants blog post.


Tip for the week: #WordJill Tip: Ctrl+S allows you to open up the 'Save As' function across all software applications.

Affirmation for the week: To suffer fools for just a while longer.......

Priceless Quote: "Before you judge a man walk a mile in his shoes. After that who cares, his a mile away and you've got his shoes." ~ Bill Connelly

Your Virtual Assistant, Arlene de Waal

Judging A Book By The Cover

I recently had the displeasure of being interviewed by the CEO of a well-known wildlife society. Why displeasure? Because he diplomatically called me a racist citing my retrenchments as possibly blaming black people for getting high profile jobs over me. He could not be further off the mark and from the truth and why? Because he judged the book by the cover. He encountered a polished, well-groomed person and just assumed she came from a privileged background.

Now I could have told this CEO that I was a child from the 1980's boycott and I could have told him that I lived in the area where my comrades were gunned to death, mere teenagers killed in cold blood because they were fighting for a cause they believed in, the release of Nelson Mandela as he represented freedom for many of us which alot of us are enjoying today, Thank You Madiba. Just as Dr Martin Luther King did for the oppressed in America so many decades ago. I also didn't tell the CEO that had it not been for a little girl opening her parents lounge window and calling out to me giving me the opportunity to jump over their fence and through the window, I could have been one of the teenagers that day who got killed or injured in one of the worst uprisings. I got teargassed and shot with rubber bullets and I swear my father wanted to kill me but I refused to stop fighting for such a profound cause so that my kids and their kids would grow up with equal opportunities and more importantly drink from the freedom fountain of life! A few of my comrades from my high school were incarcerated and had to study for their matric exam behind bars but they passed due to the diligence of the teachers who went to give them lessons after the normal school day ended. A few of them today are successful lawyers and businessmen. Many have become casualties of that era and few others have achieved success despite the odds stacked against them.

What I also didn't tell the CEO as I didn't feel he was justified a response was that the people who retrenched me were white directors not black as he incorrectly assumed and their reason was because I was an affirmative action candidate and they felt I had a greater opportunity of finding employment than my white counterpart. Now most people would play the racist card but I refuse because of their fears and insecurities..... What I did tell the CEO during the interview was that I refuse to live the blame game playing the race card as how would I live a happy and fruitful life and what example would I be to my kids, family, friends and peers. I can only imagine how emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually draining this must be for people who do play this racist game. I have friends from all genres, cultures and races and we connect on an intellectual level.

Out of all this sadness have come many opportunities because I choose to live my life as a person not because I belong to a certain culture or race. I occassionally re-read some excerpts from Dr Martin Luther King 'I have a dream speech' because you slowly realise that people fear charismatic people and this fear is what leads to feelings of insecurty which then leads to persecution of the person's spirit. In his case, it led to his untimely death!

I was able to create my own virtual business and today I am successfully doing motivational speaking to my peers. I am transferring my skills to my peers by facilitating practical workshops. From the age of 6 I was rounding up the children from the area to teach them everything I learnt in school that day using my blackboard and chalk to the horror of my father :-) I'm not too sure why my father was always so horrified.... I always knew I wanted to be a maths and physics teacher and little did I know that one day I would realise my dream, 20 years later but I am realising one much more powerful where my passion has gone much further to one of motivational speaking and facilitation in an area I love and am familiar with, empowerment of assistants in the workplace, in their personal lives and socially!

This is an excerpt from one of my peers who also does motivational speaking and facilitation:

"I have recently had the pleasure of sharing a platform with Arlene at a conference in Johannesburg. I frequently speak at events around the country and I can confidently say Arlene's conference was well conceptualised and the speaker topics complimented each other. Arlene is a passionate motivational speaker which allows her to inspire others to reach for the stars. Her empowering approach will add immense value to your company's operations and leave a lasting legacy' What has impressed me most was Arlene's ability to chair and summarise the important elements from each of the discussions. I can recommend her unreservedly and look forward to our next venture.”

And that's what I'm into on this most exciting journey in life, making a difference and building a lasting legacy for generations to come!!!