Surviving Your Serengeti ... Turns Out, I'm An Elephant! Who Knew?

Surviving Your Serengeti ... Turns Out, I'm An Elephant! Who Knew?

I have enjoyed reading the blogs written by the folks here who have accepted the ActiveRain Surviving Your Serengeti Challenge and wondered if I would find myself writing one too. After taking the quiz, most of the writers have indicated they were quite surprised at their alter ego animal counterparts, but after some thought, actually admitted they could find some resemblance in the ways they looked at life and at their business models. In order to follow this through and see if I would take the challenge too, I took the quiz and downloaded the first two chapters of Surviving Your Serengeti.

In his new book to be released on March 1^st, Stefan Swanepoel describes a trip to the Serengeti by his main character Sean Spencer and Sean’s wife Ashley. Chapters 1 and 2 describe the couples arrival and folks they meet at camp including a colleague Sean knew from his college days at London School of Economics, some thirty years earlier.  Sean’s college friend, Zachariah, had returned to the Serengeti to help protect the land and native wildlife, and would serve as their guide and mentor, teaching them the secrets of life on the Serengeti. Swanepoel’s rich descriptive text, skillfully draws the reader into the heart of the “Endless Plains” and face-to-face with some of the wildlife inhabitants.

Through the teachings of Zachariah, Swanepoel draws a parallel between the survival techniques used by seven different animal species of the Serengeti, and the tools we humans can use to our advantage by understanding our own basic instincts.

So I read the first two chapters, took the quiz and sent my wife the link so she could take the quiz as well. I mean, who doesn’t want to know what kind of African animal they are?

So, like most of the folks who took the challenge, I was taken by surprise by my African animal alter ego. Turned out, I was an ELEPHANT. Who knew? I mean, certainly there was no physical resemblance I could see, but as I read on, I learned the elephant exemplifies the “art of communication,” both in verbal and non-verbal skills. Additionally, the elephant excels at building relationships through the use of effective communication and has learned the true art of both listening and hearing the other side. I use these valuable skills every day with my clients and it has helped me immensely in my business.

Now that I was feeling better about being an elephant, I headed into our home office to offer this new realization to my wife, Chris. I told her my strength was in my ability to effectively communicate. I went on at length to demonstrate the point and even likened myself to Ronald Reagan, “The Great Communicator.”

Seizing the opportunity according to her true nature, she just stared at me unblinking for a split second, and with her crocodile grin, said I “was full of s**t.”

I could only reply, “An elephant never forgets.”

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