Discipline with Kevin Karuga S01 E02

We trace how strict school routines, tough social environments, and a hunger for excellence shape Kevin’s discipline and leadership from childhood through high school. The story turns practical as he confronts academic strengths and weaknesses, navigates life after KCSE, and learns resilience while teaching with almost nothing. 

• boarding school routines that build responsibility and self-discipline 
• moving schools, repeating a class, then becoming a consistent top student 
• early leadership roles from class prefect to senior school captain 
• high school bullying culture, fear, and the cost of being a strict prefect 
• struggling in sciences, excelling in humanities, and rebuilding self-esteem 
• using the library for career research and choosing realistic education paths 
• missing university admission, facing finances, and taking a gap-year teaching job 
• living without electricity, coping with harsh housing, and staying focused 
• writing books young and using songs to make learning stick 

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Transcript

Welcome And Where To Listen

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Impact Masters Podcast in collaboration with Africans Talking Retold Podcast, where every conversation sparks new insights. Join us as we delve into the stories of extraordinary individuals who are shaping our world, movers and shakers in tech, policymakers, entrepreneurs, entertainers, and all those whose stories are worth telling. Get ready to be inspired, challenged, and transformed. Welcome and let's embark on this journey of discovery together. Impact Masters Podcast. You can check us out on all social media platforms. You can also find us across all podcast channels. Simply search for Impact Masters. Then subscribe, follow, and share.io. Here's your host, Michael Kamathi.

Boarding School Discipline Learned Early

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Uh because now it's a boarding school. I am sleeping in the in the dormitory.

SPEAKER_02 1:04

Well, you have to prepare your bed. Yes. Make sure you are clean your clothes, you wash them completely.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

Yes. Luckily, at the age of eight to eight, nine, as just as you go to 10, we used to have uh aunties, we used to call them aunties who used to wash our clothes.

SPEAKER_02 1:20

Oh, because you are a bit young.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

We were a bit young. But then when we got to age 10 at 34, we had to start washing our own clothes. And so it instilled a sense of discipline and responsibility. And uh this school was very high on uh academics and discipline. Um you've had uh the school motto itself. Yes. Uh good conduct and passing exams. Yes. Until today, that's the motto. I think the motto has now changed because now I think uh the school has uh gone through uh a rebrand. Okay, in fact, even I see even the school uniform is now different, but then those days, even now, the people who came to the to that school being a boarding school, not only people from Kirinya.

SPEAKER_02 2:05

Yeah, it's all over.

SPEAKER_01 2:05

It's it was very cosmopolitan. So people from Nairobi, in fact, I remember we had colleagues from Tanzania. Oh, I remember, and that's actually the first time I I ever dealt with uh an international student. And now interesting that now at Africa is talking we're doing international business. We are doing international business. Yes, but uh, my first experience with international business was my classmates Brulen Jeremiah and uh Bonives Ngogo, Benjamin Ngogo. We they were from Tanzania, yes, and generally the school was mixed school, but then now uh people from all parts of the country and backgrounds, and backgrounds, different backgrounds, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:45

Oh, interesting. So, were you performing well with this in discipline and uh you know heavy-headed and uh and getting in trouble, and now you get here, the discipline is good and you have to pass your exam.

SPEAKER_01 2:59

Yes, something happened uh let me just take you back a little bit so that I answer your question. Yes, at Kenyatta University, and I always remember this teacher, Miss Mrs.

SPEAKER_03 3:09

Keo and Mrs.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

Muirori. We were very many students in one class, and uh I can't remember how I used to perform at Kenyatta University. But I I I don't ever remember being at the top. But something happened when I moved to Kenyatta University, I was asked to repeat class two. Because you remember I was in Kenyatta University at uh in 97, I was in class in 96 I was in class one, 97 I was actually in class two. Then when I moved and I came and did my interview, you remain in class two, they said you're going to remain in class two. I topped my class when I joined class two in Kruga Municipality. I don't know how, but I topped my class. I was the best in 98, I was the best in 99, I was the best in 2000. I was basically top of my class. Always. Always in fact I I still look at my transcripts now and I wonder, ah, now I'll be when I'm telling when I'm talking to my children, I'll be telling you, is you see, I was I was actually number one, not the proverbial one for parents, yes, but I was actually on top of the class. Yes, and uh as I was beaten a lot. You remember now those days, uh, it was not like now.

