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Tiisetso Maloma is a South African author of 8 books. He is also an entrepreneur, innovation scholar, and Stoic. In the last twelve years, he has co-created and launched over 100 self-funded products in multiple industries. Tiisetso studies innovation from an evolutionary lens. He has two published books on the topic: Innovate the Next and Understanding the 4th Industrial Revolution. His other books include The Anxious Entrepreneur, Forget the Business Plan Use This Short Model, Township Biz Adjacent and Township Biz Fastrack.
His upcoming book, Money is Biological, details how biology has had the action potential to enable money since 3.8 billion years ago. It follows the human inventive brain over millions of years and further looks into the future of money given today’s newer currencies, such as decentralized money like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Tiisetso’s topics explore and marry diverse domains such as innovation, entrepreneurship, anthropology, complexity, creativity, biology, evolutionary psychology, and economics. His love of creation and teaching “how to” led him to become a guest lecturer at business schools such as Wits Business School and Johannesburg Business School.
Maloma has been featured on CNBC Africa, How We Made It In Africa, The Huffington Post, Under 30 CEO and, Destiny Man.
Maloma’s founded and co-founded businesses include Bula Buka, Startup Picnic, Gabble Heights Clothing, eKhaya Moji, and Defuse Anxiety.
Ubuntu means humility. It’s an Africa philosophy that is carried through proverbs mostly. These proverbs usually reinforce motivation, humility, inspiration, meaning, and cautionary discipline.
Tiisetso Maloma
How did you become interested in this area?
We are all ever looking for mental frameworks that can help us navigate the world better. I was raised Christian and at some point, in my early twenties, I became a borderline atheist. I was searching for meaning. Still, in search of meaning, I went back to believing in God. I think from that point on, I was open to exploring meaning in different areas. It wouldn’t take away from my faith but overall add to me as a person.
A few years later I was going through some anxieties brought about by the venture that is entrepreneurship. Then through podcasts, I discovered Stoic philosophy. It resonated with me practically. Then Stoicism became my go-to philosophy. II find its perspective healthy for me. I would eventually write a book on the subject, Introducing Ubuntu Stoicism: Gain Joy, Resilience, Productivity, and Defuse Anxiety.
Ubuntu means humility. It’s an Africa Philosophy that is carried through proverbs mostly. These proverbs usually reinforce motivation, humility, inspiration, meaning, and cautionary discipline. I am South African, and I grew up on our vernacular proverbs. Ubuntu and Stoicism play hand-in-hand, in my opinion. They both caution and reinforce healthy and productive perspectives.
What’s the most important concept or idea that you teach people?
That philosophy is about healthy perspectives. A healthy perspective carries you in good and bad times. In bad times, if you do not have a healthy perspective, you can entropy into chaos. As Marcus said,
Does what’s happened to keep you from acting with justice, generosity, self-control, sanity, prudence, honesty, humility, straightforwardness, and all other qualities that allow a person’s nature to fulfil itself? So, remember this principle when something threatens to cause you pain: the thing itself was no misfortune at all; to endure it and prevail is great good fortune.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
It’s good counsel. Imagine if someone makes you angry. The aforementioned quote is a good reminder to not let this anger spill into your other interactions (e.g., with family).
So, I say to people that they should collate perspectives that they deem useful in living a good life. These perspectives could be in the form of quotes. It could be quotations by others and even their own. They should read them often, at least weekly.
…we’re not always perfect. Therefore, we need to extend grace and humility to ourselves as well.
Tiisetso Maloma
What do you think is the most important piece of practical advice that we can derive from your work?
That philosophy is a collection of good perspectives to try to live a virtuous life. This virtuous life cannot be lived in words but through action. Philosophy is reading these good perspectives often. It’s a good reference point to see if we are living per our ideals.
Also, that we’re not always perfect. Therefore, we need to extend grace and humility to ourselves as well. It is the Ubuntu part. Ubuntu means both grace and humility. Philosophical people can be hard on themselves harshly.
Do you have a favorite quote that you use?
Yes, my own personal reminder.
Philosophy is perspective. Perspective is either healthy or unhealthy. A healthy perspective does not mean the situation is good necessarily. If you are in a bad situation, the healthy perspective is to act upon the probability that if you let yourself disintegrate, you will entropy in chaos.
Tiisetso Maloma
I created this reminder to mind the lens in which I view events and the world.
What advice would you give someone who wanted to learn more about what you do?
I’ve been blogging for over 10 years about my entrepreneurship ventures. I think the best place to start is there, my blog and its newsletter. Otherwise, the content is varied. There is an amalgamation of entrepreneurship, innovation, life advice, comedy, philosophy, satire, and other little pockets of interests that I have.
Suppose you were able to give a talk or workshop at the original location of Plato’s Academy, in Athens.
I would feel fantastic. Even the mental image of it feels good.