The Sunday Mail
Book Review
Edmore Zvinonzwa
Growing up usually meant going to school to get an education and looking for a job thereafter.
In the old days, the trendy jobs were teaching and nursing, among others.
The dream was getting a job and drawing a salary. This is the mentality that Arthur Marara — a passionate advocate for change — seeks to challenge in the book “Toys for Adults”. Marara’s real-life experience as an attorney and personal desire for development is evident in the book.
A salary will never be enough, he argues.
“There is no future in shoddy deals, but there is future in step-by-step wealth creation and wealth transfer… Consequently, wealth and long-term financial strategies cannot ever be quenched by a salary, no matter how sugar-coated,” reads part of the book. He also touches on the demand and supply of jobs.
“Certainly, in our otherwise struggling economies, we have seen a mismatch and misalignment between the demand and apparently oversupply of jobs. There is, therefore, a legitimate need to consider more out-of-the-box holistic thinking and a search for a more enduring means to wealth creation.”
In an interview, Marara said “Toys for Adults” equated salaries to toys.
“Salaries are toys because they are meant to entice an adult to continue coming to work. My challenge to the nation is how we can broaden our income base. If your contract gets cut off and you have never thought of anything outside the salary, the aim of the book is to help you get to a point where you can develop multiple streams of income,” he said.
“The transformation of education is fine but we should realise that we can change the syllabus, but as long as we have not changed the mindset of those who are entrusted with implementing the curriculum, then we are not doing anything.
“You cannot expect a teacher who knows nothing about entrepreneurship to teach that to anyone. We need to capacitate the teachers themselves with the skills on entrepreneurship. That way, they can also be able to add value.”
Entrepreneurship, he added, must be made a mandatory course. This way, people will be able to monetise whatever they are studying, be it law, agriculture etcetera.
“We have got people who are teaching Master of Business Administration (MBA) who are very broke; very good economists who are stranded; very good Business Administration tutors who cannot run any business. We must focus on skills development. There is a huge disconnect between the pace at which we are releasing graduates and jobs.”
Marara is a man of many hats.
He is an award-winning attorney, entrepreneur, phenomenal business and transformational speaker and author.
He wrote the “Shine Series” of Advanced Level history and divinity. With 18 books under his belt, he aims to get to forty titles.
“I have released three books together with ‘Toys for Adults’. The other two are ‘No one is Coming’ — a call for Zimbabweans to take charge and responsibility for their lives — and ‘Take A Lesson From the Ants’. There are so many things we can learn from these creatures,” he said.
“Toys For Adults” is a must-read book for those who are tied to a job and those who buy the labour. Marara has the ability to command the stage with delightful humour, energy and a wealth of life experience.
He is passionate about peak performance, strategy, financial wellness, team-building, culture shift and personal development.
His biggest inspiration is his mother.
“My mother is my greatest inspiration. When my father died, when I was 13 years, she could have just moved on and started life elsewhere as she was still young, but she did not. When one makes such a sacrifice, she earns my respect. I am really blessed to have her in my life.”
Marara’s books were approved and recommended for use in learning institutions by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. Educated at Mucheke High School in Masvingo, the versatile character has since graduated with a Bachelor of Laws LLB (Hons) and is also a holder of a Masters in Laws (LLM) with a special focus on commercial law, both from the University of Zimbabwe.
