A CASE STUDY ON INFLUENCE

“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” – Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Lula da Silva of Brazil

LUIZ Inácio Lula da Silva. Everybody calls him Lula. He served as 35th President of Brazil (2003-2011). At the time of his presidential mandate, Lula was regarded as the most popular politician in the history of Brazil. Greeting him at the G-20 Summit in London, UK in 2009 United States President Barack Obama endorsed him saying, "That's my man right there... The most popular politician on earth." Call him “saviour of the poor” and perhaps no Brazilian would debate you.

Uneasy path
He was the seventh child of Aristides Inácio da Silva and Eurídice Ferreira de Melo in the midst of eight children. Lula’s childhood was quite tough and challenging. Just two weeks after his birth in the Brazillian Caetés district, Lula’s dad moved to another state with Eurídice’s cousin named Valdomira Ferreira de Góis. At age seven, when his mum decided to rejoin Aristides in São Paulo, they arrived only to discover that Aristide had started a second family with Valdomira. After sometime, Euridice decided to move Lula and his seven other siblings from Aristides’ home since the two families were not coexisting peacefully. They found a place in the back room of a bar. And since then Lula scarcely saw his father.

Being raised by a ‘single’ mother who was not well-to-do had its bouquet of limitations for boy Lula and his seven siblings. His formal education was quite limited. He didn’t start school until he was ten and by the fourth grade had to quit in order to work to support his family. From age twelve Lula worked in various capacities as street hawker, shoe shiner, lathe operator in a copper processing factory, press operator in an automobile parts outfit and union leader.

Leader, not just president
In the course of time Lula got interested in politics, teamed up with a group of intellectuals and union leaders to form the Workers Party. After three failed attempts at the presidency, he eventually won the elections of 2002 and served two terms as president from 2003 to 2011. He was a president without a university degree; the first such person in Brazil. Lula was also the first working class person to lead that huge South American state.

In spite of his coarse background, his presidency saw the Brazilian middle class grow by 29 million people enhancing the purchasing power of many Brazilians. Another 20 million people were lifted from deep poverty. Remarkably, Lula so improved the Brazilian economy that by the time he was exiting office, Brazil had become a lending nation to the IMF making available up to $5 million as loans to other nations. Not only that, before Lula left office, Brazil was awarded the hosting rights for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Together with Ghana’s former president John Kufuor, Lula was awarded the World Food Prize 2011 for his role in curbing poverty and hunger in Brazil.

Undoubtedly, Lula made an indelible imprint on his nation. Coming from highly challenging circumstances, he was able to rise to become a very influential person in Brazil. Like Lula, each one of us can be influential. We have the capacity to make a difference in the world. We have what it takes to influence the society, or at least an aspect of society.


© 2011 Terry Mante
PEDNET
Accra, Ghana

LIVING WITH A SENSE OF LEGACY

“Success expires. Value endures. Value creates legacy. Your legacy is your testament.” - Terry Mante

JESUS Christ once said, “… whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” In other words, if you put your life in safety mode you will be in danger but if you are prepared to bear calculated risk, then your life will be preserved in the face of danger. Each of us must necessarily bear some risk to make the world a better place.

We don’t have perfect families, companies, communities and countries. It is the duty of the human race to improve those spheres and make the world a better place. Instead of joining the bandwagon of complainants, we should strive to be counted among the difference makers.

LOSE YOUR LIFE…
YOU can’t keep to yourself and have a meaningful life. If you want your life to be valuable, you’ve got to let something flow out of it. You must let your life reach out to touch the society you live in. You must let your family get a taste of you. You must offer yourself in service of your country. That is how you can make your life valuable.

To be able to lose your life, you must see yourself as an original being. You are not a photocopy of another person. There is a unique space you must occupy on earth. It’s a space only you can fill. It is your ability to fill that space which defines your essence. Don’t just wander on earth without the concept of originality. You must know for sure that you are original, you are authentic; that there is a reserved seat for you on earth.

Further, you must see yourself as a solution bearer. Decide to be part of the things that move your society forward. When you see a problem in any situation, don’t just describe the problem and move on. Attempt to prescribe a solution. If you don’t have an immediate solution, take time to think and research in order to obtain a solution.

