Dare to move forward in 2024

Let’s keep the high of winning the World Cup alive, and positively impact what is around us

When the Springboks won the Rugby World Cup for a record setting 4th time in Paris in late October, it was for many South Africans the highlight of recent years. Even if you weren’t the biggest rugby fan, it was hard to not get caught up in the fanfare and sheer excitement of it all.
Why was it so exciting? Because we all love success. We all love the feeling of being aligned to excellence and swell with pride when “our team” beats the best that the world has to offer. There are so few times when we get to celebrate such a thing in South Africa, so there is little wonder that we look upon those individuals as national heroes now.
How do we as South Africans keep this high going, though? How can this monumental sporting moment become a catalyst for changing more everyday situations, and help us move forward with purpose in the new year?
It’s all too easy to just enjoy the Boks’ World Cup success in the moment and then move on like it barely happened. All too soon we fall back into everyday mindsets, return to the usual negativity around current affairs and the media. We get so caught up in what is happening around us, rather than trying to positively impact what is around us.
This of course is not just a uniquely South African thing. But as South Africans we can certainly rise above these somewhat default settings and do better in 2024 on the back of the Springbok example.
But what does moving forward with purpose really mean, and how do we make it more of something that we work and strive for?
This is something that Ex-Springbok World Cup winning captain John Smit is well suited to answer. Smit debuted for the Springboks in 2000 at the age of 22, and when he hung up his international boots 11 years later with 111 test caps he was very much considered a global rugby legend.
“I think in order to get into a mindset of success, and being successful, it’s important to first understand that success doesn’t just happen to a few people. A lot of the time people see successful people as lucky, or that they have been gifted certain attributes. Although, especially in a sporting sense, you get people who are genetically gifted or from privileged sporting backgrounds, success ultimately comes to those that work the hardest at it.”
Though seen as a successful leader and decorated player, it is perhaps Smit’s dealing with defeat and setbacks that ultimately made him the figure he is today.
“There are so many things that trip you up in your career and life in general. We all experience this, but it’s the ones that still dare to go forward no matter what — they are the ones who become truly successful. To reference the Springboks, they have been no strangers to defeat in recent times, but no loss against any opponent ever stops them from achieving ultimate glory, and this is something that all South Africans need to take to heart in their own lives.”
In a recent business venture Smit is looking to bottle the spirit of this message, literally. Along with 14 other international rugby stars he has created Avante Brandy. Avante translates to “moving forward”, and he and his team are doing so while very much celebrating the spirit of the game that we love.
Avante is a premium brandy made in the Cape. Made from the finest grapes and crafted into a golden spirit by a double distillation potstill process. It is then matured in French oak barrels, before being blending in cognac style to produce a memorable VSOP. There are certainly easier ways to make a brandy, but this very much reflects the diversity of the Avante team, and their shared passion for taking on the challenge and moving forward.
So be sure to raise an Avante this festive season with those near and dear to, and in doing so look ahead to the possibilities of 2024. It will be just as challenging as any other year, but it’s what you do with those challenges that takes you forward!

Avante is available in store or online at fine wines and spirit merchants Norman Goodfellows.

The post Dare to move forward in 2024 appeared first on The Mail & Guardian.