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Cure for Cancer?

September 17, 2026

Dannydaniels Uncategorized , Leave a comment

She Grew a Virus in Her Lab and Cured Her Own Cancer.. So here is…. The Complete Story of Viral Therapy

Imagine being told your cancer is back. Again. And you can’t face another round of chemo the kind that leaves you weak, bald, and barely able to get out of bed.

Now imagine you’re a virologist. You have access to a lab. And you decide to grow your own cure.

That’s not a movie plot. That’s the true story of Dr. Beata Halassy and it’s changing how the world looks at cancer treatment.
LET’S BREAK THIS DOWN….
· Viral therapy uses viruses to infect and burst cancer cells, then wakes up your immune system to hunt cancer elsewhere.
· Dr. Beata Halassy, a virologist, treated her own recurrent breast cancer with viruses she grew in her lab. Her tumour shrank by 63% and she remains cancer-free years later.
· Two oncolytic viruses are now FDA-approved for melanoma, and trials are showing promise in pancreatic and brain cancers.
· Side effects are much milder than chemo or radiation mostly flu-like symptoms.
· For Kenya, the treatment is not yet routine, but the market and research interest are growing.

Lets talk about Dr. Beata Halassy….The Scientist Who Became Her Own Patient

Dr. Beata Halassy is a virologist at the University of Zagreb in Croatia. In 2016, she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)…which is the most aggressive and deadliest subtype of breast cancer. She had surgery and chemotherapy.
In 2018, it came back. She had surgery again.
Then, in 2020, at age 49, the cancer returned for a third time a 2-centimetre tumour at the site of her previous mastectomy, now invading her skin.
She was out of good options. More chemo? She couldn’t face it.
But she wasn’t just any patient. She had spent decades studying viruses. She knew about oncolytic virotherapy (OVT)….using viruses to kill cancer cells and she knew it had never been approved for breast cancer…
So she decided to try it on herself.
What She Did.. Step By Step…..

Dr. Halassy didn’t just grab any virus. She carefully selected two viruses she had worked with before and that were known to infect the type of cells her tumour came from:

  1. Measles Virus (Mev)…This the same strain used in childhood vaccines, with a well-established safety record.
  2. Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)… This is a virus that at worst causes mild flu-like symptoms in humans. I am sure you can see where this is going…

She grew both viruses in her own academic laboratory. They were research-grade, not clinical-grade meaning they weren’t manufactured under pharmaceutical standards. But this didn’t stop her…
A colleague administered the injections directly into her tumour over a two-month period… seven injections of measles virus, spaced 3–4 days apart, followed by three injections of VSV. After surgery to remove what was left of the tumour, she received one more measles injection as a preventive measure.

Her oncologists monitored her throughout. If anything went wrong, they were ready to switch her to conventional chemotherapy.

The Results: From 2.47 cm³ to 0.91 cm³

The outcome was remarkable.
In just two months, her tumour shrank from 2.47 cm³ to 0.91 cm³ — a 63% reduction. The tumour changed from a hard, fixed lump with inflamed skin to a soft, movable nodule. Its invasive edges receded, making it far easier for surgeons to remove.
When pathologists examined the removed tumour, they found something even more important…the tumour was completely infiltrated by immune cells. Now before internet doctors attack… let’s be specific:
· CD20-positive B cells jumped from 10% to 70%
· CD8-positive T cells jumped from 30% to 60%
· Macrophage infiltration also increased
· The tumour shifted from PD-L1 negative to PD-L1 positive meaning it became a target for immunotherapy

In plain English for simply sake…. the viruses didn’t just kill cancer cells directly. They woke up her immune system and turned the tumour into a battlefield. Her body’s own defences joined the fight. Meaning the barrier the cancer cells had created to protect themselves was broken down… the way Gen Zs did to parliament and ate waheshimiwa food.
She experienced no severe side effects. Just some mild flu-like symptoms. Years later, she remains cancer-free.

So… How Does Viral Therapy Actually Work?

This is the part that sounds like science fiction. Let’s break it down into three stages.

Stage 1: The Virus Finds and Enters Cancer Cells
Oncolytic viruses are either naturally occurring or genetically engineered to target cancer cells specifically. Cancer cells often have defective antiviral defences their interferon pathways are broken, or they display unique surface receptors that normal cells don’t have.
Scientists exploit these weaknesses to design viruses that can only replicate inside cancer cells.
Think of it like a key that only fits one lock. The virus circulates through the body, but it can only “unlock” and enter cancer cells. Normal, healthy cells are left alone. Immune system loves this bit about the whole thing unlike chemo.

Stage 2: The Virus Replicates and Bursts the Cancer Cell
Once inside, the virus hijacks the cancer cell’s machinery to make thousands of copies of itself. The cancer cell swells and eventually bursts open a process called oncolysis.
This releases….
· New virus particles that go on to infect neighbouring cancer cells
· Tumour-associated antigens (TAAs)…bits of the cancer cell that the immune system can recognise
· Damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) molecular “danger signals” that scream “INTRUDER!..MWIZIII!!” to the immune system

Stage 3: The Immune System Gets Recruited
This is the most powerful part and the reason viral therapy is considered a form of immunotherapy, not just a direct killer.
The danger signals released when cancer cells burst attract dendritic cells, the “generals” of the immune system. These cells pick up the tumour antigens and present them to CD8+ T cells and CD4+ T cells training them to recognise and attack cancer cells throughout the body…
Activated CD4+ T cells secrete interleukins like IL-2 and IL-12, which further stimulate cytotoxic CD8+ T cells. Natural killer (NK) cells are also activated, releasing IFN-γ and TNF-α.
This means the virus doesn’t just kill the tumour it was injected into. It teaches the immune system to hunt down cancer cells that may have spread elsewhere. This is called the abscopal effect and it’s why viral therapy can potentially tackle metastases far from the injection site.
The virus also modifies the tumour microenvironment (TME)…. the “neighbourhood” around the tumour. Many tumours create a suppressive environment that shuts down immune cells. Oncolytic viruses can reprogramme this environment, making it hostile to cancer and friendly to immune attack.
The result is what scientists call a “hot” tumour… one that’s infiltrated with T cells and ready for immune-mediated clearance.