To lose your life, you must also learn to use your abilities. Everybody can do something. Focus on what you can do to make the world a better place. Your abilities can make you a global impact person. Make a decision to use them.

…AND YOU WILL SAVE IT
IF YOU commit to making the world a better place, you will live forever. You may die physically but your memory will be in the hearts and minds of posterity. Think of people like Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Princess Diana, Kwame Nkrumah, Alfred Nobel and of course Jesus Christ. These people show us that the best way to preserve your life is to lose it.

Don’t only focus on what you can get out of life. Be driven by what you can give. Don’t be solely motivated by success. Let significance be your motivational factor. Don’t be too salary-conscious. Be value-conscious. Follow Albert Einstein’s advice, “Strive not to be a success but rather to be of value.” Success expires. Value endures. Value creates legacy. Your legacy is your testament. It will speak on your behalf on the day of reckoning.



© 2011 Terry Mante
PEDNET
Accra, Ghana

THE PRICE OF IGNORANCE

“There is always a price to be paid for what you don’t know. You pay to get it or for not getting it.” - Terry Mante

YEARS ago, when I was at St. Peter’s Secondary School (now St. Peter’s Senior High School), I ventured into students politics. I aimed to be the school’s library prefect. There were three other contenders for that same position. I had very good policy propositions that I thought would prevail in the school’s political market. In the run-up to the elections, I did quite a good work interacting with small groups and individuals.

Then came the big day; the crowning moment. The day all aspirants were to deliver their final message to the entire student community. Without a plan, I stood in front of the school and I went dead. Everything in my head evaporated. I stood there and managed to mumble some stuff that I still don’t remember. The election results? You can guess.

Then onwards, I realised that what you don’t know is a big deal and can kill you. I did not realise hitherto that public speaking is an art that ought to be deliberately learnt. Even if you have something in your head, you should know how to spill it out. Subsequent to that experience, I picked up a copy of Dale Carnegie’s How to Develop Self-confidence Through Public Speaking and began my speaking course. Now I find that a substantial aspect of my professional life involves speaking to people. I give talks, interview people, moderate meetings and even teach people how to speak. Learning how to speak has become an integral part of my professional life. Imagine the opportunities I would have missed if I had not looked at that aspect of my personal development. I couldn’t become the Library Prefect of St Peter’s simply because of my ignorance. I didn’t know that I didn’t know how to speak.

That is life. Every space of ignorance in your life is a breeding ground for failure in certain aspects of your life. Is it possible that the state of deprivation of many third world economies is as a result of something the people and their leaders do not know? Have you considered why you may be broke? Maybe it’s because of something you don’t know. Why is it that people who are so much in love with each other could become fierce enemies? That is likely to be the price they are paying for something they didn’t know earlier or still don’t know.

There is always a price to be paid for what you don’t know. You pay to get it or for not getting it. You’ve got to find a way to cure your ignorance before it kills you. To do that, I offer four prescriptions.

1. Make a conscious decision. You have to decide to learn. Your resolve will impel you to take the necessary steps to knowledge. Jim Powell recounts what an associate of Thomas Edison said of the great inventor, “He spent his money buying apparatus and books, and wouldn’t buy clothing. That winter, he went without an overcoat and nearly froze.” Isn’t that ridiculous? Well, that was Edison’s decision. That was his price. You too must decide. Will you read or sleep? Funeral or study? Which will you sacrifice – party or library? Learning is a deliberate course of action that has its opportunity costs.

2. Be open-minded. All of us have prejudices. Most of the time, prejudices are not substantial. They are formed on the basis of misinformation or false perceptions. On the flip side, if we are liberal about our beliefs, we would be able to learn correctly.

3. Be conscious and honest about what you don’t know. Will Rogers thought that, “Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.” I definitely concur. There is no person who can claim to know everything. Ignorance is not wrong, although it can be costly. Honesty about our ignorance will position us to pursue knowledge.

4. Be eager to cure your ignorance. While I emphasise that we cannot know everything, we should not use that as a pretext to stop learning. Life is dynamic. New things emerge everyday and we have to consciously take steps to keep abreast of issues. What you don’t know can cost you your job, your friends or even your life. Don’t settle for ignorance.


© 2011 Terry Mante
PEDNET
Accra, Ghana