Yusuf Omar – Lifestyle | 20 October 2016

Last month seen the passing of a man who will remain in the memories of the masses for a long time. He was a man that brought happiness and smiles to many of our faces. Not only did he strive to make life easier for us, but he opened up a world of new opportunities wherever he went.

During his peak, he was a giant in his field. A mastermind and an innovator. In fact, his brilliance was such that, as far as I can remember, he had no competitors. When he burst onto the scene, I was in my teen years and it was indescribable. The things he could do, was never done before. In school, students never stopped talking about him. Being associated with him was a thing of pride in many social circles and like every other celebrity, there were certain elders that had their reservations regarding him. My classmates never stopped talking about him. Before school, after school, even during the lessons he wasn’t forgotten. Some friends went to sleep thinking about him and followed it up with a few thoughts when they woke up. What can I say, he swept us off our feet. He was what you would call a ‘game changer’.

His time to shine eventually came to an end. Age got the better of him and new celebs in his niche starting popping up all over the place. Just like that, within a short space of time, his once die-hard fans were flocking towards the newer, younger celebs. I’m guilty, I turned my back on him as well. Many forgot how he affected their lives and made it so much easier for them. They forgot the happiness and joy he brought to their faces. In fact, some actually deny ever being closely associated with him. How dare you!

You probably wondering who I am talking about. Who is this person that I regard as a giant. He went by street name of Mxit, pronounced ‘Mix-it’. Yea, now you smiling aren’t you? Whatever I said thus far makes sense now right? Can you remember him? Born in Tradepost. I think his real name was Joe Banker. Chances are that you also regarded him as a giant.

Well, his no more. Even though he was away from the limelight in the past few years, our old friend Mxit passed on last month. Google it. I thought we can all take some lessons from his life. Not the lessons of how to chat without looking at the keypad or the lessons of how to charge a phone three times a day, but rather the lesson of how when the limelight left him, his greatest supporters followed suite.

The peak

When Mxit burst onto the scene around 2007, the world went mad. Never before could you have such chats, and it was basically free. The SMS system was the only thing that came remotely close to Mxit. Like many of us, as a youngster, Mxit aspired for greatness and worked hard towards achieving it. We all in this boat. We all put in effort to achieve greatness in the field that we enjoy. In trying to achieve this greatness and win the limelight, we sometimes go against our morals and ethics to please others. In trying to achieve this success we forget about happiness, we forget about family, we forget about doing things correctly. Some of us do see the limelight. At that time we think we are unstoppable. We think we hold supreme authority. We think those around us will be with us forever. Our pal Mxit thought the same.

There’s an expiry date

Although Mxit enjoyed his heyday for a few years, eventually innovative technology made him seem old. New apps and instant messaging platforms like Whatsapp and BBM stole the show. First, the so called ‘traitors’ jumped ship. Next, it was the average fans that just needed something new, something simpler and something fresh. Finally, the ‘Mxit for life’ fans pressed ‘Delete’ because they eventually realised that their loyalty is keeping them behind (I say ‘pressed’ and not ‘clicked’ because in that era people said pressed. I don’t know why). A time soon came when Mxit was no more a companion, just a memory. We need to understand this. No matter which field we aim to succeed in, fresher, newer personalities will always arrive rendering us outdated. It has to happen. Irrespective of your talent, a day will come when your greatest, most loyal followers will flock to the new kids on the block. A time will come when you will just be mentioned in passing like how we mention Mxit during a conversation maybe once every year, if Mxit is lucky. It might shine very bright but eventually, the limelight switches off.

Family stayed with him.

In the past five years, the creators of Mxit stayed by its side when the rest of the world found happiness in other apps. I don’t know, I haven’t spoken to him but I’m sure he realized that during his time of difficulty and during old age, it was his family that looked after him. The ones that were there for him all the time remained with him till the end. Those that ran after him when he became popular ran away just as fast when he became old fashioned. Mxit’s creators tried to revive him and improve him but they eventually pulled the plug at the end of September 2016. But right to the end when Mxit’s keys were pressed for the very last time, his ‘family’ (Mxit creators) was there for him. Everyone else was busy enjoying with Whatsapp. Same thing with us. We can garner all the fame and success we want but during our old days, when our ideas are regarded as ‘old fashioned’, it is only our family that will be on our side. The people that seem to be there today won’t be there on that day. You don’t really blame them because they got their own lives to live. I wonder if Mxit left this world regretting the times he ignored his family.

Battery died, alone.

When he eventually died last month, he died a quiet death with his creators in mourning. The world forgot about him. In fact, his death is ‘news’ to many of you as you read this article right now. No one cared that he was sick. His once greatest fans had no idea that he even died. We should also understand that time will pass by and the people whose lives we once affected so much will also move on. Besides our family, at the time of our death, we will be alone. Many others who were legends in their fields died a lonely death. I’m not referring to what happens after death. That is a totally different subject. That requires more thought because even family is not there for that. I’m referring to death itself.

Don’t misunderstand my point. I am not saying don’t work hard for success. All I’m saying is don’t marry your success because one day that success, along with the loyal supporters, will be clutching on to someone else’s fame. I’m saying don’t forget family. They might not be the most interesting people in your life right now but a time will come when they will be the only people in your life. I’m saying don’t sacrifice your happiness to please others. One day, maybe years down the road, you will sit back and regret over the happy moments that could have been. One day, just like Mxit, we will find ourselves old and outdated. I suppose happy memories will keep us going in those days.

That’s the lessons I take from the life of Mxit. What lessons can you take from his life? Have you reached that stage in your life when happy memories are worth gold? I want to hear your thoughts on this subject. Leave a comment or drop me a tweet.

P.S. Our other hero Blackberry is on life support. Please pay him a visit before it’s too late.

@yusufspen