Here is The Big Breakthroughs: From Melanoma to Pancreatic Cancer

Melanoma: Two FDA-Approved Viruses

  1. T-VEC (Imlygic)… This was approved in 2015 for melanoma. Real-world data from 2025 showed median overall survival of 35.5 months in heavily pre-treated patients, with a 67% objective response rate and 35% complete responses.
  2. Tudriqev (RP1) Now this has been approved August 2026 for advanced melanoma that has stopped responding to immunotherapy. In the IGNYTE trial of 140 patients, the objective response rate was 24.2%, with a median duration of response of 14.1 months.

The therapy is a genetically modified herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) engineered to selectively target and destroy cancer cells. It is administered in combination with nivolumab (Opdivo). The FDA granted accelerated approval based on these results, with the manufacturer required to conduct post-approval studies to verify clinical benefit.

Pancreatic Cancer: The VIRAGE Trial
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest….with 5-year survival below 10%.

The VIRAGE trial tested an oncolytic virus called VCN-01 combined with standard chemotherapy in metastatic pancreatic cancer. Patients who completed four treatment cycles achieved median overall survival of 14.8 months versus 11.6 months with chemo alone a 56% reduction in risk of death.

Median progression-free survival was 11.2 months versus 7.4 months with chemotherapy alone.

The oncolytic adenovirus showed a manageable safety profile, with most serious treatment-related adverse events resolving. The trial met its primary endpoints of overall survival and safety, supporting advancement to larger phase 3 trials. According to information I can gather so far.

Breast Cancer: Dr. Halassy’s Case

Dr. Halassy’s case remains the most dramatic example of viral therapy in breast cancer. She is the reason I wrote this article, I was really impressed by her story and decided to go down the rabbit hole. Because no OVT agent has yet been approved for breast cancer anywhere in the world but her self-experiment is a powerful proof of concept. Having come from Meru where cancer is more prevalent than any other part of Kenya… I have been very interested in cancer information and research and she is my hero.

How Safe Is It? The Side Effects Showdown
This is where viral therapy truly shines.
A comprehensive comparative analysis found that severe side effects (WHO grades 3–4) are simply not observed with oncolytic viruses, while they are seen with all other systemic therapies chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and even CAR-T cell therapy.
In the pancreatic VIRAGE trial, the most common adverse events were manageable and resolved. The safety profile was favorable compared with conventional cytotoxic therapies.

Here’s how it compares…..

· Chemotherapy kills all fast-dividing cells. That means hair loss, nausea, bone marrow suppression, organ damage, and cumulative toxicity. Severe side effects are common.
· Radiation damages DNA in a targeted area. It can cause skin burns, fatigue, and local tissue damage. Severe effects can happen.
· Viral therapy selectively kills cancer cells and activates the immune system. Most patients get flu-like symptoms, fever, fatigue, and injection-site reactions. Severe side effects are rarely observed.

Dr. Halassy’s own case proves that… she experienced no severe side effects from a treatment that would have sent most chemo patients to the hospital.

Now What does This Means for Meru and for Kenya as a whole?

Kenya records approximately 44,000 to 48,000 new cancer cases annually, with over 29,000 to 32,000 annual deaths. Meru hospice last I checked had reported around 2,350ish cancer cases between 2004-2018. I don’t have any recent data but will do in due time. Stomach cancer is the leading cause of death in cancer related deaths in Meru. So what does this mean?
This translates to at least 80 Kenyans dying from cancer every day, while 125 new cases are recorded daily, according to the National Cancer Institute of Kenya (NCIK).

The country currently has more than 100,000 cancer patients undergoing treatment, with about 50,000 new cases diagnosed each year. The most common cancers treated at major facilities include breast, cervical, prostate, and colon cancers. Now this brings a problem of doctors but I wrote about that in my previous article. So kindly check it out.

But here is the good news….the Kenya Oncolytic Virus Therapies Market is growing, driven by rising cancer cases and government initiatives. The Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) regulates these therapies, and partnerships like Bio Usawa and BioVax are working to strengthen local biologics manufacturing with an initial focus on cancer and autoimmune diseases.

The challenges are real… high cost, limited awareness among healthcare providers, and lack of specialised facilities equipped to administer these treatments. The NCIK has also highlighted critical workforce shortages, including an inadequate number of oncologists and a severe shortage of pathologists needed for timely diagnosis. Again I covered this in my previous post.

By despite these hurdles, Kenya’s government is taking steps to improve cancer care. The National Assembly Health Committee has pledged to push for increased funding for the NCIK, with allocations rising from Sh40 million to Sh349 million in recent years. Kenya has also launched a National Cervical Cancer Elimination Action Plan 2026–2030, focusing on HPV vaccination and expanded screening.
For a Kenyan patient today, viral therapy is not yet a routine option. But it’s coming. And stories like Dr. Halassy’s show why it matters.

The Bottom Line….

Is viral therapy the new cure for cancer? Not yet not for every cancer, and not for every patient. It works best for certain cancers… Like melanoma, some pancreatic cases, glioblastoma and often in combination with other treatments. So sorry if I misled you with the headline….

But is it a game-changer? Absolutely. Here’s why:

  1. Safety profile is dramatically better than chemo or radiation.
  2. It trains your immune system to fight cancer long-term.
  3. It’s expanding … from melanoma to pancreatic, brain, breast, and colorectal cancers.
  4. Two FDA approvals in a decade, with dozens more in trials.

Dr. Halassy’s story is not an invitation to try this at home. She was a trained virologist with a lab, decades of experience, and oncologists monitoring her every step.
But her case is a powerful proof of concept a reminder that sometimes the most feared things in nature can become our strongest allies.
Cancer is scary. But science is catching up. And viruses the very things we fear …might just become one of our strongest weapons…

I am not an expert so I am always happy for any corrections.
Danny’s Desk…

Rewiring Your Stress Response

August 22, 2026

Dannydaniels Uncategorized , , Leave a comment

If there is one truth I have learnt from years of studying human behaviour, it is this: stress is not a personality flaw it is a learned response. And here is the good news anything that can be learned can be unlearned, or at the very least, reshaped. Let us look at your stress not as an enemy to defeat, but as a behaviour to understand, manage, and gradually recondition.

