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Is your software up-todate?

October 29, 2013

It's been about six weeks (at the time this article was being written) since iOS 7 was released by Apple and so far we have seen two additional upgrades ever since. If you are one of those users who likes playing it safe, then you are probably still on iOS 6, waiting for all the bugs to be eliminated before you can upgrade your iPhone or iPad. Well. I'm not saying its a bad thing especially considering iOS 6 is what we knew to be the best before we tasted the whole new world provided by iOS 7. The only thing is, I can't imagine why any iPhone user would want to wait till everything is stable before embracing this new and magical experience. I mean why do you want go lose out on an opportunity to experience everything, including the bad? 

Anyway, I guess that's where you (the safe player) and I are different. I just couldn't wait to upgrade to iOS 7. In fact I remember I was so anxious that I had to leave my gadgets at the office overnight since as any #TeamiPhone member will tell you, Apple products are Internet guzzlers. As I left the office that evening, I remember whispering a prayer requesting the heavens to make sure that the guy who likes playing around with switches at TANESCO would forget to do that for at least that one night. I guess my prayer was heard because the next morning when I came, I had the new look iOS 7. Like my people would say, "sema nostalgia!"

Like I stated above, it's been almost six weeks since I upgraded my Apple gadgets with iOS 7 but I can tell you for a fact that I'm still discovering new things about it every day. What's more, even though my iPhone is not new, upgrading the "inside" part of it has given it a new look and feel to the point that it physically looks new. This "newness" makes me feel excited as I use the gadgets; it's like when a kid has a new toy...right now that kid is me.

When they heard that Apple was coming up with a new iOS, I'm sure some people must have been asking questions like, what was wrong with the previous iOS? Wasn't it working and doing everything that needed to be done just fine? Why "waste"money, time and other resources trying to fix something that's not broken?What was the point really of going through all that hassle? Well, truth is, unless you are an iPhone/iPad user I don't expect you to understand what these new changes meant. All the same, it is from this upgrade experience that I have derived today's message.

Every so often we need an internal upgrade, an upgrade that totally transforms our internal outlook or appearance, which as a result affects our outward appearance. This internal upgrade refers to an attitude adjustment. Like the late Zig Ziglar said, "your attitude determines your altitude". In other words, your attitude determines how high you climb the ladder of success.

However, you need to understand that changing your attitude is not something that happens in an hour or in a day. It takes time, willingness, discipline, strength, commitment, determination, focus new friends with who you share your vision and faith to work on a good attitude all the time. Just like it took me a whole night to upgrade my iPhone, it will take you a considerable amount of time to get to the level you need to be and after you get there, you need to keep working at either getting better or at least maintaining your attitude.

This reminds me of a statement a friend of mine made recently about a certain club whose owner was previously known to be a snob. He had this mentality that he was "God's gift to mankind" and as a result, he was a major pain in the a$$. To make a long story short, let's just say he was taught a lesson in humility after he lost a major business partnership owing to his stinking attitude. Fast-forward to the present and I can say that this guy has completely changed the way he views other human beings. For instance, whereas he used to ignore those not of his class, today he interacts with anyone and everyone without segregating them based on  social status, race, tribe or gender. As a result of his attitude recalibration, his business has made a complete turnaround and has now become the talk of the town. Needless to say, he now laughs all the way to the bank, plus he is a better person.

I have met this guy before and I can tell you being around him was the most discomfiting experience ever. I can also tell you that I've been to his club enough times before and after his attitude adjustment. I therefore know for a fact that he did not physically change anything in the club, neither did he change anyone working for him. The person who changed was him. He had a complete internal makeover (not unlike the new iOS 7) and as a result, his attitude towards people (and I guess towards life in general) changed making him more accessible, more approachable and more human.

Every so often, we need to look at ourselves and identify the areas in ourselves that need an attitude adjustment. The truth is, from the outside, it's possible that no one can tell there's anything wrong with you except yourself. You can fake it for as long as you want but in the end, unless you do something about that "wrong part" you will never pass above a certain level in your life. You will always be moving three steps forward and two backwards.

Looking at this issue from a different angle point, there are those people I talked about earlier, those who were wondering why Apple would be fixing something that's not broken. Well to these people I ask this question: do you still use pigeons to send messages instead of emails? Or ride horses instead of using cars? The truth is, you could still use all these old fashioned methodologies to do things, but the question is, would they be efficient and effective in our current world? I believe not. That's why today you have an email address to speed up the process of sending and receiving correspondence.

I would like to believe that it is for the same reason that Apple keeps refreshing its software every so often; not because it is faulty but in order to give users an efficient and effective system. Besides, refreshing its products and services to give the users a different experience all the time, Apple does this to stay ahead of it's competition. And for the sake of being politically correct, let me say  that it's not just Apple that does this. Any company that is interested in growth will be very conscious of the areas in its operations or product offering that need an upgrade/update. Those that don't care about what's going on in their world are sooner or later taught a lesson.

So, as I conclude this article today, my question to you is, is your software up-to-date?  Have you embraced change or are you still holding on to outdated methods?

Only you can answer these question but as for me, I wish you an updated week.

PS: Article published in Tanzania's Guardian on Sunday on the 27th October, 2013, under my weekly column "Thoughts in Words"

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