What Do You Have In Common With Nelson Mandela?
- Posted by Chris in blog
- No Comments
-
I remember it as though it was yesterday, back in South Africa, at the impressionable age of 10, Nelson Mandela being released from prison. I remember exactly where I was, what I was doing and how I felt. It was a life changing moment, not only for me as an individual or for our family, but for the whole world.
In that moment I had a deep, gripping desire to meet this great man. While I was standing there watching him live on TV, walking out of prison, I made a silent commitment to myself to do whatever it took to make this happen.
Then, at 18 years old, my journey took an unexpected twist when I was headhunted to go play rugby in Wales. This ended up in me representing Wales and going on tour to my country of birth, South Africa, in 2004.
Unknown to all of us in the Welsh team, Colin Charvis our team captain, had become pen pals with Mr Mandela . In these communications Mandela had expressed his dream of seeing South Africa also being led by a man of colour one day.
Now fast forward to the moment on the pitch about to sing the anthems before kick off, and to everyone’s surprise (except Colin), out walks Mr Mandela to a deafening applause! And then as if by magic, we all had our chance to meet him and shake his hand.
It was such an honour meeting him, especially since he only attended 3 rugby matches in his whole life,one of those being the famous World Cup final in 1995!
Having reflected on this day many times since then I’m reminded of something Steve Jobs once said and that is this
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.”
I had a unique journey to realise this dream, but I always felt right in my gut when making critical make or break decisions.
Later, when I became a Property Investor in Newport, this experience and what I learned from this icon guided me in a lot of decisions I made on my property journey. It also drove me and my colleagues to create a company with values that reflect what Nelson Mandela gifted to the world.
“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.”
At Luscombe & Co we’ve always looked for team members who are street smart with heart and are obsessed about looking after our clients and each other in the best possible way.
“Action without vision is only passing time, vision without action is merely day dreaming, but vision with action can change the world.”
As a landlord, you’ll know how important it is to have a vision. And what better example do we have of someone who had a vision and never gave up until he accomplished it?
So ask yourself today, are you clear about where you want to go on your property journey? Do you have the right people around you helping you achieve your goals?
I’ll leave you with this quote:
“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.”
All the best,
Hal Luscombe
P.S: Isn’t it fitting, that in Mandela’s 100th birthday year, Siya Kolisi has fulfilled Mandela’s dream by becoming the first black captain of the South African Springbok team?
Also Have a look at pictures of Mandela’s visit to Wales in 1998:
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/gallery/nelson-mandela-cardiff-1998-4283991