Emergency Behavioural First Aid (When the Alarm is Ringing)

In behavioural psychology, we understand that when stress hits hard what we call acute distress your body enters a state of high arousal. Your sympathetic nervous system fires off like a burglar alarm. In that moment, your prefrontal cortex the part of the brain responsible for rational thought and decision-making essentially goes offline. You cannot think your way out of a panic. You must behave your way out of it.
Here are four evidence-based behavioural techniques to bring your system back to baseline:

  1. The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Protocol
    Anxiety is future-oriented; it lives in “what if.” Grounding is a behavioural intervention that anchors you to the present stimulus environment. It is a form of stimulus control redirecting your attention to neutral, observable inputs.
  • Name 5 things you can see (the blackboard, your desk, your shoe).
  • Name 4 things you can feel (the collar of your shirt, the bench beneath you).
  • Name 3 things you can hear (a teacher’s voice, a bird outside, the wind).
  • Name 2 things you can smell (chalk dust, the air after rain).
  • Name 1 thing you can taste (the memory of lunch, or simply the taste in your mouth).

This is not wishful thinking. It is a deliberate behavioural shift that interrupts the anxiety feedback loop.

  1. Box Breathing…Conditioning the Relaxation Response
    When stressed, your breathing becomes shallow and rapid a conditioned physiological response. We can counter-condition this. Box breathing is a form of bio-behavioural regulation:
  • Inhale for 4 counts.
  • Hold for 4 counts.
  • Exhale for 4 counts.
  • Hold empty for 4 counts.
  • Repeat 4–5 cycles.

By repeatedly pairing this breathing pattern with calm states, you are classically conditioning your body to associate this rhythm with safety. Do it enough times, and your body will begin to relax automatically at the start of the pattern.

  1. Self-Compassionate Touch
    Physical touch releases oxytocin, which biochemically counteracts cortisol. This is operant conditioning at its finest you are reinforcing a soothing behaviour.

Place a hand over your heart. Feel your chest rise and fall. Cup your face gently. These are not dramatic gestures; they are small, repeatable behaviours that signal safety to your nervous system.

  1. The “Pause” Behaviour
    Behaviourally speaking, one of the most powerful things you can do is remove yourself from the discriminative stimulus — the trigger. Step away for 60 seconds. Go to the bathroom. Walk to the school gate. Sit under a tree.

Verbally label what is happening: “This is stress. This is a wave. It will pass.” Naming it creates psychological distance what we call cognitive defusion and reduces the behaviour’s intensity.

Building Resilience Through Behavioural Conditioning

Now we move from crisis management to long-term behavioural change. Remember: practice does not make perfect practice makes permanent. What you repeat, you reinforce. What you reinforce, you strengthen.

  1. Self-Awareness Without Judgment
    In behaviourism, we focus on what is observable. You cannot change a behaviour you do not track.
    Spend 5–10 minutes daily simply observing your thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations. Do not try to fix them. Ask yourself: What worked today? What went wrong? What can I do differently tomorrow?
    Name your emotions precisely. Instead of “I am anxious,” say “I am feeling anxiety.” That small linguistic shift creates what we call stimulus discrimination you learn to separate the emotion from your identity. Then locate it in your body. Is it a knot in your stomach? Tightness in your chest? The more specific you are, the more manageable it becomes.
  2. Challenging Cognitive Distortions
    Our thoughts are not facts they are internal verbal behaviours that have been reinforced over time. Stressful moments trigger clusters of negatively biased thoughts. We can reshape them through cognitive-behavioural restructuring:
  • Identify the thought: “My presentation was a disaster. I am a total failure.”
  • Examine the evidence: Was it truly a disaster? Did anyone nod? Did you finish the equation?
  • Develop a balanced replacement: “I stumbled, but I communicated the main points. It was imperfect, but it was not a failure. It was data for next time.”
    You are not lying to yourself. You are correcting a skewed behavioural pattern. The Circle of Control — A Behavioural Framework
    Much of our stress comes from directing energy toward stimuli we cannot control. Draw three concentric circles:
  • Inner circle: What you directly control your actions, your words, your sleep, your effort.
  • Middle circle: What you influence exam outcomes, group dynamics, a teacher’s mood.
  • Outer circle: What you cannot control the past, your parents’ decisions, the economy, other people’s feelings.
    Behavioural science is clear… reinforcement works best when applied to controllable behaviours. Direct your energy inward. That is where your power lies. Social Connection as a Reinforcer
    Stress and shame thrive in isolation. Behaviourally, vulnerability is a pro-social behaviour that elicits support a powerful positive reinforcer.

Reach out. Use “I feel” statements. Be specific: “Could we talk for ten minutes? I do not need advice I just need to be heard.” Speaking your struggle aloud is an extinction procedure for shame. It robs the secret of its power.

The Non-Negotiable Self-Care Triad
Think of these not as luxuries, but as maintenance behaviours required for optimal functioning:

  • Sleep: Sleep deprivation lowers your emotional threshold. Protect your sleep hygiene we have covered this before. A structured bedtime routine is a chained behaviour that cues your body to wind down.
  • Nutrition and hydration: Your brain is a physical organ. It needs fuel and water. Eat well. Drink water. I know we have talked about this as well but you need to hear it.
  • Movement: You do not need to run a marathon. A 20-minute walk around the school compound or your estate shifts your neurochemistry. Movement is a behavioural activation strategy it breaks the cycle of withdrawal and rumination. Increase your pace, remember a slow brain can’t order fast steps

Meaning-Making and Acceptance
Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, wrote: “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

Ask: What can this difficulty period teach me? How can I grow?

Acceptance is not passivity. It is the courageous behavioural stance of saying: “This is what is true right now. Fighting reality is causing me more pain. I will work with what is.”
You cannot negotiate with reality. But you can work with it.

When to Seek Professional Support

These tools are powerful, but there are times when the support of a therapist or counsellor is essential. Consider reaching out if:

  • Your distress feels constant and unmanageable.
  • It is interfering with school, relationships, or daily life.
  • You are using substances to cope.
  • You have thoughts of harming yourself or others.

Seeking therapy is not weakness. It is a targeted behavioural intervention like hiring a personal trainer for your mind. A professional provides a safe, confidential space and teaches you specialised skills tailored to your unique history.

