GALLERY: SOJO Business Network Breakfast

IT truly was a morning filled with inspiration for all who attended the South of Johannesburg Business and Tourism (SOJO) Business Network Breakfast at Gold Reef City. The morning was hosted by Nicky Vakaloudis, with Jolene Raison and Rohit Desai as the guest speakers on June 28.

Jolene Raison is the director of Robot Paint, Hardware & Timber and author of two children’s books. She has over two decades of experience working as a wordsmith, and has worked as a copywriter, journalist and is a general right brain for hire.

Jolene shared her journey with Vitiligo, a disease in which the pigment of the cells of the skin is destroyed in certain areas. Signs of Vitiligo include loss of skin colour in the form of pigmentation and white patches of skin in any location of the body.

Jolene spoke about the children’s books she has written to specifically help children who suffer from Vitiligo and opened up about the effects it has had on her life.

She spoke about how we all, at some point have had, or have, something that makes us feel like we stand out.

“We all have spots and monsters; we need to acknowledge our fears and speak about them. Hiding from monsters, or feeding them on fear only, serve to make them bigger,” she said.

She pointed out how harsh and full of judgement we can be towards ourselves and added that we all could benefit from being kinder to ourselves. “Vitiligo has given me freedom. You get to write your story and write your own happy ending,” she concluded.

The second speaker, Rohit Desai, is a master transformational life coach, motivational speaker, social entrepreneur, NPL practitioner, confidence builder and author.

He is very passionate about inspiring, motivating and empowering adults, students and new business entrepreneurs through life coaching, to be able to face challenges with confidence and overcome them to lead a fulfilling life of their dreams and aspirations.

Rohit spoke about the effect of stress on our lives, and how powerful the mind can be.

“Thoughts create our reality. Try to always be positive,” he said.

Having overcame medical challenges of his own, Rohit is training to climb Kilimanjaro for medically underprivileged children.

He believes that through positivity you can achieve anything. “Be deaf to negative thoughts, celebrate success and never give up,” he concluded.

The morning was well attended with local small business owners who are invested to improve and promote the south of Johannesburg.

GALLERY: