5 lessons learned from Nelson Mandela's life

On December 5th of the year 2013, the world lost one of the greatest man that has existed on the planet:’ Nelson Mandela’.

The South African statesman was aged 95 on the day he passed. This post is a tribute to his life and fight against injustice. If you are a reader living in South Africa, then you probably know a lot about Mandela, but if you live out of South Africa, you might probably need to deepen your knowledge over his life through research stored on the internet.

There are countless books that are talking about Mandela and they all seem to repeat themselves. This post is not a repeat of what has been said about him. If I have to summarize his life in few lines, it would go like this:

-Nelson Mandela was a South African man born in 1918.

-He was very handsome,determined and extremely wise.

-He had an ideal for his country. He fought against racism, injustice and apartheid.

-He was married three times.

-He spent 27 years of his life in jail.

-He was the first President of the democratic South Africa during 5 years.

-He forgave those who jailed him.

-He won the Nobel Prize of Peace.

-He passed on at age 95.

But I am pretty sure you already know that. Everybody talks about it…

Let’s talk about something different. Here is a question:

‘ As dreamers or purpose driven people, what can we learn from Nelson Mandela?

Here is my response:

‘ If you hold on tight to your hopes, you can see your dreams come true even when you seem to be expired.’

Did I say ‘expired’? Watch that word carefully and you will understand my post better.

Let’s go down memory lane and explore Nelson Mandela’s life. Each sequence studied , draws a life lesson we can apply to ourselves:

- In 1964, Nelson Mandela was trialed and jailed for his fight against apartheid. In a memorable speech given during the last day of his trial, he said:

“ During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

( Nelson Mandela, Rivonia trial, 20th of April 1964)

Before going to jail, Nelson Mandela had a mission statement towards equality and justice. A lot of people tend to believe that imprisonment convinced Mandela to promote peace between racial classes. That is not true. Mandela was already in favor of harmony before going to jail. The speech excerpt mentioned above proves it.

Lesson number 1: ‘Know and have a mission statement to live for.’

What is your life mission statement? It does not have to be a political one or a massive one. It could be related to your family, a simple dream you are nurturing, a meaningful cause…But each one of us should have a mission statement to live for. That’s what I call purpose.

In 1964, Mandela was imprisoned with his dreams. The apartheid government thought they could contain him. But the truth is : ‘ he was uncontainable.’ He kept his dream and even in jail , he was still considered as a potential threat.

Lesson number 2 : ‘Nobody can steal, destroy or contain your dreams.’

Often in life, we will find ourselves in ‘moments of imprisonment’. Jail can embrace many forms such as being busy doing in the wrong career, being stuck in a wrong relationship, living in the wrong place…Any element that seems to stop your dream is a form of jail. But nothing can contain your dreams.

Lesson number 3: ‘ A dream is an idea. An idea can not be killed.’

In spite of being in jail, Mandela’s ideas were spread throughout the world.Massive international support were manifested in favor of his liberation and cause. Even in jail, his ideas were making nose through Winnie Mandela and countries protesting against apartheid.

People like Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Steve Biko…were killed because of their dreams. But their ideas never died. Those ideas could never be contained. Actually, whenever a good man/woman is killed for his/her ideas, those later seem to multiply after their deaths.

Your ideas can not be killed.

Lesson number 4: “ A loner is a loser.”

It is amazing how Nelson Mandela promoted the values of ‘ unity’ within the ANC and within the country. If we take a look at the anti-apartheid struggle, we will soon discover that they were a lot of heroes who helped Mandela. For example, people like Winnie Mandela who endured separation from her husband during 27 years…

Mandela knew that ‘ alone you can’t do much, but united we can achieve a lot.’

In your life there are some people who have been mandated by God to act as agents in favor of your dreams. You must locate them, know who they are and associate with them’

Through his life, Mandela knew the importance of belonging to a group. Find your group and refuse loneliness.

Lesson number 5: ‘ Even when you seem expired, you can still do it.’

When Mandela was released from jail, he was 72.

72 is old enough to be retired.

At 72, there is seemingly not much anyone can do. But watch this:

‘He ran for President at…76.’

All too often we fall for conventional rules that determine what we can do and what we can’t do. While in reality those rules are not natural laws. There are people much younger than 40, who have given up on all hopes and dreams, while Mandela ran for President at 76. Some people give up on love when in their thirties while Mandela got remarried at…80!

If you are much younger than 80, than there must be some hope for you…

Sometimes , it is okay to complain about how unfair and difficult life is. But when we take a good look at what other people are going through, we should wise up and change attitudes.

‘Jails of life’ have the potential to get anybody old and ‘expired’. But once we get out of those jails, it is up to us to decide whether we will submit to the rule that says: ‘You are too old to start’, or whether we will decide on breaking the conventions.

In memory of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (18 July 1918- 5 December 2013)