Final Word

Hard times are, by their nature, hard. The goal is not to eliminate stress that is biologically impossible. The goal is to build a behavioural toolkit that allows you to navigate the storm with resilience, self-compassion, and skill.

You are not broken. You are learning. And every time you practise these techniques, you are strengthening new neural pathways literally rewiring your brain to handle adversity better.

Hard times come and go. You are the constant. You are never alone.

Keep showing up.

~Danny

Danny’s Desk

Game Theory

January 1, 2024

Dannydaniels Advice, Life, politics , , Leave a comment

Whether you are an economist, mathematician, political scientist, psychologist or just someone who loves reading. I am sure you have heard of Game theory.
This covers everything about life, from evolution to international relations. As new year starts I have been thinking about this, and one of the best people in this field is Prof Axelrod. He did a paper before I was born with his friend Prof Hamilton. Axelrod ran an experiment and I want to share my take on the results

Professor Axelrod Game theory experiment. Came up with these qualities to survive and thrive. Here are the Best qualities in life.
1. Being nice
2. Being forgiving
3. Retaliatory
4. Being clear

Being Nice.
Means don’t be the asshole first. This doesn’t mean you are not capable of being one, it just means you never strike first. You treat kindness with kindness and nasty with same measure.
Even in international relations, you will notice some of the countries media propagates as bad countries like China or Russia and lately Israel, they never throw the first punch. But they know how to respond with same measure and worse. But wait Danny, isn’t that tit for tat? Funny story, one of the programmes in the experiment was called Tit for Tat to date it’s been the best winner in the experiment.

Being forgiving
This means don’t hold a grudge and if they apologize and change, you will move on like nothing happened. To be honest I struggle with this part. But it’s a very good strategy, whether it’s country to country, business or even friendship. Remember a good settlement is better than revenge.

Being Retaliatory.
When someone strikes, strike back. Do it with such a blow that they will never think of trying it again. This is one of my life’s philosophy. If someone comes at you, swing your best. Better to die fighting than live a slave. Seen that in international relations or businesses? Friendship?
Don’t be a push over.

Being Clear
Don’t try to be too clever and outsmart others. Be clear and others will play with you. I found this astounding mostly from a psychology and behaviour perspective. Make things clear at first. Re it relationship, sex, business and even in politics. Unless you want to win short term.

Now, does this mean that nasty people wouldn’t succeed? Of course not. They will but not as many times as the people with the four qualities. Life is unfair but life also has equilibrium to equalise things and they always do. To you and me they might look as if things never happen as they should but remember to Life, your days are just a dot in a very big book. With time things equalise. Be it climate change, economies, and even small things. Some call this Karma. I call it life. If you don’t pay a price, your children will or their children. Every value in life has a price and the price will always have to be paid.

Life will send abnormalities along the way. It’s you to know when to strike and when to be forgiving. If you can’t filter the noises. The four strategies might not always work. You have to be deliberate in thinking beyond normal. Skillfully take away what is noise and what is a threat. Remember life is not chess. It’s not a zero sum game. You will never do way better than everyone. You just come up ahead a bit. You will lose as well. That’s a skill you have to learn. Learn to lose and lose gracefully.

The main point in this story is simple. Cooperation works, you don’t have to be a Christian or religious. You can cooperate for your own personal interests. (The foundation of this mortality is actually religious based, but that’s not the debate today)
Life has shown that only organisms that cooperate actually thrive. And the ones that don’t, go extinct. Be it people or even ants, to bacterias.
Cooperation pays, even among rivals.

Things I wish I knew in my early 20s

September 19, 2022

Dannydaniels Advice, Counsel, Encouragement, Life , , , , Leave a comment

1. Focus on becoming useful.

All this stuff about finding happiness and doing what you’re passionate about is a distraction. 

Focus on building your value to the world

Sure, experiment with lots of stuff first, but gradually begin focusing on being great at less…

Happiness will spring out of your sense of contribution

2. Put money aside.

When it seems like you have all the time in the world, saving money seems pointless.

But you will thank your younger self for putting away some cash into savings – because that shit grows and accumulates fast.

Create that account, then make it impossible to take money out.

3. You don’t need ‘fixing.’

Ignore people who say you need to work on your issues.

There’s nothing wrong with you. 

Thinking you have baggage and trauma keeps you in fear and limits you. 

Instead, focus on creating experiences, making others happy, and building cool things.

4. Society wants you weak and depressed.

There is more wisdom in you than in the crowd.

The net result of tuning into what the masses want for you is depression and a one-way ticket to Loser Ville. 

Follow what you know is right and ignore trends.

5. Don’t believe anything’ mainstream.’

Mainstream media is nothing more than entertainment designed to make you fearful so you depend on them for solutions.

The only advice I ever get is from happy people who are doing well.

Trends, the news, dietary advice, mainstream entertainment – all clueless.

6. Don’t become dependent on stimulants.

I always say that the less you need, the freer you are.

Stimulant addiction plays a major role in this, and will severely limit yourself, even seemingly inconsequential and ‘accepted’ forms of stimulation like porn, sugar, caffeine, nicotine, and video games.

Enjoy them occasionally if you need, but never get dependent.

7. Focus on making others happy.

We live in a narcissistic culture. 

You must fight against this hubristic trend that will inevitably lead to its downfall. 

You will win, regardless of the chaos, when you let go of yourself and focus on improving the lives of others.

8. Emotional control is your most important skill.

There’s no better way to ensure a terrible life when you struggle to manage your emotions.

You have work to do if you fly into a rage at a triggering. 

This kind of thing can ruin your entire life.

Developing the habit of remaining calm is the most important skill you can nurture.

9. Start becoming exceptional at one thing.

While everyone else is running around trying hundreds of things and never getting good at any one thing, you’re different.

But don’t sacrifice becoming a master at any one thing in the process.

The world lacks focused expertise, whether in fixing cars, marketing, plumbing, writing, or sales. 

This will get you far.

10. Trust no one, but be gracious.

Trusting no one doesn’t mean you’re a sociopath, it means you protect your time, energy and resources. 

You needn’t grow bitter.

You can be pleasant and courteous, but you can never assume trust from anyone. That’s ok.

Humans aren’t perfect, but you must remain rational and careful at every step.

