READING AND WRITING

Answering letters c and i from the Reading Comprehension Questions.

c) The three chapters that interest me more are:
Chapter 2 "Be measured" because it teachs us theimportance of being calm. In page 39 we can read, " In themidst of turbulent situations, Mandela is calm and looks for calm in others. In fact, he radiates calm".
Calm was neccesary after Chris Hani assassination when, instead of moving people into a civil war, he said with an icily calm, at the end of his speech on TV " This is a watershed moment for all of us.Our decisions and actions will determine wether we use our pain, our grief and our outrage to move forward to what is the only lasting solution for our country - an elected goberment of the people, by the people and for the people".

The end of the chapter is clear, " Don´t hurry, he would say; think, analyze, then act".

This chapter is important for me because I see myself in this way of thinking and acting as much in personal as in proffesional life.
Chapter 4 "Lead from the back" because not forgetting that you are the leader, you have to empower others to lead if thegoal is the same.
Mandela said " When you want to get a cattle to move in a certain direction, you stand at the back with a stick, and then you get a few of the cleverer cattle to go to the front and move in the direction that you want them to go. The rest of the cattle follow the few more-energetic cattle in the front, but you are really guiding from the back". "This is how a leader should do his work".

In this chapter, again appear the word Ubuntu, to express the idea of leadership as the idea that people are empowered by other people, that we become our best selves through unselfish interaction with others.
Leading from the back is a double win: You reach the results you want and introduce the idea of collective leadership. This is good for others and good for you.

This is what I have been doing during my late proffesional life.

Chapter 15 "Find your own garden" because it is what I am doing now thoug I am cultivating this garden long ago.
Everybody needs a place apart. A place where you can lose to find you.
In page 220 we can read "Mandela´s garden had become his own private island. It quieted his mind. It distracted him from his constant worries about the outside world, his family, and the feedom struggle".

He could grow his garden with effort, which was rewarded with the view of seeds turning into plants, stalks rising and leaves sprouting.

In page 223 " There is nothing more relaxing than concentrating on a pleasent task that engages the mind".

Mandela once said to Richard "You must find your own garden" what means that we need a place apart, something away from the world that give us pleasure and satifaction.


i) In terms of my own life the most important aspects to be taken are:

- The need of changing in life in order to improve and reach the goals proposed, no matter the personal cost.
- Effort is rewarded. In a world that you can not control, that defy and punish you, that seems hostile, you can meet a place apart to see the beauty.
- Believing that sometimes a both or maybe is closer to the truth than a yes or no.
- Empathy is a good way to find solutions.
- There is a time for others to steer the ship.
- Miracles, if they exist, are man-made. Hardwork and discipline help you push things in your own direction.
- The art of persuasion is "Don´t address the brains of others. Address their hearts".
- If you express your anger, your power will be diminished, while hiding it will be increased.
- Leading from the back can seem a camouflage for leading from the front.
- Don´t hurry; think, analyze, then act.
- In the midst of a turbulent situation be always calm.
- Courage may be the way to overcome fear.