Gamel SanKarl

All big things started small.  Every giant was once a baby. Big trees were once small seeds.  Big mansions were once blocks. Big conglomerates were once small companies. Every big thing that has ever being was once small in size.  So, learn to begin small while you work out that big picture.  Believe in small beginnings while you hope for bigger things.  Keep building block by block. Keep working and reworking it out.  It is a matter of time. With consistency and unwavering commitment it will become big.  Your dreams and desires are valid and they are also achievable.   Start small but don't stay small. Start now. Don't say I'll start one day. No. Make today day one. And whilst at it, keep hopes alive and keep building.  Sooner or later, you will see that small thing grow into something big.  Begin small and continue building it into something big.

Your life will become a lot easier when you build yourself to the point of attraction.  Thus, when you become so good at what you do, you begin to attract people and things into your life instead of chasing them.  The chase has its place and time in the lifetime of your personal and professional pursuits.  And it must end at some point in time. It takes a lot more energy to keep up with the chase.  So, learn to build some leverage over time by building yourself to attract.  Truth is, the chase is hard. Chasing is energy sapping if you have to do things that way every single time.  There are some things you would have to chase in life but there are others you should attract.  You will make more strides in life if become a person or professional who attracts.  So, consciously build your abilities, gifts and talents, and skills to a point where these attract all your dreams and desires. Life becomes easier when you learn to make the law o...

Give yourself permission to live and learn as you live. Life is for the living! Give yourself permission to live and grow by the day. Give yourself permission to believe, begin, build and become your best. Give yourself permission to make progress on the daily. Perfection is a myth. But progress is a must. Make progress on the daily, you will be happier. It is okay if you don't know or understand everything. You don't have to see the last step on the staircase before you use it. No one ever did.  But anyone who ever did try, made some progress and became something out of nothing.  It is only those who do not ever try anything that often amount to nothing.  The desire for perfection would often block you from making any meaningful progress.  So instead of letting that stop you from exploring and putting your potential and talent to good use, focus on making progress one step at a time.  Give yourself permission to make progress instead of focusing on ...

There is a reason your past is called the past. So, learn to move pass your past.  Truth is, there is absolutely nothing you can do about the past.  It will do you a lot of good, if you stopped revisiting the past and dwelling on same. You have no control over anything that happened in the past.  And you cannot change the past unless you have the mystical powers of a time traveller.  You have the present and it is called the present for a reason.  It is a present because it is a gift you get each day.  Today, your present, is a gift, so make the most of it and make your life better.  Change what you can today and let what you can't change go.  Focus on making the best of your present and you will not have to worry about tomorrow.  Accept what has happened and free yourself to experience now and what is ahead of you. Just trust the process.  You will be fine.

Self - care is not Selfishness!  It is only when you are filled and fulfilled that you can pour yourself into others to have them filled.  Take care of yourself mentally and physically because you are all you've got; before any other person or thing.  And while at it, also develop yourself intellectually into a person of substance, so you can pour something substantial into others. Self-care is not self-centredness and definitely not selfishness.  Take very good care of you so you can take very good care of yours.

I haven't been to the pool for some time and was hoping to do so today. But, thanks to the drizzling earlier in the morning, my plans changed and I went cycling.  For my first leg, I did 5.82KM in 39 mins. I took a break at the park to see an ongoing match.  I am about to take my second leg towards home.  Giving yourself some sweaty mornings are good for both mental and physical fitness.  Try it more often if you don't.

A couple of weeks ago, I received a mail, followed by a formal invitation letter to present my research work at a conference in Prague, Czech Republic.  The mail came from the program manager of the 10th World Congress on Cancer Research and Therapy. Last year, I had similar invitations to speak at conferences in Germany and Norway. And in all these instances, they found my works online.  Ours is a world gifted with many platforms where one can showcase their works.  Be deliberate about your online visibility and your value proposition as a professional.  The world is a stage and every act you stage, especially on social media is being watched. So, give your audience a good show. You can never tell who is watching and who will be  mentioning you in the right rooms.  As a professional, identify the platforms best suited for your field and publish your works on such relevant platforms.  Your digital footprints do serve as your online CV and t...