SPEAKER_02 4:28

Yeah we used to be disciplined properly.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Yeah, so my discipline became of very high standard because out of this uh being guided and also being punished, I started becoming uh a good boy, very good boy, disciplined, very disciplined, clean boy, very responsible. At class four, I became class prefect. And from there, we never looked back.

SPEAKER_02 4:53

I was class prefect until so you are on in leadership from class four.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

So I started leadership from class four until university. So I was a school captain in charge of dining hall in primary, I was a school captain in charge of uh environment in high school. Yes, and I was a I was a student union president at the university.

SPEAKER_02 5:14

Yeah, interesting. Yes, so you go to high school and and your teenager then, you know, a lot of things are happening. Your best students. I don't know which high school did you go to? I went to Kyanyaga High School.

SPEAKER_01 5:28

Kyanyaga in Kirinyaga. Yeah, that's where the deputy president attended school as well. Deputy President Kashagua. He's an old boy, the current Kasagua. The current deputy president, an old boy of Kyanyaga High School. Yes, and Kyanyaga High School, those days used to be the mighty Kyanyaga High

Repeating A Class Then Leading

SPEAKER_01 5:45

School.

SPEAKER_02 5:46

They could only compete with Kagumo.

SPEAKER_01 5:48

Oh, that that was the league. In fact, uh, the likes of you've heard of uh Senator the the former Senator Karaba uh was um principal at Kyanyaga High School and think went to Kagumo High School. Yes, but it was in that league. And let me tell you, Kyanyaga Boys used to be known. If you uh heard that you went to Kyanyaga boys, you are a serious person. Ah, you are very serious.

SPEAKER_02 6:15

You're gonna make it in life.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

You are going to make it in life. In fact, I remember when we did our I was disappointed because I, in fact, at the time I wanted to go to Nairobi High School. So when we did our KC KCP, at that time we had uh it was out of 500 and I scored uh well because I scored 405. I was not the best. The best uh in our in our stream in a year at that time was uh my good friend uh uh uh Eric Eric Kenua, currently in Australia. Uh he scored uh possible 420 out of 500. Yes, and now that I've mentioned Eric Kenya, we were the very naughty boys when we were when we joined, because we joined the same year in class two, uh huh.

SPEAKER_02 7:00

So we joined together, but with a very bad discipline, you're all over, you don't want to hear anyone's advice.

SPEAKER_01 7:06

But then you see now I watched uh someone like uh someone like Kenya, Kenya uh become uh a champion in terms of his academics. Yes, I'm still audible. Yeah, you're very good. Yes, so uh Eric was number one, 420, and I think I was among the top 10. I scored 405 and I even went to Nairobi school before admission, and I went and told and I applied and said I want to come here, and I even went uh to see the principal then. And I said uh I even have the letter that uh that I wrote, I want to come here.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

Why Nairobi school though?

SPEAKER_01 7:44

I don't know why, because I I I think I had had good things of Nairobi school, not alliance, not stare. I didn't want because I think at the at the time I had gotten to class eight, I was no longer the top student. So I knew the likes alliance is out, stare is out. Yes, yes. The likes of my colleagues and uh my friend Simon Uremi, they were the ones they were the top students. Okay, so I knew. In fact, Eric ended up in Mangu and uh a few others now went to Starehe. Uh some went to uh Alliance. Yes. So now I was uh in my area. Now those people who got uh the 400s, we went to the provincial school now, Kenyaga High School. So that's how I landed in Kenyaga High School. Uh but I think my experience at Kenyaga is not comparable to Nairobi school. No, no, no, no, to primary, my my primary experience. Okay. Uh Kenyaga was uh by the time I joined Kenyaga, was a was a very laid-back uh school. First of all, I'm not sure I really liked the experience. Yeah, we were monolized. No, I remember when we joined monolization was a serious thing, yeah. Was a serious thing. In fact, when you just walked into the gate with your parent, the form 4s and form threes are looking at you with their eyes wide open and they are doing like this. You're welcome here. You're welcome here. We were very scared because I remember the day I joined uh Kenyaga High School. Yes, I was taken there, and uh after my parents left, I was left at the mercies of uh the older boys, and everything that I uh everything that I that I owned, the shopping I was I was told I was I carried, everything vanished, including new school uniform. With the time, new school uniform vanished and uh we used to sleep on trees sometimes because we could not go to the dormitory because now the older boys were very rough, were very bad. You could not be seen uh at that time uh going to to bed before the form threes and form fours are asleep. So you used to go keep towing if you wake up the big boys, if you wake up the big boys, you're in trouble, and it was really bad because I remember uh one of our colleagues who used to be in form two when we were in form one. Uh I remember I think his name was Ginone. Ginone was hit uh with uh a hockey stick. In fact, one of the requirements was when we were opening the hockey stick. Yeah, Ginone was hit by a hockey stick, and uh his eye was almost popping out, so it was a very bad culture. I hear now uh people are no longer molesting people or bullying people, but that was the experience. So that experience

