10 Quotes by Nelson Mandela That Will Inspire You to Live, Love, and Act

You need to read those words today more than ever.

A little over two years ago, I spent a Saturday morning at the famous Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. They were featuring an exhibition entitled ‘Good Hope: South Africa and The Netherlands from 1600.’

One of the rooms had its walls covered with signs that read ‘whites-only’ and ‘non-whites only’. And in the center of the room, there was a bench that was marked with a stamp to display the race it was reserved for.

This bench, along with the signs, were taken from South Africa’s pre-1994 Apartheid policy — an enforced system to segregate the races. On the basis of skin color, laws determined where you may sit, shop, or eat, which restrooms you can use, which elevators you can step into, which hospitals you’re allowed to be treated at, and which schools your children can attend.

What blew my mind was that such human discrimination was still paramount in some countries less than 25 years ago. It reminded me of how little I knew about the world, and how much more there is for me to learn.

Later that afternoon, as I roamed around the canals of Amsterdam, I came to a pause. At the end of a narrow street, right in front of me, was a bench. On it sat two women, a pair of friends casually conversing. A bench with no labels and no restrictions on who’s allowed to sit on it. A bench for one race only: the human race — free for all.

Isn’t the world much more beautiful when we learn to see each other as one?

The apartheid in South Africa came to an end in 1994. The country was given its independence and Nelson Mandela became its first President. Mandela was the champion of the anti-apartheid movement. He’s a person who will always be remembered for his relentless pursuit of racial equality and his passion for spreading oneness and love through humanity.

Here are 10 of his quotes that will change the way you think about life, love, and the will to act.

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

When we were first born into this world, we joined it as a little bundle of joy, screaming our way into existence. We had no preconceived thoughts, beliefs, or prejudices accompanying us. We simply were alive at the moment and everything around us just… was.

We were cradled with the soft loving arms of our mother. We marveled at the world with wonder. Our eyes sparkled with the simple joy that springs from an ongoing sensation of breathing.

Perhaps as little children, we innately knew that life is a gift. Perhaps as little children, we innately knew that hate is nothing more than the absence of mighty love, just as how darkness is nothing more than the absence of light.

We were not born with hate. We simply learned how to hate. We were not born racist. We simply learned how to discriminate. We were not born to spot differences. We simply learned how to differentiate.

As our eyes opened to the world around us, our minds began to encode messages, ideas, and any beliefs that were fed to us by the finite world we were exposed to. And that’s how greed, racism, and hate began to spread like poison through our veins and bury our love deep within.

“You will achieve more in this world through acts of mercy than you will through acts of retribution.”

So the message is short but potent: Change your narrative. Re-learn how to love. Re-learn how to accept. Learn how to be compassionate and how to forgive — yourself and others. Learn how not to judge, rather empathize. Learn how not to criticize, rather educate.

Realize that real courage lies in your capacity to love.

Look beyond the veil of separation and learn how to see oneness through your heart, not with your eyes. Because the most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, they can only be felt.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

There are two types of education. The first can be found in the books we read. The second is discovered as you cast a gaze outside the circumference of your daily life. And it’s the latter that will open your eyes to how truly privileged you are.

Allow me to explain.

Nearly half of the world’s population (more than 3 billion people) still live on less than $2.50 a day. More than 750 million people still lack adequate access to clean drinking water. And 1.6 billion people still live without electricity.

Yes, you are privileged.

The question is then, how aware and grateful are you for what you have? How grateful are you for this very moment — to have ownership of a device that is connected to the internet, to have a roof over your head, to have funds in your bank account that allow you to go and purchase a meal for lunch?

Yes, you are privileged.

Traditional education teaches you a vocation. Real education teaches the most important lesson in life: the power of privilege and humility. It reveals to you your very own ignorance. It clears away the clouds of arrogance and shows you that the only mountain there is to climb is you.

