#aTypicalInterview: Reality TV star and author Samke Mhlongo on the key to success
|Published
Reality TV star, author and wellness coach Samke Mhlongo. Supplied image.
Johannesburg - This week we feature reality tv star, author, and wellness coach Samke Mhlongo.
Mhlongo is well known as the star of SABC1’s “The Queens of Mzansi” reality show.
She is also the author of the acclaimed novel “Ringfence” and is the founder of TNC Wealth Partners.
She was previously the voice behind the financial wellness features on Metro FM and Talk Radio 702; and has made guest appearances on local and international media outlets including CNBC Africa, Channels TV (Nigeria) and K24 TV (Kenya).
Her business accolades include being named UN MIPAD Top 100 Most Influential Persons of African Descent, “Entrepreneur” Magazine Top 50 Black African Women Entrepreneurs to Watch 2018, and Brand SA “Play Your Part” Ambassador.
Your favourite book growing up as a child was...?
My favourite story growing up was the Parrot Shah. It’s part of a collection of books that my ex-stepfather had gifted me for Christmas and the story is about a young Persian king that has the power to turn himself into anything.
You are able to collaborate on a book with any author in the world. Who do you choose to collaborate with?
The author I would collaborate with is Kevin Kwan, the author of “Crazy Rich Asians”. I know a lot of people will think “Oh, my God”. But I love what he did for the Asian culture more than his writing itself. I just love the way he changed the way in which the world sees Asians and what he did for them as people. The reason I want to meet with him and collaborate with him is to help me further that for the African people. The literary world is missing the modern upwardly mobile, culturally astutely worldly African.
What is the biggest misconception people have of you ?
The biggest misconception people have of me is that I am intrinsically confident. I am not. I have huge impostor syndrome that I am working on. I have a great deal of anxiety before I get on to the stage to deliver a talk and before I post on social media and I have an unhealthy relationship with failure. I am overly critical of myself when I fail and the misconception is that I am confident and nothing scares me. No, a lot scares me.
Your favourite item of clothing in your closet currently is...?
It would have to be my white faux fur coat that I bought at a pop-up store in the middle of Sandton City Mall. I don’t know if I will ever find a coat like that again. I don’t remember the name of the store or the stall, but it is just a beautiful fluffy piece of something that I hope will stick around to be a family heirloom that I can give to my grandchildren.
What one thing has caught your attention on social media in the last week?
The fact that celebrity blogger and cyberbully Musa Khawula’s Twitter account was suspended. I do believe that he has crossed the line a number of times in terms of abusing people’s right to privacy and dignity. The latest is a posting of a video showing Lulo Café’s private parts. I think Twitter’s decision to suspend his account is a good one.
Your go-to cheat meal is...?
My favourite cheat meal is fried potatoes. Give me fries, wedges, waffle chips, I don’t care, as long as its potatoes that have met heated oil. That’s it for me. I have zero willpower.
How would you like to be remembered?
I would like to be remembered as someone that enabled people to take back their power, to step into their power and to use that power for a positive impact on the world.
The key to success in your opinion is...?
The key to success in my opinion is 100% the ability to overcome your unhealthy coping mechanisms rooted in your childhood trauma. A lot of us stand in our own way. A lot of us are influenced by the voices we hear in our heads that are a response to what happened to us in our childhood when we felt helpless.
You have just won the Lotto with R50 million. What's the first thing you buy?
O lord, have mercy! First thing I would buy is a house in Buckhead, Atlanta in the US. A classic Atlanta home, red face brick, black shutters and doors and roof. Sprawling lawns with those round bushes. That is my dream.
You are able to star in any reality TV show in the world. What do you choose to star in?
“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”, of course! It is probably the only TV series I watch unprovoked. Why? Those ladies represent a world I always wanted to live in and I was a huge “Clueless” addict back in the late 90s when it was a series on M-Net.