11. Stop stopping.

Few are capable of finishing what they start. 

They get excited about some novelty, but the excitement soon wears off and they’re on to the next shiny thing.

Reps in anything will compound. 

So you must find strength in staying with boredom. 

Consistency is then inevitable, which lies at the heart of true success.

12. Don’t make decisions that could trap you for decades.

If there’s a chance you could make a very costly decision, avoid making it.

If you’re willing to deal with the worst possible outcome, then by all means, go for it.

But if you understand of what you’re getting into is even 5% hazy, steer clear.

13. Train your body.

Getting healthy shouldn’t be a habit you start in your thirties. It begins now.

Not only will your older body thank you for training and eating well, but you will spend your twenties feeling x4 better than everyone else.

You will gain a massive advantage over your hungover and anxious comrades.

14. Leave home.

If leaving your home town or country makes you nervous, that’s even more reason to do it. 

Travel shaped my character like little else, and I’m so grateful for spending most of my twenties living overseas.

You aren’t free if you can’t stomach the idea of being geographically flexible, especially in this chaotic world.

I’ve collected adventures and friendships across the globe, and this serves me and the man I am today.

DISCIPLINE 101

September 18, 2022

Dannydaniels Advice, Inspiring, Life , , Leave a comment

Show up daily

Discipline is built through repetition. 

Being consistent helps you build new habits which make it easier to stay focused on your goals.

Every day is a new day, you need to keep putting in the work

Design your environment for success

Make desirable behaviours easy and attractive, whilst making everything else more difficult.

It’s easier to go to the gym in the morning when you’ve laid out your gear the night before

Rely on habits (not motivation)

Motivation is a great energy boost that’ll help you at the beginning of your journey but it doesn’t last long.

But, habits make it easy to be consistent and stay disciplined—optimise for the long term

Use stepping stones (to reach your goals)

Big goals can be daunting and can feel impossible to achieve.

Instead, focus on setting short-term targets that’ll be easier to reach—seeing progress will motivate you to keep going towards your main goal

Make it rewarding

Staying disciplined isn’t easy.

It’s important to reward yourself and celebrate little wins along your journey.

If you don’t enjoy what you do, your discipline will eventually drop off

Build a support network

The easiest way to stay consistent with something is to have people counting on you or cheering for you.

The support of other people will motivate you to keep going, even when you feel like quitting

Narrow your focus

Don’t fall into the trap of spreading yourself too thin.

Keep things simple—you’ll have less to focus on which makes it easier to stay disciplined

Focus on yourself

Don’t compare your progress to other people—there are always going to be people behind you and people ahead.

Forget about them.

Worry about making yourself a little bit better than yesterday.

Use the 5-minute rule

If you have a simple task that takes under 5 minutes—do it right away.

Get the easy tasks off your list so you have time to focus on your more important work

Progress is better than the perfect plan

The time it takes to make a perfect plan is time you could use to make progress towards your goal.

You can’t plan for everything, so don’t try—take action and gather experience instead

Enjoy the moment 

The present is the only time you have—enjoy it.

It’s hard to stay disciplined if you’re always worried about the future or stressing about things that have happened already.

Live in the moment

Be flexible

Life’s unpredictable—not everything will happen the way you want.

Be prepared for that fact. 

Have backup plans and be prepared to change course quickly.

Discipline doesn’t mean sticking to a bad plan, you need the flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances

Understand your weaknesses 

Self-awareness is a powerful tool to build discipline.

When you know the areas you need to improve, you can actively work to get better.

Discipline is built when you tackle your weaknesses head-on, instead of avoiding them.

Focus on your circle of control

Worrying about things outside of your control causes unnecessary stress and anxiety that can hold you back.

Discipline means worrying about things you can impact, and forgetting about the rest

Things to teach your children

September 12, 2022

Dannydaniels Advice, Life, Parents , , Leave a comment

As a parent, you fear that you failed to prepare your kids for life on their own.

Preparing well for anything starts with covering some of the basics.

17 simple life kills your kids must have:

  1. How to do laundry:

Teach your kids how to wash and iron their own clothes. 

It’s hard to succeed in life wearing dirty, smelly clothes

  1. How to save and spend:

Schools don’t teach financial literacy.

You’ve got to teach your kids how to handle money.

Simple things like organizing money. 

10% put aside for giving.

10% for savings.

Small habit. Big, lifelong payoff

  1. How to introduce yourself:

Your kids will spend their lives making first impressions.

Make sure they know (and practice) the basics:

– Firm handshake

– Look the other person in the eye

– Speak their name clearly

– Repeat the other person’s name

– Finish with a pleasantry

  1. How to give a presentation:

Basic presentation skills are the foundation of a successful career.

Home is the perfect practice field.

Whether it’s verbal book reports or speeches about the merits of dessert,

Help your kids overcome the fear of speaking to a group.

  1. How to care for a vehicle:

At a minimum, kids need to know how to:

-Check oil. 

– Change a tire

– Check and add tire pressure

– Interpret the car warning lights

  1. How to complete minor home repairs:

I was taught nothing about home repairs growing up.

Which cost me a flooded kitchen and other shameful things. 

Most minor home repairs are shamefully simple.

Pick a few to tackle yourself.

And let your kids “help” while you do them

  1. How to plan a meal:

Fast food is expensive and unhealthy.

Teach your kids how to plan a meal from scratch, make a grocery list, and navigate the food market or supermarket 

A simple way to teach this is to give each child one meal per month to plan.

Then turn it into a fun learning event

  1. How to resolve relational problems:

The happiness of our lives is deeply tied to the quality of our relationships.

But all relationships run into trouble.

It’s your job to teach your kids how to work through them.

First and foremost, teach them how to apologize and forgive

  1. How to make a complex decision:

Kids must launch into the world confident that they can make tough calls.

Do *you* have that confidence?

If not, start there.

If you do, let them in on your decision-making process.

Then help them apply it in their world

  1. How to cook:

Kitchens are intimidating places.

With a little effort, it can become a place your kids feel comfortable. 

But it requires an invitation and some patience.

As you’re cooking, ask them to join in.

Work together, explain what you’re doing, and let them help

  1. How to push through pain:

My dream is to raise kids who are thick-skinned but soft-hearted.

