Speaking at a recent book launch reignited a spark I thought I I’d lost. A spark that has slowly faded through the everyday hustle and grind of entrepreneurial life. I was the second speaker on the itinerary and had been tasked to review the insightful business book I had the pleasure of reading before it had hit the shelves.

Driving alone along the scenic lowveld route on the day of the launch provided much needed reflective time on my perspective of the book and of my own empire-building journey. 

What I had pondered on, in great length was the moment that had led to my life as it is. The one night in September of 2010 that inspired a new trajectory. As I shared this experience with the audience, it occurred to me that I was speaking of the precise moment I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur.

It was at Moky Makura’s launch of South Africa’s Greatest Entrepreneurs. Some of the leading entrepreneurs featured in the book include Discovery’s Adrian Gore, Herman Mashaba, the father of African haircare products, fashion icon Nkhensani Nkosi, kingpin of equity investment, Ndaba Ntsele, and the late real estate entrepreneur Pam Golding.

I was twenty-four at the time and working in corporate. The good fortune of being in the same room with industry titans captured the spirit of my imagination and made the outlook of who I was and who I can become vastly evident.

The magic of it all – the spark, the hunger and the aura of tremendous wealth that filled my eyes with awe, it stayed with me.  Throughout the turbulent times and moments of self-doubt, the enchanted night had never lost its spark.

Isn’t it wonderful how, along the path a moment like that night can reaffirm itself as a dream that is now at work and also rightfully so, its own work of art.