You are the mountain — the illusions you’ve created for yourself, the limiting beliefs, the prejudices, the barriers of fear and hate you’ve constructed, your ignorance about culture and humanity — all of it is yours to undo.

There’s a philosophy that I live by, and it’s this: “I am a student of life, for life.”

It reminds me that I know nothing, and there is so much more for me to learn about myself and the world. It reminds me that I am not Canadian, or Italian, or French, or Lebanese — I am a citizen of the world. And I ought to educate myself as much as I can about the cultures, traditions, and histories of others.

So read books. Ask questions. Educate yourself. Follow and interact with people from different parts of the world. Look inward and initiate change. Keep on learning because you, like me, are a student of life, for life.

“A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.”

And remember: You must not judge yourself by how you treat those who are as privileged or more privileged than you, you must judge yourself by how you treat those who are less — those who can do nothing for you but offer you all of what they have: a genuine and heartfelt thank you.

“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.”

There is always something you can do to make a difference. And the question comes down to this: What is it that I want to contribute to this world? How do I want to serve humanity?

In essence, the answer to that question goes on to define your purpose. It’s a combination of what you believe in, what you’re good at, and what you enjoy doing. That’s it.

Nelson Mandela’s purpose was to fight for equality and freedom. Kobe Bryan’s purpose was to inspire greatness through the art of basketball. J.K. Rowling’s purpose is to draw you deeper into your own world of imagination through the use of words.

You are an artist. You were born as one, you just forgot that within you lives a child who longs to playfully create.

Your light and your voice are yours. Own them. Use them as a force of good. A catalyst for change. Honor the gift of your life. Only then will you find the courage and urge to make a difference in the lives of others.

“As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”

Your stoke of the paintbrush can be the light that will inspire another human to rise. Your words on your blog can be the voice that will motivate another human, who’s in an emotional slump, to find their way.

Your skills and creative outlet can be someone else’s source of joy and inspiration. ‘As you let your own light shine, you unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.’ And that is how you make a difference in someone else’s life.

Oh, but you’re afraid to put yourself out there? Let me tell you, then, what I’ve learned about fear.

“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.”

There was a time when I was afraid to jump off a cliff, until I took a leap, closed my eyes, and jumped. And then, filled with a jolt of aliveness and adrenaline, I climbed back on that cliff, and without a hint of hesitation, I jumped off again.

There was a time when I was afraid to write and share my thoughts with the world until one day, I felt the urge to publish a piece, and so I took a leap, closed my eyes, and clicked submit. And then, I sat on my chair the next day and wrote.

Courage is not the absence of fear because fear is not something you can move away from. Fear is dormant, and it usually wakes up when your interest in something spikes. You cannot escape it and you cannot become fearless, but you can learn how to conquer your fear, which in itself, makes you fearless.

Take one small step in the direction of what you fear. And then another. And another. Your confidence will grow and so will your self-belief.

“But what if I fail,” you ask?

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

If you fall, you will get back up, just like you did when you were a kid. It will hurt for a little, yes it will. But you will grow stronger. You will grow wiser. And you will go on to appreciate it more when you do succeed because you would’ve tasted the true meaning of success — the personal triumph over fear and failure.

“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward.”

These beautiful words were taken from Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, and the message is powerful: Optimism isn’t about positivity, optimism is a function of movement and hope. If you want to see change manifest in life, keep your head held up high, but more importantly keep taking action.

During his 27-year imprisonment, Nelson Mandela used journaling as a medium to converse with himself and find the light in the darkness. In one of his journals he wrote:

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

Personal transformation is the way in which we can change the world.

If each and every one of us works on bettering themselves, on understanding themselves, and on changing the inside, the outside will fall into place.

And even if the world doesn’t change as fast as we’d like it to, “there is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”

So look inward, choose to forgive, accept and love, continue to educate yourself, conquer your fears, and make a difference in someone else’s life. While you’re at it, keep your head pointed toward the sky and your feet moving on the ground. And above all, be a better human.

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