Greatness cannot be locked up By John C Maxwell

Hello from Harare, Zimbabwe! For the past few days, I’ve been speaking on leadership in cities in Zimbabwe and South Africa. It’s been a wonderful trip, with audiences hungry to grow. And I’m grateful to my host, Dr. David Molapo. He’s taken care of every detail.

But today I want to tell you about something else I’m grateful for. In Cape Town, South Africa, I received a very meaningful gift from my friend Shaun Battleman: a visit and private tour of Robben Island.

If you haven’t heard of Robben Island and the prison that used to be there, you might have heard of one of its more famous prisoners: Nelson Mandela. You might also be familiar with this picture of him in his jail cell, where he spent 27 years of his life for the “crime” of protesting South Africa’s policy of apartheid.

On a sunny spring day in Cape Town, we boarded Shaun Battleman’s yacht and traveled over to Robben Island. After disembarking, we were taken on a private tour of the facility (which is now a museum). Our tour guide, Jama, had been imprisoned there at the same time as Mandela.

Once we entered the former prison, the doors were slammed shut – to give us a sense of what it felt like to be locked in. We saw the area where prisoners were issued a number and lost the use of their name, along with the censor’s office, where news from loved ones was literally cut out of letters.

Most significantly, we visited Nelson Mandela’s cell – the one in the picture above. Here’s another photo that shows more of the interior.

The furnishings consisted of a bucket, a stool, and a “bed” that was really just a mat on the floor. Jama allowed me to unlock the cell door and enter the space that had been “home” to Mandela for so long. First, I lay down on the mat – it was very uncomfortable, as you might imagine. Then I looked out the cell window onto the prison yard, just like Mandela did in the first photo. And I was overcome with emotion, inspired by Nelson Mandela’s courage and commitment. For you see, he never stopped fighting apartheid, even while imprisoned.

He and fellow prisoners, who were not allowed to interact, met in the one place in the whole prison where the guards left them alone: the cave that they had to use as a toilet. Because of the smell of the cave, the guards would not go in. So it was there that Mandela and his fellow prisoners discussed the future of South Africa.

Released in 1990 after the dismantling of the system of segregation, Mandela went on to serve as first president of the new South Africa from 1994 to 1999. And after retiring, he continued to serve his people. He’s now 93 years old, and one of the leaders that I admire most who I haven’t been able to meet. We had an appointment set up last year, but Mr. Mandela had a health problem that forced us to cancel. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to meet him, but I can tell you the lessons I’ve learned from him. This is what I took away from my visit to his prison:

* Our surroundings need not control our spirit.
* People who devalue us do not determine our value.
* Dreams can be birthed during the daily grind.
* Out of our brokenness, we can be made whole and bring healing to others.

A writer in the Bible’s book of Proverbs wrote, “A man’s gift makes room for him.” Nelson Mandela had no room in his cell, but his gift could not be contained. In time, his gift made room for him to lead and bless his country.
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Change your thinking, change your life? By John C. Maxwell

Can changing your thinking really change your life? Consider this: I’ve studied successful people for forty years, and though the diversity you find among them is astounding, I believe they are all alike in one way: how they think! That is the one thing that separates the successful from the unsuccessful.
The good news is that it’s possible to learn how to think like a successful person. But before we can learn from a good thinker, we need to know what they look like. You often hear someone say that a colleague or friend is a “good thinker,” but that phrase means something different to everyone. To one person it may mean having a high IQ, while to another it could mean knowing a bunch of trivia or being able to figure out whodunit when reading a mystery novel.
I believe that good thinking isn’t just one thing. It consists of several specific thinking skills. Becoming a good thinker means developing those skills to the best of your ability. In Built to Last, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras describe what it means to be a visionary company, the kind of company that epitomizes the pinnacle of American business. They describe it this way:
A visionary company is like a great work of art. Think of Michelangelo’s scenes from Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel or his statue of David. Think of a great and enduring novel like Huckleberry Finn or Crime and Punishment. Think of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony or Shakespeare’s Henry V. Think of a beautifully designed building, like the masterpieces of Frank Lloyd Wright or Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. You can’t point to any one single item that makes the whole thing work; it’s the entire work—all the pieces working together to create an overall effect—that leads to enduring greatness.
Good thinking is similar. You need all the thinking “pieces” to become the kind of person who can achieve great things. I believe that those pieces include eleven skills, which I’ve listed below. After each is a question you can ask yourself to measure your own thinking:
1. Cultivate Big-Picture Thinking
Am I thinking beyond myself and my world so that I process ideas with a holistic perspective?
2. Engage in Focused Thinking
Am I dedicated to removing distractions and mental clutter so that I can concentrate with clarity on the real issue?
3. Harness Creative Thinking
Am I working to break out of my “box,” exploring ideas and options, so I can experience creative breakthrough?
4. Employ Realistic Thinking
Am I building a solid foundation on facts so that I can think with certainty?
5. Utilize Strategic Thinking
Am I implementing strategic plans that give me direction for today and increase my potential for tomorrow?
6. Explore Possibility Thinking
Am I unleashing the enthusiasm of possibility thinking to find solutions for even seemingly impossible problems?
7. Learn from Reflective Thinking
Am I regularly revisiting the past to gain a true perspective and think with understanding?
8. Question Popular Thinking
Am I consciously rejecting the limitations of common thinking in order to accomplish uncommon results?
9. Benefit from Shared Thinking
Am I consistently searching the minds of others to think “over my head” and achieve compounding results?
10. Practice Unselfish Thinking
Am I continually considering others and their journey in order to think with maximum collaboration?
11. Rely on Bottom-Line Thinking
Do I stay focused on the bottom line so that I can gain the maximum return and reap the full potential of my thinking?
Based on your answers to the questions, where are you strongest? In what kind of thinking do you need to grow? Develop in any of those areas, and you’ll become a better thinker. Master all that you can—especially the process of shared thinking, which helps you compensate for your weak areas—and your life will change.
For specific guidance on developing as a good thinker, my book, How Successful People Think, devotes a chapter to each of the above skills. A companion workbook is also in the works.