“What we leave behind is not what is engraved on stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”
Pericles
“Our death is not an end if we live on in our children and the younger generation. For they are us.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
THE MAN WHO USED TO URINATE ON MY HEAD WHEN I WAS IN PRISON
Nelson Mandela: “After becoming president, I once asked some members of my close protection to walk with me around the city, to have lunch in one of its restaurants.
We sat in one of the restaurants in the city centre and all asked for food.”
“After a while the waiter brought us our requests, I noticed that there is someone sitting in front of my table waiting for food”
I then said to one of the soldiers: go ask this person to join us with his food and eat with us.
The soldier went to ask the man. The man brought his food and sat next to me while I asked him and started eating.
His hands were constantly shaking until everyone finished their meal and the man left.
The soldier said to me: The man was apparently very ill. His hands were shaking while he ate!”
“No, not at all,” Mandela said.
“This man was the guard of the prison where I was imprisoned.
“Often, after the torture I suffered, I would scream and ask for some water.
“The same man would come every time and urinated on my head. “
“So I found him frightened, trembling, expecting me to reciprocate, at least in the same way, either by torturing him or by imprisoning him as I am now the President of the State of South Africa.”
“But that’s not my character or part of my ethic.”
“The mentality of reprisals destroys states, while the mentality of tolerance builds nations.”
Renowned researcher and author Jim Collins makes his second appearance on The Knowledge Project, this time to share a wealth of life lessons learned from his mentor and collaborator, Bill Lazier. Jim recently released BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0), an ambitious upgrade of his first book Beyond Entrepreneurship, co-authored with Lazier and focused on effective leadership style. Shane discusses all new topics with Jim in their follow-up conversation, including what it means to be a mentor and a father, why we should trust by default, why we confuse living a long life with a great life, and the difference between being afraid of risk and being afraid of ambiguity.
( contributed by Justin)
But the process of illusion and disillusionment is part of life and goes on endlessly. In the early [19]40s what struck me forcefully was the conflict between my expectations and actual experience. At College I had come to believe that as a graduate I would automatically be at the head, leading my people in all their efforts. In a sense that was true of the majority of the Fort Hare students. Many of them left the lecture room straight to some cosy job, with a steady income and carrying a measure of influence. It is also true that graduates do enjoy the respect of the community especially in the field of education. But my experience was quite different. Continue reading
Look at how mindful we are of our smartphones. People have little recharging shrines all over their houses, with a cord permanently attached to an outlet right by the door or by the bed. For many of us the first thing we do when we get home is make sure our phone gets recharged. Continue reading
ONE TUSK 