The 'Daily Cup' of Motivation: Why South Africa can be Greater than America

The Republic of South Africa is ready for greatness.  Everything you could hope for, need, and dream about having in a country with a new direction is present and ready to be capitalized on. If we ensure that all is handled delicately with 'higher goals' and common sense, we can become one of the greatest countries on the planet.

As I am writing this article we are less than a year away from hosting the World Cup of soccer; we are still in possession of, and in awe of, the greatest icon and reformer of the modern era in Nelson Mandela; we are Rugby World Cup champions and ranked Number 1 on the planet; our currency is growing stronger by the day, and most importantly we have established a positive and winning mindset throughout the country with hope and tolerance at its core.

Furthermore, South Africa is among the richest countries in the world in terms of natural resources, it has at its disposal a vibrant and diverse mix of cultures, races, concepts and behaviors, and boasts excellence in sporting teams and industries throughout the world. Quite simply, South Africa has knocked on the door and is ready to perform on the global stage. Granted we have a lot to still iron out and many important issues to be addressed,  but with such an intense and favorable positive sentiment towards us from the rest of the world, and all the positive things happening in our country, we are certainly ready to rock n roll.

Think of another country, or place where a man holds a concert and every single celebrity and person of influence in the world flocks to our shores ready to help. We have star power and pull with Nelson Mandela and with the world at our feet in 2010 we can be unstoppable.

What strikes me as most interesting in South Africa is that the core of people's objectives and 'life- direction' is for the most part focused on something greater than money. Sure many have to eat and survive here still, and many just want to build wealth, but the 'masses' here are consumed mostly with having an opportunity, becoming someone important, achieving great things and generally adding something positive to this country and their own lives.

With our borders recently opened up, and a massive population with this achieving mindset, we have no choice but to succeed; our objectives as people will be our greatest advantage.  If everyone can be more consumed with how to better our country, and empower themselves to empower others, we are on the path to greatness. If however, South Africa becomes a 'free-for-all' to accumulate as much wealth and power as possible, we are doomed.

We are unfortunately seeing widespread corruption in our government with characters such as Schabir Shaik, Jacob Zuma and Julius Malema at the forefront. Although my verdict on Zuma is still out, I can say for sure that we have a problem with countless state CEO's and people in government positions of power who are abusing their authority, only in it for themselves, and no good for our country.  They must be stopped immediately.

My hope is someone will really step up and make the change from the 'top-down' and clean out the government and state institutions from greed, corruption and and ineffectiveness. If not, that's ok, we can still win and be great, it will than be up to us as South Africans to take a stand and make things right from the 'bottom-up.' We can do it no doubt.

As I sit here in America,  sipping on my Starbucks coffee watching all types of American people waltz in and out with their Vanilla lattes and sponge cake, I am reminded of what really drives Americans every day at every moment: MONEY.

Of course I don't want to generalize and put everyone into the same bucket, but most people here define who they are and how successful they are based on how much money they have and how much 'external and artificial' things they own. It's a bit sad to be honest. I also don't want to suggest that going for it and making money is a bad thing, when done properly for the benefit of all those involved it can be a beautiful thing. It is however important to note though that if the objective is something greater than money, and the process is more important than the outcome, we are primed for greatness; did Mandela ever do anything for money? Gandhi?

If we want to be truly great in South Africa we must build the core of our country with a higher purpose and make money our secondary objective.  Some would suggest that if we reach the heights of America that is great enough. I disagree. We can build the economy we want, and to any heights possible, but if we become a nation of economic slaves and soldiers that build wealth for a government that invades and manipulates other countries in the world, then we are certainly not successful at all. All we will be doing in the end is building negative tension, energy and sentiments that will undoubtedly find their way back to us.

Like everything in life, we get back what we give.  If we can spend all our time and resources building and developing and empowering people in South Africa, we can not only build the people in this country, we can build a collective mindset that can influence the world and our continent for the better.

Look at the impact Mandela had at the end of Apartheid on the world. Oprah, Dr. Phil, Barack Obama, whoever, they are great in their own right but are no match for our man Nelson Mandela. We know we can have a major impact on the world, we have done it before.

So while America is great, the land of opportunity, their collective lust for money and capitalism has cost them in many ways and put immense pressures on their people to survive and succeed. Nothing lasts forever, even America being on top of the world, but if we can empower our people properly from the ground up we can be successful and last forever as our economy will only be part of how we grow and measure our success.

The next time you buy 3 luxury cars, ask yourself if putting a fellow South African through school wouldn't be better? The next time you ignore someone from another culture, ask yourself is this person White, Black, Colored, Indian, Malay or as this person South African?

The next time you decide to open a business, or network, or make new friends, ask yourself is what I am doing only beneficial to me? In the end we need to take a higher purpose, do things for the greater good and always remember:

'It's not what your country can do for you, It's what you can do for you country"

John F. Kennedy