Which is why I’m a huge advocate for team sports.

They force your kids to be uncomfortable.

If they can learn to keep going when things get tough, 

They’ll become unstoppable

  1. How to say “no” and “not yet”:

Many adult problems arise from our inability to say “no.”

We’re overcommitted, exhausted, and in debt because of it.

Teaching your kids to delay gratification and say no when necessary is critical.

Teach them to embrace loving limits.

  1. How to small talk:

If I ran the world, there would be a “small talk” class taught in every school.

All relationships – business and personal – start with small talk.

Yet so few people feel comfortable striking up a conversation with a stranger.

Make sure your kids do. 

         14. How to organize:

Kids don’t come into the world with complex systems for staying organized.

They’re wired for chaos and mess.

If you don’t correct it, you’re doing them a disservice.

Whether it’s their closet or notes from class,

Help your kids learn the power of tidiness

15.How to navigate transportation:

I have a friend who has a rule for his kids:

Once you hit 13, you’re in charge of logistics when we travel.

He teaches them:

– How an airport works

– How to call and use taxis

– How to catch a bus

By 16, they’re seasoned travelers

16. How to discern what’s good for them:

Years ago I wrote my definition of maturity:

Being able to see the difference between what’s good for you and what’s not,

And consistently choosing the good.

Not everything you desire is beneficial.

Help your kids learn to choose wisely

17. How to see the larger story:

I’m a believer in raising kids in a religious faith.

Yes, there are problems with it.

But it teaches them something incredibly powerful:

I’m part of a larger story. Everything is not about me. 

HiIt will help them put things in their proper place

THINGS TO TEACH YOUR SON

September 9, 2022

Dannydaniels Advice, Counsel, Life , , , Leave a comment

THINGS TO TEACH YOUR SON… 

1. How to clean and organize their space

A clean and organized man is focused. 
A disorganized man is a turn off.

Teach them how to;
• Make their beds
• Clean their rooms
• Stay clean and neat

It’s attractive.

2. How to cook

A man who knows several recipes is attractive.
There’s also no reason they should marry young because they can’t cook

3. How to dance 

Men dance, but not twerking on tiktok, Instagram and snapchat.
If you can’t, send them to a dance class. 
The world has enough soy already. 
Raise a strong son who can dance with his wife

4. How to talk to girls

You can’t teach him how to be a man.
But dealing with women is just as important as being a man.

He ought to know;

– When to talk
– What to say
– How to

You’ll give him an unfair advantage over his peers.

5. How to be kind but not overly kind 

Men grow thinking they should be saviors.
Let him know when to be kind and to who.

6. How to talk when it matters

Teach your son the importance of dealing with their issues before expecting anyone to help them. 

A “needy man” is despised.
As men, they should only tell enough but listen a lot


7. How to do laundry 

To raise an all-round son, he needs the basics. 
Most basic skills are boring but they’re vital.

8. How to be outgoing 

Your son should be out of his room unless it’s bedtime. 

The more he’s alone behind closed doors, the higher the chances he’s;

• Watching porn
• Jerking off to nude strangers online 
• Arguing with strangers on socials

He’d rather be with friends

9. How to stand on his own 

Your son is attached to your care and attention. 
Make it clear it’s not forever. 
He’ll have to stand on his own.
Life might be kinky but it’s fun

These things are rare nowadays. Raise your boy to be a man who can handle himself within the world around him

Five Deliberate Reasons you are Still Broke

September 6, 2018

Dannydaniels Advice, business, Counsel, Uncategorized , , Leave a comment

1. You are Just Lazy:

Let’s face it! Sometimes being broke is purely because of laziness. Yes there are some circumstances that may cause some people to be broke for no fault of their own, granted. But other times is just people deliberately deciding to be lazy. Too much TV, too much sleeping, too much Facebook and you want to make money. There are people who will just not do anything, they will not try… but somehow still expect money. These are the candidates for miracle money. Believe me, if you dedicate to work, and you keep working diligently everyday, in whatever your hands find to do you will find something that pays… It’s a law of work.. “he who does not work shall not eat…” Don’t look for money, look for work… And get me right, I didn’t say “look for a job” I said look for work.

2. You are too Superstitious: I will never understand how broke people are the most superstitious. Eeh. They are so averse to any money making opportunity and they look at every opportunity with an attitude, “what if I lose money?”… My friend, how much do you have to lose… Almost every opportunity your present to them, they are suspicious. And it is not possible to convince them… Especially if they have syndrome number one also… Laziness and superstition? Weapon of Mass destruction. They want risk free money making systems, which unfortunately do not exist… These are the kind of broke people who can write best seller books on “How not to Make Money”…, because thats all they see in every opportunity.

3. You think you Know Enough: Call a business seminar, even a free one, the broke will not come and they will be like “what can they teach us there?” Tag them a long business post, they comment, “didn’t finish reading, too long”.. They wont read books, even free ones. As far as they are concerned, they already know everything and depend on whatever little information they have in their head to make decision. They will engage in arguments & discussions and yet be so proudly arrogant in their ignorance and lack of logic. They find solace in their own empty heads… So even information about how to make money, they don’t listen because they think they have enough data already. They don’t understand, you only earn as much as you learn…

4. You Surround Yourself with Brokeness: Honestly, you stay in a broke neighbourhood, you have broke friends, you go to a broke church, and you have broke discussions… Who bewitched you? As I said, some circumstances are not your own making, yes, like where you stay… But having broke friends, going to broke places, having broke conversation? Those are your choices. You can choose today and say to yourself, “I may be broke, but I will no longer surround myself with broke circumstances”… Life is made in such a way that, through some induction and osmosis, you absorb whatever surrounds you and you soon start identifying with it. If you stay too long in a particular environment, you begin to internalise it and cannot describe yourself independent of your environment. Thats why you need to deliberately distrupt yourself from such environments by reducing how much time you spend surrounded by poverty for instance.

5. You are Financially Indisciplined: It’s funny how most broke people are the ones who don’t understand the power of financial discipline… The chap has been broke for a long time, and then they make a little money… Instead of thinking about how they can invest the money into tomorrow, they want to shine and prove they are not broke by living an extravagant life for the weekend. It’s funny how many broke people will be at the Chisa Nyama every weekend, trying to make a point to people who don’t know them, who don’t even care… And before the weekend ends, they are broke again. People who are not broke understand how to use money to make money… They don’t spend on unnecesary things just to show other broke people that they are not broke.

