TOUCHING THE BRAKE - a tour guide's journey to South Africa

My most frightening experience with a rhino was when I was on a wilderness safari in Umfolozi. We rounded a bush and the guide in front suddenly told us to back up. There was a rhino there, a female with her young calf. The worst situations in which to confront a wild animal are head-on, and when the animal has a baby - and we had done both.

It was all the more exciting because I had been feeling disappointed at having seen no wildlife at all that day, and was thinking we had made a mistake in joining a group that was more interested in talking and smoking than in viewing animals.

Before we could understand from the back of the line what was happening, we were warned that the animal was charging. At the start of the walk we had been briefed what to do in the event of danger from various wild animals. When charged by a rhino it is best to climb a tree, but that is not always the first thing that crosses your mind. As I ran back, rather half-heartedly, my first thought was that it would be a great story to tell my mates at home, not that I should climb a tree to avoid the danger.

Then, it all went quiet. I looked over my shoulder expecting it to be all over - instead, I found myself eyeball-to-eyeball with the rhino. It seemed to be just staring at me, snorting and pawing the ground with its hoof. Then it charged again, and this time it was serious. ….

My Story

The second event happened when I was asked to go on stage and tell a story, pretending to be someone I admired. Ever since I first saw Anthony Robbins, I had always been impressed by how he commands a stage and holds everybody’s attention. Anthony Robbins is in my view the top self-development guru, who has taken himself from near-destitution to riches in a very short period.

So, I went on stage as Anthony Robbins and told my story. I found out in that moment that I am good at telling stories. ‘Being’ Anthony Robbins made it more comfortable, somehow. I enjoyed it. Tony suggested that I join Toastmasters to hone these skills - something that another friend had already recommended. When a message is repeated, somehow you have to listen. I took this advice later that year.

It was significant to learn that I could do both singing and story telling. Whether I eventually do them or not is unimportant. I now know that I have the ability if I want to. This is better than telling myself that I can’t do things, and then feeling inadequate. We spend so much time telling ourselves we are not good at things when we don’t really know - we haven’t tried. Nowadays, I wonder if there is anything that I can’t do!

These events have all contributed to boosting my confidence to such a level that nothing fazes me anymore. ‘Bring on the next challenge’, I say!