DEBATE: Behind every successful man is a strong woman...

A woman’s touch boosts success A person’s success (not only a man’s success) depends on them; on how hard they work in order to achieve whatever they’re aiming for, true, but the continuity of that success as the person moves forward depends a lot on the support of the people around them and for men; a woman’s touch counts a lot. According to the Oxford dictionary, success is defined as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. That has a level of truth in it and my definition of success is just a little more than that. To me, it is the continuous accomplishment of an aim or purpose in all areas that make up life. That is to say, at work, at home and in daily life, basically working hard, earning a decent living, providing well for one’s family and most importantly, being content with what one is doing. With that in mind, women play key roles in maintaining this success. Success (great jobs and businesses) comes with a lot of stress, tough decisions to make and very frustrating times. Successful men are usually ready to face challenges and tackle them head-on with positive energy, the source of which largely originates from their homes. The key player in the home for this man is a woman with strong character that can stand with her husband in prayer during these times, and give him words of encouragement and be the first to believe in him and boost his ego before anyone else does. Men are a symbol of strength and leadership but at the end of the day, they are also human. They need someone to ask for advice, someone to speak their mind to and someone that is always there for them even when they make a mistake. Technology guru,Bill Gates, become the richest man in the world before marrying his wife Melinda, but some argue that it was Melinda’s influence that convinced Gates to spend billions on world health issues. Today, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundationis at the forefront of the fight against malaria and Aids in Africaand has been endowed with close to $29 billion to solve global health and education crises. According to research done by David Popenoe, Ph.D. on the National Marriage Project, Rutgers University, men become more productive after marriage; they earn between ten and forty percent more than single men with similar education and job histories. Encouragement and support from a spouse play a key role. Women and men are different when it comes to levels of patience and understanding and when a man and woman form a relationship where they support each other, a man gets a different perspective of things that he otherwise wouldn’t have had. And this is key when it comes to fitting into this dynamic world. At the end of the day, for anyone to be successful, they need to have support, and for men, women have filled that position best. patrick.buchana@newtimes.co.rw Some successful men have no significant women to thank If there is anyone who is forever grateful for her mother and sisters, it’s me. They have supported me even during times when I didn’t deserve their support and for that, I will forever be in indebted to them. There is no doubt that when it comes to dedication, there is no one who can beat a woman. Whether you are a man or woman, if you are lucky and a woman believes in you, you have hit a jackpot because she will never give up on you and she won’t stop till one of you is no more. That said; I would like to point out that while I believe that there are so many women who have sacrificed so much to support and push their husbands, or the men that they believe in to succeed, I think this statement would have been perfect if it hadn’t been generalised. Besides the fact that they owe their existence to a woman, there are many great men out here who have no significant woman to look back on and attribute where they are today to her. There are men who had no one, who were shuffled from one orphanage to another, till they left and hit the streets and tried to make something of their lives. Also, let us not get carried away. There are men who are doing great things for women. They are the unsung heroes who are raising, or have singlehandedly raised young women, who are changing the world. They are the teachers who pushed young women to compete with young men on the same level. They are people like President Paul Kagame who have made it their mission to prove to the world that women are equally capable of greatness. While I acknowledge the great work that women have done to contribute to the greatness of this world, let us remember that whether you are a woman or man, your success depends mostly on how hard you work in order to achieve whatever you have set out to do. Some support from another party can be an added bonus. The sex of the person supporting you could be male or female, and both are capable of taking you to another level. nash.bishumba@gmail.com

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DEBATE: Behind every successful man is a strong woman...