Success in any field of pursuit requires the right mindset and skill set.  If you want to properly set yourself up for the good that life has to offer, then work on cultivating the right mindset and acquiring the right skill set. Life becomes more purposeful and relatively easier when your mind is set on the right things and your hands are skillful in executing your plans.  You are made for more. And if you can think more, you can definitely do more and have much more.  There are no limits when you have the right mindset and skillset.

Though many be the distractions  Moving forward remains the direction  Though many things make us cower  We’re resolute within us is some power Though circumstances seem untoward  The direction remains forward and upward  Though conscious of the possibility of failure The resolve is to fail and keep failing forward The resolve is to focus on the ball after the fall The plan is to stay focused till we conquer all  Focus! Focus!! Focus!!! Focus!!!! Focus!!!!! #GamelianPoetry #GamelianPoetivation

A lot of young people have left the scene this year. I have observed the development with some considerable trepidation and wanted to encourage young people, especially those who are thirty and above to pay more attention to their health.  Much as the need to build something worthwhile in this phase of life is important, we cannot continually do that at the expense of being healthy. When your health (mental and physical) is not at its best, you cannot be at your best.  And it is a no-brainer that, you can only enjoy wealth when you have good health.  Most of these untimely deaths could be traced to sedentary lifestyles. Some are also a result of what we are eating.  It is about time we learn to engage ourselves in activities that keep us fit and healthy. For some people, keeping fit and eating healthy is seen as a luxury lifestyle but it is not.  Rather than seeing the same as a luxury why not consider it as an investment in yourself? It is about time you became...

Life is a cycle of experiences.  So live to enjoy the experience.  Experience the ups and downs.  Experience; the good, the bad, the ugly.  Come good or bad; love, laugh, and live!  But most importantly learn, unlearn and relearn.  Life is for the living. Learn to fully experience it!

Move in silence.  Make success of your pursuit. And let your results show your efforts.

Keep moving. Even if you are moving slowly. Slow movement is better than no movement.  And what truly matters is making progress as you move.  It is worth understanding that every move you make adds up. And they add up fast enough to take you farther from your starting point.  So start moving and keep moving on and on. Every movement as long as is in the right direction will take you an inch closer to your dreams than standing still.  There will be tough times but come what may, you should strive to keep moving.    Make some moves!

Grit. Grace. Gravitas. Someone once asked me; "what is the stuff that makes genius and greatness?" The above qualities in my view are the things that makes one great and genius.  Someday, I will write an article elaborating on these.  But in the meantime, what do you think makes genius and greatness?

Destiny is forged on the anvil of daily decisions and deliberate actions.  The big picture of your future will become increasingly clearer through your daily actions.  Be consistent in the actions that take you forward and upward towards your dream.  Greatness is often revealed through daily routines and rituals.  What is your biggest dream in life? And what are the actions you take towards that dream daily?  What do you do consistently on the daily?  What is your daily routine/ritual?  Something worth thinking about.

You may not be where you planned to be at this point in time of your life.  But truth is, you are also not where you used to be. The urge to feel left behind is only human. But don't let that compel you to give up.  You're not left behind in life. You're probably a late bloomer waiting for your time.  Keep moving at your own pace. We all do things and move at different paces.  You're not behind. And no one has left you behind. You're moving at your own pace. And that's fine. Learn to celebrate with your mates when they attain new milestone and wait for your turn. Time and chance happens to us all and it will soon be your time and turn. Give time some time.  You will be fine!

I am at my best when I stay calm and calculate my moves in life.  I get easily inundated when there is too much noise around me.  But in the presence of quite and peace, the best version of me keeps emerging. Being mindful of this, I have learnt to master peace through conscious meditation. And in so doing, I have come to learn that; when you learn to master peace, you also learn to make your life a masterpiece.  And this is because, in peace, you are able to work towards mastery.  In peace, you prepare in solitude and make a difference to a multitude.  Learn to master peace and make your life a masterpiece.