High School Bullying And Survival

SPEAKER_01 10:50

at Formone, first of all, made me really not like the environment. And then I also realized that the boys there were not serious, you know. People are not serious on academics, people are very lackluster, you know. And uh I love excellence, yes, even from the discipline, consistent discipline from you know I'm coming from Kerua municipality where there is order, there is no discipline. Yeah, I'm coming to Kenya, and I feel the older boys don't shower, they are stinking, so you know, and I think that was a common thing with this with the boys' schools where I think people are uh people don't really even go, people don't go to shower. Yes, people shower once a week or whatever, yeah, or when you're going home. Yes, so uh I was very fearful, but then uh I became class prefect. I was appointed class prefect. I was elected actually at form one, form one X. Yes, remember one of my one of my good friends uh Peterson Wawero proposed that uh I be elected president, not president, being be elected uh class prefect. And I became class prefect. You were on the same class with this uh yes, and we came with him from primary. Okay, so we were we were a good chunk of us. Okay, so in fact uh Peterson Wawero was my best friend from when we were in primary school. So he proposed ah this chief can lead us. This chief can lead us. Yes, and you see, naturally I think I was a very strict person. So when I became class prefect, now it was very tough because I was uh I love discipline and I love order. So my colleagues, of course, did not like me. Because now as a class preference, you are developing enemies. Yes, of course now, because and I was very tough because you're not going to go and make noise in class when others are reading, you're not going to fail to watch the class, and I told you to watch to watch the class, it's your duty. So they always know they always they always knew that when you're dealing with Kevin, you have to do it right. Yes, you will hate him, but it has to be done. It has to be done. Yes, yeah. So I remember our class teacher at that time, uh Mrs. Moriuki uh was also very you know, a very good lady. Yeah uh I used to go and tell her because now people are already hating. Yeah, they don't like you know I even wrote a designation letter.

SPEAKER_02 13:07

Yeah, let me focus on my studies. This is too much for me.

SPEAKER_01 13:10

May I just focus on my studies? This was too much. Because I think as a young man, as a young boy, I felt now these other guys are hating me because I'm a prefect. And those days, if you remember, sometimes there used to be strikes. If you remember the Changuli or something where people were burned each other.

SPEAKER_02 13:27

So I used to wonder if I'm a prefect, and people burn each other, I'm going to prison.

SPEAKER_01 13:32

And am I are they going to are they going to ban me?

SPEAKER_02 13:34

Ah, yeah, there is that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:36

Or are they going to attack me?

SPEAKER_02 13:38

What? Yeah. So already you are fearing for your life. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 13:41

And now, of course, now my classmates used to go and tell the bigger boys, you know, this guy, Nimauzo. Uh he's a snitch. He's a snitch. He's he's a class prefect. Now the other older boys used to look at me with their eyes wide open.

SPEAKER_02 13:58

You know, so I can assume there's a lot of business, illegal business going on in that school.

SPEAKER_01 14:03

Oh, yeah, always in all these schools, there is always something happening.

SPEAKER_02 14:06

Contraband selling and all that. All those things. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:08

But then I stood for the Mr. Mrs. Moriuki told me no. You're not your ground. You're not resigning. You are the prefect that was chosen, you continue. But then, now that I've come from primary school, I have started the I was a bright student in primary. But when I joined from one, something happened. Something called physics, something called biology, something called chemistry.

SPEAKER_02 14:32

Oh my god. There's no multiple choice.

SPEAKER_01 14:35

There was something called uh that's when I actually realized I'm not a science student. I'm uh I'm I'm more of uh the arts. Linguistic. Because physics, I remember Bans and Banner was in physics, it was in uh chemistry, I think.

SPEAKER_02 14:50

Yeah, and also physics.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

And also physics. Because now we first of all we were told to label the Bans and Banner. I could not remember the parts of the Bans and Banner. Uh I remember uh I performed dismally in the science subjects, and I remember our chemistry teacher Mr. Moneki. I will not say his nickname. Let me say his nickname because we used to call him Benerium.

