Danie Botha's Blog, page 4
March 7, 2018
Stop making excuses!
It is no small feat to break a record. So much more for setting a world record. Add to that doing so when you turn 100 in a month’s time! We’re talking about a real record at a sporting event. Not how fast the old person can wobble down the nursing home hallway with a […]
February 26, 2018
Slaying your giant
It can’t be done—slay a giant. How often don’t we hear these words or say them ourselves? Don’t be silly—it’s impossible. You’re unrealistic. It has never been done before. Words that justify, but also paralyzes. Our problems (in real life) are often enormous—of gigantic proportions. Insurmountable. For example: Losing your job at age fifty-five. (At […]
February 14, 2017
Age well—never get rid of your bicycle!
Never get rid of your bicycle. Especially not when you retire. (It’s anyway not a good idea to retire.) Keep your pedal bike at hand, well after you turn 60, or 70, or 80, or 90 and even long after you turn a hundred. This is what Robert Marchand did, a 105-year-old Parisian. He is […]
January 18, 2017
Peek inside my novella, Be Good. Part II
Both my novel, Be Silent, and its prequel, Be Good, a novella, was published late December 2016. (Both are 20th-century historical action adventures.) They are both available at Amazon (eBook and Paperback), Nook, Kobo and iBooks. The digital format of Be Silent is FREE. Inside the front matter of Be Silent is a hyperlink to […]
January 2, 2017
Goodbye 2016!
And a happy New Year to you too! We have flipped the calendar page—2016 is part of history. How exciting to stand on the threshold of yet another year, 2017! Well-rested, healthy, happy, our finances in order, with our New Year’s resolutions all written down and under our belt. In one word: we’re ready! We […]
December 13, 2016
7 Insights I gained from a carrot, a scarf, and a ball of snow
It’s only a stupid snowman! Not so fast. Yes, it’s a snowman. I was wrong too, thinking it to be silly and mundane. Dismissing it as child’s play—as unimportant—as frivolous. It’s neither silly, stupid, nor infantile. Let me tell you why. On a balmy December 4th, 2016, with temperatures around zero, we built a snowman—my […]
November 22, 2016
We can win the war on hopelessness
Life sucks. If only I can find happiness—this is the sigh of millions, if not billions, around the globe. If I can find happiness, life will no longer be so without purpose, without direction, without depth and meaning. I will no longer be without hope. For many this becomes the driving force in their lives—finding […]
November 8, 2016
“Dear Patient.” A second open letter to my preoperative patients.
Nobody cares anymore. What a liberating thought. What an alarming reality. It all depends on your stance and philosophy of life. Should we be worried? Perhaps. But why? By the time this post goes live, the 2016 US election will be history. And it will be hard for any person alive today, (born after 1914), […]
October 25, 2016
Peek inside my new novella, Be Good
We’re getting closer to counting the sleeps… The planned schedule is to have both Be Silent, the novel, and Be Good, the novella, available by late November 2016. Be Good is the prequel to the novel, but the books can be read in any order. Both books are 20th-century historical action adventures. The novel and […]
October 11, 2016
Basotho ponies and the mountain kingdom clinic
The gravel road wounded higher and higher into the mountains—its broken surface unending—an injustice even to the hardiest of 4×4 vehicles. Our rear-wheel drive Volkswagen Kombis showed the stalwart medal they were made of, as we steered with caution to avoid the dragon-tooth rocky protrusions that paved the mountain road. Our progress was so painful […]
