Tribute To Nelson Mandela…
If you want to learn how to navigate your way through your human flaws to achieve great things, then Nelson Mandela is a shining example.
Mandela died 5th December 2013 at the age of 95. He was imprisoned for 27 years, between 1963 and 1990 due to his vigorous and sometimes violent campaign against South Africa’s Apartheid. This was a system which gave voting and many other rights exclusively to white South Africans.
I remember watching Mandela’s release live on TV as a 14 year old. This now elderly grey haired man gave an eloquent speech, broadcast live to millions of people across the world. This was just hours after being released from a 27 year prison term, That takes someone special. He was well aware of the impact his words would have for many years to come. This was a big moment.
Instead of preaching hate towards the minority white people, he pledged his commitment to fight apartheid and live peacefully side by side. “We cannot climb to freedom on the corpses of innocent people”. This takes a man of enormous strength to feel this way after such harsh treatment.
By 1994 Mandela had helped negotiate the end of the apartheid regime, and became South Africa’s first black president. He was also their first president elected by a vote from the whole of the population.
True to his word, President Mandela was committed to protecting white South African’s and encouraging them to stay in South Africa. This integration was Mandela’s main focus until his presidency ended in 1999. He knew that without successful integration, South Africa would still be a country full of violence and hatred.
Of course he was committed to improving the infrastructure to the black population. There was a massive gulf of inequality between the services offered to black and white people. Gradually he improved the provision of things such as health care and education.
Mandela gained global appeal because of his charisma and strength of spirit, refusing to be broken despite how he was treated. He fought with love rather than hate, and knew the importance of keeping everyone working together, rather than against each other. His strength of character served as an example for others to follow.
If you want to learn more about Nelson Mandela, check out his autobiography “A Long Walk To Freedom”. He wrote his inner most thoughts secretly during his 27 year imprisonment. Mandela is honest about his flaws as a human being, and shows that everyone has it in them to make a difference in the world.
To end our tribute to Nelson Mandela, I have included some of my personal favourite Mandela quotes. Feel free to share your favourites in the comments bellow…
Quotes
“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin or his background or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
“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.”
“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”
“There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”
“Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.”
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
“Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”
A BIG part of Mandela’s armoury was his brilliance as a public speaker. Even straight after 27 years in prison he was able to deliver an inspirational speech. Public speaking is all in your mind, and I can help you…
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By Jon Rhodes
Great tribute thanks. We have lost a true humanitarian that put his beliefs in front of his own wants. Here’s my favorite Mandela quote
“There is nothing like returning back to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered”
This is so true and has happened to me several times. It shows that you have grown, learned and changed in the time you were away.