SPEAKER_02 15:21

Man, he's from Kirindaga. What did you expect him to say?

SPEAKER_01 15:24

Yes, uh Benediam is uh it was an element. Was he from Kirindaga? Yes, yes, he's from Kirindaga. You can't expect an excellent, an excellent uh chemistry. Yes, yes, and then of course now we used to we used to call him Kamberi uh later on. Mr. Muaneki used to come and uh when he's giving us our scripts. Semba karuga, Kevin Karuga, Alipata, Nunge. You know?

SPEAKER_02 15:50

So he used to And that really used to hurt you. He used to hurt me, you know, used to hurt me.

SPEAKER_01 15:54

I was the mathematics teacher was excellent, Mr. Kara. But then he could see that I was really struggling with math. Okay, and I really struggled with the math and the sciences. But when it came to the humanities, I was the best. Yes. When it came to English, hands down, hands down, I was the best. So I started getting a bit of uh a low self-esteem because now I am not able to

Realizing Arts Over Sciences

SPEAKER_01 16:20

perform very well because these subjects are pulling me down. Even if I get straight A's in English, the Minisco is not where I want it to be. Yeah, and then I am a prefect, and ideally, as a prefect, you're supposed to be excellent. You need to be excellent. In fact, one time Mrs. Muriuki, the classic called me and told me now you know, you have to be a good example to the others. So you cannot seriously getting zero eight in chemistry, yeah. Please, and anything starting with zero was considered zero, of course. You but how because is it the same head that is getting a hundred percent in the history, geography? Yeah, and uh in fact, I was not good in geography because I think geography also has a bit of science. Yes, I was very good in English, Swahili, uh did I say history? Yes, there was a CRE, business studies, I was very good. Yes, but then now I have started feeling a certain type of way, and I feel like am I now going to become a failure out of this. That's when I started researching in the library. What can I be with this strength? With my strength. And in the library, there were very good books. I went and there were career books. And I always used to go and look at the cluster that does not require any science. And in fact, I remember we were able to get that's how I came up. I was either going to be a lawyer, I was either going to do public administration, or I was going to do uh education.

SPEAKER_02 17:56

Because those are the things that were I was able to just require you to focus on humanities.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Yes, yes, yes, yes. So, but otherwise, I I was in high school, I was in leadership uh all the way to form four.

SPEAKER_02 18:09

So you never changed the high school?

SPEAKER_01 18:11

I did not change the high school. Was there that option? No, there was no there was no option of changing. And I think also for also from where my background, we did not have the luxury of uh being moved around. You go where you where you have been invited, you go there. That is where you are going to finish your school. So I went to Kyanyaga and uh studied in Kyanyaga and finished until class uh form four. Until form four. Yeah. And at form four, I was uh school captain in charge of environment. And uh it was a nice experience, especially being in leadership. I enjoyed the leadership thoroughly.

SPEAKER_02 18:47

Do you think you changed the you know the Kyanyaga? I did. Contributed to the change they have now. Oh, completely.

SPEAKER_01 18:52

Because I even when I go, I still find the trees that we planted, the flowers we planted, you know, the the the there are these flowers that uh are fence-like.

SPEAKER_02 19:02

So that just trim them well and they will remember.

SPEAKER_01 19:05

And during my tenure, the place was cleaned because I was not I was not a joke. You if you had a business to do, you had to clean. I remember now being uh uh among the senior captains, we lived in a place called State House. And now here you know at uh AT we also stayed in. We also live in State House.

SPEAKER_02 19:24

White House.

SPEAKER_01 19:25

Yeah, it is in White House. Yeah. Uh we used to live in State House, and we used to live three captains. Yes. The senior school captain, the school captain in charge of dining hall, and the school captain in charge of environment. And we we were given luxuries.

SPEAKER_02 19:40

Uh, are there like uh you know small cubes for you?

SPEAKER_01 19:44

Yes, it was it was a a nice house for us with uh uh a washroom and uh an ablotion block for us. And of course, now we had nice locals. Uh we we we we used to eat preferential food with top layer with not line up if it was meat, we were eating more than the others. But then I think one thing I enjoyed, and I think I realized that from my days in primary school, is that I'm very passionate about leadership. I'm passionate about ensuring that people uh get value for what they pay. Basically, uh people are able to move in the right direction. Yeah, and I I cherished uh leadership a lot because as a leader in primary school, I was able to also come up with a lot of changes. In uh in high school, I was also able to come up with a lot of changes and uh positivity. And that's when I realized in leadership, uh sometimes people don't appreciate you, yeah, but they will see the things that you've actually done. And I realize it's very lonely at the

Leadership Changes And Lonely Decisions

SPEAKER_01 20:55

top.

