‘Move on from your past’ – new book inspires to start anew

KwaThema – Buti Mnyakeni’s second book can help you start anew.

Buti says he wrote his second book, The Art of Starting Afresh, to help people build a positive perception of themselves.

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“I meet so many people who have similar failures and find it hard to recover.

“The problem is that people have this ‘ideal’ self, and they can’t be satisfied until they reach it.”

The ‘perception engineer’ says that people who detach their identity from material things often have more positive perceptions of themselves.

“Many religions teach followers to deny ‘self’, but I think we should all accept self instead.”

Buti’s mantra is ‘You are OK’ and that should be the starting point of any improvement in one’s life.

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“It is dangerous to define yourself based on things that can change in a split second.

“What you have, or what happens to you, is not your identity, so don’t hold on.”

The Art of Starting Afresh does not only address victims of negative circumstances.

“Sometimes people are stuck in past victories, and they try to live in that day or year forever.

“No matter how great, achievements also stay in the past as we forge a way forward every day after that.”

Buti says he made this realisation when he went back to his former high school, where he was very popular.

“It was only three years after I’d left and no one knew me. And I was shattered.”

He says that people are so easily shaken because they make their identity communal.

“Who are you outside of your family or community?”

Buti strongly believes that discovering and being comfortable with your identity will result in much less devastation when we are faced with challenges and hardship.

He will host a motivational seminar at Encore Theatre, Hatfield, Pretoria on May 19.

For more information call him on 065 924 7809.