Thanks for reading

False Idols

September 4, 2018

Dannydaniels Advice, Life, Uncategorized , Leave a comment

 

In the bible, Exodus chapter 20 talks about the 10 commandments. The second one talks about false idols. An idol is anything or anyone who is regarded with admiration, adoration or devotion. Now each one of us has that person or thing they adore, admire Almighty? Think about it.

Do you have any false idols? A false idol doesn’t have to be a person. The first false idol was a calf made of gold, well it doesn’t sass me up, but who knows maybe it was a cute calf and the guy who made it had a miracle hand. Maybe false idols are anything that stops you from thinking about God, or anything that you admire or are devoted to it than your faith.

Take for example our gadgets, like phones. We rarely talk to anyone when we are with them. I admit, I also suffer from this problem. Our phones lead us astray most of the time. Some of us are in church but busy reading Kilimani Mums and Dads stories on a Sunday morning. We wake up to our phones before we say our prayers. We actual touch our phones before we touch our spouses. Some people sleep with their phones under their pillows. It is the last thing they check and the first thing they do in the morning.

Our phones have made pastors, bishops, and even politicians get in trouble. Don’t laugh at them, look at you. How many groups are you in on Facebook and WhatsApp? And most of them are not religion groups. Unlike my Paramedics group that we get our daily dose of the word of God and we never complain. Our brother, keep doing God’s work in that group. Heaven is waiting for you and maybe some of us

What if God asked you to give up your phone? You know he once asked Abraham to sacrifice his son; He actually sacrificed his own son about 2000 years ago. So it’s not crazy for me to think this, He can ask anything. So what would life be? You would need your watch, calculator, map, actual bible, dictionary, library, camera and many other things including a Walkman. I know some of you don’t even know what those are. Well those are some of the things your phone replaced including a calendar and a diary.

As much as we worship our tiny screen altars, we need them to run our day to day life. But don’t you be so much into your phone that you let life pass you by. Don’t lose your spouse or loved one over a piece of technology. And if God asks you to get rid of it, I will pray for you. Thank you for reading.

Millenials

August 25, 2018

Dannydaniels Advice, Counsel, Encouragement, Life, Uncategorized , , , Leave a comment

According to YouTube analytics roughly 80% of people watching it are under 35 years old. Marketers have invented a name for this demographic of impressionable young people they’re called millennials, others have labeled them generation Y. A millennial is anyone born after 1980, that includes myself and most of my readers. In fact millennials now outnumber every other generation.

but according to multiple studies, we are the most depressed generation ever. Psychology today reports that the suicide rate amongst young adults has tripled since the 1950s and terrifyingly suicide is now the second most common cause of death among college students. Between 2005 and 2014 the number of clinically depressed teenagers increased by more than half a million, three-quarters of whom were women every year more and more millennials are taking time off work and seeking help for mental health issues an even greater number of report extremely low job satisfaction and say that they experience difficulty maintaining relationships.

Young people always get a lot of stick, the older generation have always experienced ‘juvenoia’, a fear or hostility directed at the younger generation. This is nothing new baby boomers born just after the war had a strong work ethic, and believed that the amount of hours worked directly relational to their income. Baby boomers heavily begrudged the generation that came after them, Generation X. They were more independent they changed their careers more often and believed in a fair work life/balance. And now it has come full circle once again baby boomers and generation xers alike are resenting generation Y the millennials. Who have brand new values such as collaboration, work that actually meaningful and impactful, for having fun in the workplace and ofcourse free FOOD…

Do previous generation look down on upon us just because we’re different or is it more than that? Even time magazine has poked the millennial beast calling them “lazy, entitled narcissist” who still live with their parents. But unfortunately they could have a point, unike the generational divides of last century, there is a lot of research and statistics that suggest every bad label millennials have been tied with, maybe well deserved even if it isn’t strictly through our own fault. The cold hard facts don’t lie. The volume of incidents of narcissistic personality disorder is three times higher for people currently in their 20s than the average.

Are we really all in love with ourselves because we received 50 likes on our latest selfie? Experts believe there are very real, observable causes of this heightened narcissism. Millennials are the first generation that has been brought up on reality television and every year more than most superficial reality programming is shoved down our throats. Such programs advertise narcissism above all else, portraying looks and popularity as the source of fame and happiness. In such shows real human relationships are often shown as being cheap and disposable. And then of course there’s a social media swamp that drowns us all in a sea of likes, shares pins and follows.

Countless studies have shown that dopamine the pleasure chemical is released in the brain when we receive likes on our photos and videos. This system breeds narcissism at its very core. It appears that the more narcissistic we are and the most selfies we upload the more likes we will inevitably receive and sadly this actually makes us happy.

Experts also accuse us of being entitled. A recent study 40% of millennial believe they should be promoted every two years even if they have not earned it. Research shows that this entitlement to be given handouts, regardless of one’s performance, stems from an unusual place. Remember school sports day? Even if you came in last place you still got a trophy just for participating. As children we were always rewarded for taking part somehow, its the taking part that counts remember?  Countless studies have proven that this attitude created disingenuous and diluted sense of achievement and can be deeply damaging to our future expectations of what it really takes to achieve something.

This philosophy is unique to our generation, generation X-ers, baby boomers and those  before them were all brought up in a deeply competitive environment. It was instilled within them from a young age that rewards have to be earned through hard work and graft. They were not told that they were entitled to anything.

The so-called silent generation that lived through both world wars certainly didn’t feel entitled, they lived through the hardest times of modern history and everything they had earned, they had to cling onto with their lives quite literally. This meant that when they brought up their children, the baby boomers, they instilled within them a strict mentality of saving every penny and an extremely hard work ethic. They were told that nothing in life was for free or even expected. it was all up to them.