The 8th edition of the Blooming Minds Young Achievers Awards was held on May 4th, 2024 at the British Council, Accra.  I was there as usual to support Thelma Egwuenu and the BMCCN team to make a success of the awards ceremony and the runway fashion show. As the previous years, it was exciting to see parents and teachers come all out to support the creative pursuits of their youngsters.  The vision is a big one and we are committed to contributing our quota to raising the next generation of creative talents for Africa and the world at large. And so help us, God!

One of the exciting things I did last year as part of my professional growth and progression was to partake in a Dementia research project at the Neurology unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.   The project led by my friend Michael Quansah and supervised by Professor Adjei of University of Ghana Medical School and Prof. Tayebi of Western Sydney University Medical School had thus far really exposed me to the prevalence of Dementia across the world.  I also got to learn about how Dementia is becoming one of the leading causes of death in most aged people around the world and the need to create awareness about it. Dementia is a syndrome, usually chronic or progressive in nature and is often characterised by decline in cognitive abilities.  It therefore affects cognitive functions such as thinking, memory, comprehension and judgement.  It is an impairment that is often accompanied by a decline in emotional control, motivation or social behaviour....

I had the pleasure of speaking to the students and staff of Right To Dream Academy early last month.  I shared thoughts on Being Your Best Self.  The session focused on Self-discovery and Self-discipline and the place of these in becoming a better version of one's self. I also touched on how as budding athletes, they can use Self-comparison and Self-confidence to their advantage.  My assignment was to help them look within and find expression for their gifts through self-motivation.  The feedback was great and I am hopeful our time together was worth it.  Thanks to Lydia Ansah Opoku, Head of Purpose Dept. and her team for having me.  Photo Credit: Right To Dream Media Team.

In Abu Dhabi, I visited the Ferrari World on Yas Island.  It is such a beautiful place curated purposely for leisure and pleasure.

On my visit to Abu Dhabi, I had the privilege of touring the Grand Mosque. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is one of the attractions of the capital city of the UAE.  It was named after Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan as a way of highlighting his achievements and noble deeds of religious, cultural and humanitarian nature.  This Mosque is the biggest I have seen yet. It is a a beautiful building made of white marble stones from Columbia, Greece, Mexico and other parts of the world.  This Mosque has three of the most magnificent chandeliers from Germany.  The path that leads to the main compound of the Mosque is called the tolerance path. And this indeed showcases photos of the Sheikh and world leaders such as the Pope, the King of England and a Hindu Leader.  Also on the premises of the grand Mosque is a mall with several shops. The unqiue thing about the mall is that it is an underground structure. One w...

As part of my tour of the United Arab Emirates, I visited the capital city of Abu Dhabi. This city is also the seat of government of the UAE.  The ruler of Abu Dhabi is Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He is also the third president of the UAE. By conventional agreement, the ruler of Abu Dhabi will always be the president of the UAE. In the UAE, succession is patrilineal. A son always inherits the estate of the father. The same applies to rulership of each city and even the presidency.  By extension, this means, the son of the president will be the one that succeeds after him as president and ruler of the state. Also, in the event that a ruler or president passes on without a son to take over from him, one of his brothers takes over. Inheritance is always patrilineal per their laws. As indicated earlier, the presidency always goes to the ruler of Abu Dhabi whilst the positions of vice president and prime minister go to the royal family of Dhubai.  All stat...

One other exciting experience I have had on my tour of Dubai is having a dinner on a cruise ship.  This was at the Dubai Marina Yacht Club. The club have several ships/vessels for this exceptional experience.  I was on board the Dutch Cruise. This ferry/vessel has four decks. There is an underground deck with rooms for guests wanting to have a hotel-like experience on the vessel.  The first, second and third decks are designed as restaurants. The upper deck is not roofed and has a demacated VIP session.  Guests get to experience the breeze of the sea on this deck while enjoying the breathtaking sights and scenes of the city.  On the vessel, all guests on all decks of the cruise are treated to a buffet with drinks and desert. They also have on schedule a series of performances and entertainment.  I witnessed two shows while on the cruise and both were all sorts of awesome.