Marc Reflects

  By Marc Reflects | September 2025 The Invisible Burden I recently finished reading The Art of Sanctions by Richard Nephew, and it left me thinking about something we rarely see in headlines: the daily lives of people who actually live under sanctions. When policymakers talk about pressure, leverage, and strategic outcomes, the human story often disappears. Sanctions are intended to influence governments, but the ones who feel the weight are ordinary families. I imagine parents rationing food, searching endlessly for medicine, or wondering if the next day will bring more uncertainty than the last. Nephew explains the mechanics of sanctions with precision, yet I found myself lingering in the spaces he only hints at—the quiet, unrecorded acts of survival. The Human Art of Endurance What struck me most was how people respond creatively under pressure. In Iran, for instance, communities have embraced a “resistance economy,” focusing on local production and alternative trade...

  By Marc Reflects, August 2025 Book Information Title: Think and Grow Rich Author: Napoleon Hill Publication Year: 1937 Introduction When I first read Think and Grow Rich 2 years ago , I approached it not just as a personal development book, but as a lens to understand ambition, wealth, and growth in the African context. Hill’s principles of desire, persistence, and clarity of purpose remain relevant today, especially for young Africans navigating opportunities and challenges in modern economies . Summary Hill argues that success begins in the " mind" . Clear goals, unwavering focus, and a burning desire can create the conditions for wealth and personal achievement. Key principles include: Developing a definite purpose Building persistence Cultivating a mastermind network Using faith and imagination to overcome obstacles One quote that struck me deeply: "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve." This idea is powerfu...

  | Marc Reflects When I first heard about someone passing 250 exams and interviews before landing a job, I found myself wrestling with a question: How does anyone sustain that kind of persistence without breaking? At some point, most of us would give up. But reflecting on this story, I realize that persistence is not just about stubbornness it’s a complex, often difficult mindset that reveals much about human resilience and determination. In my own reflections, especially given the context of Africa’s challenging job markets and limited resources, this story is far from exceptional it’s deeply instructive. It forces me to ask: what does persistence really mean, and why is it so crucial in the pursuit of success? Persistence as a Learned Discipline, Not Just an Innate Trait Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich has been a foundational text for many who seek success, and rightly so. Hill’s assertion that “Many a failure comes because of lack of persistence” resonates powerf...

  Marc Reflects Imagine a powerful country rising fast; its economy booming, its military growing, its influence spreading worldwide. Meanwhile, the existing dominant power watches nervously, unsure whether this newcomer will cooperate or challenge its status. History tells us this situation rarely ends peacefully. Over two millennia ago, the Greek historian Thucydides analyzed a conflict that changed the ancient world: the Peloponnesian War. His insight was simple but profound: “It was the rise of Athens and the fear this instilled in Sparta that made war inevitable.” This observation became what modern scholars call the Thucydides Trap , a cycle where the rise of a new power creates fear in the established power, escalating tensions that often lead to war. Why Does This Ancient Lesson Matter Now? Today, the rivalry between the United States and China fits this pattern uncannily well. China’s meteoric rise over the past few decades   from a struggling economy to t...

  We Were Not Born Just to Survive Marc Reflects I have come to believe that many of us—especially in places where struggle is normalized—are trained to aim low, not out of laziness, but out of necessity. We survive because survival is the immediate task, not because it is the full story of what we were meant to be. I’ve seen this pattern in the lives of youth who hustle daily with no margin for rest, in mothers who stretch every coin and every prayer, in children raised to be quiet, respectful, and unquestioning—because questioning hunger, rent, or pain feels like complaining against life itself. But what if we pause and ask: Were we really born just to survive? This reflection is not just about me. It’s about us—those of us renting dreams, raising children in scarcity, starting businesses with zero capital, or carrying childhood wounds like invisible luggage. I write this for the ones who are tired of simply making it through and feel the ache of wanting more. The Po...

  A Guide to Rising Above Adversity: 4 Anchors Explained By Marc Reflects There was a time in my life when I thought that worrying harder would somehow fix everything. I worried about my poor living conditions, a strange illness that nobody seemed to understand, and a future that looked more like a wall than a road. But worry didn’t save me. It made me sick. Ulcers. Chest pain. Sleepless nights. What saved me was response — a decision to take back control over what I could influence. Today, I want to share with you four powerful anchors that helped me rise from despair. Whether you’re facing disease, poverty, mental exhaustion, or just the chaos of life, these four pillars might just become your turning point: 1. Willpower: The Inner Fire That Sustains You “The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but a broken spirit, who can bear?” — Proverbs 18:14 This verse from King Solomon became a mirror for my soul. What got me through wasn’t money or miracles. ...