The baby boomers grew up and had children of their own generation x, thus they passed on the same hard work ethic. But then a huge shift happened in the global economy that changed everything. Generation x lived through a time of great prosperity, industry was on the rise and the world was finally dragging itself out of the pits that it had dug for itself during the war. This gen xers can do attitude made them and so they taught their children, us millennials that if you put your mind to it you can do anything and live a very successful happy life. Their parents have drilled in their head that You are special and unique, this has created the generation of people who believe that they are special. Millenials are fame obsessed too. In recent survey, millenials are four times likely to work as an assistant of a famous person than be a CEO of a major corporation. In a recent poll, teens were asked what they would like to do for a career 54% of 16 year olds answered, “become a celebrity”. Far gone are the days when becoming a celebrity was just a side effect of demonstrating unique talents to the masses.

Millennials are also lazier we have grown up with technology that can think for us and therein lies the biggest problem that’s ruining the lives of young people today, mobile phones. I know you’ve heard it 100 times mobile phones are bad for you, but do you really know just how damaging they are from mental health? Because the researcher is terrifying. So just imagine you’re enjoying a meal at a restaurant with family or friends how many times do you check your phone? Over the course of that, the average millennial checks their phone over 100 times per day and they touch, tap, swipe on their phone over 3000 times per day. Because we are all addicts. I mentioned earlier that receiving likes release dopamine, well so does 100 other things we do with our phones.

Taking a selfie, a picture of food or even writing status update that you just cooked the most amazing omelette of your life. All these acts release dopamine even before we upload them to the internet. The anticipation of multitude of likes and comments makes our brain go bonkers with dopamine. Within seconds we start to receive feedback, this instant gratification, instant approval from our peers. And it goes on and on round-the-clock we receive instant gratification when we wake up, peer approval before we go to bed and throughout the middle of the night the dopamine swirls and swirls in our brain and its everlasting continuum of self fulfillment and reward.

This only serves to perpetuate or narcissism. Until it stops. When we upload a photo of chapo, avocado and toast mayai  (Kobi Challenge nayo) and it doesn’t receive as much attention as we hoped. In our minds our peers have rejected us, we are now lost without purpose we are now depressed. Does all this sound familiar? This cycle of massive releases of dopamine followed by periods of intense sadness sounds very much like an alcohol or gambling addiction, doesn’t it? Whether we like it or not, we have become a generation ofaddicts. We are so addicted that our phones sleep next to us, stay next to our food as we eat and the reason we have our loved ones in second priority to a little dopamine device it’s the reason we don’t talk to people on the bus, matatu (yes Kenya we have those), on the train, at school or work, we instead indulge wholly in our addiction because we are truly addicted and most of us don’t even realize.

A survey of more than 2000 millenials found that 93% use their phones in bed and 80% use their phones on the toilet. But its not your fault, Millennials are simply a product of the environment, this is the hands we were dealt, we grew up in a time of rapid technological advancement and as long as mobile devices continue to generate enormous profits then companies will continue to develop new digital mechanisms and social networks that provide us with instant gratification and it keeps coming quicker and quicker we no longer have to wait for our next fix. Its instantaneous we have snapchat, facebook, instagram, twitter, pinterest, whatsapp any of which can provide on next fix whenever we desire it.

Our parents didn’t have these distractions. They had to put work and effort into receiving the approval of their peers. They had to have meaningful conversations and form strong deep and long lasting relationships with both their friends and partners. At work they had to graft day after day, and when the promotion came along my god did they deserve it. In contrast millennials have become immensely inpatient we are so used to instant gratification that if we don’t get a promotion 10 minutes after we start a new job we get bored of it because its not in the timeline we are used to. We say we want to make impact, yet we expect do so within our first six months at a new job.

And when 6 months or year has gone by and we’re still the tea and coffee guy for the office it makes us feel disenfranchised, worthless and depressed. But it’s not your fault you have grown up in a maelstrom of dopamine on tap when ever you desire it, so naturally you expect the same instant fulfillment from your career and relationships. We can’t tap a button to help us achieve that, there is no virtual replacement for hard work and genuine conversations. We can’t swipe right to get promoted and I’m sorry folks but it’s going to take more than commenting on your partner’s latest selfie to make them feel genuinely valued and loved. Take them on a date, forget your phone for the entire time. Because the moment you do they are now priority.

So should we be worried about the future of a world run by these terrible millenials? in 10 or 20 years time? These narcissistic, self-obsessed, lazy, entitled young adults who want success handed to them on a plate? Who can’t tie down a relationship or achieve satisfaction in the workplace, because the’re too addicted to social media.

Well, yes we young people have our issues but we’re actually no different to the last generation. Also labelled as entitled and lazy when they were young. We need to recognize that the world has completely changed both technologically and culturally over the past twenty years, and millennials are the first of adopters of this strange new lifestyle. When you can build a billion dollar business from your bedroom if you put your mind to it. All our apparent faults are clearly symptoms of trying to adapt to a completely strange new way of life, that are parents didn’t have to deal with.

We face new pressures and stresses and challenges, and we need to find better ways to cope with them rather than indulging in social media. And for all of us there are actually good things to say about us millenials that are rarely brought up.  We are the most tolerable generation ever. Research shows that prejudice has fallen with each generation. Millenials are less racist, homophobic and sexiest than their parents. a Pew research asked adults aged between 18 and 29, what their most important priority was during their lifetime, 52% said good parent, 30% said have a successful marriage and 21% replied helping others.

Now that doesn’t sound like a generation that is completely self absorbed, Does it? And  in our inability to hold a normal 9-5 job, may not be entirely due to our reliance on social media.

Maybe its because we want more than the monotonous normality of working for some heartless giant corporation like suffericom who drink our bundles like juice. Research shows that millennials are the most entrepreneur generation ever. Spurred on by young do-it-yourself success stories like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg as its innovation we have an unstoppable appetite to achieve something big and make an impact, right after we are finished sending is hilarious snapchat.

This mentality might be proving difficult to some large corporations who need to employ cheap, young labour that can sit in an office and push buttons for 8 hours a day. But it’s certainly is changing the world in ways our parents could have never imagine. There’s no doubt that we need to spend more time interacting with one another and less time on social media. All the research has shown that it does bad things for mental health. But we need to accept that the world is rapidly changing. Millenials have their faults but they are changing the world in incredible ways just like the generation before us and the generation before that. Change has always come and always will, it is inevitable. So we need to find a way to work with it for the better instead of spending our time pointing out the faults in others.

Thank you for reading

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