Often we look to the great heroes of our time for inspiration, and undeniably, Nelson Mandela is a hero among such heroes. The Economist, a magazine that often reserves a one page obituary, dedicated three pages to commemorate Mandela’s lifelong fight against an unacceptable model of racial segregation that was the Apartheid in their December 14-20th issue.
However, the obituary also chronicled Mandela’s three marriages (2 failed). Politics, his first wife Evelyn said, was his all-absorbing concern. Winnie, his second wife, remarked that Mandela, belongs to them [the people]. Even the great father of South Africa himself confessed that his children told him once that he was:
a father to all our people, but you have never had time to be a father to me
What if this unrivaled commitment is the price for success and grand achievement? Given the choice, would you pay such a price, and more importantly, would you consider this success?