Through My Eyes

So here I am, my new leadership regime is in place, 5:08am and I am at my desk yawning, trying to keep my eyes open, with 'Brain Malfunction' command flashing. I can do it, I swear I will give it 100%...Sharma guarantees it will change my life.

So while I'm busy changing my life, everything seems to stay constant. Seeing Abertina Luthuli on her 81st birthday, surrounded by family and friends was the best life elixir I could have wished for. Her vitality and grace is so inspirational, I could not stop thinking how Albertina's world has evolved in the last 81 years. The changes and the adversities, which she endured, are written on her face, yet none of that has taken the sparkle out of her eyes.

I am always so extremely envious of large families. The extreme privilege to belong to a large group of people you are bonded to by blood must be one of the most sacred things we possess.

So while I am in pursuit of Robin Sharma's success solutions, I cannot stop to think that success is such a broad and relative term. In Robin Sharma's world wealth and power have been the conventional measures of success. He lives in a world that makes people value themselves more and more singularly by their career highs and financial prowess and less and less by the people that are constant in our lives.

I find that the conventional model of success has proven to be destructive, separating and pitting us against each other in competition. Since Albertina Luthuli's birthday celebration I've been asking that question, "What would be a better definition of accomplishment for me and how could I collectively shift toward embracing this?" I have come to the conclusion that I get the most out of life when I am encouraged and inspired by other people - whatever form they present it to me with. As I grow older I am realizing the need for me to do the same and stop concerning myself with financial security/success.

It is our collective goal to become champions and I believe that if we grade ourselves not only based on our personal successes, but by all those that we touch, fulfilment and respect can be expanded to a degree that will bring the peace we all seek so avidly.

I think the problem starts when we try to measure the value of anyone's life in terms of success. There's no prize when we get to the end, there's only the way itself. Maybe it would be richer to reflect about what accomplishment means for each one, and I guess there are many different answers for this.

Simply put, success is a measurement of satisfaction and happiness in your life. Its very much about the journey, a lot of the conventional measures of success aspire to an ending, that doesn't exist. Thank you Albertina for being such a role model, not just to me, but to thousands whom you've affected in your lifetime. May you continue to inspire and guide us to a better life. I bet Robin Sharma can learn something inspirational from you!

I guess the only way to conclude my tribute to Mama Luthuli is to quote Ralph Waldo Emerson, 'To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.' I wish you all a successful week, share your wisdom with The Bugle readers email me at: thebugle@mweb.co.za