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11 Life Lessons from Nelson Mandela
Every life has the power to change the world Ndaba Mandela was raised by his grandfather, the man known to the world as Nelson Mandela. Here Ndaba offers a rare and personal insight into the man behind the myth, sharing with us his memories — charming, intimate and sometimes surprising — to illuminate Mandela’s much-loved principles for how to become the people we want to be.
Always call out injustice - even when we see it in ourselves
Freedom must be given as much as it is taken
Strive to do what is right rather than to prove you are right
Anger has its place, even in a kind heart
Inspired by Mandela’s remarkable stories, 11 Life Lessons from Nelson Mandela offers a profound and rewarding pathway to changing your world.
Always call out injustice - even when we see it in ourselves
Freedom must be given as much as it is taken
Strive to do what is right rather than to prove you are right
Anger has its place, even in a kind heart
Inspired by Mandela’s remarkable stories, 11 Life Lessons from Nelson Mandela offers a profound and rewarding pathway to changing your world.
288 pages, Paperback
First published June 26, 2018
23 people are currently reading
135 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 13, 2020
Bókin er skrifuð af og út frá upplifunum barnabarns Nelson Mandela, Ndaba Mandela. Áhugaverður lestur að ýmsu leyti.
June 23, 2020
This book literally changed my perspective about many things. I was admirer of him but now its more than that. Highly recommended.
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December 17, 202011 life Lessons from Nelson Mandela has been written by Ndaba Mandela. Ndaba Mandela is the grandson of Nelson Mandela. The book offers a personal insight of Ndaba into the life of the man behind the myth ‘Nelson Mandela’. Author shares with us memories of his time spent with his grandfather. The book illuminates Ndaba’s much loved principles for how to become the people we want to be. It also highlights the highly disciplined life of Nelson Mandela, his qualities as a leader, and love for his people.
The first chapter is titled ‘The perfect city is always a long way off’. It is all about Ndaba’s early childhood, his first meeting with his grandfather in Victor Verster prison The chapter also includes the story of extreme poverty days that Ndaba spent in his childhood. He had to shift from one place to another and then to another. It highlights the struggles and hard work of Nelson Mandela with regards to the restrictions set upon black individuals. There is also a mention of Soweto Uprise of 1976 that ended up opening the doors of some good educational institutions for black individuals. One of my favorite quote from the chapter is ‘It matters to me very little whether I see it or not but it’s definitely somewhere around the corner and that’s what motivates me’
The second chapter is is titled ‘The tallest tree catches the harshest winds’. Mandela couldn’t perform his duties of being a father after he was released from the jail. It was because he was now ‘father of the nation’. So, in order to compensate for that he took Ndaba (his grandson) along to raise him up well in his own house later. Mandela advised Ndaba to learn (Afrikaans) saying that ‘You have a great power over your enemy if you know his language’. He put a great emphasis on discipline and said that ‘Orderliness is a matter of self-respect’.
On May 10, 1994 Madiba (Nelson Mandela’s another name) became the first black president of South Africa.
‘Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water, and salt for all’
This was his inaugural speech.
The title of third chapter is, ‘The wonderful and impossible sometimes collide’. Madiba’s strategy was the strategy of Non-violence and Justice. Madiba was highly concerned about education of Ndaba. He used to say , ‘The only way to get rid of poverty is to provide finest education’. Madiba also taught his grandson that there was never an excuse to mistreat a woman.
The fourth chapter is titled, ‘Listen to the direction of winds’. In all those years of imprisonment, Madiba listened to the direction of the winds, he kept observing what was happening around the world, how people in Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria gained their independence. Mandela defined anger in these beautiful terms ‘Anger has its place even in a kind heart. In fact it is an essential part of forgiveness’
The title of chapter five is, ‘One doesn’t become great by claiming greatness’. It is a long walk and needs effort, courage, and resilience. The chapter is about author’s first visit to America, his observation of American culture, and getting to know what the world thinks about Africa and that was ‘A place where lions reside’. This incident stirred up author to work for changing the world’s viewpoint about Africa and this was possible only by changing African nation as a whole. Author and his cousin made a non-profit organization ‘Africa rising’ that worked for the educational and technological advancement of African people.
The sixth chapter, ‘The brand burns him who stirs it up’ gives us a lesson that running away from past is never an option instead we should learn from the mistakes of past.
Chapter 7 titled ‘The flower that never dies is invisible’. In this chapter author shares with us the sorrow of death of his mother. His mother died of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) but no one could disclose this fact at that time because of the social stigma attached to the talk of HIV and AIDS in South Africa.
In the next chapters, author shares the story of death of his father as well due to HIV. But this time his grandfather decided to break the stigma attached to the talk of HIV. So he spoke up about actual cause of the death of his son in a press conference. According to Nelson Mandela, people will treat HIV like other illnesses only when we will talk openly about it.
In the last few years of his life Nelson Mandela worked on various social issues in South Africa and over the world. For this purpose, he created an organization named ‘The Elders’ that constituted influential leaders from over the world to work in harmony for betterment of world in regards of education, health issues, and mindset. The book in its crux gives us a beautiful lesson:
‘Everyone has the power to change his story’
The first chapter is titled ‘The perfect city is always a long way off’. It is all about Ndaba’s early childhood, his first meeting with his grandfather in Victor Verster prison The chapter also includes the story of extreme poverty days that Ndaba spent in his childhood. He had to shift from one place to another and then to another. It highlights the struggles and hard work of Nelson Mandela with regards to the restrictions set upon black individuals. There is also a mention of Soweto Uprise of 1976 that ended up opening the doors of some good educational institutions for black individuals. One of my favorite quote from the chapter is ‘It matters to me very little whether I see it or not but it’s definitely somewhere around the corner and that’s what motivates me’
The second chapter is is titled ‘The tallest tree catches the harshest winds’. Mandela couldn’t perform his duties of being a father after he was released from the jail. It was because he was now ‘father of the nation’. So, in order to compensate for that he took Ndaba (his grandson) along to raise him up well in his own house later. Mandela advised Ndaba to learn (Afrikaans) saying that ‘You have a great power over your enemy if you know his language’. He put a great emphasis on discipline and said that ‘Orderliness is a matter of self-respect’.