SPEAKER_02 20:55

Yeah, uh so it's more of action than just you know, uh talk and and having a good time.

SPEAKER_01 21:01

Because I was the kind of uh leader or the prefect at that time who I did not know how to go behind the tent, you know, do things another way. Yeah, and uh at times and I remember I even got a nickname. They used to call me Mutemi Bokono.

SPEAKER_02 21:16

Because that's a set book you guys did, yeah. You used the set book as well.

SPEAKER_01 21:19

If you mutemi Bokono was the was the leader of Butangi. But and I remember this uh one of my very good friends now is uh it's called Kuria. Moses? No, not Moses Kuria, it's called Kuria. Uh I'm forgetting his other name, and we are we were classmates. I think that that name came from him and uh another friend of mine called uh David David Budhi. They nicknamed me that because I was not moved. I was forecast. Even when they called me, they did not call me names in my hearing. They used to tease other prefects as a hear, but nobody ever dared confront me and tease me. Say this or that because they I don't know, they thought this guy is going to send me home. We actually send people home. Oh, yes, you guys had those powers. We had the power to tell the deputy president this fellow uh is needs to be suspended. Yes, in fact, uh, I remember one person was uh uh was suspended just by trying to say something uh those days, yeah, yeah. But I think leadership for me it's about the change and positive change, yeah, and it really defined who I was uh you know at that time.

SPEAKER_02 22:31

Yeah, interesting. So you pass your uh KCSC. Yes,

Gap Years And Life As Teacher

SPEAKER_02 22:36

where were you invited?

SPEAKER_01 22:37

I was not invited anywhere.

SPEAKER_02 22:39

You invited yourself, you find your way to where you wanted to be. So what happened? I actually did not uh uh get the those days the university grade was B plus and above and above B plus of 70 74.

SPEAKER_01 22:54

Yes. So I what I got, I passed, but I did not qualify to be called those days it was to be called the joint admission board. Jab. Jab. I did not get admission to go to jab. Now, what would I what was I supposed to do? Looking at my family background, and you wanna be a lawyer? I want to be a lawyer, yeah, but looking at my family background, there was no way those guys were going to pay the monies that were required for parallel program. In fact, when you talk of parallel program, yeah, it was known it was for the rich people.

SPEAKER_02 23:27

Yeah, and actually law school is a bit expensive. Uh yes, yeah, it's expensive.

SPEAKER_01 23:32

Yeah, so those days we used to have uh a year, uh you know, after you finish a gap year.

SPEAKER_02 23:40

So when I finished almost two years. So that's one year, another seven months, eight months. Thereabouts.

SPEAKER_01 23:45

So when I finished uh primary, I mean uh Kyanyaga High School, I went and enrolled and became a teacher.

SPEAKER_02 23:53

Uh untrained teacher in high school.

SPEAKER_01 23:55

Untrained teacher, and and this time it was the same school or different school? Different. So actually, I enrolled in one of the schools in Kirinyaga, a private boarding school, and uh that is where my life began as an untrained teacher. And uh they used to call me Mr. Karoga. Uh the kids and the kids adored me, they loved me. And uh I remember that is where my life actually began because my first house was next to the school, it was a a timber house, so it uh it has a bit of concrete, then it is timber, but it has mianyas. You know, you can see uh if you don't put a cut in and you are showering, your neighbor is going to see. So it was that, and and there was no electricity, it was a tar, the lantern, the lantern, and that is where I began my life with the lantern. So when I came from home, and a transparent life, it was very transparent. So when I was when when I when I came from the village, yes, I was given a lantern, a stove, a bed, and a reading table. And you are told start the life. Start the life and uh the bed I got was the bed that uh was was being used in the 70s at my grandmother's house.

SPEAKER_02 25:26

By your parents or by the by the children in the house those days.

SPEAKER_01 25:30

Yeah, maybe my parents, my mother, but uh it was uh you know those it was not the the the the the the beds today where they have bolts and all so in fact it's uh it's uh when you remove there was no how would I put it?

SPEAKER_02 25:44

I can't was it um the those bolts were wooden or very good I see I know those bolts? Yes, so those bolts were wooden. Yeah, my grandparent actually is a carpenter and used to make those and they were really really strong beds. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:56

So those beds had been used from the 70s, if you know the if not the 60s.

