Hi All,

Today’s motivation comes from Nelson Mandela:

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.“
— Nelson Mandela

I have something goofy to share with you. One night at work, the unthinkable happened to me…I fell. Isn’t it embarrassing to have all your faculties about you one moment and in the next, you miss step or in my case, miss the stool I was sitting on, and take a tumble. When I fell, it was very embarrassing for me because since I work in a sports stadium, everyone was watching. Instead of getting angry or even crying, I laughed. Afterwards, I allowed all the men surrounding me to help me up. By the way, chivalry is not dead! What is the relevance of this you may ask? I use this little uneventful moment to illustrate the quote for today. When I fell, I wanted to stay on the ground but I couldn’t. Something in me said no, you must rise and rise I did. While what happened to me is trivial, the fall of Mandela is not.

Mandela was just a college student during the years of oppression in Apartheid in South Africa when he decided enough was enough. He met the Dutch head on and fought against apartheid by heading up an illegal organization called the African National Congress (ANC). For many years, he fought against the oppression of the Dutch Government against Black South Africans. At one point, his work became so dangerous that he had to go underground. Sometime in the early 60’s, he was caught and sent to the infamous maximum security Robben Island Prison . For more than 27 years, Mandela was imprisoned. Some may look at what he went through as a fall but Mandela did not.

He stayed strong during those years. He kept his mind sharpen and his body fit. He knew a day would come when the government would have to release him. In Feburary of 1990, , Mandela would rise and walked out of prison a free man, therein lies his glory! Later, in April of 1994, he would become the first Black South African to become President of South Africa. Why do I mention Mandela? Just recently, his countrymen and the world celebrated his 90th birthday. Since he refused to stay down, he rose and has lived a life of abundance and greatness!

There are times when we fall, this is a part of life. However, each time we fall, for whatever reason, we must get ourselves back up and rise! There is no glory in falling and staying down. In addition, nothing can be gained from staying down. The true success and the glory can be found in rising up. A phoenix always rises from the ashes and so can we.

By the way…I would like to take this opportunity and wish a Happy Early Birthday to Nelson Mandela (July 18th), a true phoenix!