On May 10, 1994 Madiba (Nelson Mandela’s another name) became the first black president of South Africa.
‘Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water, and salt for all’
This was his inaugural speech.
The title of third chapter is, ‘The wonderful and impossible sometimes collide’. Madiba’s strategy was the strategy of Non-violence and Justice. Madiba was highly concerned about education of Ndaba. He used to say , ‘The only way to get rid of poverty is to provide finest education’. Madiba also taught his grandson that there was never an excuse to mistreat a woman.
The fourth chapter is titled, ‘Listen to the direction of winds’. In all those years of imprisonment, Madiba listened to the direction of the winds, he kept observing what was happening around the world, how people in Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria gained their independence. Mandela defined anger in these beautiful terms ‘Anger has its place even in a kind heart. In fact it is an essential part of forgiveness’
The title of chapter five is, ‘One doesn’t become great by claiming greatness’. It is a long walk and needs effort, courage, and resilience. The chapter is about author’s first visit to America, his observation of American culture, and getting to know what the world thinks about Africa and that was ‘A place where lions reside’. This incident stirred up author to work for changing the world’s viewpoint about Africa and this was possible only by changing African nation as a whole. Author and his cousin made a non-profit organization ‘Africa rising’ that worked for the educational and technological advancement of African people.
The sixth chapter, ‘The brand burns him who stirs it up’ gives us a lesson that running away from past is never an option instead we should learn from the mistakes of past.
Chapter 7 titled ‘The flower that never dies is invisible’. In this chapter author shares with us the sorrow of death of his mother. His mother died of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) but no one could disclose this fact at that time because of the social stigma attached to the talk of HIV and AIDS in South Africa.
In the next chapters, author shares the story of death of his father as well due to HIV. But this time his grandfather decided to break the stigma attached to the talk of HIV. So he spoke up about actual cause of the death of his son in a press conference. According to Nelson Mandela, people will treat HIV like other illnesses only when we will talk openly about it.
In the last few years of his life Nelson Mandela worked on various social issues in South Africa and over the world. For this purpose, he created an organization named ‘The Elders’ that constituted influential leaders from over the world to work in harmony for betterment of world in regards of education, health issues, and mindset. The book in its crux gives us a beautiful lesson:
‘Everyone has the power to change his story’
February 4, 2021
Ndaba Mandela writes about a rare and personal side of the legend that we all have heard of. Nelson Mandela. His grandfather where not many had the privilege to experience as.
Nelson Mandela took Ndaba under his wings in his early age to support and help him grow to become the person he wanted to be that he struggled to unveil at first.
Ndaba narrates of his coming of age story within the framework of his grandfather, capturing the power a man has to change his own story and the power of that story to change the world.
"We all have the power to change our Story"
11 Life Lessons from Nelson Mandela will teach you ways you have failed to see before that holds major importance in changing your own story.
Whatever the story you may intend to unfold, won't be harder than what Nelson Mandela had to go through.
Within you lies the power.
Power to change your story.
Nelson Mandela took Ndaba under his wings in his early age to support and help him grow to become the person he wanted to be that he struggled to unveil at first.
Ndaba narrates of his coming of age story within the framework of his grandfather, capturing the power a man has to change his own story and the power of that story to change the world.
"We all have the power to change our Story"
11 Life Lessons from Nelson Mandela will teach you ways you have failed to see before that holds major importance in changing your own story.
Whatever the story you may intend to unfold, won't be harder than what Nelson Mandela had to go through.
Within you lies the power.
Power to change your story.
April 12, 2023
Amazing insights into the life of Nelson Mandela. Ndaba shed light upon the life of Mandela and their relationship. He beautifully captured the political and social scenery of 20th century South Africa to describe the personality of South Africa's first black president. The book keeps the reader engaged through xhosa folk tales and their relevance in the story of African struggle against Apartheid.
June 20, 2021
Very insightful to understand the stance of a great leader on crisis and uplifting image of his country and passing that responsibility to the coming generations. Ndaba's contribution in that ongoing struggle of South Africa to uplift economic and education infrastructure; many things to learn there for rest of the world.
September 12, 2022
Nelson Mandela has always been someone who has inspired me, reading this was incredibly insightful into who he was and I would definitely recommend. Truly a remarkable man.
February 2, 2023
It's a very good book superb
February 14, 2023
Excellent !
Un livre que j’ai littéralement dévoré et qui m’a profondément touché ! A travers votre plume, j’ai eu l’impression de vivre ces moments d’intimité avec la famille Mandela.
Merci infiniment de l’avoir écrit et surtout de participer activement à la transmission des valeurs incarnées par cet homme d’exception! .
Un livre que j’ai littéralement dévoré et qui m’a profondément touché ! A travers votre plume, j’ai eu l’impression de vivre ces moments d’intimité avec la famille Mandela.
Merci infiniment de l’avoir écrit et surtout de participer activement à la transmission des valeurs incarnées par cet homme d’exception! .
May 8, 2020
I was expecting alot from this book but at the end I am very much disappointed.. The book is all about Ndaba's personal experiences.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews