His passion for youth development, also, began in university where he Co-Founded and worked on a variety of young leadership development projects which furthered his passions for developing the next generation of leaders and inspiring people within his generation.
His most notable programme was the Emalahleni Young Leader Development programme, which focused on the 4 main reasons why students drop out of university. Using career development programmes and life-skills interventions, this programme assisted students from previously disadvantaged backgrounds in Emalahleni to be better prepared for university & find financial support where needed.
This programme not only increased pass rates in some of the schools but also assisted certain students in obtaining funding for their tertiary studies.
In 2011, at the age of 23, Simon was asked to join the Co-Author team of Oxford University press, co-authoring the Grade 7-9 and 11 Life Orientation textbooks. This was due to his unique view on life principles and ability to translate them to young people. At last count, these textbooks had sold over 80 000 copies.
In his current role Simon works with a variety of projects in the Young Leader Development space. He works with companies, state owned enterprises and professional bodies in furthering their young leader development objectives, both within and outside their companies.
He has worked with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants on their Thuthuka Development Camp, Eskom Development Foundation, SABC Education and multi-nationals such as Ernst and Young, Investec, FNB and DHL, this is excluding his work at educational institutions.
Many of these relationships are mutually beneficial relationships. Because of his collaborative spirit and his ability to serve his clients’ needs, he is asked to render his services in other spheres indirectly linked to his motivational talks.
Simon has chosen to uniquely focus on the above three audiences:
“I am passionate about my generation. Remember that our generation did not have to fight for liberty, we have a different responsibility. Firstly, to the generations before, to honour their memory by developing ourselves.
I enjoy helping people become better individuals. I like the process of alchemy, of making something better. I also love the art of inspiration, where you illuminate a person’s heart and mind.
When you think about it every generation has unique responsibilities. We must appreciate the hard fought liberties we have and use these liberties to better ourselves.
Personal development is both a right and a responsibility, even our constitution mentions that one of the goals of our democracy is to ‘…free the potential of each person.’ Unleashing your potential is not only important for yourself and your immediate surrounding but it is also valuable for your country.
I am driven therefore by the multiplicative effect of personal development. In inspiring a person you not only inspire them but everybody else that will be influenced by them.
I call it the multiplicative effect of inspiration”
Since he was a schoolboy Simon Mtsuki has been known as ‘Mr. Big Mouth’. He was famous for butting into old people’s conversations, disrupting classes and back-chatting teachers.
This also earned him a couple of infamous prizes: He is the undisputed champion of detention in his primary school, he was the first student ever to earn himself a place next to the principal’s office because of his big mouth and a series of appointments to a psychologist after his teachers unanimously agreed there was something wrong with him.
“I caused my mother a lot of stress, but I don’t think I was really a mischievous kid, I was just a kid who had not found his talent.”
After being expelled from a private Christian school at the end of Grade 9, Simon stumbled upon the art of public speaking. In grade 10 he achieved 2nd place in his first ever schools speech competition in Emalahleni.
In 2005 while in Grade 11 Simon Mtsuki was elected Member of Youth Parliament of Mpumalanga, after a speech to the regional council. In the same year he met Vusi Thembekwayo at a Thuthuka Development Camp and took some of his advice about launching a speaking career.
His first motivational talk was to teachers of Hoerskool Patriot in 2005. From then on he built his profile, as a motivational speaker and in 2006 (at the age of 18) he signed his first client.
