'Be a Bob Marley accountant'
- By Wits University
Dr Joe Molete is passionate about integrating leadership, science and music to inspire and coach emerging leaders and entrepreneurs to positions of leadership and wealth. This includes facilitating leadership workshops, working with scientists and entrepreneurs to commercialise their inventions, and - surprisingly - bringing joy to others as a disc jockey.
His time spent spinning the decks in nightclubs is just one of the many life experiences which made 'DJ Mazoza' a popular guest speaker during the June 2013 season of graduation ceremonies at Wits. Molete also spoke about the animosity he felt towards his teachers when he failed his first year at Wits before going on to pass with distinction, and he asked the graduands of the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management on 27 June to applaud their lecturers for maintaining high standards.
He said everyone needed a strong purpose, a sense of direction, so as to achieve greatness and make an impact in the world. 'My sense of purpose is largely influenced by my experiences during early parts of my life. Growing up I was healed by a traditional healer after a long illness and various attempts by western medical practitioners to cure me. That fuelled my desire to want to integrate traditional medicine with western medicine. I believe that 70% of people who visit traditional healers will benefit from well formulated, packaged, and quality controlled and produced traditional medicine. It was through this motivation that I obtained a PhD in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry to understand how different genes are regulated in response to various stimuli such as traditional medicine.
'It is for this reason that I currently work for the CSIR Biosciences with a group of 180 brilliant scientists where amongst many other things we interact with traditional healers, test their formulations in the lab and help them produce quality tested samples in our Bio Manufacturing Industry Development Centre. Indeed South Africa is the third most diverse country in the world after Brazil and Colombia with unique species of plants, animals, and multicultural people, and there is no reason why we cannot develop our own products based on indigenous knowledge. So, make sure your life is anchored around a strong motivation.'
Molete encouraged the graduands to embrace and utilise their assets fully to make a difference. 'I have seen many people with twisted priorities where they put a lot of effort on the exterior while neglecting the interior. It is the interior condition that we successful people prioritise and I want you to do the same. The sacrifices you made as a student to gain more knowledge have enriched your interior. Continue learning new things beyond your degrees so as to view the world as it is and not with illusionary eyes.'
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To read his address, click here
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