leadership...

so lately there has been something weird going on in my life - i have been interested in the news/current events. it's crazy. for the past 3 weeks i have read Newsweek and Time every week, an issue of Forbes front to back, and listening to talk radio sometimes while i drive. i refuse to believe it's because i'm getting older and becoming an adult. no, it must be just a phase...

actually i really enjoy knowing what's going on around the world and it's a necessary transition as i get older and closer to integrating* myself into "the adult zone." so if you want to talk about news, let's get together at gnu's room or taylor's.

anyway, the meaning of all this is to tell you about and urge you to read an article in the latest issue of Time magazine about one of my heroes, Nelson Mandela, entitled, "The Secrets of Leadership." It's basically gathered information from a man who spent an extended amount of time with Mandela, helping him write his autobiography. It covers 8 amazing points of leadership, all exemplified in real life, by Mandela, which are:

1. Courage is not the absence of fear - it's inspiring others to move beyond it.
2. Lead from the front - but don't leave your base behind.
3. Lead from the back - and let others believe they are in the front.
4. Know your enemy - and learn about his favorite sport.
5. Keep your friends close - and your rivals closer.
6. Appearances matter - and remember to smile
7. Nothing is black or white.
8. Quitting is leading too.

Here's a link to the article online.

if you're interested at all in South Africa's fight for freedom from Apartheid, check out No Future Without Forgiveness by Desmond Tutu or Country of My Skull by Antjie Krog. They are both amazing books that detail a lot of Mandela's life and the struggle under and through Apartheid in general.

*it took me forever to think of that word. i had to look it up in dictionary and thesaurus and it's not even the one i was thinking of. oh well.