SPEAKER_02 26:01

Yeah, and they were still intact. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:04

So my rent was 500 shillings, and uh my you could my neighbors, you could see you could you could hear the next neighbor, whatever was whatever the neighbor was doing, you could hear. If someone had a visitor at night, you could hear. When you look at uh when you put on your lantern, someone when someone is outside, they can see through through your uh your cubicle. And because of the iron sheets, the place was so hot. Iron sheets and the timber, the house was extremely hot, especially during the day. During the day it was extremely hot, you could not, and now there were there were no windows.

SPEAKER_02 26:44

Were they provided by the school or just uh rentals?

SPEAKER_01 26:47

It was a rentals, just outside the school, so I could be close by, yeah. I was required to be in class very early in the morning. Okay so I could not and this is i school or primary? Primary, okay. The primary school, and the most devastating place, uh the most devastating thing about this place I've said it does not have electricity, is that uh we didn't we did not even have uh proper

Writing Books And Teaching With Songs

SPEAKER_01 27:10

bathrooms because I remember the the actual bathrooms were the same. The bathroom and uh and bathroom here I mean uh okay, let me use the toilet and where you shower, they're separated by a wall.

SPEAKER_02 27:24

They are separate, but it was basically the same thing because now uh you find where you're going to to put your karai, and it was a messy place because no one takes responsibility of cleaning the place, nobody could clean the place.

SPEAKER_01 27:37

So, what we used to do because now the the toilet it was a mess. Yeah, because you you come and find people who have done their business up there, and you want to shower in the morning.

SPEAKER_02 27:47

Wait a minute. So the toilet and the bathroom were the same place, there was not even a wall or anything, yes. It was the same place. So if someone is showering, yes, someone cannot do their business.

SPEAKER_01 27:56

You cannot do the business, and it is uh pit rating, so you have to put uh the karai covers the pit. It was a pitra tree. Yes, you cover the pitra tree. Now after you are done, you so before you go, you have to wash the place. So you can imagine how that place looks. So, what we started doing, yeah, there was one of the houses that was not occupied in that in that land because there were like four or five houses in that small plot.

SPEAKER_02 28:21

Yeah, that sounds like a plot 10. It's a plot.

SPEAKER_01 28:25

In fact, we used to call the place plot 10.

SPEAKER_02 28:26

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 28:27

Yes, okay. So one of the houses at the very edge became our bathroom. But now, what you used to do that, I think it was constructed badly because when when when when the water, the water, all of it used to come. The drainage was bad. The drainage was very bad. So before when you go to shower, you have to go with the kifagio. So you have to wipe wash the place, drain the place, drain the place first of because there was someone else who had showered. And you can imagine now you got you're not going to go and uh start swimming before you shower.

SPEAKER_02 28:58

That was the that was the kind of mess.

SPEAKER_01 29:00

Yeah, that was the kind of mess uh we were in.

SPEAKER_02 29:04

And this did not deter your determination to, you know, it did not. I have a I have a I have a vision.

SPEAKER_01 29:09

It did not. In fact, something I forgot to mention is that at the age of 17, when I was still in high school, I started writing a book. Okay. I've published two books. Interesting. Interesting. So I published my first book at the age of 17. Yes. And my second book at the age of 20, 21. Yes. So what happened when I was still now a teacher, I was teaching English and science. Yes. And I remember my the children I used to teach. I used to come up with songs to help them remember. And in fact, now that I talk about it, I remember fondly one song I used to sing to them. Shemp, shemp, hamp, ja, feth, sons of Noah, sons of Noah. Amen means, amen means, let it be so. Because I used to teach CR science and English. And the kids used to love it because we used to dance in the class so that they can remember the memory. But then I was so tired by the end of the day. It was so tiring.

unknown 30:15

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

But I knew it was this was not where I wanted to be.

SPEAKER_02 30:19

Yes. Absolutely. So when we come back shortly, we'll be able to delve into why didn't you lose the focus? And also you'll tell us about the books because I never knew about the books. Yes, yes, yes.

Interlude And Subscribe Reminder

SPEAKER_00 30:33

Quick pause, folks. We're stepping into a brief interlude, but stay tuned because after the break, we dive deeper into the incredible journey of our guest. Meanwhile, we'd like to send a massive shout out to our sponsors for empowering this exchange of ideas and innovation. We'll be right back on Impact Masters. Subscribe, follow, and share. Check us out at www.impactmasters.