Unconquerable Preperation

"I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul." - William Ernest Henley

On Saturday afternoon Ed and I took the trek into Boulder to see the movie Invictus, the story of Nelson Mandela undertaking the role of the first black President of South Africa.  As many of us know, he had quite a challenge in beginning the process of uniting a country that had been fully divided by the race segregation wars brought on by over 40 years of an Apartheid ruling government.   My sister, Robi, had raved about the movie so I was excited to sit still for several hours, letting the story unfold and inspire me.  And it did!

The word Invictus means unconquered in Latin.   The most incredible feat shown through this movie was how President Mandela saw past the 27 years of his own imprisonment, as he stayed the course, holding on to his belief of what needed to be done for all the people of his homeland.  He was able to see past the anger and despair towards his captures as he moved forward to unite everyone.

In thinking about this week's final reading to share with you from Jim Rohn's Season's of Life - it  reflects how Mandela's years in prison were indeed his "winter".  He used them to the fullest, continually envisioning the change he would produce upon his release.  With that said, here is that final installment of Jim Rohn's chapter on Winter, from his 1981 book, The Season's of Life.

"The physically inactive season of winter is a time for adding to our storehouse of knowledge through continued education, which in truth, does not mean learning things that we do not know, but in learning to behave as we do not now behave.  The facts and things of life are automatically learned by each of us when we become inspired with the excitement of high expectation and belief in our own abilities.

With winter comes the opportunity to catch up on unkept promises, and on unanswered letters.  It is time also for encouraging the young, who with their inexperience are insecure - and for encouraging the old, who because of their experience, are apprehensive of the future.

Let not winter go by without investing much of your time in assuring, teaching and encouraging others.  For in doing, your rewards will be an uplifted confidence in yourself; the teacher is always greatest recipient of the lessons he seeks to teach to others.  Let winter find you thinking first of someone else, and appreciating, and being kind, and being gentle...and by all means, let winter find you laughing more, even though the winds blow cold, and the snow covers the soil which will soon bring new life."

As you move forward in the week ahead - think about what it is that you have been preparing for during the course of the winters of your life.  It could be in your business or in different aspects of your life.  It's the ultimate preparation of being and doing what you were put on this planet to do.  It could be reading, discovering, learning or in finding yourself being the teacher.  What is it you are preparing for?  Do you put your determination into the category of unconquered?  Or do you find yourself ready to give up at the sign of a battle?

Persistence is a key attribute in seeing through the challenges that are placed in front of each of us.  Think of Mandela or even Martin Luther King for that matter - whose birthday we celebrate today - always moving forward to be a part of the change - no matter the consequences.

If you have not yet had a chance to read the January issue of Victory Woman Magazine I invite you to head over and read some thought provoking articles on accountability, making change happen and still getting closer to making those new years resolutions a reality.

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