Today with great sadness we mourn the passing of a great man, President Nelson Mandela. Although, we could talk about the fact that he is now gone, we would rather celebrate his life and his legacy.
President Nelson Mandela was certainly someone to be celebrated. Like many others across the world, I had tremendous respect for President Mandela. I admired him for his strength, and wisdom, and loved his zeal for life. Not only was he an incredible humanitarian, and an amazing person; President Nelson Mandela was a force to be reckoned with, choosing courage over fear, and light over darkness.
During his 95 years of life, Nelson Mandela was a great teacher. Through his examples, we can learn about living, forgiveness, learn how to deal with disappointments, falling and getting back up, and even how to deal with great victories with grace. Taking the Long Road Home cost Mandela a lot personally, it not only changed his life, it also changed a nation, and the world.
Today I encourage you to listen, look, and remember the lessons he left behind and think about how we can apply them to our own lives.
As we celebrate the gift of Mandela’s life, here are a few quotes that I believe have the ability to transform our world, especially if we don’t just read them, but we decide to do them.

21 Quotes to Live By from President Nelson Mandela

1. Education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world.
2. I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

3. There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

4. It always seems impossible until it’s done.

5. We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.

6. There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.

7. If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.

8. There is nothing I fear more than waking up without a program that will help me bring a little happiness to those with no resources, those who are poor, illiterate, and ridden with terminal disease.

9. Forget the past.

10. Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.

11. As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.

12. Nothing is black or white.

13. A winner is a dreamer who never gives up
14. One cannot be prepared for something while secretly believing it will not happen.

15. I am not an optimist, but a great believer of hope.”

16. Once a person is determined to help themselves, there is nothing that can stop them.

17. I could not imagine that the future I was walking toward could compare in any way to the past that I was leaving behind.

18. Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great…

19. What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.

20. We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.

21. No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion … if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love.