Blog about Leadership

Nelson Mandela has been back in the news yesterday and today. He celebrated his birthday in private with friends yesterday and today, publicly, with fellow presidents, village elders, and African royalty. For a man who has been through as much as he has, it is really great to see him healthy and vibrate at 90 years old.

I read a good AP article that mentioned something about Mandela that I didn’t know – he’s not one for oratory.  In his own words, Mandela said, “As you know I am not a speaker at all, and I am not going to make any exception on this occasion, except to say thank you for all you have done for me.” This is something to keep in mind with Barack Obama being such a sophisticated public speaker. Great leaders are not necessarily the best speakers – leadership requires a lot more than mere words.

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Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa, recently celebrated his ninetieth birthday, a few days early, with a concert at Hyde Park in London – his birthday is July 18th. Attendees at the event were the who’s who from the world of entertainment. The event, hosted by Will Smith, was set up to raise funds for Nelson Mandela’s charity.

Nelson Mandela is the oracle of patient leadership. His twenty-seven years in prison was the time required for his belief and effort in a free and democratic South Africa to fruition.

Quote from Nelson Mandela from his book - Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela:
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

Too often, fear of failure or fear of making a mistake hinders success or even breeds failure. Success is not necessarily the absence of failure, but sometimes the perseverance and conquering of failures.

Fear is merely a mechanism to focus the mind. Learn how to conquer fear and you will conquer any obstacle in life.

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